Welcome to My Blog
I Get Distracted During Prayer! Help!
I get distracted during prayer. My mind turns to other ideas, circumstances, concerns, and ... well, just about anything. As a result, I feel defeated and so unspiritual. Sometimes I just want to give up and stop praying. Certainly, God must be unhappy with me. Are...
Need Ideas for Giving Thanks for your Spouse?
Happy Thanksgiving! I hope your day is very special. I'm excited to share with you some important insights from my friends, Bob and Roxann Andersen who have a very important marriage ministry and are the authors of The Marriage Dance: Moving Together as One. Since...
Deep Thoughts from Puritan Stephen Charnock
Make Resolutions? Yes or No?
The winner of the drawing for Erica Wiggenhorn's new book The Unexplainable Church: Reigniting the Mission of the Early Believers (a study of Acts 13-28) is...drum roll....Nicci Rameriz. Congratulations, Nicci! I know you'll love Erica's book. I'll contact you by...
How to Listen Well to Your Children
I remember many years ago when my then-twelve-year-old daughter and I attended a mother-daughter retreat. I forget what prompted our discussion but she confronted me saying, "You don't listen to me before you make a decision on my requests." I knew it was true. I was...
Book Give-Away! “The Unexplainable Church” by Erica Wiggenhorn
It's Book Give-away time for this month and I'm so very happy to welcome author and speaker Erica Wiggenhorn. She blesses me through everything she does and her latest book is powerful. The Unexplainable Church: Reigniting the Mission of the Early Believers! is the...
What Is Humility Anyway?
A lot of us think humility means debasing ourselves, but being humble actually means acknowledging what God has done in our lives. The Greek word for humility originally was used by writers to communicate something negative: “groveling” or “abject.” But the Apostle...
My Husband Should Read My Mind
I didn't realize I went into marriage believing Larry should read my mind. I just thought it should be obvious what I was thinking. After all, if I did something, I obviously was communicating something clear. So I filtered what my new husband did through my thinking:...
Rejection Hits Like an Atom Bomb in Our Soul
Rejection hits like an atom bomb in our soul. Personal rejection can be described as someone refusing to accept what we offer or they believing something bad about us. We feel attacked and misunderstood. Recently I felt sick in the depths of my stomach and my soul...
Four Keys to Contentment
Have you ever thought, “If only I didn't have these problems, I could be the peaceful person God wants me to be”? Or "If only people would cooperate, I could have contentment and peace"? At times we believe contentment is based upon diminishing, even eliminating, our...
Thinking “I Just Know…” Warns of Worry
The story of Jochebed in Exodus 2 is a riveting story of coping with worry about the most horrendous thing any mother could ever imagine: the death of her newborn son. Can you imagine? No wonder she might have had thoughts like, "I just know..." Jochebed had a lot to...
4 Ways to Abide in Jesus
We know Jesus says in John 15:7 “Abide in me, and I in you.” But sometimes abiding seems like the most vague biblical concept there is. What is abiding and how do I abide? Here are 4 ways to abide in Jesus and see a difference in your life. For over two years, I’ve...
Women Love the Trip; Men Love the Arrival
I didn't realize my beloved husband looked at driving differently than me. I learned women love the trip; men love the arrival. No wonder there's tension traveling. It was many years ago and I was so excited. It was our first vacation since our honeymoon. I was going...
I’m Not A Worry Wart. Or am I?
When I was honest with myself, I had to admit, "I'm a worry wart." I don't think that term is used so much any more but I was like "him." Why did I say "him"? Evidently, the phrase "worry wart" was invented by a cartoonist as the name for a comic strip character who...
Guest: Joanie Shawhan: “Cancer: A Word that Strikes Terror”
I'm so glad to welcome another writer from WordGals, which was founded by Kathy Carlton Willis. One of Kathy's "WordGals" is Joanie Shawhan and she is an ovarian cancer survivor. Isn't that wonderful? So, welcome, Joanie, and thank you for blessing us with your story...
Procrastination! Why Do I Do It?
“Why does procrastination haunt me? I want to stop delaying but I keep putting things off.” Just the other day I figuratively shook myself by my lapels and asked, “Kathy, why do you let the dishes stack up? It looks so messy!” Why do I procrastinate? I had to be...
Guest: Michelle Rayburn: “Savoring the Not-So-Perfect Life”
I'm so pleased to be able to have guest Michelle Rayburn share with you. She's a part of Kathy Carlton Willis' "WordGirls" group. Kathy offers these posts during the month of September and here's the second one from them. Please welcome Michelle with some comments at...
Wrong Reactions Have a Long Memory
And the winner of the drawing for Little Women; Big God by Debbie W. Wilson is... DRUM ROLL...Joy! Congratulations, Joy! I will give your information to Debbie and she will contact you. Thank you very much to everyone who participated. It might be an exaggeration that...