I was ready to roll. To the gym.
Workout clothes. Check.
Nylon backpack. Check.
Membership card. Check.
Off I went.
Upon arrival, I parked in a space close to the glass door so as to guard against over-exercising before I ever reached the treadmill or the mat. I dug my key fob, membership card, and phone from my purse and dropped them all into the side-pocket on my backpack.
Ready!
I popped the car door open then turned to step out onto the asphalt. That’s when my feet came into view. (more…)
I’m welcoming my friend and fellow Books & Such client, Sarah Forgrave, back to my blog. Sarah is the author of Prayers for Hope and Healing. and Prayers of Hope for Caregivers, her latest book.
Caring for someone with health needs can be emotionally, physically, and spiritually draining. Sarah has spent considerable time, both as someone struggling with serious medical issues and as the family member of a chronically ill patient, and she understands the many challenges caregivers face. I’ve asked Sarah to share a few ways we can best come alongside a friend or family member in a caregiving role.
5 Ways to Encourage a Caregiver
by
Eight years ago, I supported my sister through a heart transplant and housed her in the month afterward. Three years ago, my son faced a life-threatening infection that sent us to the ICU. In both cases, I poured out care for those I love—family members facing incredible need—but I also carried a huge amount of needs myself.
(more…)
Frustration and irritation will bubble just beneath the surface of our shuddering emotions, and if left unattended they will build steam and erupt into a full blown geyser. Perhaps today you’re battling the emotional boil that can come with feeling overwhelmed.
That was me. Frustration formed an underground spring out of I don’t even know what.
When we allow something—albeit a seemingly small disappointment or delay—to simmer inside us, it doesn’t take much else to switch the simmer to boil. (more…)
*The baby cries.
A dream startles us.
The dog jumps onto the bed.
Hubby snorts in his sleep.
The alarm sounds off.
Something wakes us up.
We listen for the baby.
Scold the dog.
Nudge the hubby.
Yawn.
Hit the snooze button.
Whatever we do in our not-sure-I’m-ready-to-be-awake moments, we can pack more power into our waking routine. (more…)
What is beauty?
The answer depends on who you ask. TV advertisers might hang a beauty sign on a particular height, size, color of eyes or skin or hair. Others might say beauty has more to do with a girl’s character qualities. Anger, jealousy, lying–I think we can agree that those aren’t beautiful traits, but compassion, love, and honesty are.
When I was invited to participate in this devotional, the title–The Beauty of Believing–captured my attention. The phrase made me consider my definition of beauty. It caused me to think about how what you and I believe creates true beauty. (more…)
In Dandelions on the Wind, Maren Jensen has immigrated to America, her heart full of plans to send for her family and give them a better life. When her failing eyesight narrows her own prospects for a new life, darkness begins to swallow her hope, along with her vision.
As Maren lifts a glowing match to the wick of an Advent candle to commemorate the coming of the Light of the world, she surrenders her darkness to God, looking to Jesus to be her Light.
“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world:
he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.’”
John 8:12, KJV
© 2012 Mona Hodgson, Author and Speaker
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
Proverbs 17:22 KJV
Book 4
The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek Series
“Hattie covered her mouth, but the giggle escaped anyway. Boney Hughes lay under her kitchen sink, his upper body concealed by the cupboard. His legs sprawled over her linoleum flooring.
Boney scooted out from under the sink and peered up at her. ‘You think me rappin’ my old knuckles on these leaky pipes is funny?’
Unable to stifle her amusement, Hattie nodded. ‘You look like a . . .’ She fanned herself, trying to regain her composure while he stood. ‘Like a fish out of water.’
Boney’s winter-white eyebrows arched. ‘A big old river catfish?’
Giggling, Hattie studied him from his wiry beard to his worn boots. ‘A smaller fish perhaps, but surely one with a big heart.’”
The proprietor of Miss Hattie’s boardinghouse and Boney Hughes understand the gift of a merry heart.
Worry weights our spirit and robs us of the joy of the Lord. A joyful spirit is primed for praise and laughter.
“The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” Psalm 28:7
Thank You, Lord, for the gift of laughter. Help me rest in You, so my heart will be lighter and my spirit merry. Amen
At one time or another, we’ve all been convinced that we’re the only one who can’t get it right. We have a kindred spirit in Vivian Sinclair.
The Bride Wore Blue, Book 3
The Sinclair SIsters of Cripple Creek series
“Vivian was nearly to the corner when she heard footsteps slapping the muddy road behind her. Her back and arms ached under the weight of her skirts as she forced a faster pace from her tired legs. Rain stung her eyes. A furious pulse pounded in her ears. Still she ran. How could she have been so stupid? So blinded?”
The youngest Sinclair sister arrived in Cripple Creek with a secret and felt unlovable, beyond God’s grace. The shame she carried pursued her.
Vivian made the suffocating mistake of measuring herself against the expectations of others and the appearance of those around her.
“God doesn’t list sins from the worst down to the slightest and judge a person accordingly. Only people do that.” Carter Alwyn in The Bride Wore Blue
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. ~Romans 5:1-2 KJV
Romans 3:23-25
1 John 1:8-9
Ephesians 2:8-9
John 14:6
1 Corinthians 12:9J
1 Peter 5:10
2 Peter 3:18
Proverbs 3:34
Everyone needs forgiveness. Nothing we can do in and of ourselves can reconcile us to our Holy God. When we place our faith in Jesus Christ, it is God’s free gift of amazing grace that bathes us in His forgiveness and washes us clean. And it’s the same for everyone. The natural response of someone bathed in God’s grace is to pour His grace onto others.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions, wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from sin. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steafast spirit within me. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. Thank You, Jesus, for being the Way to the Father; for being the Truth and the Life. Amen (Psalm 51:1,2,10,17 and John 14:6)
A Violent Grace by Michael Card
The Gift for All People by Max Lucado
Once Upon a Tree by Calvin Miller
The Color of Grace by Tonia Triebwasser
No Wonder They Call Him The Savior by Max Lucado
Have you embraced God’s amazing grace?
The gift of God’s grace came at a price for the Father who gave His only Son Jesus as payment for our sin. What does God’s gift of grace say about how He views you?
© 2012 Mona Hodgson, Author and Speaker
El Tovar Hotel at the Grand Canyon
The porch rockers at the El Tovar–our favorite place to be after standing at the rim to gawk.
“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it, for He founded it on the seas and established it on the waters.”
Psalm 24:1
“Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep.”
Psalm 36:5,6
“Truly He is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken, my salvation and my honor depend on God; He is my mighty rock, my refuge” Psalm 62:6,7
