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    Devotionals,  Faith

    My Doubtful Voice

    My Doubtful Voice [Editor’s note: This post was originally published on Devotional Diva on Feb 02, 2016. Due to a glitch, I’m simply republishing it!] But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. James 1:6 December 21st, 2015 That doubtful voice inside my head is becoming ever stronger. What if this goes terribly? What if it’s too much? What if my husband is gone more than we expect? What if I am really homesick? What if I don’t make friends and I’m really lonely? Can I even handle this?…

  • Faith

    A Story of Rediscovery

    [Guest post by Erin Marie Shell: This is a story of God’s love, a story of heartbreak and a story of rediscovery. Thanks for sharing, Erin!] Exhausted after a full day of work, I arrived home late one night, opened the front door, and entered the darkness.  As I walked into the house, my heels clicked on the floor, greeting me with a very loud, unfamiliar echo. Without turning on the lights, I began to realize what had happened.  After 11 years of marriage, he had moved out. The shock of an empty house left me reeling in confusion.  I was exhausted with life, exhausted with familiar feeling of not being…

  • Relationships

    A Christian Fairy Tale

    [Guest Post by La Micia Genova: I’m thrilled for you to “meet” La Micia today because, although our stories are different, La Micia and I both dealt with depression before God gave us our knights in shining armor. I’m all about princesses and fairy tales and this is an awesome Christian fairy tale!] Do you believe God can give you a happily ever after? I’ve done things my way for 20 years and when I finally came to God, he gave me my fairy tale. I probably made just about every mistake a teenager and young adult could make, and what’s crazy is I grew up in the Church! From impurity to…

  • Faith,  Health & Body

    Little Miracle on the Way!

    I’m writing this post on my 3rd wedding anniversary. When I was younger, I always used to imagine being pregnant on my 3rd anniversary. I guess I just thought that would be a good time to have my first baby. And I wanted a May baby, because my home state of Iowa usually has pretty good weather in May. Both of those teenage dreams are coming true! My husband, Brandon, and I are expecting our first baby in May 2015 (I’m beginning the 2nd trimester now). My official due date is actually the day after Mother’s Day, which I think is kind of cool. I’m so excited to finally share…

  • Relationships

    Why I Chose to Marry Young

      Why I chose to marry young I chose to marry young — at 19, to be exact. As some of you may know, I am still pretty young – 22, to be exact. There’s that Taylor Swift song “22,” but I don’t relate to it at all because I’m married and have been for 2 and a half years. I don’t know if you’ve heard that song, but here are a couple quick quotes: Everything will be alright If we just keep dancing like we’re 22   And   It feels like one of those nights We won’t be sleeping Nope, does not describe my life at 22 at…

  • Devotionals

    Top 10 Bible Verses About Marriage

    Since wedding season is upon us, I decided to share my top 10 Bible verses about marriage. They aren’t actually all directly referring to marriage, but all of them are great to apply to marriage. In no particular order: 1. Ephesians 5: 25-33 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever…

  • Relationships

    Practice Patience with Your Spouse

    [Guest Post by Ashleigh Slater – I always appreciate returning the favor when a fellow author lets me share about my book on her blog. This is Ashleigh’s first book entitled Team Us. I appreciate her sharing wisdom on 4 steps to practice patience with your spouse’s old habits. Enjoy and be encouraged!]  In the weeks that led up to our wedding, my husband Ted informed our friends, family, and anyone who would listen of his impending death. “Death?” you ask. Yep, death. Death, that is, to his single self. The self that could buy a new Nord Electro on a whim. Or stay up until two in the morning…

  • Faith,  Relationships

    Resolved to Surrender

    [Guest Post by Andrea Portilla – Why is it that we try to work harder, give and serve more when all we need to do is simply surrender? I appreciate Andrea’s post, and I hope you will too!] At the beginning of the New Year I had made a resolution: I was going to take a bubble bath once a week! A perfect kind of resolution! The first few weeks into the year I was beside myself, for I came to realize God desired so much more from my life than I had been giving Him. In the midst of motherhood and babies; being a loving wife and intentional mother, I…

  • Faith

    Life as It Is Meant to Be

    [Guest Post by Hannah Anderson – I met Hannah through my friend Lisa Velthouse, founding editor of PickYourPortion.com. I always appreciating meeting new people through others. It excites me even more when I found out that they are also (shocker) a writer! Please welcome Hannah who writes with grace and glory — while reminding us what life as it is meant to be, looks like!] “There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.”—C. S. Lewis One summer my husband, Nathan, and I drove from Seattle to Los Angeles on Highway 101. We had both been raised in the eastern United States, more at home in…

  • Faith

    Riding Waves of Faith

    [Guest Post by Emily Rose Massey – When she asked if she could share her story, it was hard to narrow it down because this girl has gone through so much! Her testimony is as huge as her heart. I know you will be encouraged by her story. If you currently feel stuck under the waves of life, you are not alone. Stand and have faith with Emily today!] Our faith is tested under waves of faith, and in the weight and pressures of life. It’s in the fire, the trials, and the storms of life that we are truly strengthened. We can choose to rise above the chaos or…