Dianne Barker here, doing my favorite thing—spreading encouragement. I’ve chosen my verse for 2017. “…Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it” (Malachi 3:10b).
Category: Devotional
This is our archive pageGod with Us—Does that Make a Difference?
Dianne Barker here with a few thoughts about the presence of God with us. Long ago the prophet Isaiah wrote, “…The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14), which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23). What difference does his presence make in an ordinary life?
Advent Family Project You’ll Love
Hello from Kathy Collard Miller in the Southern California desert near Palm Springs where it’s finally cooling down. I’m looking forward to our “winter” that is never a winter wonderland, but still wonderful. Years ago I created an Advent family activity I called, “Box of Blessings.” It helped our family’s thoughts focus on the true meaning of Christmas. Here are the directions to create it. Wrap a large box with Christmas paper, wrapping the lid separate. Gather 24 visual aids, wrap each one individually, write out tags for each with an object lesson, Scripture and discussion question. (On each tag,…
Amazing Faith on Perseverance Road
Dianne Barker here with encouragement for your journey. Discouragement is a persistent enemy. That’s why I love offering others a sip of nourishment as they travel Perseverance Road. For most of us, hearing from God isn’t the problem. Our problem is continuing to believe God. We clearly heard his voice and gladly followed him. And then…the straight path grew narrow and tangled. Exhaustion turned our feet to lead and doubt set up camp. Lord, is this the road you chose? Did I miss a signpost?
Launch Out into the Deep
Dianne Barker here with a few words of encouragement. Are you tired of jumping hurdles and pushing past obstacles that seem to impede every step? Here’s an idea. Launch out into the deep and let down your nets! The Lord told Simon Peter after a disappointing fishing trip, “…Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch” (see Luke 5:1-11). A crowd had gathered around Jesus by the Lake of Gennesaret to hear his teaching. He got into Peter’s boat and asked him to take it out a little further from the shore. Then he sat…
Adopted as a Full Daughter
Greetings from Kathy Collard Miller in the Southern California desert near Palm Springs. Imagine that you’re an orphan in a children’s home, desperately wanting to be adopted. One miraculous day a family arrives, they point to you, and say, “We want that child.” You cry with gratitude as the papers are signed and notarized. You climb into the car with your new family. It’s finally happened. You belong! When you arrive at your new home, you’re astonished at how large it is. They show you a bedroom and it’s beautiful. “A room to myself?” you ask. They confirm it’s true. That…
Without Walls of Protection
Hola from Janet Perez Eckles…Igniting Your Passion to Overcome No landscape. No fancy doors. Not even a nice front. None of these are priorities for homes in La Paz, Bolivia. The wall you see in this picture is to guard the home. Every house has a protective barrier against thieves.
Bless Back
This Christmas, I had the joy of speaking at many women’s teas and Christmas events. My message was on “Christmas Light” and it is based on our family’s Christmas Advent Wreath and Dinner and Dialogue tradition. We use Isaiah 9:6 as the center of our celebration and conversation because it is the center of the hope and light we all enjoy because of Christ’s birth. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” This Christmas, which…
Fruit (A Writer’s Prayer)
Bob Hostetler here, offering another prayer for writers: Holy Spirit, cultivate and proliferate your fruit in my writing. Let love permeate my words. Help me experience joy in the writing, and let my readers experience joy in reading. Use my writing to spread shalom. Give me patience in the writing. Let goodness characterize what I write, and gentleness how I write it. Make and keep me faithful to you, to the publisher, and to the reader from beginning to end, and let God-given self control guide my every thought, impulse, and decision as I write, revise, edit, and review, in…
Wrestling the Dream-killer
Wrestling the Dream-killer Dianne Barker here, wondering…have you wrestled the dream-killer? Weariness and its family—exhaustion, fatigue, disillusionment—are experts at destroying dreams. Their persuasive whispers can talk us out of doing what we believe God called us to do. Authors battle weariness on many fronts. We begin a project with enthusiasm but time and trials slay our energy and our expectation. Who hasn’t felt searing pain when an editor slashed hope of publishing the manuscript we penned in heart’s blood? Who hasn’t stumbled under the weight of marketing demands? Who hasn’t declared, “I give up!” In such a place, questioning the worth…