Have you ever had a dream that just wouldn’t let you go … but it didn’t go anywhere, either? I’m a freelance writer, and long seasons of waiting for dreams to become reality just come with the territory. But sometimes those waiting periods can feel like an eternity. Even if you’re not a writer, I’m guessing you can relate. About twenty years ago, I had the idea of doing a devotional for people who love fiction. Since I’d been teaching at writers’ conferences for years, I’d connected with authors at all levels, including well-known best sellers. So there were…
Tag: encouragement
This is our archive pageDrawing Close
My husband Dale and I have experienced medical challenges—cancer, Parkinson’s disease, multiple surgeries, hospitalizations, and illnesses. We’ve had challenges in our adult children’s lives—financial stresses, unemployment, school struggles, health issues, and major moves across the country and the world. We’ve had life challenges—job changes, aging parents, home and car repairs, and so much more. Yet all these circumstances have actually brought us closer together because we’ve chosen to lean on each other, to draw strength from each other. You can, too. Sometimes your marriage will be easy. But other times the potholes or detours of life, the circumstances and…
Finding God’s Purpose
By Dianne Barker “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain” (Psalm 127:1NIV). Got it. Unless the Lord does it, our best efforts will fail. Synonyms for “vain” are ineffective, hopeless, unsuccessful, unproductive, futile, useless, worthless. Why would anyone pursue such a life? Who gets up in the morning desiring your day’s work be ineffective, unsuccessful, unproductive, futile, useless, worthless? We’re off and running, determined to achieve something significant. But if we’re trusting in our own wisdom and strength, our best efforts will be…
Footprints in the Sand
By Mary Tatem Tiny footprints. Waffle soles of sporting shoes. Delicate three-pronged bird tracks. What an interesting variety of footprints I saw in the sand on my early-morning walk down the beach.
Survival Kit for Desperate Places
Dianne Barker here with encouragement for your journey. I don’t love disappointments, delays, or detours. Life would be sweet if we could just go our well-planned way, checking off finished projects one by one. But unwelcome interruptions are reality. I wasted a lot of life fretting and grumbling, allowing circumstances to disturb my peace and steal my joy. Not any more!
Be An Effective Mentor
Be An Effective Mentor. Hello from Kathy Collard Miller, writing in the very hot desert near Palm Springs, California. One of the many goals of mentoring is helping our mentee identify her motive for the choices she makes. She may not realize it but all of us react, respond, and choose based upon what we desire and want. Or what we think will prevent some kind of emotional pain, maybe even physical pain. Helping our mentee to recognize what can seem well-hidden is a challenge. My husband and I are lay-counselors and as we try to help people make wise…
A Weak Writer’s Prayer
Bob Hostetler here, offering another prayer for writers: Abba, I am a weak writer: insecure, inadequate, in over my head. But you chose Ehud because of his weakness. You used him, not to mention Moses, David, Jeremiah, Paul, and others (though I did just mention them; see what I mean?). So grant me the faith to believe that you can choose me and use me too.
How Do You View Spiritual Growth?
Hello from Kathy Collard Miller in the Southern California desert near Palm Springs where our perfect weather has begun. How do you envision spiritual growth? Most of us think of it visually like a linear time line. On the left side of the line we make a step of progress and the temptation seems to be behind us and we won’t address it again. We have moved along that line to the right and we’ll only encounter new challenges—not old ones. But that’s not an accurate visual of change. Change is more like a spiral. Let’s call it a whirlpool. We’re…
Lily Pads
Mary’s Monday Musings to Quilt Encouragement — Lily Pads The lake teamed with life, both plant and animal life. The interesting view of varied grasses punctuated with groups of lily pads called for us to sit and enjoy the scene. We spotted a crane land and watched him fish for his breakfast. We heard his rasping call. Every morning the large white lily blooms opened to greet me when I slipped past sleeping family and out the door to enjoy the scene. Every evening they closed their petals into a ball resting upon its wide green leaf. The lilies on…
One Gear—Forward!
Dianne Barker here spreading encouragement. A television documentary on ship building surprised me with inspiration. The narrator said that massive vessel under construction had only one gear—forward.
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