For over a decade we were joined at the hip. Not a day went by when we didn’t talk on the phone…at least once.
But sometimes friendships come unhinged.
People change. Perspectives change. Purposes change. Passions change.
While nothing went terribly wrong, and no hurtful words were exchanged, the void was vast beyond bridging. Read more…
While I am away taking care of my mom, I have invited one of my dear friends, Emily T. Wierenga, to share her heart with you. I read her wonderful book, Atlas Girl, this summer while on vacation. As I read about Emily’s struggles and joys of taking care of her mother who was suffering from brain cancer, Read more…
I sat on my back porch, wrapped in my fuzzy worn robe—the one that’s twenty years old that I just can’t seem to get rid of.
The birch trees waved “good morning,” and the newly planted gerbera daisies stretched their faces to the sun…just a bit higher than the day before.
Then I heard him. The rooster. Read more…
He burned the plow. Now before you decide that this post is too strange, I challenge you to stick with me a minute. Sometimes when I’m reading the Bible, one little sentence jumps out and grabs me by the heart. That’s what happened today when I read 1 Kings 19:19-21. Take a look… Read more
Sometimes life doesn’t turn out the way we thought it would. Sometimes unexpected difficulties knock us off our feet and out of breath. Sometimes painful situations stab tender emotions already left fragile by past hurts.
In my own life, I’ve pondered the broken pieces of shattered dreams, and I’ve been amazed at what God has done with the pieces. Read more…
That’s exactly the quandary I found myself stuck in several years ago.
After I had gone to college for two years, I returned to my hometown to work as a dental hygienist. But the following spring, I felt a tug to return to college and continue my education. I prayed and looked into various programs, but couldn’t get clear direction from God. Read more…
He ironed. I watched.
I stood in the door frame of my guest room, watching my nephew, Jonathan, iron the wrinkles out of his crumpled shirt – the rumpled creases out of his crumpled heart.
He ironed and talked. I watched and listened.
Jonathan, my twenty-seven-year-old nephew, stopped by for a visit on his way to a wedding in my hometown. Read more…
I’ve been thinking about broken dreams lately.
We’ve all got them. Just different ones.
So what are you going to do with yours?
[tweetherder]Could it be that God is waiting for you to give Him the broken pieces of your shattered dreams so that He can make a beautiful mosaic from them?[/tweetherder]
Could it be that you are clinging tightly to the shards and refusing to let them go? Read more…
I was sitting in a darkened theater watching the movie Bagger Vance. Now I know the theology wasn’t correct, but one scene caused tears to stream down my cheeks. It was during a time when I was struggling with what God was calling me to do with my life.
Here’s how the story goes:
As a young man, Read more…
(Beginning August 1, the content of my blog will be completely different from the Girlfriends in God devotions. So if you are not signed up for my blog at www.localhost/sjold, please do it today…and invite all your friends. We’re going to have more give-a-ways, more personal interaction, and more inspiration than ever before! Now, on to today’s post!)
“In all their distress he too was distressed,” (Isaiah 63:9 NIV). Read more…