A Few Sound Bites From History By Marcia Laycock

Scene One (Exodus14) - Over a million Hebrews are camped at the Red Sea. The massive Egyptian army comes against them. They are trapped. Imagine a T.V. commentator asking Moses, “How far will your God go, Moses?” Moses answers, “Just watch Him,” as he touches the water with his staff and leads his people “through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.”

Scene Two (Joshua 10) - Joshua’s” army is assembled to save the people of Gibeon from the armies of five kings united against them. For days the battle rages. Imagine the commentator again - “How far will your God go, Joshua? Joshua answers, “Just watch Him,” then prays aloud to his God, “O sun stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” And the sun “stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day,” and the battle was won.

Scene Three (Judges 7) – Gideon’s” army is assembled. The Midianites, Amalekites and other Eastern peoples had oppressed the Israelites for years. The Hebrews prayed and God sent them Gideon. But God said, “You have too many men for me to deliver Midian into their hands,” so twenty-two thousand men went home. Again, God said it was too many. Imagine the commentator now - “How far will your God go, Gideon?” Gideon answers, “Just watch Him,” and with only 300 men against thousands, he defeats the Midianites.

Scene Four (1 Samuel 17) - Two armies are massed for battle - Israel with her King Saul, against the Philistines and their giants. A small Hebrew boy is the only one brave enough to face their enemy. The commentator asks, “How far will your God go, David?” David answers, “Just watch Him,” and fells the nine foot Goliath with a single stone.

Scene Five (1 Kings 18) - The people of Israel are assembled on Mount Carmel. They have come to watch a performance, and they won’t be disappointed. The prophet has given the challenge to the prophets of Baal - “Call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord.” The commentator asks, “How far will your God go, Elijah?” Elijah answers, “Just watch Him,” then gives the order for buckets of water to be poured over the sacrifice and the altar, enough to fill a trench around it. When the site is soaked, Elijah prays, and “the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench” (v.38).

Scene Seven (Luke 23) - Once more the Hebrews are massed to watch a spectacle. They jeer and spit at one of their own, while the Roman execution is carried out. The commentator climbs a rough ladder leaning against the cross to get the microphone close enough to the victim’s lips. “How far will your Father go, Jesus?”

The man’s agony apparent, He groans, “Just watch us.”
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Bio
Marcia Lee Laycock writes from central Alberta Canada where she is a pastor's wife and mother of three adult daughters. She was the winner of The Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone. The sequel, A Tumbled Stone was also short listed for a Word Award. Marcia has three novels for middle grade readers and four devotional books in print and has contributed to several anthologies. Her work has been endorsed by Sigmund Brouwer, Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and Mark Buchanan.

Abundant Rain, an ebook devotional for writers can be downloaded on Smashwords or on Amazon. It is also now available in Journal format on Amazon. 

Her most recent release is Celebrate This Day, a devotional book for special occasions like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Thanksgiving. 

 Visit Marcia’s Website

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An Appropriate Quote By Marcia Lee Laycock

The Star of Christmas

I read the email with a bit of anticipation and a bit of dread. It was an invitation to another Christmas party. That meant another pot-luck item to prepare, another Chinese auction gift to bring. And I couldn't stop sneezing and coughing, so who knew if I'd be well enough to attend. It was almost enough to make me want to shout, "Bah Humbug!" But the instructions in this email were intriguing, and piqued my interest. For the gift exchange, we were to bring a favourite quote, done up in some kind of creative way. The favourite quote part would be easy, I thought. I have a huge file of quotes on my computer. With the state of my health, I knew the creative part might be a bit more difficult, but I decided to try and rise to the challenge.

I clicked into my quotes file and began to read, and read, and read. Nothing seemed exactly right. I was thinking Christmas, but couldn't find anything seasonal. I thought inspirational, but nothing seemed to hit the mark. I thought humorous, but couldn't find anything that made me laugh out loud. So I gave up, swallowed some more cough medicine and went to bed. The next day I opened the file again. A quote seemed to beam its way to me immediately. It was short but thought provoking, and when I thought about it, the words, from poet Anne Sexton, were very appropriate for the Christmas season. She said: "Put your ear down close to your soul and listen hard."

In the midst of the rush to shop, to bake, to decorate and make it to all those Christmas parties, God is calling us to do just that. He wants us to stop and hear His voice in the tumult. It is a still small voice, but one that echoes with everything we need. It is the voice of a child crying from a manger, the voices of angels singing and shepherds jabbering about a baby born to be King. It is a voice weeping for those in pain and sickness. It is a voice mourning for those who refuse to hear Him. It is a voice shouting victory over the forces of evil and death. And it is a voice calling us to know Him, to know His love for us, love that grants us one more day of life, filled with all its challenges and blessings. Listen for Him. He has promised that anyone Aw "who hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." (Rev.3:20) Not only that, He has promised to stay with you forever, to guide and protect you, and to give you peace.

So, "put your ear down close to your soul and listen hard." You might just hear the true voice of Christmas. 
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Marcia Lee Laycock writes from central Alberta Canada where she is a pastor's wife and mother of three adult daughters. She was the winner of The Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone. The sequel, A Tumbled Stone was also short listed for a Word Award. Marcia also has four devotional books in print and has contributed to several anthologies. Her work has been endorsed by Sigmund Brouwer, Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and Mark Buchanan.

Her most recent release is Christmas, a collection of short stories that proves miracles still happen, even in the most unusual places.

Visit Marcia’s Website

Sign up to receive her devotional column, The Spur

Books of Remembrance by Marcia Lee Laycock

First World War Book of Remembrance, Ottawa Canada Books of Remembrance By Marcia Lee Laycock   It sounds like a gunshot. The report, echoing back from the marble walls, is the sound of a single soldier coming to attention. The sound comes from the sole of his boot as it strikes the floor in the Memorial Chamber on the second level of the Peace Tower on the Parliament Hill in Ottawa Canada. The soldier salutes, bows, stands in silence for a moment and then opens a glass case in front of him. Carefully he reaches in and turns the page of a large book. Then he closes the case and moves on. There are six cases, each containing a large book. The soldier comes to attention, salutes and bows at each one. This process is repeated every day at eleven o’clock. The six books contain the names of the thousands of men and women, Canadians, who have died at war. It took several artists many years to create the books, which are decorated with heraldic illumination and calligraphy. The paper and binding used were specially made. The steps and stand on which they rest are made of marble imported from the quarries of Flanders Fields. They are imbedded with brass plates hand-crafted from the shell casings retrieved from battlefields and bearing the names of the major battles in which Canadians took part. All the symbolism and ceremony surrounding the Six Books of Remembrance is meant to honour those men and women, some long dead, for their sacrifice and acts of valour. But there are more than six Books of Remembrance. Revelation 20:11-15 tells us there are books in heaven, too. The exiled Apostle John described them as he saw them in his vision. He wrote: “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne and books were opened. Another book was opened which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. (v.12) .... If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (v.15) There will no doubt also be great ceremony, great honour, but also great disgrace associated with the books of remembrance in heaven. That final judgement will herald a new beginning for all of God’s creation. For some, those whose names are written in the book of life, it will be the beginning of an eternity lived in the presence of God. For others, those whose names are not in that book, it will be the beginning of an eternity lived in the absence of God. But there will be a difference between the ceremony in heaven and the one that is conducted on earth. The ceremony in heaven will happen in the presence of those people. They will be there to see the books opened and to hear their names called. Whose names will be written in the book of life? Jesus tells us  - “I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life” (John 6:47). **** Marcia Lee Laycock writes from central Alberta Canada where she is a pastor's wife and mother of three adult daughters. She was the winner of The Best New Canadian Christian Author Award for her novel, One Smooth Stone. The sequel, A Tumbled Stone was short listed in The Word Awards. Marcia also has four devotional books in print and has contributed to several anthologies. Her work has been endorsed by Sigmund Brouwer, Janette Oke, Phil Callaway and Mark Buchanan. Her most recent release is Christmas, a collection of short stories that will take you from the far reaches of the galaxy to the Canadian Arctic and the streets of an inner city. Available in ebook and paper-back. Visit Marcia’s Website Sign up to receive her devotional column, The Spur