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What we long for…
I realize we’re all past the initial excitement of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, but there’s a line in the movie that I just can’t stop thinking about. It was a line that literally caught my breath in my throat and produced an audible noise! When I experience something like this, there’s only one logical thing to do…write about it. The line was spoken by Maz Kanata, a female pirate who is over a thousand years old; whose age old wisdom shows through in a short conversation with Rey. Assuming every reader has seen this movie, I’m sure you remember the scene. Rey had stumbled into a…
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Heidi, Zombies and My Heavenly Home
Thanks to the prompting of a friend, I recently read Johanna Spyri’s, Heidi. I really can’t believe I’ve made it this far in life without having read this most delightful tale. My life will forever be changed because of a child that lives only on the pages of a book. While reading Heidi, I often found myself stopping mid-sentence, resting the open book on my chest and getting lost, deep in thought. I found myself thinking thoughts like, “If Heidi were real, I would very much like to take her by the hand and stroll through tall grasses, admiring God’s wondrous creation.” If you aren’t familiar with…
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The Gift of Compliments
I’m not unlike most women…I have a fairly low self-esteem. Perhaps it’s the effect of sin in the world that causes me to dislike what I see in the mirror rather than appreciating God’s handiwork. Perhaps it’s the culture I live in…being bombarded from every angle with images of what is and isn’t beautiful. Perhaps it’s personal experience…sins that have been committed against me that left me feeling inadequate and unattractive. Perhaps it’s the fact that I’m getting older and my body is changing. I suppose the truth is, it’s a combination of all these things. So, like most women, I walk around wishing I liked myself a little…
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What’s Your Motivation?
I recently read a heartbreaking article written by an anonymous sister in Christ. In this article, the woman spoke about the Proverbs 31 woman and how trying to mimic this picture perfect woman is nothing short of exhausting! She said that simply reading Proverbs 31 made her want to give up, sit down and take a nap. She went on describing the many wonderful qualities of this wonder woman and in a rather sarcastic tone, talked about how she didn’t understand why any woman would do all these praiseworthy things! Where was the motivation? Then she came to the second sentence in verse 28, “and he praises…
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How to Teach Your Child Contentment
I’ve been asked a lot of questions by young mothers over the years. One question that stands out in my mind is, “How do I teach my child to be content?” Discontentment isn’t a struggle exclusive to children – adults struggle with this too. We live in a society that tells us we deserve the best of everything and we deserve to have it now! We tend to find our self worth in our possessions and long for what others have. Being discontent is a very real struggle, one that can lead to a life time of heartache if not kept in check. Please read my article recently posted on Crosswalk.com to…
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Interview with author Linda Ridley
“We were all children once…” says Linda Ridley. This is why we can all relate to her book, The Journey of Lucinda Jane . This touching tale follows a beautiful, hand-finished doll as she embarks on a 140-year journey from beloved plaything, to damaged toy, to an exciting rescue and resurrection. I hope you enjoy getting to know Linda and The Journey of Lucinda Jane. Linda, tell us about your book, The Journey of Lucinda Jane. The Journey of Lucinda Jane is my first book. This story is about a beautiful, wax over paper mache doll which was not…
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The Privilege of Grieving
Over the past nine years, my husband and I have lost seven family members and almost as many friends. Obviously the grieving process looks different depending on the relationship, but something I’ve learned is that grieving is one of the hardest, most exhausting things I’ve ever done. This week as we buried my husband’s grandfather, we had moments of laughter as we shared stories and celebrated his life, and also moments of tears as we felt his absence among us. Although we rejoice that he has gone on to his heavenly home, we also know that for us, the long process of grieving has only just begun. …
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Interview with author Tim Shoemaker
My family had the privileged of meeting Tim Shoemaker at the Cincinnati Homeschooling Convention this summer. Our oldest son, Daniel (14) first noticed The Code of Silence series because of the great cover art. After reading the book’s synopsis, Daniel was hooked; he had to own the series and couldn’t wait to get back to our hotel room to start reading them. He had all three books read within a week and then handed them to his brother. Levi (13) took longer to read them through, but he says that’s because he, “had to stop every once in a while to let his heart calm down!” I’ll also add that…
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The painful side of Father’s Day
I recently had lunch with a friend that bluntly stated, “I HATE Father’s Day.” My friend, like many others I know, didn’t grow up with a kind, loving father. So, for her, Father’s Day is a reminder of the Hallmark type dad she didn’t have. If you think about it, all the cards on the rack for Father’s Day say really sweet things, praising wonderful fathers. Here are a few samples of card headers I saw in the store this year: To the world’s best dad… To my wonderful father… My dad, my hero… Then, you open them and find gushy words about how he set such a…
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Teaching our children to pray for bullies…
As we enter into summer, our kids look forward to a break from all things school related. But, I challenge you to take advantage of the summer months and encourage your kids to pray…specifically for the school bullies. I realize that not all students have a dreaded bully in their life, but even so, most students at least know who the school bullies are. So, I encourage you to read my latest article posted on Crosswalk.com entitled 3 Biblical Reasons You Should be Praying for Bullies.
