Family

  • Family

    A Love Letter to Christmas

    Merry Christmas Divas! Man, I prayed all fall and December for words or meaning or a theme from God to share with you all here on Devotional Diva. I always do something special on Devotional Diva for Christmas, because it’s my favorite holiday, of course. But nothing came. No guidance, no whispers, no inspiration, no creativity. Not until today, in my shower of all places. And now I’m proud to say I wrote this special little diddy just in the NICK of time. (No pun intended Saint Nick.) When I was a kid, we always spent Christmas Eve at my grandmother‘s house. It was magical. My grandmother was and is…

  • Devotionals,  Faith,  Family,  Health & Body

    An Empty Easter (Renee Returns!)

    Editor’s Note: An Empty Easter is Founder Renee Fisher’s return! Thank you Renee for this guest post! Remember, Divas, submissions are open INDEFINITELY 🙂 “Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life…and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.’”  1 Kings‬ ‭19‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭ESV Elijah didn’t have the strength or the patience to continue. He thought his life was over. So he ran to an empty cave and asked God to die.  “God has a different read on the whole situation.…

  • Devotionals,  Faith,  Family

    After Death Comes Life

    I launched Devotional Diva as a single person in 2009 under the name Renee Johnson. It was my dream to use that platform to get noticed and become a published author. God knew. A few months later, NavPress signed me for my first book, Faithbook of Jesus, a 365-daily devotional. It released one year later while the ink was drying on the trademark I purchased for Devotional Diva.  Talk about a whirlwind.   I experienced tremendous growth as an author those first few years as well as personal. My first book sold so well that NavPress signed me for another book. Then the economy tanked.  It was a God-sized miracle that Harvest House signed me for…

  • Devotionals,  Faith,  Family

    3 Ways to Get Your Christmas Joy Back – Diva Christmas 2020

    Editor’s Note: This is a guest story by Juliana Gordon. Welcome, Juliana! Readers, I hope if you’re feeling a funk this year, this devotional can be an encouragement! Have you ever been in a shop that sells Christmas decorations year-round? Or heard of households that left up a tree – on purpose – for most of the year? I know people like that, who live for December! They have boxes of decorations, special Christmas dishes, and even an assortment of holiday sweaters to wear throughout the season. They cannot get enough of the festive music, Christmas traditions, and holiday movies. I used to be like that. Then 20 years or…

  • Devotionals,  Faith,  Family

    A Different Christmas – Diva Christmas 2020

    Editor’s Note: This is a guest story by our friend here at Devotional Diva, June Titus! June has pulled out a great message this year for Christmas. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10 Christmas this year may be a little different from what we are used to. With “social distancing,” limited air travel, and general disruption in our country, we may have to re-invent Christmas. Churches have no plans for the usual dramas and musical programs, and the cities have canceled their parades and iconic festivities. It’s like Christmas has been stolen from…

  • Devotionals,  Faith,  Family

    Believing We Are Right…But Still Being So Very Wrong

    Editor’s Note: She’s back again, our veteran writer with my favorite name! Maggie Meadows Cooper! While home on quarantine, I have had the privilege (and let’s be real…sometimes headache) of homeschooling my sweet babies. One is in preschool, preparing for the start of Kindergarten in the Fall. We have been working on addition and subtraction with numbers 1-10, and she had been doing great…when the problems were written down on paper. But after practicing a bit, I decided to ask her some problems out loud and see how she did. So I asked expectantly, “Ok baby, what is one plus one!?” And she answered, “Eleven!” Hmmm…a conversation ensued explaining that…

  • Devotionals,  Family

    Shadows: A Mother’s Day Devotional

    Editor’s Note: This is a guest story by Sheila Lloyd! Welcome back Sheila. I hope that this devotional can be an encouragement to you all today. Shadows lengthen on a mid-October lawn reminding me of Autumn afternoons of my childhood and adolescence in a veritable garden of love, where kindness and tenderness cast long shadows on walls of growing maturity. The gift, not only of being loved but actually enjoyed, of not just feeling protected but also supported and celebrated, engendered confidence to fly high pursuing dreams. And when the wild blue yonder conjured up storms that tore the parachute, my parents were soft piles of hay ensuring a safe…

  • Devotionals,  Faith,  Family,  Health & Body

    What Did I Learn Through My Husband’s Stroke? – a devotional

    Editor’s Note: This is a guest submission from Sheila Lloyd. Sheila’s husband had a stroke in 2014, and this is part of their story of recovery. Thanks so much, Sheila! WHAT DID I LEARN THROUGH THE STROKE?  How I am more like Jesus because of this experience? I WILL ADMIT, WHEN ONE OF MY EDITORS POSED THESE QUESTIONS TO me, I was at a loss. So…as I am flying in a plane at 20,000+ feet, I will endeavor to dive into that question and see what happens.  Couldn’t pay me to strap on a parachute and jump, but then again, this kind of feels just as precarious. Do I wish…

  • Devotionals,  Family

    Can You Be Happy and Single? – a devotional

    Editor’s Note: This is a guest submission from Jennifer, the Sunflower Mom! Thanks for sending this in, Jen! “Are you happy?” she asked me. A friend I hadn’t seen in a few months asked me this question early one Saturday morning over coffee. She knew some of the depression I’ve been wading through the last few years. “Yes,” I replied, closing the conversation so the discussion could move on to more comfortable topics. Later that evening I thought about that question. Happy is a fleeting emotion. When I look back at my life, I’d only describe one season as truly happy: those first few months of awestruck wonder when my…

  • Devotionals,  Faith,  Family

    Joyfully Abandoned – a devotional

    Editor’s note: This is a guest submission by Ann Grace. She has shared her story before – most recently here. Today’s devotional may be hard to get through as it’s very emotional, but powerful. Thank you, Ann. Is it even possible to be joyful in the midst of feeling abandoned? My life has been filled with my share of feeling abandoned and lonely but these days, I’m once again experiencing it again. My husband of 1 year has left us. No contact. No “I love you”. Nothing. It’s been almost two weeks of pure grief not knowing whether he will come back or file for divorce. I’m angry. I’m confused…