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Look to the Horizon

January 16, 2026 By Annette1 5 Comments

Miss Kate chose the word horizon for this week’s word prompt. Look to the Horizon seems apropos for the day. One needs to keep the future in mind you know? It’s helps a person to keep their perspective in the correct spot if you keep your eye where it should be.

Look to the Horizon

Yesterday a letter came from
friends. A circle letter we
started back in Covid times. A thing
to look forward to that, honestly,
has slacked a time or two, but always
a resurgence makes.

Anyways, a friend asked why a hard
thing was hard last year, and an
explanation made, and how now, when
the same decision is made, it is
no longer a hard thing.

You see, we’ve had a year to
look to the horizon. A goal in mind,
helped youth learn better adulting,
and so, a time to move forward
happens easier, with less stress.
So a momma’s heart is eased and so
helpful encouragement is given quickly.

At work I struggled today, a
fall last night left me with a banged
up knee, but I – looked to the horizon –
and had a plan in place. No putting things
away that required me to go down on my
knees. I needed no additional pain.
I SO looked forward to getting off work
today, no 10 minutes working overtime. 🙂

A struggle also because, a co-worker has
been crowing about getting additional hours,
while many of us have been getting hours
cut without a boss giving any back,
except to this one dude. And I overheard
dude asking for an extra half-hour today
and getting it, and … I felt resentful.
Why does this dude get what is wanted?
Even at the expense of others?

But I need to look to the horizon.
I’ve been tired lately. Working more
hours isn’t going to help my tiredness,
and God, somehow I know this to be true,
knows what is best and I need to trust
the process and not stress about it.
No resentment, but thankfulness required.

The Personal Librarian

January 14, 2026 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

I listened to The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray, a bit back. I still think on it. I’d suggest you give it a read (or listen) if you have a chance to. Let me tell you why.

You’ll find romance, deception, books, and female determination. A strong matriarch, children divided about loyalties, and solid look into real life history. Come discover more about Belle da Costa Greene, personal librarian to J.P. Morgan.

image shows a pile of books text the personal librarian the story of bella da costa greene

The Basic Details for The Personal Librarian

Title: The Personal Librarian
Author: Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
Narrator: Robin Miles (audio)
Publisher: Berkeley
Pages: 368 pages
Intended Audience: adult
Genre: adult fiction, historical fiction, racism, black & African-American women’s fiction, women’s fiction, American history, biographical,
Available formats: Paperback, kindle, audio, hardcover
Format Used: audio

About the Book and Author

Belle da Costa Greene lived in a time where black women were relegated to jobs such as maids and washer women. BUT she had lighter skin and a momma determined not to let people know she had African-American blood. This gave her children more freedom in the jobs they could hold. Enter in the story of Portuguese blood to help explain their darker colouring. Family fractures happen.

This story speaks to the hardship of hiding heritage, to the status of women, and the difficulties she faced. Learn more about how J.P. Morgan conducted himself, the work of a personal librarian, and catch glimpses into her personal life.

the authors

Marie Benedict is a lawyer who loves to discover stories about women in history and telling their stories. She loves to dig into history and discover the nuances about these women and bring their stories into the light of day. Victoria Christopher Murray has an MBA in Marketing, grew up in New York, and discovered her love for writing in 1997. She has since received numerous awards for her work. Some of her awards are for work as an African-American author.

Looking Deeper

I thoroughly enjoyed learning more about Bella da Costa Greene. She was a remarkable lady who learned how to function well as a woman in a man’s world. She did so with style and finesse.

Even though I admire all the work she did, and how determined she was to make her way, I didn’t like all the choices she made. It’s not necessary to like everything about a person and still like who they are overall though eh? 🙂

I loved that she was able to meet the various expectations of her family, both the immediate and the more estranged. This was a relief to her as well, albeit at times an added pressure to do well. I have a hard time imaging that one person could be so pivotal in helping their whole family do better. I wanted at times to shake a finger at her adults siblings (and their spouses) and tell them to do better themselves. That they shouldn’t expect one person to make it all more bearable.

I liked the story in and of itself and was happy to to have listened to it. For those who want to learn about a remarkable woman of history, listen to this story (or go read it). 🙂 You’ll see hard life decisions being made, see the joys of procurement of rare items, and satisfaction of learning the business end of life. Being able to scoop your rivals… fantastic! 🙂

Author’s Remarks

I did wish that I didn’t listen to the author’s remarks. Like many author’s remarks I expected to hear how the story was changed. This was accurate, but then they went to on to say why they wrote it and brought racism into the picture and tied it into life today. I would rather NOT have heard that part. It changed the story from one that I enjoyed into “one I should have used to learn hard life lessons.”

That’s not what I wanted. I wanted to learn more about a woman from history. Being, in essence, forced to consider deeper issues changed the whole impact of the life shown to me. It was a spoiler, not a help. A help to me is “this is the true story, this is how I revamped it to make it read better”. Or these things happened, but I changed the order, etc.

Final Thoughts

So go read The Personal Librarian. Skip the author’s remarks. Enjoy the story and let the history of the day seep into your beingness. Learn, but mostly just enjoy her story.

John the Baptist is Born

January 12, 2026 By Annette1 1 Comment

It’s funny, I keep thinking of how Elizabeth’s baby leapt in the womb when Mary came in. How amazing it was to really catch his excitement. And today we get to see who that baby is to be. John the Baptist is born as seen in Luke 1: 57-66. Sorta following along with Unexplainable Jesus bible study.

Luke 1:57-66

⁵⁷Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. ⁵⁸And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, ⁶⁰but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” ⁶¹And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” ⁶²And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called.

⁶³And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. ⁶⁴And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. ⁶⁵And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, ⁶⁶and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.

John the Baptist is born

⁵⁷Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son.

We already knew that Elizabeth was going to have a boy. The angel had told Zechariah this right? So this starting line is SO not a surprise eh? But what would they call him?!?! It should be Zechariah after his dad right? So let’s go forward with that eh? But then his momma steps in and days NO! That’s not his name!!

⁵⁸And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. ⁵⁹And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, ⁶⁰but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.”

They Argued

This is the part that I think is so odd. Her neighbours and relatives argued with her! It’s like why would you argue with a parent about what they call their child? Their reasoning? None of their relatives have that name, so why would you use that? It made no sense to them. Defying tradition and all that.

Admittedly that would be hard to do at times right? I watch this lady on YouTube that helps people learn how to express and hold to a boundary WHILE understanding why you might get pushback. Some of the stories she tells I find hard to hear. I can’t really understand vitriol people spew at those who should be loved ones. For instance a MIL who gets cut off from one part of her family because she wildly upset that a grandchild wasn’t named after her. And then treats DIL badly because of it. Son steps in and says “Mom, enough, you can’t do this, you won’t stop. So done with it all.”.

⁶¹And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.”

So, since they lived in a patriarchal family, they asked Zechariah what the babes name should be. He confirmed it was to be John.

⁶²And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. ⁶³And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.”

Zechariah’s Obedience

Zechariah did what he was supposed to. His silence, the consequence of his actions earlier, was finally broken. And I bet all the neighbours and relatives had even more questions. More wonder! And Zechariah praising God after all that had happened.

I so love that eh? That Zechariah endured the whole of Elizabeth’s pregnancy in silence. Unable to talk. Being reminded everyday to keep firm to his faith in God. And in the end, he praises God. We so need to do that eh? After discipline, to be grateful and able to praise God above.

And they all wondered. ⁶⁴And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.

And yes, the neighbours and relatives had a reaction. They were afraid. They talked so much about what had happened and wondered what would become of John.

I’d have done the same. After seeing Zechariah become mute, affirm John’s name, and then immediately become unmute! It’s a wow and how can it be situation and would certainly have my brain and emotions whirling. Doesn’t it do the same for you?

God Made a Path

⁶⁵And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, ⁶⁶and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.

This isn’t just a vague story. This is actual history. A story of God at work in the lives of his people. It should send us all into a time of praising God. John’s story is part of the fabric of our faith history. We need to see the wonder and the fear in it. God’s spread the news of John. He prepared the way for this man to speak of his Son, to prepare the way for the Lord. Rather awesome eh?

Follow Along

I’ve been using The Unexplainable Jesus study as a background to my devotional time.

Ways to Mend

January 10, 2026 By Annette1 7 Comments

Ways to Mend popped into my mind as soon as Kate let me know she was back. She’s been away on medical leave so we’ve had some fun with Andrew over the past few weeks. 🙂 Anyways, Kate’s word prompt this week is Mend. Kinda makes sense as she’s still on the mend you know?

Ways to Mend

Ways to mend popped
into my mind. A word prompt
worming its way into my thoughts
over a day filled with
cleaning and organizing.

Did you know that taking time
to sort and organize is cathartic?
It gives a body of sense of purpose,
and allows for the tidying up of
one’s life, ergo easier to manage
the stuff that one’s life brings.

It’s a mending of one’s psyche to
make things easier to manage
when some aspects of life are too busy.

I tossed some socks out the other
day that had holes in the heel.
Darning them seemed more trouble
than they are worth. I recall mended socks
as a child and the lump in the toe.
Who needs lumps in the toe?
NOT ME!! 🙂

Other ways that mending comes to mind.
My son’s girl has a new cat,
Miso by name, with feet and ears
shredded from cold weather and
hot cars. He needs to be fixed,
in more ways than one, before meeting
the others, should be some fun.

Sometimes in mending we need to restore,
to go back and make new, what once
was before. Bring back an old cupboard,
paint again, remove the new to
make old shine again.

To mend is to patch up, renew and restore.
It’s to cure, heal, and get better,
Let’s cobble together this old
body so it works well enough!

Jesus mended our relationship with God
when he died upon the tree,
looked death in the face, and then
rose in glory to sit at God’s right hand.

No more condemnation, no more need to
patch things up, no need to set things straighten.
All things restored, the tinkering done.

The Making of Us

January 7, 2026 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

So there I was the other day chatting with a friend of mine. I mentioned that I had recently finished reading a book called The Making of Us and briefly told her about it. She asked if I was going to review it so I said “sure, I can do that.” Her response “Good, cause I want to know more.” So here we are, me reviewing a book I read just for fun.

The Basic Details for The Making of Us

Title: The Making of Us
Author: Lisa Jewell
Narrator: Helen Duff (audio)
Publisher: Atria Books (print/ebook)/Dreamscape Media (audio)
Pages: 416 pages
Intended Audience: adult
Genre: infertility, coming of age, contemporary women’s fiction, family, friendship, mystery, adult fiction,
Available formats: Paperback, kindle, audio
Format Used: audio

About The Book and Author

Lisa Jewell is a prolific author having written 19 novels. She has been a NY Time bestselling author. Many of her books are thrillers.

The Making of Us focuses in on three individuals. Lydia, Dean and Robyn. Although they don’t know each other, they share a secret. Through the discovery of that secret a new family is created. Infertility is a hard situation and people find different ways to deal with it. This drama draws you into their lives and we see three individuals develop into better people.

Digging a bit Deeper

It’s so odd. I have NEVER been a women’s fiction type of reader. I’ve read some but I tend to get annoyed with the drama and/or the romantic stuff that happens. It’s like I’m either thinking “hurry up and grow up will you” or “romantic love isn’t all sunshine and roses, get real.”. So for me to mostly enjoy a women’s fiction book I’m still finding a bit odd. My tastes are changing just a bit. I still adore fantasy, science fiction, and a good mystery the best. BUT… women’s fiction is definitely finding it’s place in my library.

The Making of us did contain some “hurry up and grow up” elements. I got a tad bit frustrated with how Dean handled things, but in the end he started to get there. Lydia and Robyn both learned and grew, able to put some the difficulties of their lives behind them. They found ways to start onto new paths.

The character development was okay. I felt like I had a pretty good grip on who Lydia and Dean were with Robyn kinda coming in around the edges.

Infertility created issues in three families and how they each handled it was quite different. Ms Jewell could have delved into that a bit deeper but chose not to. It made for a harder secret for some of the characters than others.

So What Did I Think?

Would I recommend that others read this novel? I think so. It’s wasn’t the most “I got to finish this book today” good. But I did want to know how things would turn out in the end. Would they meet the man who helped out their moms? What would they think of him? What would he think of them? How would they effect each others lives? Some of these questions weren’t answered due to how the story flowed.

In some ways this was very disappointing. To not have that closure in how their secret had closure, it was all just about how it affected them each personally. I wanted to know more about how it would affect them as a group as well. Did they all stay in contact? Would they build a new “found family” unit? It kinda felt like too little too late fatalism. On Goodreads I scored it as a three.

The story, The Making of Us, wasn’t bad it just didn’t feel like it went far enough for me.

Mary Sings a Song

January 5, 2026 By Annette1 Leave a Comment

Today we get to see Mary and her joy. Mary sings a song showcasing her trust in the Lord God and how she sees him. It’s a lovely picture that we find in Luke 1:46-56. Let’s take a look at how Mary sees the God that we love and serve eh? A continuing look through Unexplainable Jesus.

⁴⁶And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷    and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
    For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
⁴⁹for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name.
⁵⁰And his mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.
⁵¹He has shown strength with his arm;
    he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
⁵²he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
    and exalted those of humble estate;
⁵³he has filled the hungry with good things,
    and the rich he has sent away empty.
⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel,
    in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵as he spoke to our fathers,
    to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

⁵⁶And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

Mary Sings a Song

Now remember how the baby leapt for joy while yet in the womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit? This is Mary’s response to Elizabeth calling her blessed among women because of her faith.

⁴⁶And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
⁴⁷ and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

Oh, such a statement eh? “My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour”. Such a deep statement you know? To have that joy in the Lord. I watch my MIL and my own Mom as they are aging, and their steadfast love of God. When I read these words of Mary, it is their faces I see, their joy in the Lord that is so evident. They bring these words to vivid life.

⁴⁸for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

Mary sees it you know? She knows who and what she is. A girl from a simple family. Humble in estate. And yet, God chose her. God looked upon her and said “this girl will have my boy”. The end result is people know of her. Her name is revered in the Roman Catholic church. Everyone knows who gave birth to Jesus and who helped raise him up. Mary is well-thought of the world over.

⁴⁹for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.

Mary gives all the glory to God. It is his might who does great things for her. She sees his holiness.

I have to stop here for a moment. I often see God’s hand in my life. But I rarely pause to consider God’s holiness in the matter. I see his mercy and his care, I just rarely think of his holiness overarching it all. I should you know? God’s holiness is a foundational part of him.

Mary Continues her praise

⁵⁰And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.

I wonder if Mary saw, in this moment, how God moved through the life of her extended family. How his mercy was pivotal in the lives of her people who feared him. Not in a scared way (though maybe that’s a part) but in a reverential, God is holy, way.

⁵¹He has shown strength with his arm;
    he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
⁵²he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
    and exalted those of humble estate;
⁵³he has filled the hungry with good things,
    and the rich he has sent away empty.

Mary goes on to show God’s holiness in a variety of ways. His strength, His scattering of the proud, how God brings down the mighty and then lifts up the humble. God is the one who feeds the hungry with good things, and send away the rich empty. The humble, weak, and hungry need not fear the Holy God.

I do wonder sometimes about the use of the words rich and mighty though. Can one be rich pr mighty and still hungry or humble? Does one condition supersede the other? Can a mighty person still hunger and thirst for more, and seek not for recognition? We need to remember that for all of God’s holiness he is still our God, our Father, and he cares for us like a parent does a child. So it’s the hungry God feeds. It’s the humble that he exalts. The proud and focused on wealth folk he corrects.

God as Father

We really see this in the rest of Mary’s song.

⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
⁵⁵as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

According to The Working Preacher the word servant comes from the Greek Pais, which can also be translated child. So where it says He has helped his servant Israel, it is actually saying he has helped his child Israel. God helps his children. Why? Because he remembers his mercy to their ancestors. He remembers his promise to Abraham and his offspring for all time. Mary saw God’s mercy as she saw his holiness. Both are clear as can be for this young lady. And she knows how blessed she is by the one she can call Father.

Read the Passage Carefully

Oh, have you ever read and reread a passage with a thought in your brain and then you read it again? Mary (and I KNOW THIS) didn’t stay with Elizabeth til her baby was born. I should not have been surprised to read that should I? She only stayed for three months. Three months of solace away. Not a total refuge, but a break from the stares and whisperings. Another way for God to show care eh?

⁵⁶And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home.

Follow Along

I’ve been using The Unexplainable Jesus study as a background to my devotional time.

Let it Snow

January 3, 2026 By Annette1 2 Comments

The other day on the radio at work the song came on “let it snow let it snow let it snow”. But the weather at the time wasn’t conducive to snow. So as it played I sang “let it rain let it rain let it rain”. Mind, I did so quietly (almost under my breath) as as not to annoy a certain co-worker. Anyways, Andrew’s prompt made me think of that and I smiled. So now you can share that smile with me!

Shall we get on with the poem of the week? Let it SNOW!!!!

Let it Snow

Let it snow, the cold winter blast
screams my name in the quiet of the
night, reminding me I’m Canadian.
I have grit, soft-spoken that I am,
I can survive what Ontario can throw
at me year after year.
God tells me in Psalm 147
“He spreads the snow like wool and
scatters the frost like ashes.
He hurls down his hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand his icy blast?”

But God sees us clearly, and
knows just how much we can take.
Scouring the landscape so that in time
we can see the whiteness and clarity
that a blanket of snow provides.
For Isaiah would have us know
“Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.”

More snow references

SW Ontario has been hit hard by
snow squalls this past week.
Closed roads, cars stuck in ditches,
wind blowing so fiercely you can’t
see across the road, the snow so thick.
Yet all that snow does so much good.
55 of Isaiah gives this line:
“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return to it without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for
the sower and bread for the eater.”

Before the snow came, or at least,
that was the goal. Winter came a
bit early this year, but I convinced
my guys to help with porch clean up,
driveway edging, rabbitry roofing,
gardening turning, and so much more.
Not all gone down, but most did.
We fought hard, and battled at the end.
The truth in Proverbs 31 revealed:
“When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.”

Blog

Look to the Horizon

Look to the Horizon

The Personal Librarian

The Basic Details for The Personal Librarian