• 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

    Because You Are More Than Just a Number – devotional

    Editor’s Note: This is a guest submission from Maggie Meadows Cooper – one of my favorite Christian mom bloggers, and she just happens to have a great name!! Y’all, lately I have been feeling the pressure of numbers. So. Many. Numbers. The number of likes or followers on social media. The number of minutes ticking away from time with my family. The number in my bank account. The number of mistakes I make in a day. The number on the scale. The number for attendance at school events. The number of books sold. Number after number after number. This world will tell you that numbers define you. That they form…

  • Devotionals,  Faith

    The Faith that Endures – a devotional

    Editor’s Note: This is a guest submission from Agnes Amos-Coleman, who just writes the best devos for us! Thank you Agnes! My friends, I don’t know about you but there are times in my journey of faith when the journey just gets hard and I think, it is extremely difficult to make it through the day as a Christ follower.  It is during these times that the word of God in James 1:2-3 provides strength “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance”. As we grow in Christ, our faith will be…

  • Devotionals

    The Calendar – a devotional

    Editor’s Note: This is a guest submission from our dear friend June Titus! Thanks so much for sharing your stories with us, June! And he appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the ark of the Lord, and to record, and to thank and praise the Lord God of Israel: I Chronicles 16: 4 What sort of gift does a family give to aging folks who seemingly have no needs of the usual birthday or holiday gifts? When my parents were living, this question always came up with me. Now that my husband and I are “aging folks,” our family most likely asks the same questions, especially since we are newly weds with a blended family. This past Christmas we were pleasantly…

  • Devotionals,  Faith

    Removing my Ego – a devotional

    Editor’s Note: This is a guest submission by Rachel Erickson. Just read this one!! My husband and I and our four kids live overseas in Indonesia as missionaries. Yesterday I was in the kitchen making breakfast when my husband asked for some papaya leaf tea. It is a tea we brew whenever we start to feel a sickness coming on. So I go to our papaya tree, pick a leaf, soak it in bleach water for 20 minutes, rinse it off, boil it for 20 minutes, drain it, pour it in a cup, mix it with some chocolate powder and stir it. Ta-da! Done. I set it on the counter…

  • Devotionals

    Expecting Him – devotional

    Editor’s Note: This is a guest submission by Maria Drayton, who has generously shared her writing with us many times before! I’m grateful, Maria.  Expectation.  Sometimes I like to reflect over my life and remember times when the Lord showed up for me.  The days that He would answer my prayers quickly and I would just sit in amazement of His ability.  His ability to reach into my life and make His presence known.  Nowadays, I don’t have to look back too far to see His hand in my life.  Typically, if I look-I find Him.  Things weren’t always this way.  The days and nights of fighting back tears and…

  • Devotionals

    Come Sit On Our Couch – a marriage devotional

    Editor’s Note: This is a guest submission by Bhreagh Rowe. An awesome marriage devotional!  I think the biggest thing I struggle with is feeling like a crazy person. I literally feel like I am the only person in the world who cries every time I see a baby born on TV, or when Sassy comes over that hill in Homeward Bound or loses it on every time my 4 year old hits that stupid fork on the table and makes another dent. What about when the paper boy throws the paper at the end of my driveway and I can’t NOT not drive over it because its right in 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…

  • Devotionals,  Family

    After the Storm – devotional

    Editor’s Note: I thought I would just jump back right into posting devo’s! I have closed submissions for the time being – and you’ll be getting a fresh devotional to read every Monday morning for this fall! This is a guest submission by Heather Ream. This is somewhat of a follow-up to Heather’s previous post about her mom here. Thank you for sharing, Heather! My mom has been living in a nursing home now for a little over a year. Most of the time, she’s stable. I’m blessed to be able to write that. Praise you, Lord. Most of the time, she’s stable. Sometimes, she has a short series of…