My mind has been busy over the last few months, but not with my sixth book, Forsaken.  Summer started with our cat leaving for the Rainbow Bridge. He adopted us when he got tired of trying to live off the land. I also think he longed for human contact. In the beginning, he was always close by and yet, he tried to hide from us.  He was like a ghost, so we named him Casper. He is dearly missed.

It has been one horrible thing after another in this late spring and summer of 2025. Texas has had its share of pain. Now, a brother in Christ has been killed for his opinions, and for his ability to talk to our youth. When Charlie Kirk was assassinated, I was still crying over Iryna Zarutska being murdered because she was white. No one tried to help that beautiful, tiny woman. I wish I could unsee her death.

You Tube is additive and the podcasts are often disturbing. The hate and divisiveness finally overwhelmed me, so I reached for my Bible. “The Word of God sends out a light, a force, and a power. It is the only tangible supernatural thing we have in the world today.” (Dr. J. Vernon McGee) I LOVE that! I dearly love THRU the BIBLE.

Dr. McGee continued, “The Word of God is the only physical miracle that we have from God at this hour, drawing men away from the world system and putting them into the arms of God. He teaches us the truth of His Word through the Holy Spirit who makes them real to us.” I LOVE that, too.

I held my Bible close, while I prayed for peace of mind and clarity. When I opened it, the Lord immediately took me to Luke 10:38-42. Like Martha, I have been distracted with “preparations.” Maybe not preparations in my case, but trying to accept or make sense of this rapidly changing world.

God made this world and He is not surprised by one little thing that has happened. It was and is His will that evil is rampant. I choose to trust Him, but like Mary and Martha I feel the pain. He had a reason for letting Lazarus die, for letting them mourn.

Mary of Bethany cherished God’s Word. I try to imagine how wonderful and exciting it must have been to listen to Jesus talking and explaining Scripture. When her sister, Martha, complained about Mary not helping with meal preparations, Jesus defended the woman hungry for His words.

I wonder if His reprimand upset Martha or surprised Mary? I think it did.

Jesus said, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one is necessary. Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken from her.”

That immediately spoke to my heart. I can just see Him shaking His head as He said her name twice. As He rebuked her, I know His eyes were full of love. I felt like He was admonishing me, too.

My heart heard Him say, “Leave the cares of this world to Me. Get back to your writing. I want people to understand what a relationship with Me entails.” Forsaken is the story of a woman angry with God.

Another thought came to me about this Mary of Bethany. She believed what the Lord said. She was the one that anointed His feet in anticipation of His death. Judas Iscariot felt she had wasted the expensive Spikenard that scented the air and said so.

Once again, Jesus defended her. He said she would go down in history for anointing His body for burial. He warned them, again, that His death was imminent. His disciples must not have believed Him. The Cross was such a shock to them. Later, they didn’t believe Mary, when she told them that He was alive.

Mary of Bethany hung onto His every word and she acted on them. His disciples not so much, until He conquered death. Then, they were fearless. I love that about them. NOTHING could stop them from telling the world about Jesus, until death silenced them. They were proud to die a martyr’s death.

Dear Readers, the witnesses in the Bible are telling us the truth. Search for God while He can be found. I truly believe Jesus’ return is imminent. Even so, I’m going to continue writing my books. My daughter is in the process of putting them on Barnes and Noble for me. This Side of Heaven went public last week.