Book Review - The Lost Woman - By Karen Mulvahill - Publication Date: 2 April 2026

 In many ways this was a difficult book to read, as there is much about the cruelty, greed and evil treatment of the Jews during WWII.  Then too, the lives of the citizens coping with war conditions and those who tried to 'hide' in France.  There is much about high value art paintings and how they were confiscated and divided up, taken from the walls of many Jewish homes.  The Picassos, Monets, and more - gone to Hitler, Goring and others.  Art dealers and collectors - some legit but many not - also get mentioned.  

We see this story through several pairs of eyes.  Of main note are the eyes of Nicole as a hands-on eyewitness and who instigates Robert, years later, to trace lost pieces of her family's paintings.  The reader will also find story twists through Kenneth, Alexi, and Sam.

A caution I would remark on is that since this is also a story seasoned with romance, some potential readers many not appreciate some of the more intimate bedroom descriptions.  So saying, most of the story's focus is on the stolen art work and the difficult process of recapturing them and getting them back to the rightful owners.  I found this interesting and learned a thing or two in this regard.

Tears may be shed and at times, breaks from reading may be needed; at least this happened to me.  However, over all, The Lost Woman was well defined, giving what I feel this work of historical fiction deserves, that is, a satisfactory "well done!"

                                              ~  Eunice C.,  Reviewer/Blogger  ~

                                                             March 2026

Disclaimer:  This is my honest opinion based on the complimentary review copy sent to me by NetGalley and the publisher.

Read review on Goodreads.

Life Support (Acts 17:28 & 31 ESV)

 

More and more we see AED's placed in strategic places, often near coffeee shops where folks like to hang out or even in sports centers where people like to "keep fit," playing rigorous matches of pickle ball , badminton and the like.  I've heard they've been effectively used.

Being jolted back to life with an Automated Exernal Defibrallator (AED) would be a mercy to many heart attack survivors.  This machine may not necessarily be termed 'life support' but it does help restart the heart and bring life back to the person.

At hospitals, other machines can 'take over' to help sustain organ functions during critical illness until, hopefully ... prayerfully, the body will be able to kick back in and do the work for itself.

These life support measures are generally understood to be for temporary usage.  A stop gap until health returns, or that most traumatic and complex decision has to be made to halt these interventions.

In Paul's address to the Areopagus men of Athens, he speaks of the one true God.  He tells them that,

"In Him we live and move and have our being; for we are indeed His offspring" (vs 28).

God provided life support for us; that is, the everlasting life we have through Jesus (see John 3:16).  Note the word 'everlasting'.  This is not a temporary measure, but a life long and eternal one.

Jesus has provided us life support by bringing us the gift of salvation.  God has given us all assurance of this

 "by raising [Jesus] from the dead."

Jesus' death brought us life and His resurrection from the dead brought us assurance of this everlasting life.

Some of those thinkers of Athens believed Paul's words - that message of Jesus and the one true God.  I hope and pray more will find this 'jolt to life eternal' today too.

And for those of us who already have this "Life Support" that we will treasure it and live to please the Lord and so show our gratitude and thankfulness to Him.

                                               ~ ERC  March 2026  ~

Based on Acts 17:28 & 31 ESV.

Sing, How Deep the Father's Love For Us, along with Stuart Townend.

Paul's Pause (Acts 16)

 Distractions are everywhere, especially when you want to start to read your Bible.  At least it happens to me.  My thoughts get all scattered and flayed and disarrayed.  It's so easy to be led astray.

A verse comes to mind as an antidote of sorts.

"Take captive every thought ...." (2 Corinthians 10:5).

I know it is taken a bit out of context but it is a thought that just scurried through my mind.  Had to look it up.  If you take your thoughts captive, what is the purpose?  The verse continues,

" ... to obey Christ."

Self-control needs to come in to play here too, I think.  The self-control that is generated by the Holy Spirit within us, a governing  of our own will empowered by the Holy Spirit.  Otherwise, we won't have a lot of success.

It does help I've found, to put the harness of prayer on to help corral my thoughts and to seek the Lord's message for me for that day, before I start to read.  It is so often a battle to do even that.

There are so many things to distract and lure our minds away.

  "Resist the devil" (James 4:7)

 and our own wayward minds.

"Submit to the Lord and then resist the devil."

In all their busyness of missionary work, Paul, Silas and Timothy don't get distracted.  They pause, especially Paul, to listen to the Holy Spirit.  That would take focus and a trained mind and vow for our ears to hear, listen for and to obey Holy Spirit guidance.

They had planned to go to one city but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.  Paul had the vision in the night of the Macedonian man beckoning them to come to help them.  So they went.

These are important moments in time where we get "the call" from the Lord to 'go here or there' and to "do this or that."  We need a "Paul Pause," training and attuning ourselves to have ears that hear and are not distracted by whatever it is we allow to otherwise distract us from God's Word, building relationship with Him and earnestly learning to obey Christ.

                                                 ~ ERC March 2026  ~

Based on Acts 16 ESV.

Sing, Wasted Years (Rex Allen).

HAIKU - Riding Hosanna (Palm Sunday 2026)

 

Here comes the donkey,

Jesus on its back, riding.

"Hosanna," crowds shout!

Jesus, humble, came

in peace.  Came to serve mankind.

His death on the cross.

Blessed is He who

came.  All glory and honor

Be upon His name.

He came in the name 

of the Lord.  "Peace, be to you!"

Rejoice.  Jesus came.

Everlasting life

He gave.  Shame and blame upon

His back, riding now.

Atonement for our souls.  

Perfect sacrifice for

us.  Forgiveness rides.

"Praise the Lord," we shout.

From donkey, to cross, for us,

"Hosanna!" again.

"Amen.  Thank You, Lord."

We are blessed because You came

Meekly, and with love."

We give You our thanks Lord Jesus and so remember what you have done for us.  Thank You.  Amen.

                                                     ~  ERC  March 2026  ~

Based on Luke 19:28-44 and Matthew 21:1-11 ESV.

Sing, Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, along with Sovereign Grace Music.

Lord's Day Devotion - The Salvation Story - (Palm Sunday 2026)

 

Riding on a donkey in Bible times signified a person was arriving in peace, to serve and was coming in humility.  Jesus embodied all of these.

As Jesus rode,

 "already on the way down from the Mount of Olives,"

 and entering the city of Jerusalem, a multitude declared in a loud voice,

"Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" (vs38).

Jesus came in peace, bringing the peace and glory of heaven with Him.  The people were praising and rejoicing this day.  Little did they also know that Jesus' coming in the capacity to serve as their Savior, meant His cruel death upon the cross by week's end.  The loud voices then would be stark and ugly, shouting,

"Crucify Him!"

Triumph and tragedy rolled into that donkey ride.  Yet in His humility, Jesus took all of this upon Himself in quiet submission to His Father, on mankind's behalf.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not persih but have everlasting life" (John 3:16 KJV).

One of the most familiar verses of the whole Bible and in a nutshell, tells the whole scope of the salvation story.  God's love being the motivating force behind His giving the most precious and perfect gift of all time and eternity.

Dwell on that a while.

In the stillness, in the quiet, out of the depths of our souls, does gratitude begin to trickle?  Is it beginning to run, bubbling like a cheerful, rockbed stream?  Is it pouring into a river wide?

Let us be glad and rejoice, even in a loud voice, sincerely praising our Savior, all the day long, surely, but all week too.

Those who believe, those who have believed, won't perish eternally in unrepentant sinners' Hell but have everlasting life.  

All glory be to God!

Sing your Savior's praises Christians, as you reach for the broken bread and drink from the wine cup this Lord's Day.  In Him is our salvation because God loved us.

                                               ~  ERC  March 2026  ~

Based on Luke 19:28-44 ESV.

Sing, Praise him, All Ye Little Children, along with Divine Hymns.

The Slow Lane Account (Acts 15)

 

When we read the book of Acts 'in the slow lane' rather than breeze through the interesting account, one can appreciate Luke's writing style more, for sure, but other details and connections can be observed as well.  The flow of how one thing leads to another, the respect shown for leading brothers who stop what they are doing and truly listen.  They take the query seriously.  They allow time to hear and to think and to get God's view, together.  All this before giving answer and sending trusted brothers to go and bring their answer, not just in written form but by word of mouth.

You can read Acts 15 to see this 'in action'.  It's beautiful.

It's a bit amusing but also encouraging to see Peter's maturity of character.  He'd learned a thing or two since his earlier days of following Jesus.

Note in v. 7 that only

 "after there had been much debate ...," 

... did Peter open his mouth to speak.  What's more, when he spoke he did not put his foot in his mouth as he was wont to do before this, but gave very sensible and well thought out answer.

This answer could be verified too.  All knew that he had been 'chosen' by God to initiate the bringing the message to the Gentiles to

 "hear the Word of the gospel and believe" (v. 7). 

 You can double check this as well from Acts 10 & 11.

As you read through chapter 15, you can see that besides Peter, the floor was given to Barnabas and Paul.  After them, came James who seemed to be the leading apostle in Jerusalem, and given the deciding decision based on the logical, thought out information and answers given by the others. 

He and the leading brothers did not have a preconceived action in their minds, an already made up decision. They weren't just going through the motions to make it look like they were legitimately listening, NO, they were sincerely invested in a good outcome for this pivotal discussion.

The peace and harmony and the keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace can be greatly noted (see Ephesians 4:3).  They seemed very eager to do this, grounded on the facts explained.

By God's grace and Holy Spirit guidance, those early believers and leaders handled the delicate situation without putting a binding "yoke" upon the neck of the disciples (see Acts 15:10 ESV).  A major division was averted!

In humility they had governed and led.  The unsettled minds became settled and resulted in the believers

 "[rejoicing] because of [the] encouragement" (v 31)

 of the reply sent.

Once this matter had been settled, Luke tucks in and introduces the next character on stage.  We meet Judas Barsabas and Silas, who were

 "chief men among the brethren" (v 22 KJV).

And this stage set the next stage where Paul chooses Silas to go on a missionary journey.  Note again, it was not an arbitrary decison but Silas came

 "commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord" (v. 40).

Would that we would also experience this in the chuches in which we meet.  By God's grace and our willing, humble hearts, and with much prayer, the unity of the Spirit can be kept in the bond of peace.

So be it, Father God.

                                                 ~  ERC  March 2026  ~

Based on Acts 15 ESV.

Sing, Holy Spirit, Living Breath of God, along with Keith and Kristyn Getty.

Inequality and Fairness

 

What do you think?  Are there issues of inequality and fairness in God's Kingdom?

Take the parable of the talents as an example.  The master gave three different servants three differing amounts of talents.  Servant #1 got 5, Servant #2 got 2, and Servant #3 got 1 talent.

Each talent would be equivalent, we're told, of roughly 600,000 to over one million dollars by today's standards.  Back then, it would have been worth 15-20 years' worth of a laborer's wages (AI Overview).

So was this division among the master's servants fair?  Why the seeming discrimination?  What would you say?  Was it favoritism?

The master went far away for an undisclosed length of time.  The servants had no idea when he would return.  Even the servant with the one talent was extremely wealthy.  They could have taken off and disappeared into the world and lived quite comfortably.  They could have become their own master.

But Servant #1 and 2, 

"went at once" 

to the traders.  They didn't waste time and used what they were given to the best of their abilities -

 "according to their abilities" (vs 15).

This is key to note.

Supposed inequality and unfairness needs to be judged in light of this statement ... 

"according to their abilities".

Servant #1 and #2, as it turned out, had no quarrel with the amount of talents they received.  They knew what their master wanted and they went at once, to their responsibilities.  They traded despite any risk there may have been.  They earned and not just earned, but each doubled their talents respectively.

They each got commendation when Master returned.

  "Well done, good and faithful servant" 

he said to them.  They were then rewarded. with greater responsibility.

Servant #3 showed his total lack of regard and that he truly did not know his master's heart.  He didn't even bother to put his amount in the bank to gain interest.

In his fear of the master he neglected his duty.  There were no legitimate excuses.  He failed to earn, failed to gain profit, failed to be fruitful and to multiply.

The harsh judgement from the master's lips in consequence, 

"lazy and wicked" 

servant being cast into that 

"place [of] weeping and gnashing of teeth" (vs 30) 

seems unjustified.

Too harsh for us?

"Lazy," we can understand, but was he really "wicked"?  What was so wicked about hiding the talent in the ground?

Some have reflected that he'd schemed.  If the master never returned, then he would keep the talent for himself.  He'd be rich.  If he'd had put the sum in the bank and the master never returned, he'd not be able to claim the talent and interest for himself.  They'd know it did not belong to him.

This dereliction of his responsibiltiy, seen in this light could then truly be labeled "wicked," I believe.

Spiritual lessons in regards to learning the Kingdom of God's values and standards are faithfulness, multiplying, using our talents for God's purposes.  It's not the amount given but that what we are given, we put to use.

Building a relationship with our Master Jesus, to truly know His heart, to develop an attitude of humility, to imitate Him in all things will help us to know when, where and how to use our talents whether it's our time, energy, resources spiritual gifts, education and more.

Serving the Lord to build up those in the Kingdom and to bring others in, are what will earn our own

 "well done, good and faithful servant," 

I believe. 

When we realize the seeming inequalities and unfairness are actually more to do with our capabilities, level of competence, responsibilities, attitude being more Christlike and our relationship with the Lord, I'll say it again, the supposed unfairness will recede in our minds and hearts and we'll be more able to use our talents for the Lord's glory and not for our own.

We are all equal in value as a person in God's sight but have different roles, abilities and capabilities.  How faithfully we engage them is our choice.  However, of most importance is the focus on using our talents, NOT on how many we have.

Using them to serve the Lord, building up the believers in their most holy faith and furthering the gospel of Jesus Christ and to live in the readyness of His imminent return will help keep us faithful.  May all glory be to God as we live by His grace.

                                                   ~  ERC  March 2026  ~

Based on Matthew 25:14-30; Philippians 2:3-8 ESV.  Also Bible Study, Parables - The Greatest Stories Ever Told by John White, Lesson 9 - Parable of the Talents.

Sing, Let the Beauty of Jesus, along with divine love and Wasted Years, along with Rex Allen, and Must I Go Empty Handed, along with Risen Lord.