Seekerville: The Journey Continues

In six days, we’ll celebrate the Summer Solstice—the longest day in the year—which is also the first day of summer so grab a cup of coffee or a glass of iced tea, take your tablet or laptop outside to soak up the sunshine, boost your immune system by absorbing Vitamin D3 and join me in talking about one of my favorite subjects—book clubs! If you love to read, analyze characters and discuss theme, moral premise, symbolism or motifs, you’re probably in a book club. If not, you need to be.

Research the history of book clubs and you’ll learn that Ann Hutchinson is thought to have started the precursor to today’s groups in 1634 when she gathered woman together onboard ship to discuss weekly sermons as they sailed to the New World. Although the Massachusetts Bay Colony eventually condemned the gatherings, their censure couldn’t stop the formation of other discussion groups for women in the years ahead.

My wonderful Book Club. We've been meeting for 18 years.

Hannah Adams is considered the first woman to earn a living through writing and in the late 1700s took part in a reading circle in her hometown of Medfield, Massachusetts. Soon thereafter, American essayist and women’s rights enthusiast Hannah Mather Crocker organized a similar reading group in Boston.

In the early 1800s, women were regularly meeting to discuss the belle lettres, a French term for “beautiful writing,” that encompassed a wide range of literary work, such as fiction, poetry, drama and essays.

We met in homes until 2020.

Pamela Burger, in her article, “Women’s Groups and the Rise of the Book Club,” (https://daily.jstor.org/feature-book-club/) claims that clubs for women were greatly in vogue by the late 1800s. Focused primarily on literature and the arts, those early groups gave birth to the concept of the modern book club. By the 1920s, avid readers received selections in the mail thanks to the Book-of-the-Month-Club and The Literary Guild.

Oprah Winfrey is often credited with the rise in popularity of book clubs in modern times. The talk show hostess started her own television book club in 1996 and encouraged women to read books she chose, beginning with the club’s first read, The Deep End of the Ocean, by Jacquelyn Mitchard. Oprah picks invariably soared to the top of the bestseller charts, and even classics, such as John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, gained a new resurgence of notoriety due to what has been called the Oprah Phenomenon. Over a span of fifteen years, members read a total of 70 books until the club ended in 2011.

Today, virtual book clubs abound. Word of mouth book promotion has turned digital with readers sharing information about authors and their books online. Goodreads provides a forum for its more than 20 million members to discuss and review their favorite reads. Facebook reading groups interact with authors and discuss their stories in a number of forums, including Q & As and author chats.

Now we meet at restaurants with outside dining. Here we're on an enclosed patio.

Schools, libraries and even communities host monthly reads with such programs as One City, One Book that started in Seattle in 1998. The National Endowment for the Arts sponsors The Big Read, and since its kickoff in 2006, more than $18 million in grants have been given to fund reading events across the country.

No matter how or when they started, book clubs seem to be a permanent part of our American culture. According to The New York Times, there are an estimated 5 million book club members in the United States. In 2014, BookBrowse (http://www.bookbrowse.com/blogs/editor/index.cfm/2014/3/25/Book-Clubs-by-The-Numbers) interviewed women who read more than one book a month and found that 56% were members of book clubs. Nearly 90 percent of the clubs meet in person, and on average, members read from 9 to 12 books each year. The books are selected from various genres with the classics and bestsellers being the most frequently chosen as monthly picks.

The book club in which I’m a member started 18 years ago after a church retreat when those of us who attended the religious gathering wanted to continue meeting. At first, we read inspirational non-fiction but quickly evolved into a fiction reading group. The second Wednesday of each month finds us enjoying dinner at one of our local restaurants.  After eating, we turn our focus to the monthly read. Questions in the back of the book sometimes provide a springboard for our discussions, and it’s rare that a story that doesn’t leave us with a thoughtful insight or takeaway that we can apply to our daily lives. At the end of the evening, we decide on the next month’s read. Each December, we have a book exchange with the January selection chosen from one of the gift books.

The temperature this night hit 32 degrees. The restaurant owner named us the Polar Bear Club.

My book club met last Wednesday and chose CHASING FIREFLIES, by Charles Martin, as our next read. Are you in a book club, and if so, what are you reading, or what was the best book your club read during this past year? If you’re not in a book club, have you thought about starting one? Need info? I’ll be happy to share suggestions on how to form a book club. What online or community-based reading challenges have you enjoyed or hope to take part in this summer?

Happy reading!

Wishing you abundant blessings!

Debby Giusti

www.DebbyGiusti.com

COMMANDING JUSTICE

By Debby Giusti

Mission to capture a killer

The Colonel's Daughter 
A killer is targeting the families of soldiers in a US Army colonel's brigade, and Criminal Investigation Division special agent Jamison Steele vows to stop him. The colonel's daughter, the woman who loved and left Jamison without a word, came face-to-face with the murderer. But uncovering the serial killer's motive requires asking Michele Logan the questions that may lead them both into a deadly trap.

The General's Secretary 
Lillie Beaumont's dark past has just turned up on her porch—fatally wounded. The dying words of the man imprisoned for killing Lillie's mother suggest hidden secrets. Criminal Investigation Division special agent Dawson Timmons has his own motive for seeking the truth. As they investigate, Dawson fears that a murderer is waiting to strike again. And this time, Lillie is right in the line of fire…

Pre-Order on Amazon!

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Holy Trinity, fresco by Luca Rossetti da Orta, 1738–9, St. Gaudenzio Church at Ivrea, Italy [PD-US].

Jesus said to his disciples:
"I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.
But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.
He will not speak on his own,
but he will speak what he hears,
and will declare to you the things that are coming.
He will glorify me,
because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.
Everything that the Father has is mine;
for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine
and declare it to you."

John 16:12-15

The Seekerville bloggers are praying for YOU and for our entire blog community. If you have any special intentions that need additional prayer coverage, leave a request for prayer in the comment section below. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you safe.    

PENTECOST 

Fresco at the Karlskirche in Vienna, by Johann Michael Rottmayr. [PD-US]

On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”

John 20:19-23

The Seekerville bloggers are praying for YOU and for our entire blog community. If you have any special intentions that need additional prayer coverage, leave a request for prayer in the comment section below. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you safe.   

THE ASCENSION 

Ascension, John Singleton Copley, 1775, Museum of Fine Art, Boston. [PS-US]

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Thus it is written that the Christ would suffer
and rise from the dead on the third day
and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins,
would be preached in his name
to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
You are witnesses of these things.
And behold I am sending the promise of my Father upon you;
but stay in the city
until you are clothed with power from on high.”

Then he led them out as far as Bethany,
raised his hands, and blessed them.
As he blessed them he parted from them
and was taken up to heaven.
They did him homage
and then returned to Jerusalem with great joy,
and they were continually in the temple praising God.

Luke 24:46-53

The Seekerville bloggers are praying for YOU and for our entire blog community. If you have any special intentions that need additional prayer coverage, leave a request for prayer in the comment section below. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you safe.   

SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

The Adoration of the Trinity by Albrecht Dürer (1511), Vienna, Austria. [PD-US]

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
yet the word you hear is not mine
but that of the Father who sent me.

“I have told you this while I am with you.
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit,
whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything
and remind you of all that I told you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give it to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
You heard me tell you,
‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’
If you loved me,
you would rejoice that I am going to the Father;
for the Father is greater than I.
And now I have told you this before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe.”

John 14:23-29

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE GRADUATES!

The Seekerville bloggers are praying for YOU and for our entire blog community. If you have any special intentions that need additional prayer coverage, leave a request for prayer in the comment section below. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you safe.    

 By Debby Giusti

Growing up as an Army brat and then an Army wife, my family and I delineated the passage of time according to where we had been stationed. We’d say something like, “Such and such happened when we lived at Fort Irwin or before we moved to Germany or after our assignment to the Army War College.”

Similarly, when the children were in school we would reference time by their various school terms, recalling events that happened before Mary started middle school or following Liz’s graduation from high school or when Joseph started college.

After my husband retired and the children were grown, the days passed one after another without much variation except for additional candles on our birthday cakes.         

In 2020, the pandemic ushered in a new way to mark time! From March on of that year, everything became either Pre-COVID or Post-COVID.            

Pre-COVID, my husband and I took yearly trips to Europe and frequent excursions within the United States to destinations that fueled my imagination and helped my creative muse to flow. After the country shut down, going to church and the grocery stores were my major outings. A family vacation to the beach in 2021 made us feel extremely adventurous.            

In the last few months, more COVID restrictions have lifted, and there’s a renewed sense of getting back to our Pre-COVID routines. For my husband and me, that meant taking a trip with our local church group.   

Three weeks ago, we boarded a chartered bus and headed to Blue Ridge, Georgia, where we stepped back in time for a 26-mile ride on the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway Train. The friendly conductor punched our tickets as we settled into Car 549 that first transported passengers in the 1930s. Today it’s part of the historic rail line that took us along the Toccoa River to the mountain towns of McCaysville, Georgia, and the sister city of Copperhill, located across the state line in Tennessee.           

The original tracks were laid in the 1880s, and in the early days, the railway helped the mining and timber industries, encouraged the growth of towns and connected folks living along the Toccoa River by providing mail deliveries and supplies. Telegraph poles can still be seen next to the tracks and conjure up stories about life for rural Georgians before the turn of the twentieth century. The last passenger train was retired in 1951, but the line was resurrected in 1998 by a group of Blue Ridge citizens who understood the draw an old-time railroad line would have and the boon it would be to local commerce in that part of Georgia. Pre-COVID, more than 78,000 passengers traveled on the scenic line each year.

Can you spot the T-shaped telegraph pole?

We enjoyed our excursion as the train chugged along at fifteen miles per hour through the idyllic countryside, rolling hills, and lush valleys where we basked in the beauty of Georgia. The weather was perfect, and we spent most of the trip in an open-air car, breathing in the mountain freshness and feasting on the bucolic scenery.

The train’s plaintive whistle echoed through the hills alerting folks of its approach whenever we passed homes—some expansive and modern, others small and cozy. In true neighborly fashion, folks stopped what they were doing and waved as we passed. The Toccoa River is known for trout fishing, and we spotted a number of anglers in their waders casting their reels in the fast-flowing waters. Although intent on their sport, even they nodded a greeting as they waited for a nibble on their lines.     

 The Blue Ridge Scenic Railway runs five days a week transporting four hundred passengers on each trip to McCaysville and Copperhill, the two towns along the Georgia-Tennessee state line, for a lunch and shopping stop. The friendly townspeople, restaurateurs and shop owners welcomed us with open arms. We ate at a delightful riverfront eatery where we soaked in the peaceful ambiance before we hurried back to our train when the whistle alerted us it was time to board for our return to Blue Ridge.            

The day made me realize how I missed the trips and excursions we took Pre-COVID. Sightseeing, learning historical facts and enjoying the food and culture of new areas stimulates this writer. The sights and sounds refresh my spirit and help me conjure up new plot points to weave into my work in progress. They fuel ideas for future stories as well.

International travel is exciting, but I’ll wait until I don’t have to take COVID tests, wear masks or worry about being quarantined in a foreign country. Longer trips within the US will be in our not-too-distant future, but until then, short trips provide refreshing, uplifting breaks in the daily routine to charge my creative batteries and provide fodder for my stories.           

Are there local trips you plan to take or have on your short-term bucket list? Do occasional escapes to nearby parks or gardens provide a much-needed break to fill your creative well? Perhaps you’re an armchair traveler who finds inspiration either through travel books or historical publications? Share the changes in your daily routine from Pre- to Post-COVID and how you’ve been able to prime your creative well during this time.

I’m giving away two copies of my June reissue MILITARY PROTECTOR, that includes two of my earlier stories, The Officer’s Secret and The Soldier’s Sister. Let me know if you’d like to be included in the drawing. 

Happy traveling, dear friends! Toot! Toot!

Wishing you abundant blessings!

Debby Giusti

www.DebbyGiusti.com

The Officer’s Secret

In the middle of the night, Maggie Bennett finds her army officer sister dead in her military housing. But as US Army criminal investigations agent Nate Patterson begins asking questions, Maggie can’t tell the handsome man everything she knows. Except that her sister was definitely murdered—for a secret Maggie can’t share. Then she walks into the killer’s trap and has to trust Nate with the truth…and her heart.

The Soldier’s Sister

Someone wants Stephanie Upton dead. Fearing for her life, Stephanie turns to Special Agent Brody Goodman for help. But can she trust him when he’s convinced her own brother is a prime suspect? Torn between her devotion to her brother and the agent she may be falling for, Stephanie doesn’t know who or what to believe. But soon she’ll have to choose sides to stay alive…

FIFTH SUNDAY OF EASTER

Jesus giving the Farewell Discourse to his eleven remaining disciples after the Last Supper, from the Maestà by Duccio, c. 1310. [PD-US]

When Judas had left them, Jesus said,
“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him,
God will also glorify him in himself,
and God will glorify him at once.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
I give you a new commandment: love one another.
As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.
This is how all will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.”

John 13:31-33a, 34-35

The Seekerville bloggers are praying for YOU and for our entire blog community. If you have any special intentions that need additional prayer coverage, leave a request for prayer in the comment section below. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you safe.   

THIRD SUNDAY OF EASTER 

Miraculous Draught of Fish, Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1610, Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne, Germany. [PD-US]

At that time, Jesus revealed himself to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias.
He revealed himself in this way.
Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus,
Nathanael from Cana in Galilee,
Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples.
Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”
They said to him, “We also will come with you.”
So they went out and got into the boat,
but that night they caught nothing.
When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore;
but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?”
They answered him, “No.”
So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat
and you will find something.”
So they cast it, and were not able to pull it in
because of the number of fish.
So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.”
When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord,
he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad,
and jumped into the sea.
The other disciples came in the boat,
for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards,
dragging the net with the fish.
When they climbed out on shore,
they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread.
Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.”
So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore
full of one hundred fifty-three large fish.
Even though there were so many, the net was not torn.
Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.”
And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?”
because they realized it was the Lord.
Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them,
and in like manner the fish.
This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples
after being raised from the dead.
 John 21:1-14

The Seekerville bloggers are praying for YOU and for our entire blog community. If you have any special intentions that need additional prayer coverage, leave a request for prayer in the comment section below. 

May the Lord bless you and keep you safe.  

SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER

SUNDAY OF DIVINE MERCY

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, Caravaggio, 1601-1602, Sanssourci Picture Gallery, Germany. [PD-US]

On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
But he said to them,
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples
that are not written in this book.
But these are written that you may come to believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
and that through this belief you may have life in his name.

John 20:19-31

The Seekerville bloggers are praying for YOU and for our entire blog community. If you have any special intentions that need additional prayer coverage, leave a request for prayer in the comment section below. 

GOD BLESS THE USA! 

By Debby Giusti

Happy Easter, dear friends!

Although we celebrated Christ’s Resurrection on Sunday, the Easter Season spans a total of fifty days and draws to a close on Pentecost. All of which means that our Easter celebration continues until June 5^th.

Easter is the pinnacle of our Christian faith, but the true meaning of Easter cannot be fully realized without walking with Christ through his Passion and Death.

Scripture reveals the three years of the Lord’s public ministry that leads to Jerusalem in preparation for Passover. The crowds hail Christ with palms all the while sinister elements plot His demise.

Tension builds as Christ and the Apostles gather in the Upper Room. The Lord washes their feet, showing by example that He is the Suffering Servant and highlighting the importance of serving others.

The Last Supper, Leonardo da Vinci, late 1490s. Milan. [PD-US]

That same night, Judas betrays Christ for thirty pieces of silver. The Roman guards arrest Him. He is taken to the high priest and eventually sentenced to death.

Ecce Homo. (Behold the Man!), Antonio Ciseri, 1860-1880, Switzerland. [PD-US]

Christ, the Unblemished Lamb, endures excruciating pain as he is scourged and beaten. Contemplating his battered body is almost more than we can bear as He stumbles along the rocky path to Golgotha, knowing it is because of our sins that he embraced the cross.

His friends abandon Him with only His Mother and the Beloved Disciple, along with a few women, remaining steadfast at the foot of the cross. A lance pierces His side, and blood and water pour from His dying body while He speaks words of compassion, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”

Christ Crucified, Diego Velazquez, c. 1632, Prado Museum. [PD-US]

The somberness of death overwhelms us as we reflect on his body lowered from the cross, caressed by his heartbroken mother, then washed with aromatic oils, wrapped in linen and laid in a newly hewn tomb.

All seems lost, but on the third day, the Lord triumphs over death, He conquers sin and salvation is won for all those who embrace Him as their Lord and Savior.

Resurrection of Christ, Noël Coypel, 1700, France. [PD-US]

The Paschal Mystery of passion, death and resurrection shows us how we are to live our own lives and is an important element to add to our stories, along with sacrificial love and redemption.

In life as well as in fiction, evil confronts good, but good should always conquer the darkness, just as the Lord conquered sin and death and opened the Gates of Paradise so we could enjoy Eternal Life with Him.

He is Risen, dear friends! Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

How do you incorporate the Paschal Mystery into your own stories? 

Wishing you a joyous Easter Season,

Debby Giusti

www.DebbyGiusti.com

SMUGGLERS IN AMISH COUNTRY

By Debby Giusti

 Uncovering secrets in this Amish town

could deliver deadly consequences.

When the robbery suspect she’s tracking begins attacking delivery girls in Amish country, officer Marti Sommers must go undercover as bait. With ex-cop Luke Lehman’s niece as one of the targets, this case is personal. After all, Marti’s rookie mistake ended with Luke injured and another officer dead. But can the two former colleagues stop a deadly smuggling ring…before Marti becomes the next victim?

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