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Life, life, and more life
[Guest Post by Wendy van Eyck – When my good friend from South Africa told me that she published her first book–Life, life, and more life–AND is giving it away for free at ilovedevotionals.com, I asked her to share with us. Enjoy and be encouraged.] How God found me in my darkest time I was 21 when I realized that I did not want to kill myself anymore. After months of struggling with depression the darkness was beginning to lift. For months my soul had been in a place where light didn’t penetrate and I couldn’t see hope. When I was growing up–blowing bubbles, climbing jungle gyms and jumping on…
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Mental Illness Does Not Define You
Over the years I have learned a very important lesson that mental illness does not define me. It does not define you either. Yes! There are days, weeks, months, and even years when it doesn’t feel that way–but it’s true. Pastor Rick Warren said in a recent sermon, “Your [mental] illness is not your identity, your chemistry is not your character.” That quote means even more when you realize he has lived it. His son Matthew recently took his life. He was only 27 and struggled with mental illness his whole life. I highly recommend that you watch the video sermon in its entirety here. I wanted to share the 6…
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Why Sexual Harassment at Work is Wrong
Two things happened today that have caused me to write this blog immediately. The first is that Mayor Filner of San Diego is resigning as of 5 PM on August 30th. The second is that I ate at the restaurant Karl Strauss for the first time since I was sexually harassed in their parking lot many years ago by a former coworker. I am infuriated that men like Mayor Bob Filner think it’s okay and appropriate behavior to sexually harass women in the work place. As a woman who has been sexually harassed in the work place twice, I am not only offended–I am downright angry. Some of you may…
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When God Intervenes
[Guest Post by Dabney Hedegard – Her story inspired me and I couldn’t wait to share. Through her story, God showed me how proud I had become towards my future children. If God could allow Dabney to have her first child while battling cancer, what’s my excuse? I hope you enjoy. You can purchase a copy of her new book, When God Intervenes here.] We brought Madison home after a week in the NICU. I finally learned how to cradle and dress her five-pound preemie body without feeling as if I’d break something. I couldn’t kiss and snuggle with her enough. A week and a half after Madison’s birth, she and Jason kept…
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Forgiving Others, Forgiving Me Releases Today
Forgiving Others, Forgiving Me releases today! I created a new website for Forgiving Others, Forgiving Me. At forgivingme.com, you can: + Locate bookstores are selling + Learn why I wrote the book + FREE Extras: Download Chapter 1 for free and a free eBook of all the scriptures on forgiveness from my book. Also, at www.forgivingme.com, I will soon be releasing Chapter Videos so you can go along with the Discussions Questions at the back of the book. If you’re looking to host a 7-week Bible Study on forgiveness, you will be able to soon! In my new book you can learn to forgive your past and discover your future. “I had been writing in my…
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Baby Steps of Forgiveness
[Guest Post by Catherine Hawkins – I always appreciate guest post authors who become regular readers and submit again. I always love watching a new friend grow, who is both willing and unashamed to share. May we learn to be as brave as Catherine!] A woman from church once told me, when I was small and easily wounded, that “Christ has forgiven so much; we have no right not to forgive others.” That weighed on me a long time, because no matter how hard I tried, forgiveness was elusive. I remembered slight after slight, and they seemed to build on each other until it seemed I was a walking wound.…
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My Scarlet Letter
[Guest Post by Kathy Moore – I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Kathy for a few years, and now that we live close to each other she’s become a close friend. I hope you’ll love her redemption from divorce story as much as I’ve enjoyed watching it in real life!] Let’s get real—It’s been an intense three years. It seems that hit (sometimes literally) after hit keep coming. Thankfully it hasn’t been constant and there have been more figurative hits than literal, but the fact remains, it’s been a tough three years since my husband and I got divorced. This is just a fact, nothing more. I have crumbled a…
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My Bucket List
I like to celebrate things. In fact, it’s no secret that I celebrate just about everything! Yesterday I wrote on Facebook, “Praising God for an amazing and way-too-exciting birthday month. Can’t believe I’m about to admit this, but I’m so glad it’s over so I can go back into my writing cave AKA my office and write stuff to encourage others, including myself!!!” With that said, I can’t wait to celebrate a few things this July! (1) I started working out exactly one year ago today. July 2nd means a lot to me because I overcame the fear of exercising while taking anxiety meds (it just feels differently). I used…
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Forgiving the Church
Today, I am honored to be a part of Quarter Life Conference by speaking on a topic close to my heart–forgiving the church. When it comes to my heart for the church–I’d say it has been growing since I was 5 years old! That’s the day I asked God to come into my heart, forgive me of my sin, and make me new! In the 25 years since I became a Christian–I’ve encountered many hurts from people who call themselves followers. People who go to church. And I’ve also hurt other people. None of us are perfect, and in light of my new book Forgiving Others, Forgiving Me, I wanted to…
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Your Love Can't Change Him
[Guest Post by Teryn O’Brien – Want to know why I appreciate her so much? She writes things I swear I could have written. It just makes me want to fly to Colorado Springs, CO and give her a big, BIG hug. If you didn’t already read her previous post, Follow God’s Heart–you should read that immediately after reading this post!] In many chick flicks and romance novels today, there is a common storyline. It goes like this: Bad boy meets awkward, shy girl. Girl’s innocent charm completely captivates boy. Her love heals him. Boy changes and they live happily ever after. As females, this dream is close to our…
