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Monday Meditations #2 – Carrying On The Work
[Guest Post by Marc Fisher] – “Now Joseph and all his brothers and all that generation died” (Exodus 1:6). Yes a generation was now gone but God’s work was not yet complete. His promise was not fulfilled so there was still work to be done. Joseph had continued the work which his father Jacob had picked up after Issac which was built on the foundation laid by Abraham. John Wesley’s once said, ‘God buries the workmen and carries on the work.’ We must understand in whatever work God has given us that it is not for nothing if it is a part of the mighty whole. It is a great…
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I Survived My 20s – Moving
[Guest Post by Marie Osborne] – I survived my 20s by moving over and over and over again. In 2004, I was married to my best friend and at an amazing church. We had a fantastic support system of friends and family. The next 3 years, my job just kept getting better, our friendships deeper, our family closer, and our marriage stronger. Then in 2006, we decided my husband should go back to school. So we moved to Los Angeles for two years as he completed his MBA. Suddenly, our deep roots were gone, and I didn’t know a soul. I had worked hard for 6 years to build an…
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I Survived My 20s – Depression
[Guest Post by Addie Zierman] – I turned 20 on a warm day in July, and then, two weeks later, I got married. There was pink tulle everywhere and 200 roses that we ordered online and arranged into bouquets in the church basement. During the ceremony, two of my best friends from high school sang “Be Thou My Vision,” and their voices filled the room, haunting and sweet. This is how I began my 20s: eyes closed, heart raised. I was full to the brim with love and with Jesus, surrounded by all of my closest friends who felt the exact same way. From that alter, the future looked sparkling…
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I Survived My 20s – Change
[Guest Post by Tracy] – I tried to stifle the tears as I watched my parents drive off. What had I done? I graduated from college and secured my first job; that’s what. Earlier that week I said my goodbyes, loaded the car, and moved across state lines to New Mexico, the “Land of Enchantment.” Gone was the familiar sound of my parents’ voices. Gone were the opportunities to hang out with friends who knew my intimate details. It was just my mini cactus, “Larry,” and me now. We would face the change in my new life together. Ironically, my first year in the “Land of Enchantment”… sucked. Even Larry…
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I Survived My 20s – Failure
[Guest post by Allison Vesterfelt] -I only have one year left of my twenties. It’s been a crazy, wild, ride, and it’s going to be over really soon. I have mixed feelings about that. Part of me is bummed to get old. You know wrinkles, slowed metabolism, an inability to operate basic electronic equipment, that sort of thing. But part of me is excited to kiss my twenties goodbye and say hello to my thirties. People say the thirties are your best years and, let’s be honest, my twenties have been fun, but it hasn’t been all that pretty at times. When I look back over the last almost-decade of…
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Pre Engagement Questions Series
During the month of July I will be doing a series on Pre Engagement Questions before popping the question. I will be highlighting a few guest posts, book giveaways, and 5 key questions to ask before getting engaged. This time last year, Marc and I were thinking about getting engaged. We spent much time discussing these are six areas. We purposefully wanted to ask all our questions BEFORE we got engaged. Plus, after you get engaged–all you think about is planning a wedding. We heard how potentially stressful wedding planning could be. Instead of discussing important matters over designing invite cards at my parents house–we decided to intentionally talk about…
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What's Your Story – Samantha
[Guest Post by Samantha Krieger] God interrupted my story the summer after I graduated from college. I interned at a Christian publishing company in Nashville. I loved my work and what music city had to offer. I wanted to plant roots there but two weeks before my internship ended, I felt God leading me to pursue seminary. The funny thing is that seminary was never in my thoughts. Not once the whole summer. Then after pondering the idea and really considering it, affirmation came from those closest to me. Coincidentally, they were praying about the same thing. After talking with different seminaries, to my surprise, I received a full scholarship…
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What's Your Story – Ashleigh
[Guest post by Ashleigh Slater] – My oldest daughter celebrated her eighth birthday two Saturdays ago. As she blew out the candles on her “Sew Cute” Lalaloopsy cake, I marveled that I’m “Mom” to a second-grader. Not to mention a first-grader, preschooler, and toddler. Let’s just say, over a decade ago it wasn’t where I’d expected to find myself at 33. Me, filling sippy cups up with pink milk throughout the day? No. Me, carrying snack-sized bags of Goldfish and Chex Mix in my purse? Nuh-uh. Me, making multiple trips to the grocery store for that bottle of ketchup that’s perpetually forgotten? I don’t think so. I wasn’t attending grad…
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What's Your Story – Bruce & Heather
[Guest post by Bruce & Heather] – Life had been going along just fine until our Sunday afternoon drives to a Starbucks near downtown started messing with us. The trip was our way of ending a hectic Sunday of multiple church services with something fun. Our drives into the city started out as a way to relax, but over time, something significant happened. As we drove through the city, we began to notice that people’s needs were quite different from those of folks in the suburbs. We were confronted with homelessness, low- income housing, unemployment, and poorly rated schools. Often we would see groups of young adults sitting in parks…
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8 Year Blogiversary
2012 marks a huge milestone in my writing career. It is my 8 year blogiversary. I began writing 8 years ago in 2004 before blogging was cool, hipster, and on WordPress. My first blog was called More Words Than Webster on blogspot. I had a lot to say then as I do now! Then I changed the name to E-couragements. After reading some of my four-hundred blog posts–my mentor Marcia Ramsland, The Organizing Pro named me Devotional Diva and it stuck! I cannot say how grateful I am to have this medium on which to express myself. Without blogging I probably wouldn’t be here today. I went from a shy,…
