Category: Devotionals

I am overwhelmed with how beautifully supportive everyone has been about our House Hunters episode!  Thank you all for watching!!! The last couple of weeks we’ve had a mini-series at church on generosity; it has been so good.  The whole idea of generosity is nothing new to this lifelong church going girl, but it’s never…

The air in the room was cold, not quite cold enough to make clouds of her breath, but cold enough for her nose to lose its feeling.   She couldn’t sleep, there was no use trying.  Tomorrow was Christmas and she’d counted down the days since, well, since a lot of days ago.  The excitement she…

I remember when I got serious about praying to overcome fear, I was afraid to pray about it. How about that for irony? I wanted to overcome fear, but I was afraid to overcome fear. Go figure. It took some time to identify what I was dealing with; fear can disguise itself in so many…

I woke up Sunday morning, after a rough night of little sleep, not feeling like going to church. I am a big believer in going to church because it lifts my spirits and centers me with teaching from God’s word to face the week. Not this day, though. This day I wanted to stay home…

The power of influence. To me, influence is when the people in your life want to do the things you suggest or teach. I also think influence happens in the home, how we are treated by those we love, it affects our behavior. We are influenced in many ways: TV shows, books, perfect strangers, conversations,…

This has been one of those days where I had to practice what I’ve been preaching. The house has been a flurry of life and love lately and suddenly I myself all alone today. So, I got dressed in something that made me feel cute and I made a mental list of my favorite things…

At some point in our lives we’re forced to face the depths of our hearts and emotions. Usually there’s a catalyst that forces us to this place, something like mid-life crisis or the crushing pain of loss. When we get to this vulnerable place of self-reflection, we learn a lot about ourselves and why we…

I was sitting by the pool in a beautiful place wondering what I was feeling. I was so happy to be on this trip, and I couldn’t have asked for a better destination or company. What was making me feel so, so…what? What was it? Uncomfortable. The word hit hard, and it resonated. I felt…

I got the chance to practice what I’ve been preaching a couple of mornings ago. You see, I was rushing out the door to a gym class and I was already going to be either right on time or late, depending on the traffic. I was a tad bit irritated when I got to the…

Recently I gave myself a challenge. My goal? To talk to as many strangers as possible and give them the gift of a compliment. Research has shown that even if you feel completely awkward or cheesy, when someone hears a compliment (that you’ve given them), they are immediately a little bit happier. So, I decided…

I’ve been trying to get out of my comfort zone lately. I really like my comfort zone, ya know?!. But I know growth makes me happier. So, I’ve been doing things that make me feel vulnerable so that I’ll have to deal with that fragile feeling and hopefully become more willing to try new things.…

I bought a hummingbird feeder. I’ve always wanted one, and I finally decided to turn my wishing into action. I brought it home, made a homemade sugar and water mixture then my husband hung it off the back of the house. I was (am) so excited about it! It didn’t take long before I started…

Sometimes I think I expect happiness to enter my life without invitation and fill my days. I’m learning that consistent happiness is intentional. You know, you can be “okay” and never realize that you’re not very happy. It can be so subtle. One day you notice that things around you seem gray. And you wonder…

I’ve been working on keeping my mind on things that make me happy. It’s way too easy to notice the negative and give it too much head space. I told you guys in a previous post that happiness is not just a goal, it’s a continuum; it’s harder to explain than you might think. I…

We planted butterfly bushes on the side of our house recently; I am so excited about what this means…butterflies!! As a matter of fact, as I was pulling out of the garage a few days ago, I saw a big yellow one fluttering right above one of the purple blooms. I had to stop and…

I love human behavior. I just love it. I love understanding why we do the things we do; I love learning about social ques and how to be happier. I could go on and on… It’s my thing. I’m only just discovering how much I love it, and I plan to dig deeper into this…

I saw blue lights flashing up ahead as I drove home this morning. I always pay attention to blue lights because you never know what it may mean: lane closure, red light not working, someone getting a ticket, construction, or any number of things. I slowed down, made sure I was under the speed limit…

The picture today is my gym inspiration and oldest son. This morning, I woke up NOT in the mood to go to the gym or do anything really. I gave myself multiple excuses, which sounded like good reasons, to stay home and, I don’t know, not do anything hard. Drinking coffee and sitting on the…

She stood in worship, clapping her hands in joy as the lyrics of the song pierced her very soul.  If you asked her what she felt most in that moment, she would have been hard pressed to give an answer.  How about everything? How about all the emotions:  happy, grateful, contemplative, reverent, hopeful, fearful, overwhelmed,…

I kept checking the weather app desperate for something to change.  But, no matter how many times I closed and opened the app, no matter how many times I wished for a different outcome, it was always the same.  The chance of rain was high, really high, and I knew our drive was going to…

I think I’ve told you before that I am a nervous flyer.  Yes, my husband is a pilot, but unfortunately his love of being thousands of feet in the air hasn’t transferred to me.  Interestingly, I wasn’t afraid of flying when I was young, I enjoyed it.  But, somewhere along the way a fear began…

Happy Mother’s Day! My mother will celebrate from the beauty of heaven as she has for the last nine years.   There’s not a day that goes by I don’t think of her.  So many of you can relate.  We find ourselves in the awkward place of celebrating being a mother but not having a mother…

I have been OVERWHELMED with encouragement and love from so many of you! 🙏🏻 I’m SO glad you’re enjoying the story! 👏🏻 I honestly believe the Lord gave it to me, every single word. And because the story belongs to Him, I’m donating every single dollar earned from sales to missions. I’m praying and watchful…

I’m sitting in my living room staring out the sliding glass door at an overcast day, willing myself not to turn on the news.  It’s so tempting to watch and speculate about what could happen next. I’ve had a lot of time to think lately.  We all have, what with the quarantine and all.  Sometimes…

It snowed this morning.  For this girl from the Deep South who’s only seen snow maybe twice in the last thirteen years, it was a big deal.  My dog and I played in the back yard while the white flakes peppered our hair.  Such a fun way to start the day.  It made me feel…

Joy stealers. They’re real. Since I talked to you last week, I have had some serious frustrations come galloping into my life in an attempt to trample anything that resembles joy.  If you believe in karma, you might think shouting my promise of joy for all to hear set off a series of cataclysmic happenings…