Diamonds From Isaiah, chapter 1:1-10:

                            I heard someone say recently that they were not learned, but they loved to study the Bible. That’s me. No way am I a learned scholar, but I do love to be a student of the Bible.

 

I have enjoyed the book of Isaiah for years. I’ve seen many hopeful, gracious verses pop out from its pages. I thought I’d do a study where I’d graze through the chapters and share these diamonds that pop out at me. After reading chapter 1 again, I think I need to sift slowly through each sentence.

 

Isaiah 1

1 The vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

2 

Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth!

    For the Lord has spoken:

“I reared children and brought them up,

    but they have rebelled against me.

 

Oh, Lord, I know I’ve rebelled against you. Forgive me. Help me.

 

3 

The ox knows its master,

    the donkey its owner’s manger,

but Israel does not know,

    my people do not understand.”

 

Lord, you call me your daughter. Forgive me that I don’t try to know you better.

 

4 

Woe to the sinful nation,

    a people whose guilt is great,

a brood of evildoers,

    children given to corruption!

They have forsaken the Lord;

    they have spurned the Holy One of Israel

    and turned their backs on him.

 

Jesus, I have to admit that so many times, I have turned my back on you.

 

5 

Why should you be beaten anymore?

    Why do you persist in rebellion?

Your whole head is injured,

    your whole heart afflicted.

6 

From the sole of your foot to the top of your head

    there is no soundness—

only wounds and welts

    and open sores,

not cleansed or bandaged

    or soothed with olive oil.

7 

Your country is desolate,

    your cities burned with fire;

your fields are being stripped by foreigners

    right before you,

    laid waste as when overthrown by strangers.

8 

Daughter Zion is left

    like a shelter in a vineyard,

like a hut in a cucumber field,

    like a city under siege.

9 

Unless the Lord Almighty

    had left us some survivors,

we would have become like Sodom,

    we would have been like Gomorrah.

10 

Hear the word of the Lord,

    you rulers of Sodom;

listen to the instruction of our God,

    you people of Gomorrah!

 

Lord, in all of our waste, and injury, and rebellion, you continue to seek a remnant. I’ll still find diamonds in Isaiah. 

Guest Author, Erma Ullrey

 

Erma is a great author, friend, and critique partner. Every time I see this in her bio, I want to ask her about her chickens, but I keep forgetting.:) Thank you, Erma, for sharing with us.

 

JOURNALED WITH LOVE

By Erma M. Ullrey
emullrey@earthlink.net
https://onceuponaromance.substack.com

 

 

Remember the Christmastime stupor we all fall into each year? The one brought on by too many Hallmark-type movies, too much hot chocolate, and too little sleep?

 

Just before my eyes closed and my head bobbed for the umpteenth time, inspiration hit. What if I could write a novel à la You’ve Got Mail? The idea so intrigued me that I left behind my signature pound cake, overflowing with whipped cream, and rushed into my office.

 

… as spring warms to summer, Macie Grammerly and Ryan Tiggs meet, are attracted to each other, and then intensely dislike and mistrust one another in a desktop folder labeled Journaled With Love.

 

Ah the stuff of romance. J

 

Which means, the antagonist has to be lurking around the corner. It is said there is some good in everyone. The vilest sinner has something redeemable at his/her core.

 

Enter Macie’s mother, Mrs. Greta Grammerly (AKA Mrs. G). Oh, she is heartless. But she does have an Achilles’ heel. ... now, you don’t expect me to tell you what it is, do you?

 

Mrs. G is the reason “fate needs a little push,” as Judy tells her sister Betty in the movie White Christmas. In Journaled with Love, the encouraging push comes from Macie and Ryan’s sisters. The romantic matchmakers who love to cheer, connive, and meddle.

 

A journal lost on a bus takes us on a bumpy ride. Then acquisitions, keto foods, and Lila, a sweet old soul, help complete the journey from enemies to lovers.

 

 

Get your copy of Journaled With Love on Amazon July 16, 2025.
https://a.co/d/jaDemSA

 

The magnet story, Before Journaled With Love, is now available on BookFunnel

 

Erma Ullrey is a follower of Jesus Christ. Married for forty-four years she enjoys four wonderful children, three outlaws, and five precious grandchildren. She worked in the medical field for over twenty-five years. After completing her B.S.H.S., she became a health educator and received international credentials in childbirth education (I.C.E.A.) and lactation consulting (I.B.C.L.C.). She’s served as a women’s Bible study leader, and participates in a local book club as well as local and national writing groups.

Erma is an award-winning author. She posts encouraging blogs at https://merryheartink.substack.com/ and https://onceuponaromance.substack.com
and enjoys chatting with her Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram friends. And she keeps chickens.

Great Gift Ideas for Christmas in July

    Does anybody ever actually give Christmas gifts in July? If you want to, here are a few good ideas.

 

When Christians get it wrong by Adam Hamilton. I waffled some about whether to include this book. Not because I didn’t like it. I did. But the title. It seemed kind of discouraging. Finally I decided to share it. It’s not discouraging. The author talks much about how Christians are getting it right. He talks about how we may lose a generation of young adults if we don’t figure out how to share love the way Jesus did.

 

I've got a home in glory land: a lost tale of the underground railroad by Karolyn Smardz Frost. History of the Underground Railroad, starting with slavery in Kentucky in the early 1800s. The book follows one family of runaway slaves through to the 1890s. A great narrative of the history of slavery in America. Describes the lives of escaping slaves, fleeing to Canada, both before and after the Civil War.

 

the ONE TRUE LOVE of ALICE-ANN by Eva Marie Everson. A story of those left at home during World War II, and of those who came home.

 

Murder, She Wrote: A Killer Christmas by Jessica Fletcher and Terrie Farley Moran. Based on the TV series “Murder She Wrote,” a brand-new Jessica Fletcher story, with texts and computers and all. I found this new story of an old favorite series delightful, with some familiar characters and some fun new ones.

 

Left to tell: discovering God amidst the Rwandan holocaust by Immaculée Ilibagiza and Steve Erwin. This young woman tells of how she survived the 1994 killing in Rwanda by being shut up for three months with five to seven other women in a tiny bathroom. The story is told clearly and beautifully, and she tells how she leaned on Jesus to help her survive during and after the killing.

 

Evergreen by Susan May Warren. A Christmas story about losing family, gaining new family, and about forgiveness. 

Psalm 28, The Lord is the Strength of His People

 

Of David.

To you, Lord, I call;

    you are my Rock,

    do not turn a deaf ear to me.

For if you remain silent, I will be like those who go down to the pit.

Hear my cry for mercy

    as I call to you for help,

as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.

Do not drag me away with the wicked,

    with those who do evil,

who speak cordially with their neighbors but harbor malice in their hearts.

Repay them for their deeds

    and for their evil work;

repay them for what their hands have done

    and bring back on them what they deserve.

Because they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord

    and what his hands have done,

he will tear them down and never build them up again.

Praise be to the Lord,

    for he has heard my cry for mercy.

The Lord is my strength and my shield;

    my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.

My heart leaps for joy,

    and with my song I praise him.

The Lord is the strength of his people,

    a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.

Save your people and bless your inheritance;

    be their shepherd and carry them forever.

 

Father, I thank you for the Psalms of David. That through them, we see that it is all right to cry to you for help, and we can be sure that you will hear and help us. I don’t always understand David’s harsh                                     angry cries meant for other people, but I thank you, Lord, that you allow us to be honest with you.