Diamonds from Isaiah, What God Wants for Us

Chapter 1:11-15: 

“The multitude of your sacrifices—what are they to me?” says the Lord.

“I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals;

I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts?

Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me.

New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.

Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being.

They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.

When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you;

even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening.

Your hands are full of blood!

 

Father God, the people were so guilty before you. You could not enjoy their attempts at worship. By ourselves, we are just as dirty and ugly before you. Thank you for your son who made us clean, so that we have the right to come before you with praise.

 

Verses 16-18:

Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight;

    stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice.

    Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.

“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.

 

Father, you are willing to talk with us. You give us directions to help those in need. Your son has cleansed us so that we are allowed these privileges before you.

 

Verses 19-20:

If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land;

but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.”

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

 

Lord, thank you for giving us the choice to come to you. Thank you for the good you want to give us. 

Guest Author, Heidi Gray McGill

 

Heidi is an excellent writer, and she has become a dear friend. Thank you for joining us, Heidi

 

Turning Life’s Detours into Stories of Hope: The Discerning God’s Best Book Bundle

 

How God turned vision loss and closed doors into a ministry of storytelling.

Meta Description: How a season of vision loss and closed doors led Christian author Heidi Gray McGill to write the Discerning God’s Best series—stories of hope, redemption, and God’s perfect timing, now available in one collection.

Scripture: Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

 

The Role of Faith in My Writing

For me, writing has never been just about telling a good story. It’s been about listening—listening for God’s direction, trusting His timing, and surrendering my plans for His. That truth became especially clear when my peripheral vision narrowed because of retinitis pigmentosa, and then again when the ESL program I directed had to close during COVID-19. Both moments felt like the end of something vital. But God saw them as beginnings.

From Closed Doors to New Chapters

Losing the ministry where I taught English and shared Christ left me without my familiar platform to share Christ. In that stillness, God opened my eyes to a new way of reaching people: through story. What began as a single novel idea turned into a series of tales set in the 1800s, where characters wrestle with faith, love, loss, and God’s leading, much like we do today.

The Birth of the Discerning God’s Best Series

What began with Desire of My Heart has grown into a six-book journey—five full-length novels and one novella—each telling a unique story of faith, redemption, and God’s perfect timing. For this special Collection One bundle, I’ve gathered the first books in the series—Desire of My Heart, With All My Heart, and Stitched on My Heart (a Christmas novella)—along with the bonus short story Where Hearts Belong. Though you can read each book separately, together, they offer a rich introduction to the world of Discerning God’s Best and a shared truth: God is still writing something good even in the hardest seasons.

Why I Bundled the Stories

These four stories mark the beginning of my writing journey, and they hold a special place in my heart. They carry the lessons I was learning at the time—lessons about surrendering my plans, trusting God’s timing, and finding joy in unexpected places. By bringing them together in one collection, I wanted to give readers an immersive experience… a chance to journey through each character’s struggles and triumphs without having to leave that world behind.

It’s more than convenience; it’s about walking alongside these characters as they grow in faith, feeling their setbacks and victories echo in your own life, and perhaps closing the final page reminded that God’s best may come through the very detours you never wanted to take.

What God Taught Me Along the Way

This writing journey has reinforced what I learned in those early seasons of loss: God doesn’t waste a detour. The very circumstances I thought disqualified me from ministry became the foundation for a new one. Just as my characters must step into the unknown, I’ve learned that God’s best often comes when we trust Him with the next step before we can see the whole path.

An Invitation to Journey Together

If you’re longing for encouragement in your own season of uncertainty, I invite you to join me through the pages of the Discerning God’s Best – Collection One bundle. My prayer is that these stories will speak to your heart, reminding you that His timing is perfect, His plan is good, and His love never fails.

About the Author

 

 Heidi Gray McGill writes impactful Christian fiction, blending faith, hope, and love with humor and depth. Despite blindness from retinitis pigmentosa, she has authored numerous books, including the Discerning God’s Best series. Heidi lives near Charlotte, NC, with her husband of over 30 years, and enjoys family, cooking, and games.

Connect with Heidi Gray McGill

Heidi invites you to explore her heartfelt stories and receive a free prequel, Deep in My Heart, in eBook or audiobook format. This journey from South Carolina to the Midwest sets the stage for Desire of My Heart. Get it here: https://heidigraymcgill.com/free_book/

Facebook: AuthorHeidiGrayMcGill

YouTube – FREE audiobooks: Author Heidi Gray McGill

Twitter: @HeidiGrayMcGill

Instagram: AuthorHeidiGrayMcGill

Description:

When vision loss and a closed classroom ended the ministry Heidi loved, she thought her story was over. God had other plans. Those detours became the starting point for my Discerning God’s Best series—faith-filled historical romances that remind us His timing is perfect. Now, the first books are together in one collection, ready to encourage anyone walking an unexpected path.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0FHFD3SB9

Tools not Towels

Murray and I celebrated our 38^th wedding anniversary this week. I’m pretty sure anyway. For a year, Murray’s been saying we were in our 38^th year of marriage.

 

He says, “When you first get married, you can say you’re in your first year of marriage, right?”

 

So now, he’ll start saying we’re in our 39^th year, and I’ll just get confused again.

 

When we got married, we got lots of gifts. Especially towels. Lots and lots of towels. Murray started saying, “I’m going to tell people that for wedding gifts, they should give tools not towels.”

 

I guess we didn’t think we’d ever have to buy towels again. I’m not sure we have. Lately, I’ve started noticing holes in our towels, so I think we’re going to have to buy some for ourselves after all.

 

So, tools, not towels. What other gifts have I received in our 38 years of marriage?

 

Murray puts up with me. He often does things for me, which I had planned to do differently. I’m not very grateful.

 

Even in our 39^th year, he still calls me, “My lady love” and says I’m the love of his life.

 

I don’t seem to be able to stop myself—he still makes me laugh every day.

 

He does so much for all of us. I don’t thank him near enough.

 

He’s an enthusiastic cook, and baker. Yum yum.

 

When I’m sad and worried, he’s kind to me. There’s no one else I’d rather talk to.

 

What gifts has he given me over the years?

 

He trusted me to be a stay-at-home mom with our five kids. He’s always been my strongest supporter, having faith that I can do much more than I feel sure of with my disabilities.

 

When I was in the hospital for six weeks, he spent every day with me.

 

On the day my first book was published, he woke me that night with wonder in his voice. “Kathy, your book is on line.”

 

I don’t know how many more years God will give us together, but I know they’ll be full of gifts. Lord,             thank you for the gift of my sweet husband. 

Breakfast Casserole from Kathy's Kitchen

This is definitely a favorite around our house. I’ve never tried the ground mustard. That comment was from the original writer of this recipe.

 

TOTAL TIME

6hrs 30mins

PREP 30 MINS

COOK 6 HRS

Cooks while you sleep! Sounds perfect for a Sunday morning or holidays and great for company! Some fun variations of this recipe. Before cooking (during prep) you can add: chunks of sourdough bread, diced chilies, salsa, diced green onions. Serve hot with a glass of orange juice and a side of toast.

SERVINGS 8

UNITS US

1

(26 ounce) bag frozen hash browns

12

eggs

1⁄2

cup milk

1

tablespoon ground mustard

16

ounces sausage (maple, sage or regular sausage.)

1

teaspoon salt

16

ounces shredded cheddar cheese

2

garlic cloves (minced)

1

large onion

1⁄2

teaspoon pepper

1⁄4

teaspoon nutmeg

Fast. Easy. Delicious. Made in 30 minutes or less

DIRECTIONS

Spray crock pot and evenly spread hash browns at the bottom.

Crack 12 eggs in a large bowl.

Mix well (and slowly) using a whisk.

Add the milk.

Go ahead and sprinkle in the ground mustard. This might sound like a weird ingredient, but I've come to love (and use) this in most of my recipes.

Add plenty of salt -- and lots of fresh pepper. Mix well and set aside.

Cook the sausage on high heat, drain and set aside.

Add sausage on top of hash browns.

Is this enough cheese? Maybe? Probably. Throw the whole big bag in there.

Mix it up well. Or good, depending on where you're from.

Pour the egg mixture over everything in the crock pot. Using a wood spoon, even everything out so it's spread evenly.

        Turn the crock pot on low for 6-8 hours. 

Rerun: At the Feet of Jesus

                    I’ve been busy this week, and my mind has been whirling. On Thursday afternoon, I realized I didn’t have a blog post ready for the next day. So I found something to rerun.

 

June 12, 2016 and January 5, 2018

 

I have long believed in the power of the name of Jesus.

 

My husband Murry is a math tutor. He says he likes to tell people that once you have a decimal point, “You can add zeros after the last digit until Jesus comes, and it won’t change.”

 

Murray believes that there is power in using the name of Jesus.

 

Recently, in a book by one of my newest favorite authors, Jan Karon, whenever people needed to pray about a hard thing in their lives, and they couldn’t think what to say, they prayed simply, “Jesus.”

 

I started writing this piece in June of 2016, and from that day I wrote: “In church this morning, we were singing a song I didn’t know well, but when we came to the place where I knew to say ‘Jesus,’ I had a moment of joy.”

 

Often, as I sing a song with Jesus’ name, I find my heart calming and my face smiling.

 

Not too long ago, I started reading a book I didn’t really like. When the author began talking about her and her husband’s faith in Christ, I suddenly started liking the book more and relating better with the author.

 

There is such power in the name of Jesus.

 

A few weeks ago at church, we read from Luke 10, about Mary and Martha, and how Martha was worried about getting everything done. But Mary chose the good stuff or “what is better”, by sitting at the feet of Jesus. Our pastor demonstrated “the good stuff” by giving a bakery made cupcake in a box to a little boy in the crowd.

 

I want to not only know the power of the name of Jesus, and it is amazing, but I want to get the good stuff. I want to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to him, and learn what he thinks is important for me to know.

 

I plan to spend extra time in the gospels this year, praying each day that God will help me open my ears to what Jesus has to say to me.

 

Luke 10:38-42: As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” 

Guest Author, Ann Harrison

 

Ann is a lovely new friend. I enjoyed her book. Thank you, Ann, for sharing with us.

 

My Devotional Writing Journey

By Ann Harrison

 

In late January 2025, as I was working on my second poetry book, God spoke to me during a 540 Writers Community networking session. “I need you to write a devotional to go along with this poetry book,” He whispered into my spirit.

“Wait, what?” I asked. “How?”

The foundation for a much larger book was laid out in my spirit. After journaling about it to make sure I heard what the Holy Spirit said to me, I put the book together one chapter and one devotion at a time.

 I wrote the devotions for my chapter on the aspects of prayer and communion with God, and other topics God told me to include in the book that would be entitled Seasons of a Writer’s Life. I wrote in the flow of the Holy Spirit at times. Yet, there were times when the words and/or the Bible verses associated with each devotion were hard to write. The more I struggled with the bigger book, the more I realized this devotional project was not a one and done book project. Although I thought after I wrote Seasons of a Writer’s Life, I would get back to my fiction, God had another plan.

 

A Prompting from the Holy Spirit to Invest in My Writing

In 2023, God initially told me to join Christian Book Academy, a paid membership for Christian writers at all stages of the writing process. This membership provides a platform for me to learn the steps for writing, publishing and marketing my books. Christian Book Academy is more than an online training center for aspiring authors, I am a member of a community of like-minded writers. These people support me in my writing journey. We pray for each other and hold one another accountable to make sure we finish our books and hit the publish button as God instructs us to do, instead of being stuck in our writing. I was unable to join Cristian Book Academy at first, due to accessibility issues. However, when I received a new computer for my birthday, I paid for a workshop on how to write a 21-day devotional.

After a few attempts at joining Christian Book Academy with my JAWS screen reader with no success, God told me to try using NVDA to join. I gave this a try, and voila! On March 14th, I was able to join for the free month. Due to my budget limitations, I received a half scholarship before the free month ended. Since joining Christian Book Academy, I’ve received the training, support, prayers and accountability I needed to see my debut mini devotional through, from start to finish and beyond with God’s help.

 

Breaking the Big Book Down

When I posted the link to my poetry book entitled The Spirit of Creativity: Inspirational Poems for the Creative at Heart in the forums, it was suggested to me that I learn how to market this book. As I went through the North portion of the Marketing compass of the Christian Book Academy member’s area, God told me to break the big devotional into smaller books. This is how Praying Through The Seasons: Seven Aspects of Prayer and Communion with God was born.

 

I copied and pasted all the devotions I had written for the chapter on prayer and communion with God into a blank Word document. As I edited and prayed over each small devotion, I added more devotions to bring Praying Through the Seasons to a publishable word length. God provided the money for me to hire an editor through an editing client, and a friend of mine did the formatting and cover design.

I wanted to publish the book early, but God told me to publish Praying Through the Seasons on July 17,2025 to give time for formatting issues and the necessary corrections to be made.

 Purchase link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FHS3BMWD

 

 

Ann Harrison is an author, poet and freelance editor who is totally blind. Aside from editing and writing, she loves to crochet while listening to podcasts or music. You can also find her with her hands in a book, reading on her electronic Braille display.

Her debut devotional is entitled Praying Through the Seasons: Seven Aspects of Prayer and Communion with God. She recently self-published a poetry book entitled The Spirit of Creativity: Inspirational Poems for the Creative at Heart. She is currently working on the second book in her devotional series entitled Walking With God Through The Chapters.

Ann has been published in several anthologies, including a devotional entitled God Things: Hope for the Hurting, alongside Jen Lowry and fifteen other authors. She is also featured in the upcoming 540 Writers Community anthology. Aside from her work as a Children’s book author and poet, Ann is a professional writer and freelance content editor with Scrivenings Press and Elk Lake Publishing Inc. She currently lives with her daughter in a tiny house in Rochelle, GA.

To learn more about Ann and her work, visit her website at:

https://www.annharrisonauthor.com.