How are you spending this forced stay-cation? I’ve been baking, cleaning, and catching up on those “will-do-sometime” projects. Thumbing through a stack of magazines that I didn’t have time to read when they arrived over the past few months, I’m ready to discard a bunch and free up space. I appreciate having time to organize. Friends tell me they’re cleaning and organizing, too. In our normal, busy life, we handle the urgent and leave everything else until a day when our to-do list isn’t so jam-packed. That day has come. Meetings have been cancelled. Stadiums are empty. Churches are live-streaming…
Tag: Dianne Barker
This is our archive pageLiving in Joy Is a Choice
I was just eighteen when I landed my dream job writing for our local newspaper during college. After graduation I joined the full-time staff, covering news stories and writing special features and a weekly column where I shared my Christian convictions. This brought invitations to speak for church and civic events. What wisdom did a twenty-something have to share? My favorite presentation, “Living in Joy,” I packed with quotes and Scriptures about happiness and how to find it. Being young and eager to tackle life’s big questions, I didn’t have much spiritual depth—but I offered a solid solution to every…
What to do When You Don’t Know What to do
What do you do when you don’t know what to do? In such a place, waiting for direction, I encouraged myself by reviewing the hard circumstances where God placed Moses. From the moment he appeared to him in a flaming bush, his life was never easy. Go to Pharaoh? Lead the Israelites out of Egypt? Who, me? After all his objections, Moses consented and set off on mission. Here’s the part of the Exodus story I love. God said to him: I will be with you. I will tell you what to say. I will tell you what to do….
Enjoy Your Holiday…Diligence Deserves a Reward
I think it’s a bit humorous that Labor Day is a vacation day. We celebrate labor by ceasing work. Today is the 125th anniversary of this national holiday paying tribute to the America worker’s contribution to our country. The value of a strong work ethic was highlighted centuries ago in the Book of Proverbs, which contrasts the diligent, hardworking man with the lazy, slothful man. “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth” (10:4). “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor” (12:24). “The lazy man does not roast his game, but the diligent…
The #CANCrown Awards Are Open!
Christian Authors Network Crown Awards #CANCrown on social media The CAN Crown Awards Celebrate Excellence in Christian Media and Marketing by Authors. Purpose of CAN Crown Awards: To recognize, educate, and encourage excellence in marketing and promotion skills of all Christian authors. Why? One crucial career area for Christian authors is marketing. (I know, stop rolling your eyes. Marketing can be fun!) The problem is that an author now has to wear so many hats. So many hats that the marketing hat may cause the whole stack to tumble if you don’t know how to make and follow through with a…
Love and the Laid-down Life
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Poignant words from the heart of Jesus, who would soon lay down his life for his friends. The words hold deep meaning for families who’ve lost loved ones in battle. They hold deep meaning for all of us who live in America, land of the free, home of the brave. We’re grateful for those who spilled blood on foreign soil, sacrificing their lives—the cost of freedom. Most of us will never find ourselves in treacherous war zones dodging enemy fire and…
A Chat with Author Dianne Barker
Warm April greetings from Marti Pieper in lovely Mount Dora, Florida, where we anticipate sunny celebrations of our Savior’s birth. I have a special guest for you to meet today. Dianne Barker and I became virtual friends through our love of writing and our mutual membership in CAN. I have long appreciated her gracious spirit and talent for putting just the right words together. Welcome, Dianne! Please tell us about your book. I Don’t Chase the Garbage Truck down the Street in My Bathrobe Anymore! throws a rope to the desperate drowning in disorganization. It offers practical strategies to organize…
Asking Why Puts Us in Good Company
Reading these words in Psalm 116:7 (KJV), “the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee,” reminded me of conversations with two of my strongest Christian friends. On the same day, both spoke of being mad at God. One said a relative felt angry because of what she considered the undeserved suffering that came into the life of her young child. “Why didn’t God do something?” The other friend spoke of a huge disappointment she had experienced. “Why didn’t God stop this?” Both friends felt God had not dealt bountifully with them. He hadn’t done what they asked and expected. He…
The Power of Discouragement
The enemy I battle most is Discouragement. I know better than to give that rascal a toehold in my life. But it slips in subtly, whispering hopelessness, just like long ago. Remember how the Israelites responded to Moses when he came to lead them out of bondage in Egypt. “Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh: Because of my mighty hand he will let them go; because of my mighty hand he will drive them out of his country…‘Therefore, say to the Israelites: I am the Lord and I will…
Sacrifice of Thanksgiving
“I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving…” (Psalm 116:17). From this verse I get the impression we offer thanksgiving with difficulty or under hardship—because we should do it, not necessarily because we want to do it. Early in my walk with the Lord, my expression of thanks depended on my circumstances. When favorable, my heart overflowed with gratitude and praise. I found it easy to rejoice and thank the Lord. I offered thanksgiving as a reward for his being good to me and withheld it if I thought he hadn’t treated me fairly. Then I read “in…