Life wasn’t turning out like I thought it would. There would be no gaggle of laughing children filling my home, no crowded kitchen table at mealtimes, no juggling of kids’ busy schedules. My first child would be my only child. And while I was so grateful to have this walking, talking, bundle of love, this wasn’t the way I had envisioned life unfolding. Read more…
Do you remember the first Rocky movie? (I just looked it up and there have been eight.) In the very first film about the Italian Stallion, Rocky Balboa falls madly in love with the very demur Adrian who works at a Tropical Fish pet store.
Adrian is a very intelligent, shy, and cautious. Rocky is, well, none of those things. Read more…
Have you ever felt rejection? I have. It’s not easy, is it?
I sent my first book proposal off to a publisher several months before that fateful day. It was a step of faith walking to that mailbox and dropping it in the slot. However, I knew this was what God was calling me to do. Then the rejection letter came. Read more…
Have you ever felt like you just wanted to quit this thing called the “great race” of life? That’s your spiritual legs ache and you would much rather sit on the side of the road and have a good pity party than take one more step? I certainly have. And then I think of my nephew Stu and his mom, Read more…
I’ve got something really special to give away at the end of this devotion! But for now, here’s today’s encouragement!
I walked to the mailbox and then to the recycler. Don’t need this one, or this one, or this one I whispered as I dropped the shiny flyers in the red box.
I don’t know about you, Read more…
Can I make a confession? Sometimes I quit too soon. I’ve quit when what I really needed to do was press on and press through. Sometimes I’ve gotten tired of trying. Sometimes I’ve gotten tired of the struggle. And you know what? I’ve missed many blessings because I got tired of the battle. I don’t want to do that any longer. Read more…
I had braces on my upper teeth three times. Count them. One. Two. Three.
As the orthodontist explained, “Teeth have a memory. They always want to go back to the way they were.”
As soon as he said those words, I felt convicted. I have a tendency to go back to the way I was.
We all do. Read more…
I was in college when I met my husband at a Bible study. He was sitting on the floor dressed in scruffy jeans, a red flannel shirt, and a strong face that needed a shave. The moment I saw him, I was smitten. But I didn’t want him to know that.
Steve finally asked me out on a date, Read more…
I’m writing over at Proverbs 31 Ministries today and thought you might enjoy the post as well.
You might be very surprised at what I’m getting ready to tell you, but here goes. For most of my life I felt like I was in second place, an alternate, an also ran, not quite as good as everybody else. Read more…
Carley and Dan are a couple who have gone the extra mile…not to go the extra mile. They constantly keep score as to who put a new bar of soap in the shower last or who replaced the toilet paper roll last or who opened a new tube of toothpaste last.
“It’s sort of a contest to see who can use the smallest sliver of soap or use the last drop of toothpaste,” Carley boasted. Read more…