August 2023 Newsletter

Hello Reader,

This month I have encouraging words, book news, bonus bundles, and a new feature called fun things.

Wait on the Lord

Here's some encouragement for you in the form of answered prayers and special blessings.

Clay and I have been taking to heart Isaiah 40:31: “They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” We’re covering things in prayer and waiting on the Lord to work out the timing. While we’re not procrastinating, we’re also not wearing ourselves out trying to force things to happen quickly (as we did 20 years ago when Clay first had cancer). That’s turning out to be a very good thing.

A few weeks ago, our insurance company authorized Cedars Sinai to perform a bone cryoablation (freezing). That was an answer to prayer—they initially turned it down. The scheduler offered a consultation either the following week or after the doctor returned from vacation. I would have had to have missed the book launch party with Pam and Karla and rescheduled two other events, so after prayer we decided to wait for an appointment in August.

Meanwhile, Cedars Sinai looked at the liver biopsy slides from UCI and determined it’s the same cancer that’s in his bones (chordoma). That there’s just one type is good news. Our local oncologist hasn’t much experience with rare cancers, so he’s transferred Clay’s care over to a medical oncologist at Cedars—another answer to prayer. We were able to get an appointment with him on the same day as the other appointment. That’s good news because CS is 60 miles away through dense LA traffic.

Not only that, but Clay is speaking near CS the night before, and the venue offered a hotel room. The Lord has blessed us with a free hotel room and seeing two doctors on the same day. We are incredibly grateful.

All About Biblical Proverbs: Do They Make False Promises?

I recently did a podcast with Alisa Childers, who has 191k subscribers. I answered many questions, and I think you’ll find it encouraging.

Listen here

Book News

#1 Best Seller

Discovering Wisdom in Proverbs hit #1 Best Seller in Old Testament Bible Study on Amazon! Praising God.

Meanwhile, Clay and I finished another chapter in the book we’re writing on how God uses suffering. We expect to turn in a proposal to our publisher in a few weeks.

5 New Bonus Bundles

This month I created five Bonus Bundles—one for each book. These contain the leader guide, bibliography, worship music links, worksheets, and links to related articles all in one place. No more downloading 30+items individually. You can find links to them here: https://www.jeanejones.net/free-resources/book-extras/.

I’ll be putting together more bundles in the weeks to come, so watch for the September newsletter. A few things are temporarily unavailable—if you need something that’s missing, just ask.

Fun Things

Libby App

Which reminds me: The Libby app is terrific. Most public libraries allow library card holders to borrow digital books through it. If you haven't already, check with your library to see if they support it.

Smoothies

I first tried coconut water in a smoothie this morning. Delicious! All the ingredients are at Costco.

12 ounces coconut water
½ banana broken in 3 pieces
1 cup frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackberries)
1 Sambazan Frozen Acai packet

Place the ingredients in the blender jar in the order listed. Put the lid on the blender. Blend at low speed until the frozen items are broken up. Increase speed to high and blend until smooth.