Have you ever felt that you were overlooked or ignored…like you were a nobody? Well, take heart sister. You are not alone. Most of us have felt that way at one time or another.
I’ve been the girl not invited to the party, the kid not chosen for the team, the applicant not chosen for the job, the writer not chosen by the publisher, Read more…
I remember as a little girl, hiding under the covers of my bed, trying to shut out my parents’ yelling and screaming in the next room. I heard bad words. I didn’t know what some of them meant, but I did know how they made me feel. Dirty. The next morning, I awoke to the aftermath of the night’s tirade—Mom’s black eye, Read more…
She was at it again. Mrs. Barnett was getting out the scorecards and tallying up the points.
I sat with an older woman as she began enumerating her family’s shortcomings. “Callie never comes to see me,” she began to complain about her granddaughter. “And she never calls me either. I saw her sitting on the other side of the church last week and she didn’t even come over and give me a hug.”
“Benjamin is just as bad,” she continued, Read more…
Three weeks ago, I wrote about forgiveness. Let’s go there one more time and see how we’re doing. Those hurt feelings may rise to the surface, making you think you haven’t truly forgiven. But remember, the decision to forgive happens in a moment, but the feelings take a while. When you feel the hurt, remind yourself that you have already forgiven the person who hurt you and move on. Read more…
From the time I could hold a crayon in my chubby little hand, I’ve enjoyed creating various “works of art.” Many of those masterpieces ended up under the Christmas trees for family and friends. One year it was macramé hanging plant holders. Another it was a menagerie of decoupage wooden boxes. Then there were the years of framed cross-stitch, ceramic nativity sets, Read more…
[Before we begin today’s devotion, I want to say how overjoyed I am that nearly 200 women clicked on comment last week and took my challenge to forgive someone who had hurt them! Forgiveness begins with a decision, but the feelings of forgiveness can take a while to catch up. When negative feelings about that person rise to the surface, and they probably will, …
I was so confused. I was talking to God, but it seemed He wasn’t talking to me. There seemed to be a barrier between us. I was single, twenty-years old, and needed to make an important decision about my future, but I wasn’t hearing from God.
Have you ever had that experience? Talking but not hearing. Asking but not receiving? Read more…
My mom wore a two-carat diamond necklace that hung from a gold chain around her neck. My dad had given it to her for an anniversary. Before you say, “Good for her,” keep reading.
One day, when she was shopping in my little hometown, she walked through an alley separating two buildings. This spunky seventy-something year old held several packages and her purse looped over her wrist. Read more…
I watched my friend, Patricia, struggle through more than twenty years of a difficult marriage. Her husband left three times during the two decades—once before their three children were born, and twice after. They lived through nineteen different homes in multiple cities, revolving jobs, rumored affairs, cycles of financial plenty followed by financial deficiency. Eventually, after twenty-three years, Rodney packed his bags for the last time and left. 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…
