She Was Just an Interruption

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Dianne Barker here, spreading encouragement. I must ask—do you ever feel like giving up? Are you tired of the hassle…tired of spinning your wheels…tired of feeling stuck? Facing a bleak future and overcome by hopelessness, have you muttered to yourself, Why bother?

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Afraid God Won’t Help?

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Hello from Kathy Collard Miller, enjoying the beautiful winter in the desert near Palm Springs, California. During challenging times, we can begin to believe that God won’t help us. At times, He’s silent or seems to delay. We become afraid and hesitant to trust. Will God really come through for us? Hebrews 13:5-6 assures us God is our helper: “be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper;
 I will not fear; 
what can man do to me?” If we don’t believe and trust that…

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10 D’s of Time Management for Writers

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“Nutty with a Dash of Meat” Jeanette Levellie here with some tips to help  you Shock the Clock and gain more writing time: Delight yourself in the Lord  Put God first and He will collaborate with you to help you meet your goals. Do away with fear Progress in baby steps, and ask friends cover you in prayer with each new venture. De-clutter and de-junk Managing clutter is a huge time-eater. Give yourself permission to throw or give away.  Enlist a friend’s help to de-junque.

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Make Reasonable Resolutions

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Hello from Kathy Collard Miller, writing from the beautiful desert near Palm Springs, California. It’s the New Year and I’m going to have to remember to write down 2017. And along with a new year often come the traditional resolutions. I’d like to encourage you to think a little differently about those. For instance, have you ever said things like: I’ll never get angry again.  I’ll always show love toward that person who is unlovable.  I’ll never be discontent again.  I’ll always be joyful in every circumstance.  I’ll have my devotions every day? It’s easy to think that such determination will…

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Look Around

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Quilting Encouragement with Mary Tatem Look Around A recent visit to Yosemite National Park kept us craning our necks to look up at the magnificent granite mountains that surrounded us.  Regardless of which direction we faced, immense pillars of stone reached to the sky, dwarfing even the tall Pines and occasional Sequoia. Beauty surrounding us. From the sounds of water crashing from tall mountain ledges to the caw of iridescent Ravens foraging for food, our ears were as absorbed with the of beauty as our eyes.  We left for home, our hearts bursting with thankfulness for the world God made…

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Courageous

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Quilting Encouragement with Mary Tatem When I visit the Jamestown ship, the Susan Constant, which sailed from England to land in the wilderness of Virginia, I never fail to marvel at the courage of those who left the security of a known life style for the uncertainty of how they would secure the basic necessities. The 116 foot ship bobbed over the ocean for four months with seventy-one passengers crammed into the cramped spaces. I would hesitate to travel to the Bahamas on that  little ship, let alone across the Atlantic. In May of 1607 when they disembarked on mosquito…

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Overcoming Those Pesky Time Thieves That Attack Writers

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“Nutty with a Dash of Meat” Jeanette Levellie here with a few ways to help you overcome those pesky time thieves that attack us all. When someone stole our credit card information, we canceled the card. But when time thieves break into my writing schedule and steal precious time, I shrug and say, “I’ll do that project tomorrow.” Too many of these robberies lead to unfinished projects and blocked goals. Your time-stealers may vary, depending on your personality. I imagine you can relate to at least some of these productivity robbers that regularly sneak up on me:

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God’s Smile

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Quilting Encouragement with Mary Tatem Lifting her feet high in order to run through the loose sand, the five-year-old girl’s face broadcast her delight in seeing me. She threw her arms around my legs. I bent to plant a welcoming kiss on her blonde curls, my heart awash with love for this precious child. Our faces beamed with smiles, and both of us laughed out loud at the joy of being together. In a moment she was back playing with her beach toys, but the bond between us was reinforced by that enthusiastic greeting. Her zeal wasn’t always so exuberant,…

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The Rich Young Ruler’s To-Do List

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Hello from Kathy Collard Miller in the Southern California desert near Palm Springs. It may be hot but as we say, “It’s a dry heat.” Do you want to see Jesus’ compassion and patience in action? It’s in Jesus’ encounter with the rich young ruler, even though the young man worships his “to-do” list. In one way or another, we’re all like the rich young ruler of Matthew 19:16-22. We just each have a different sinful strategy to cope with life. The young ruler’s sinful strategy was self-sufficiency through keeping the law and commandments. And when he talked to Jesus,…

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