Dirty Laundry
About fourteen years ago, Hubs had gone from sales into management and we found ourselves entertaining a lot from our home. Typically, we would have the person he was recruiting and their spouse over for dinner, and send the girls over to their grandmother's house, since she lived right behind us. However, one particular night, the couple we'd invited asked if they could bring their three-year-old daughter with them. M & E, 8 and 5 respectively at the time, were excited at the prospect of "babysitting", so we made it a family affair.They arrived about 6:30 with a darling little girl, her hair in perfectly-curled "dog-ears", a la "Cindy Brady". My girls each took her by the hand, and...
Changing One Heart for Many – Week 4
Just joining us? Please go here to catch up and join the movement!As I've mentioned before, I'm among those women who do not have an abortion in my past. However, I have a number of friends who have honored me with their trust in sharing this painful secret, and with whom I've partnered in prayer as they've walked their own journeys to healing. While the issue of abortion has always been important to me, it's really been over the last year that God has allowed my heart to become burdened by it. Burdened by the lives lost, certainly, but also by the profound pain that is left in those who've made the choice that, ironically, was supposed to relieve them of it.I've worked to try to get the...
The Beauty of a Broken Heart
Seems an odd post title on this day before Valentine's Day, doesn't it? Before the vision of a lonely and dejected young woman, surrounded by chocolates she bought for herself, settles uncomfortably in your mind, read on!I ran across a verse in Joel this week that has been reading itself over and over in my mind:Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity.Joel 2:13 NIVRend your heart. What does it mean to "rend"?Rend: \'rend\intransitive verb: to perform an act of tearing or splitting; to become torn or splittransitive verb: to tear as a sign of grief or...
Real Housewives
Last week, during my study of Esther with the Wednesday girls, we were discussing the things we found most tough about being a woman. One of the comments really stuck with me: [What I find tough about being a woman is] feeling like I have to defend my views on womanhood that are God-given qualities, but [are] constantly criticized by "women's movements". She went on to explain that what she holds dear about being a "housewife" - making a choiceto stay at home to care for her kids and husband - others continually downplay as sort of sad and demeaning. She's a college-educated gal, after all, and she could do "so much more" with her life. As a "housewife" myself, I completely understand...
Changing One Heart for Many – Week 3
Just joining us? Please read this to catch up on the movement!Since we started the Changing One Heart for Many prayer team three weeks ago, we have grown to a team of 150! One of our team members, Tammy, opened it up as a Facebook group and we are consistently growing, both there and here in the blogosphere. Many of you have placed the team button on your blogs (if you haven't, grab it today from the sidebar) and posted about it, also generating interest. In short, this idea is catching on and I'm believing God for it's continued growth and impact as we join together each Monday in prayer.Along with our scripture focus, I will continue to provide an abortion-centered news piece from the...