Prayer Request for One of Our Friends...

 Dear Friends in Blogland...this is a special request for prayer for one of our own blogging friends, Martha Jane Orlando of Meditations of my Heart.  I just received a message from her husband that Martha is in the hospital with a bad case of bacterial pneumonia, not covid related.  I know she had said recently that she was not feeling well, and apparently this is what was working on her.  As you may know, Martha's mother passed away this past summer, and it has been a difficult year for her in many ways.  Her husband Danny has requested that we pray for Martha, and also wanted to let us know she won't be blogging for a while. I assured him of our prayers, and have requested that he update us whenever he can.   Thank you all for your prayers on her behalf.  

You may also remember Martha as the author of a series of very excellent books, The Glade Series/Adventures in the Glade.  I have read all of these books, and can highly recommend them to young and old alike. I think they were originally intended as children's books, but I found them to be very intriguing and interesting and spiritually redemptive.  So if you are looking for something new to read, you might want to check these out. 

I will update you whenever I hear more from her husband Danny. Thank you again, friends!

I thought you all might enjoy seeing these pictures I captured here on Still Waters Pond recently:

Yes, Mr. Bluebird above and Mrs. Bluebird below, checking out the "real estate" here to see if they want to settle down and raise their family in our neighborhood. 

I found information about The Bluebird of "happiness" and "Hope"here on Wikipedia, and it says that the bluebird is the "harbinger of happiness" in many cultures, and is a symbol of hope in many Russian fairytales.  So I thought it appropriate to include these pictures here as we pray for our friend, and as we trust God for her healing and strength.

Thank you all for your kind thoughts and prayers for our friend!

Final Summer Reading Book Review: REVELATION!

Hello dear friends...I know you've all been waiting for the final book review in the "Adventures in the Glade" series....REVELATION.

If you've been following along HERE, then you'll know that I've been reading through all six of Martha Jane Orlando's wonderful books in her two series:Which you can learn more about HERE on her website for The Glade Series and Adventures in the Glade Series.

So now we come to the final book...and I must say right up front, I hope and pray it is NOT the final book...because this book left me wanting more!  I am excited to say that Martha has just announced in her most recent blog post "Meditations of My Heart" (link to blog here) that she is going to be taking the next few weeks to pray about and seek God's direction for writing her next episode in this series...so I  ask you to pray along with me that the Lord will indeed give Martha the guidance she needs to embark on this next project...because once you read these books you will agree with me that there is still so much more to be written!!

Now back to REVELATION! Sorry I keep getting side-tracked!  First of all, I think I neglected to say in my last review on the preceding book, REDEMPTION, that I felt like in these last two books Martha had really stepped up the story a bit with the addition of new characters woven into the story...and a grander plot that would captivate adults as well as children and teens.  There is so much more intrigue and mystery being brought to the surface...and "revelations" being revealed that I never saw coming...which calls for deeper insight and speculation into how it will all finally come to a conclusion.

REVELATION intertwines romance, past secrets revealed, wild adventure...and that despicable Cousin Ronnie still out to wreak havoc on the magical, mysterious inhabitants of The Glade and their sacred land. Our hero Davy and his family have relationships restored and past hurts healed with happy endings and new beginnings.  Everyone seems to be seeing miracles in their lives...except for one...who still needs to get things right in his heart...

Let me leave you with some final words from one of  "The Old Ones, "Racer", Davy's best squirrel friend, when asked if he could give a "phrase or one word...that would inspire them to live the abundant life...", he declared:

"It's all about love and grace!"

Yes, that seems to be the answer to all of the questions....

So friends, until next time...and I pray there will be a next time...I leave you with these thoughts to ponder.

Galatians 1:12(NKJV)

 "For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ."


P.S.  I hope you enjoyed hearing about these wonderful books...one more thing I wanted to add...I shared my copies of The Glade Series/Adventures in the Glade books with a dear friend, who was reading them with her adult daughter who had spent most of the last year in a hospital recuperating from some very serious physical issues.  My friend said that reading these books together brought such joy and hope back into her daughter's life...it was the first thing that had perked her up and gotten her interest in a very long time. Why? Probably because these little books have such profound truth and hope intertwined within a captivating, fun and magical story that one can't help but be caught up and taken to a place where our imaginations can actually bring us to a better place in our hearts and minds.  So, for this reason and so much more, I do hope our friend Martha will be able to continue this wonderful saga!

Racer is waving "bye" for now!

New Summer Reading Book Review: "Redemption"

If you have followed along with my previous book reviews HERE on the Adventures in the Glade Series and the and the Glade Series HERE, then you have probably been anxiously awaiting my book review on the next book in the series, REDEMPTION.

My apologies to Martha Jane Orlando, the author of these wonderful books, for my taking so long to write this review (and the next one!).  I finished the books a little while ago, and then got sidetracked when things got busy and interesting here at our house (my son got engaged, stuff like that) and I put it off so long that now I probably need to re-read the book to be sure I don't confuse it with the others! But let me proceed...I believe it will all come back to me...

Just to refresh our memories, this series of adventure stories began back when ten year old Davy Murray absolutely hated the thoughts of having to spend the summer at his step-father's Grandpa's farm in the mountains.  The farm and surrounding mountain lands and forest were inherited by Davy's step-father when Grandpa Will passed away. Davy was seriously angry at  having to spend the summer where there was no computer, TV, or any of his friends.  Not only that, he really didn't like his step-father all that much either, and would not allow himself to show him any kind of love or respect. So the chances of Davy having a good time this summer were pretty low unless something changed drastically in his attitude.

Interestingly, Davy soon discovers that Great-Grandpa Will's farm is much more than just a place to spend the summer without modern conveniences or friends...he meets up with some very interesting "critters", better known as "The Old Ones"...ancient talking creatures who live in The Glade...and only Davy can see or hear them! 

The seeming "star" of the group is now known as "Racer"...previously known as Grey..."The True Squirrel of the Old Ones." (photos from my OWN "Old Ones" living here in my own part of the forest...and since reading these books I find that I look at these living creatures much differently than I used to...) 

And then there is "Reverend", the "True Owl of the Old Ones"...
(this giant Barred Owl showed up on our fence one morning recently...I wonder if he could be related?)

and there is also "Prancer", who came to carry Davy back to the Glade to rescue "Reverend" when he was in dire danger of dying at the end of the last book, (REVENGE!)

And we also meet "Sharp Eyes", the hawk...who has a very important role to play in keeping a "sharp eye" on the villainous Cousin Ronnie and his cohorts...

As REDEMPTION begins, Davy has collapsed and is having a beautiful dream or vision...very real to him...and he finds that he is safe in the arms of "The Good Shepherd".  As he is being bathed in the light of the truth of Who this Good Shepherd really is, Davy realizes that this One is the ONLY One who could save his friends and their beautiful glade from total destruction.  And as The Good Shepherd anoints Davy with a special oil to bless and protect him, He sends Davy, "The Chosen One", on a mission to bring healing to REVEREND and to restore peace and order back to the Glade once again. 

As in the previous stories, wicked cousin Ronnie continues to wreak havoc in the lives of the "Old Ones" and is trying to steal the property that belongs to Davy's step-father, which includes the magical, mystical land of The Glade.   If he is able to accomplish this, The Glade will disappear forever, along with the lives of all the marvelous ancient creatures known as "The Old Ones".  Davy realizes that he cannot save them in his own strength, but he learns to rely on the power and strength of The Good Shepherd to see him through.  And in this story, "The Old Ones" themselves come up with plans that hopefully will stop Cousin Ronnie from carrying out his underhanded schemes...but it could be at great risk of putting them all in serious peril.

Again,  Martha Jane Orlando magically weaves this story to make it seem so very real to life that I find myself listening more carefully to what God may be saying to me through His own creation all around us.  There is an underlying story here that draws us closer to "The Good Shepherd"...and helps us to realize that He is at work in so many areas of life that we may not have understood before. 

As we come to the end of REDEMPTION, we see Davy lying restlessly on his little cot at night, wondering about what was going to happen next.  To quote:

"Davy purposely turned his eyes toward the stars twinkling through the towering oaks. What is it, Lord? What will I find? What will I know? The stars winked their comforting acknowledgments, but offered no answers.  It's okay. I'll find out tomorrow. Racer will be with me then.  I'll find out tomorrow."

And with that, we must close this chapter and wait until next time, when I will pick up where we left off and tell you about the next book in the series, REVELATION.

"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace..."  

Ephesians 1:7