Book Review - Pride and Practicality - By Pepper Basham - Publication Date: 3 November 2026

 For me, this was an exceedingly amusing story offering me chuckles, chortles and outright laughter! It was certainly a hit. Besides amusing, I found it a very clean read and faith-based, which I totally appreciated.

However, despite being so light-hearted, there was also an element of seriousness where ones' reputation was ruined by a cad and gossipers, followed by a steep climb up a slippery slope to exercise grace and forgiveness.  These themes I found helpful.

Miss Reeves certainly had to beware of a certain clergyman, much to her chagrin.  Thomas seemed to be an ideal model of a man.  What's more, there were ones who had compassion for the down and out.  Another great aspect of caring for the poor was high-lighted in this story.

I found parallels of this story to the Pride and Prejudice work by Jane Austin, and in fact, the author alluded to it several times.  I feel any potential reader who loves that book will love this one, and perhaps even more so due to the Christian aspects.  It was an endearing and very satisfying read for me.  Therefore, I give it a 5 Star rating.

                                                  ~  Eunice C.,  Reviewer/Blogger  ~

                                                             August 2026

Disclaimer:  I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Read review on Goodreads.

Prayer - Your Thoughts Become Mine (Isaiah 55:8-9)

 Father God, Your ways and thoughts are always higher than mine, and that I could ever have!  Make me Your humble and obedient servant, therefore, so that I will follow Your will and ways with the same attitude as Jesus had as He trod this earth. 

What is my purpose, Father?  Show me the way that I may walk in it.  What thoughts do I need to have?  May Your ways and thoughts be mine too.  

May Your Holy Spirit aid and abet me, helping me to submit to Your plan and instructions for my life - to fulfill my purpose and to execute the good works You have for me to do until Jesus comes.  In Jesus' precious name I ask, amen.

                                           ~  ERC  September 2026  ~

Based on Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV.

Sing, Show Me the Way Lord, along wiht Gospel Songs, the Divine Healer.

Prayer - For Little Grand Baby

 I thank my God in all my thoughts for you little S_____.  May you grow well and especially in your spiritual life with Christ.  May you come to love and know Him with all your heart, mind and soul.  

Welcome to the family, little one.

May you live under God's Lordship in every relationship and let Him teach you His ways.  May you have a meek and humble heart as you grow in grace and in the knowlege of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  May He be your Refuge and Strength no matter what.  Cling to Him.

Amen.

Grandparents everywhere can have positive influence in their grandchildren's life.  My journey in this has only just begun.  Learning ways to do this will be another life journey.  I fully believe we can do this to the best of our abiltiy and as opportunity arises.  

Grab them.  I intend to.

                                                   ~  ERC  October 2026  ~

See 2 Timothy 1:5 ESV.

Lord's Day Devotion - Prayer - Engraved, "Forgiveness"

 Lord, You pull me up from the dirt of my life.  It's just like what You did for the adulterous woman who was brought to You by the Pharisees.  (And I always have to add,  where was that adultrerous man if they had been 'caught in the act'.)

Anyway, Lord, Your people often try to guess at what You wrote in the dirt at her feet that day.  Someone suggested, "Forgiven."

That blew my mind.  Yet, of course You major in pulling people up out of miry clay, so to speak.  You did it for David of old.  He wrote,

"He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings" (Psalm 40:2 KJV).

In the ESV, the ending phrase is,

" ... making my step secure."

So many times I fail You Lord.  But I'm secure in knowing You never do (see Zephaniah 3:5).  Once again, You pull me up too.

This loving care came at such a costly price of the grace You are.  Thank You for the cross, Your death and resurrection that saves souls:  mine in particular and the "whosoever will" in general (see John 3:16).  You have made it all possible.  Indeed, "Forgiveness" is now engraved upon our hearts by You.

This Lord's Day, as on countless other Lord's Days, we, Your children, give You our deep and heartfelt gratitude, as like a tender plant that had to go through a lot of dirt, You set our feet in secure places that allow us to bloom and give off the beauty and fragrance of Yourself.

Blessed Rescuer, Savior, Friend, we partake of the broken bread and drink now of the cup of wine in remembrance of all You have done for us, especially that lifting us up out of the pits, bogs and miry clay of life.  Salvation belongs to You and rings clearly and blooms brightly in our hearts. 

 Thank You Jesus!  We praise Your Holy Name.  Amen.

                                               ~  ERC  October 2026  ~

Based on Psalm 40:2; See also Psalm 119:25 and John 8:7 ESV and KJV.

Sing, You Lifted Me Up Out of the Miry Clay, along with Seek First Worship.

Prayer - Grace - Full Humility

 Lord, I'm sorry for all the attitudes of mind and heart that do not reflect You and Yours.  Yours is a righteous and holy one, one that is full of meekness and humility.  Show me the better way.

There are wrong attitudes of (name your own), I confess them here and now.  I seek Your merciful forgiveness and gratefully thank You for it.  Through Your Holy Spirit's intervention help me to put on an attitude like Yours and to grow grace - fully more humble.

O Lord, show me the way.  In this way I can act more justly and love mercy as You do, and more consistantly for a more serious step-by-step walk with You.

Make me strong in faith - like Abraham; meek like Moses; strong in You similar to the strength Samson had but to use the strength to walk aright in Your sight.  Make me as courageous as Esther that despite fear, I'd still act justly and for the good and benefit of others.  I lack wisdom, Lord.  Make me wiser than Solomon and never let me forget from Whom the wisdom has come.  May I learn deep humility, and thus imitate Yours, Lord Jesus.

All this I ask in Your name.  Amen.

                                                 ~  ERC  September 2026  ~

Based on Proverbs 22:4 ESV and Micah 6:8 NKJV.

Sing, He Walked in Humility, along with Christian Contempary Eternal Worship Music.

The Spirit of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2)

 

Do you ever need the counsel from the One who has the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel, power, knowledge and can help instill the fear of the Lord?

Sounds like a mighty force.  The counsel sounds like it would be true and steady.  It sounds like we would learn to speak words of wisdom from this Spirit, the Spirit of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, otherwise known as the Holy Spirit.

May we often go to Him and seek His counsel.  We're sure to get the best.

And as we do so, let's remember to pray for the peace of Christ to guide and guard our hearts, to bring peace to this chaotic world of wars, earthquakes and other natural and/or manmade distasters; peace to our church and our own individual respective family.

He is the Great I AM!

Go to the Spirit of the Lord today.

Love in Him ...

                                                  ~  ERC  September 2026  ~

Based on Isaiah 11:2 ESV.

Sing, Rest On Us, along with Elohim Songs.

You Are Invited

 When we pray for our nation, or an adopted one, do we pray that

 "the King of Glory may come in?"  

Do we invite Him?

Pause now to pray for your nation.  Ask for our King of Glory to come in, He who is the Lord of Hosts.

He is our powerful, Almighty Father and God.  And in and through the name of Jesus, there can and will be overwhelming victory in our hearts and in the heart of our nation, for all the people of the nation.  Pray for our King of Glory to be invited into every single last heart from oldest to youngest.

O Lord God, my King of Glory, come and reign in our hearts.  We invite You to come into this nation we live in and the ones we came from and have lived in.

May Your hand work mightily and strongly.  Bring Your righteousness and salvation to those who seek You and who seek Your face, O Father God Almighty.  May we be a generation who chooses You!

May we have clean hands and pure hearts as we humbly bow to You our great and most high King of Heaven.  Establish Yourself in us.   There's a welcome here for You our Lord and King of Glory.  Amen.

                                        ~  ERC September 2026  ~

Based on Psalm 24:1-10 ESV.

Sing, Lift Up Your Heads, O Ye Gates along with Handell's Messiah.