I’m so glad I have a Savior who is eternal. Because He is eternal, He is independent, self-sustaining, and forever self-sufficient. He is outside of time and matter, therefore He is the I AM, as seen in these metaphorical statements-
I AM the Bread of Life (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51);
I AM the Light of the World (John 8:12);
I AM the Door of the Sheep (John 10:7, 9);
I AM the Good Shepherd (John 10:11,14);
I AM the Resurrection and the Life (John 11:25);
I AM the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6);
I AM the True Vine (John 15:1, 5).
And these absolute statements:
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.” (John 8:58)
God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” (Exodus 3:14).
Cozy mysteries, also referred to as “cozies”, are a subgenre of crime fiction in which sex and violence are downplayed, and the crime and detection take place in a small, socially intimate community. Cozies thus stand in contrast to hardboiled fiction, which feature violence and sexuality more explicitly and centrally to the plot. The term “cozy” was first coined in the late 20th century when various writers produced work in an attempt to re-create the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. Wikipedia
Hallmark has adapted several cozy book mysteries into movies.
There are the Aurora Teagarden movies starring Candace Cameron Bure. These movies are based on a fictional character created by author Charlaine Harris, in a series of ten crime novels written from 1990 to 2017. “In the first book of the series, twenty-eight-year-old Aurora (Roe) Teagarden is a professional librarian and belongs to the Real Murders club, a group of 12 enthusiasts who gather monthly to study famous baffling or unsolved crimes.”
There’s the Flower Shop Mysteries based on Kate Collins’ books of the same series title. The series stars Brooke Shields as a “professional librarian and belongs to the Real Murders club, a group of 12 enthusiasts who gather monthly to study famous baffling or unsolved crimes.”
In the Garage Sale Mystery, Lori Loughlin stars as a vintage store owner who scours garage sales and estate sales for items for her store, and stumbles across mysteries and murders along the way. This series is based on the books by Suzi Weinert. The executive producers of Garage Sale Mystery are also executive producers on the Hallmark television series When Calls the Heart, so the Garage Sale Mystery series features many of the same actors.
You might remember Lori Loughlin from the 1980s television family friendly series Full House. She also stars in When Calls the Heart, and other Hallmark productions.
I like a good caper movie, mysteries, and crime books and movies, but I do not like the gore, psychological tension, or horrible/evil murders especially involving children. I also don’t like dark movies, either in psychology or in cinematography.
The Garage Sale Mystery (GSM) features none of that. The main character, Jennifer Shannon, lives in an affluent town in Virginia. The homes she visits throughout the movie and including her own, are beautiful mansions. If you remember the iconic series Columbo, his ‘clients’ were always in Beverly Hills, lived in gorgeous homes, and were from the upper class. If I’m going to watch a mystery, at least I’m not watching gutter dirty dark psychological thriller, but a tea drinking, well dressed attractive woman with a genial personality. In GSM there’s always lots of light and sunlight and bright colors in most every scene. The main character is in a happy, stable marriage with a movie-perfect husband and two movie-perfect teenage children. She is a good mom. The children usually have some kind of sub-story.
Somehow, the way the movie is written, and despite the fact that a murder does occur and Jennifer is usually in life-threatening peril by the climax, the atmosphere isn’t heart-rending or dark. The writers maintain in Jennifer a hopeful innocence with a razor-sharp mind and a high-level ability to observe and remember. As a matter of fact, the last shot of each movie shows Jennifer in a close-up with a big smile. This is an enjoyable way to conclude a movie. The relationship Jennifer has with the co-owner of her store is a good one, always pleasant. No harsh words are spoken, even when Jennifer confronts the murderer. It’s a relief to watch a movie where all the interpersonal interactions are warm and polite.
It is a ‘cozy mystery’ to a Tee.
What I find amusing is that despite the fact that Jennifer seems to stumble on a dead body seemingly every time she leaves her house, the series avoids the claustrophobic feeling of the Cabot Cove Syndrome. This is a TV Trope named after the location in which fictional character Jessica Fletcher of the television series Murder, She Wrote lived. The television series aired for 12 seasons with 264 episodes from 1984 to 1996 on CBS. Angela Lansbury was the main character, and “murder occurred with such regularity in her vicinity that the term “Cabot Cove syndrome” was coined to describe the constant appearance of dead bodies in remote locations. Indeed, if Cabot Cove existed in real life, it would top the FBI’s national crime statistics in numerous categories, with some analysis suggesting that the homicide rate in Cabot Cove exceeds even that of the real-life murder capital of the world” (Wikipedia). The UK Daily Mail has more-
The idyllic seaside town of Cabot Cove looks at first glance like a pleasant and relaxing place to live.
In fact, it is the murder capital of the world and far more dangerous than the most violent parts of the globe, including Honduras in Central America. Thankfully, it is just the fictional New England setting for popular TV series Murder, She Wrote. Amateur detective Jessica Fletcher, played by Angela Lansbury, encountered a total of 274 killings in the small town in Maine, despite it having a population of just 3,500. This gives it an annual murder rate of 1,490 per million — more than 50 per cent higher than Honduras, where it is 910 per million.
The British mystery series, Agatha Raisin based on the books by M.C. Beaton, is another series that in my opinion suffered terribly from Cabot Cove Syndrome. There were several issues with the single-season series, and one of them was that the series is set in the British area of the Cotswolds. This is an area of outstanding natural beauty and much of it is protected, but the villages dotting the aforementioned beautiful hills are small. Very small. By the end of the one season that was broadcast, I surmise that the fictional death rate was even higher than in Cabot Cove.
Anyway, the confined feeling I got from Murder, She Wrote and Agatha Raisin is absent in Garage Sale Mystery. The series presents an aura that is expansive enough not to be claustrophobic but small enough to maintain the cozy atmosphere so important in this genre.
I also enjoy the garage sale aspect. I like a good hunt myself for just the perfect item that has a history behind it and is also a good deal!
I recommend the Garage Sale Mystery series. They’re clean. It can be seen on on Hallmark, Sling TV, an occasional older movie on Youtube, and elsewhere.
We’ve flowed through the first section of this series, in looking at a few verses that prophesy Jesus’ coming, His arrival, and His early life. Starting tomorrow, from Day 12-16 we will look at verses that focus on Jesus as The Son. From Day 17-26, verses will focus on the preeminence of the Son, His works, and Ministry. Days 27-36, His resurrection, ascension, and return. Yes, there are more than 30 verses, lol. Either I’ll double up on some days, or go an extra week after Christmas. 🙂
Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible
The precocious wisdom of the boy Jesus, and his certain consciousness of his unique relationship to the Father in heaven, were not looked upon by Jesus as sufficient to his earthly mission; but he recognized himself still to be a child. The hour of his emergence as the world’s Saviour would be awaited by him until some sure indication of the Father’s will informed him that “his hour” had come. In the meanwhile, he would not disgrace himself as a child prodigy. He manifested the noblest quality of youth, that of loving submission to his earthly parents.
WASHINGTON — President Trump on Wednesday formally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, reversing nearly seven decades of American foreign policy and setting in motion a plan to move the United States Embassy from Tel Aviv to the fiercely contested Holy City.
“Today we finally acknowledge the obvious: that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital,” Mr. Trump said from the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House.
This is nothing more or less than a recognition of reality. It is also the right thing to do. It’s something that has to be done.”
The president cast his decision as a break with decades of failed policy on Jerusalem, which the United States, along with virtually every other nation in the world, has declined to recognize as the capital since Israel’s founding in 1948. That policy, he said, brought us “no closer to a lasting peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.”
Jerusalem is an ancient city, first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 14 when Abraham gave a tenth of all that he had to the mysterious Melchizedek, king of ‘Salem’ (Jerusalem) and a Priest of the God Most High. Jerusalem was not always the capital of Israel. Earlier in Israel’s history, the ark was located at Shiloh, in the tabernacle, for 400 years.
Go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I made my name dwell at first, and see what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel. (Jeremiah 7:12).
my place … in Shiloh—God caused His tabernacle to be set up in Shiloh in Joshua’s days (Jos 18:1; Jdg 18:31). In Eli’s time God gave the ark, which had been at Shiloh, into the hands of the Philistines (Je 26:6; 1 Sa 4:10, 11; Ps 78:56–61). Shiloh was situated between Beth-el and Shechem in Ephraim.
Eventually, the LORD Placed His name at Jerusalem.
but I have chosen Jerusalem that my name may be there, and I have chosen David to be over my people Israel. (2 Chronicles 6:6)
Solomon’s proclamation to the worshipers (6:3–11) links two great themes together as facets of the Davidic covenant: the holy city of Jerusalem and the holy temple building. Solomon acknowledges that God has finally chosen a permanent dwelling place for his Name. From the beginnings of the covenant, the symbol of God’s presence has been portable. As one of the consequences of building a permanent dwelling for God’s Name, the location of that building, Jerusalem, is now a holy city. Three great themes are united in this great effort prescribed by the Davidic covenant: the sacred dynasty, the sacred temple building, and the sacred city of Jerusalem. Bowling, A. C. (1995). 1-2 Chronicles. In Evangelical Commentary on the Bible
The future looks bright for Jerusalem.
The LORD will possess Judah as His portion in the holy land, and will again choose Jerusalem. (Zechariah 2:12).
I’m very glad that Jerusalem is recognized by the US as Israel’s capital city. I pray for peace there, now and forever.
the-end-time.org 