Seven Ways to Connect with Your Audience

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“Eye contact with your audience is vital,” the presenter said at a seminar I attended. Eye contact? Gulp. Being blind, how in the world would I manage that? It was a crazy idea anyway for me to become a speaker. I’ll just share my stories and inspiration with groups of close friends. That became my plan. But God had a different one.

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Is It Raining At Your House?

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Hi, all! Ava Pennington here from not-so-sunny Florida. As I write this, it’s raining. At least my lawn and flowerbeds are happy. Is it raining where you are? I don’t mean the weather. Is it raining on your writing?  

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The Beauty of Meanwhile

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                            It's Grace Fox with a devotional thought to start your week. Sometimes life leaves us baffled or bruised. We wonder if God is as wise as He claims to be, and we question why circumstances don’t happen how and when we wish they would. When I feel this way, I take courage from the Scriptures. Recently I read about the prophet Samuel’s boyhood. One word—meanwhile—popped up several times in the account. It reminded me that, no matter what life looks like, God’s at work behind the…

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Feeling Weary?

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                            The word weary has captured my interest. This is likely because I recently spent hours preparing a retreat package based on Isaiah 40:28-31. Beautiful verses, they are: “Have you never heard or understood? Don’t you know that the LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth? He never grows faint or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; he offers strength to the weak. Even youths will become exhausted,…

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3 Words to Live By

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  Dianne Neal Matthews here, with a word of encouragement for your second Monday of the month. In order to share this message, I’m forced to admit something—and I hope it won’t lessen your opinion of me.

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Before He Went Away, Part 12

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As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. John 15:5 Good Monday morning from Elizabeth Baker! As wordsmiths and lovers of letters, authors often have a unique way of looking at the world. I suspect we tend to dig a little deeper and look for answers even when others are not asking questions! One of the first things a writer learns is to continually ask, “So, what?” For every article, every speech, every motivation of a fictional character, asking “So, what?” is critical to literary success….

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Got Hope?

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Hi! Sherry Kyle, here, writing from my laptop in central California with a word of encouragement for you. Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (def) hope:  1. to have a wish to get or do something or for something to happen or be true, especially something that seems possible or likely. 2. To believe, desire, or trust. What is your hope today?

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My Heart Leaps for JOY!

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Hi from the central coast of California. This is Sherry Kyle with a word of encouragment for you. Psalm 28:7 “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.  My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.”   I love this verse.  It reminds me of the chorus to the children’s song: “The joy of the Lord is my strength.”    Do you remember singing that song in Sunday School when you were a child?  For those of you who didn’t grow up in a Christian…

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Sing for JOY!

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Sherry Kyle, here, writing from my laptop in central California. Do you feel tired today? Has the festivities of Christmas worn you out? Maybe you had a deadline on top of all the shopping, decorating, and baking this past month and you’re at the end of your rope. Or perhaps it’s been a dry season and you’re hoping for a new book contract. 

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