You Are the Apple of His Eye

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Greetings from Kathy Collard Miller in the Southern California desert near Palms Springs. Have you had your eyes examined lately? The last time my eyes were examined, I felt tense having that puff of air come toward my eye to test for glaucoma. I knew it was coming and the longer I waited for it, the more tense I became. I knew it wouldn’t hurt me, but it still scared me. I wanted to push the machine away and protect my eye. Do you feel like your eye is one of the most sensitive parts of your body that you…

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When You Are Too Busy

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“Nutty with A Dash of Meat” Jeanette Levellie here with a chapter from my latest  book, Touchable God: Finding the Lord’s Friendship Through Prayer, which releases next month. It is a combination of prayer-journey stories and prayers for friends in crisis. I thought you might find some strength in the prayer about busy-ness: “Lord, my friend is choking on responsibilities. She is trying to do too much, to be all things to all people. I know this is not Your plan for her. “Because she loves people and fears disappointing them, she says yes more than she says no. Her schedule is crammed…

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Amazing Faith on Perseverance Road

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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?

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God Loves Women!

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Hi, I’m Kathy Collard Miller greeting you from the desert near Palm Springs in Southern California. But don’t worry, it’s a dry heat! Today let’s talk about two women in the Bible: Rebekah and Rahab. God loves women! Not only did He create us, He features women in the Bible. He uses women for His purposes and glory. God values us and yet is honest about revealing the biblical women’s sins and mistakes. We all have been convinced we know best for ourselves or others, yet God hasn’t gotten the memo. In the case of Rebekah, she actually received the…

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Launch Out into the Deep

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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…

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Pray, Write, Pray

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Hi Everyone, it’s Judith Couchman. My assignment for this year focuses on blogging about writing: technique, practical pointers,encouragement, and such. I hope this helps you.   If you want to improve your prayer life, try writing. If you want to improve your writing life, try praying. —Ed Cyzewski If any profession produces anxiety, it’s writing. Writers fret about deadlines, the quality of their work, if they’ll publish, whether readers will buy their books, or if they’ll earn income. Potentially, the anxiety can paralyze getting the work done. Two thousand years ago a writer working under duress suggested an antidote for…

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I Prayed My Husband’s Plane Would Crash

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Greetings from Kathy Collard Miller in the Southern California desert near Palm Springs. When Larry and I had been married for seven years, we were completely disillusioned with each other. I couldn’t understand why Larry didn’t love me anymore. He certainly was far from being the Prince Charming I’d married. Oh Lord, what’s wrong with him? I moaned. I thought we were going to have a perfect marriage because You brought us together. But now we’re such strangers, we might as well be divorced. If only he wouldn’t work two jobs and fly planes as a hobby, we could be…

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From Tragedy to Triumph

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Dianne Barker here with encouragement for your hard place. Yes, I saw you there…stooped under that load and stumbling. I noticed the tears, too, and heard your heart’s cry. Why is life so complicated?

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What’s In A Name?

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Greetings from Kathy Collard Miller in the Southern California desert near Palm Springs. What’s in a name? Ask the clerk at the Los Angeles Superior Court, where, for a fee and the cost of filing a legal advertisement, anyone over the age of 18 can have his name changed. A newspaper article published years ago gave some examples of the name changes. Georgia Ricotta wanted her name changed. After all, who would want to be identified with a cheese? Her new name? Anna Novelli. “I picked my last name from a TV series,” the new Anna says.

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Three Ways to Beat the Writer Blues

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Hi Everyone, it’s Judith Couchman. My assignment for this year focuses on blogging about writing: technique; practical pointers, encouragement, and such. I hope this helps you on the writing journey. Some people call it writer’s block. I call it writer blues. You just can’t face that writing project today, or tomorrow, or next week.  Or you can’t think of a stunning idea. But a deadline looms, and you need a boost. A host of suggestions can help you get unstuck. But rather than overload your brain and schedule, I’m offering a few that work for me.

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