Glory Awaits!
JULY 2026 NEWSLETTER
Hello Reader,
To all of you in the United States, happy Fourth of July!
I hope your summer is going well. This month I have links to an encouraging article and a podcast, three book reviews, and book news. But first, a word of encouragement about feeling trapped by unwanted circumstances.
Trapped!
The coyote pup cowered in the cage. He knew he was trapped. What he didn’t know was the trap was the only chance he had for survival.
He was just a baby—two or three months old. When he spent an entire morning sleeping in our backyard, we knew he’d gotten separated from his parents. So we called animal control. Julie came out and confirmed he was too young to get food for himself. He also needed medicine for mange. She returned the next day and set out a trap with food and water. Shortly after sunset, he gobbled up the food and triggered the trap. Julie came and collected him. She said they’d feed and medicate him. When he was well and old enough to survive on his own, they’d release him in Ramona, a wilderness area about 75 miles away.
He’s exiled, but it’s to help him thrive.
How often do we feel trapped by unwelcome circumstances? Yet they may be just what we need to thrive.
For example, being laid off from a job I loved seemed like a career ender. But it turned out to be the Lord moving me to help a ministry and setting me up to work from home for fewer hours at more money. God was also laying the groundwork to answer a prayer: time to write as a ministry.
Or consider my friend who lost her husband 14 months ago. She’s grown stronger as she’s taken over her husband’s business and personal responsibilities. Plus, she has a new ministry teaching widows about heaven.
Do you feel trapped by unwelcome conditions today? Remember that God is using those fetters to mold and make you, to move and motivate you.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11
links
Article: Our Exiles
If you’re going through a challenging time like that mentioned above, here’s a look at nine heroes who met exile and loss with faith: Our Exiles.
Podcast: Women in Apologetics
Here are links to Women in Apologetics’ interview of me in Voices of WIA:
Terrific Reads
Here are books I enjoyed recently. I've provided Amazon affiliate links, which give me a small commission at no cost to you. (Don’t forget: You can find links to all my newsletter recommendations here.)
Christian Women’s Issues
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Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild
Mary A. Kassian
In this outstanding book, Kassian contrasts wild girls with wise girls in twenty ways. She gleans most of the wild traits from Proverbs 5–7. She illustrates each trait with women in the Bible and modern women. I highly recommend this book, particularly for young Christian women. Here’s a quote: “‘Wild’ is what we are whenever we disregard God and rely instead on the world’s advice, or on what seems right in our own eyes. This was the mistake of Eve, the first Girl-Gone-Wild, who went with her own gut instinct instead of trusting and obeying the Lord.”
Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4fbxUhY
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Biological Science of Wildlife
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Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law
Mary Roach
What goes wrong when humans move into wildlife territory? Many things. From bears to birds, Roach examines ways people try to live alongside critters that can’t comprehend our ways. Roach’s tales are often funny as she advocates for fewer lethal approaches. The book is peppered with interesting facts, though a few places were slow. A quote: “The classic cornfield scarecrow may actually attract birds, because they start to associate it with food. To a flock of migrating blackbirds, it’s the golden arches on the side of the highway, the Bob’s Big Boy sign, a reason to pull off for a large, fattening meal.”
Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4eECdlW
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Fiction
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A Pocket Full of Rye: A Miss Marple Mystery
Agatha Christie
This is one of Agatha Christie’s best works. An unlikeable businessman is poisoned, but why is one pocket filled with rye? A murdered maid brings Miss Marple to the scene, where her skill at understanding human nature proves pivotal. My guess at who-done-it was wrong, which made the tale more fun. The ending surprised and satisfied. A quote that made me laugh: “‘Always think the worst, eh?’ he asked. It seemed a curious doctrine to be proceeding from this charming and fragile-looking old lady.”
Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4avIcah
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What's New
Book News
New: Companion Guide
I’ve started writing a companion guide for How Does God Use Suffering for Our Good?: Living with Hope While Making Sense of Life. I'm writing both chapter questions and book club questions. I expect to finish it this summer.
WIA Book Review
Woo-hoo! Another great book review! Here’s what Colleen Snyder of Women in Apologetics wrote about How Does God Use Suffering for Our Good?
As humans, suffering is something we will all face; there’s simply no avoiding it. For Christians, the deeper question becomes: How do we walk through suffering and emerge on the other side with victory and hope?
This book offers a biblical perspective on suffering and highlights the importance of understanding the glory of eternity. Clay and Jean argue that our hope in eternal glory is essential for enduring life’s hardships. They emphasize that while suffering is inevitable, Christians can honor God in the midst of it and recognize that suffering shapes us for the eternal glory to come.
I love this book because it is written by two amazing individuals who truly understand suffering. Clay and Jean are honest about their own pain, and they genuinely want others to see how God can use suffering for good—just as he has in their lives.
- Colleen Snyder | WIA Ministry Relations Assistant
Personal News
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We celebrated our anniversary on a cruise to the Caribbean, Charleston, and New York. I snorkeled with silvery fish, walked through a Puerto Rican rainforest, and learned the history of shrimp and grits at a delightful Charleston luncheon.
And I broke a toe! This time it appears to be a minor fracture at the tip, not a full break at the toe’s base (like the last time I broke one). So it should heal much faster.
Clay is doing well. In July, we’re scheduled to meet with a cardiologist about another ablation on his heart and with a thoracic oncologist regarding a tumor in his lung that may be growing. Please continue to pray for his health.
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