Devotionals
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Forgiving Myself
[Guest Post by Kristyn Ramsey – I always appreciate getting to know new people, stories, and faces–especially when they talk about one of my favorite subjects: forgiving myself. Please welcome Kristyn.] Struggling to forgive myself doesn’t come easy for a mistake I made. My mom used to tell me my whole life that I never met a stranger in the 24 years on planet earth. And if you meet me, that’s one of the truest statements about me. I can carry on a conversation with anyone, and that is usually to my benefit. Trips to other places were made easier because I made friends wherever I found myself. I made…
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Forgiving My Molester
[Guest Post by Sarah Miller – When I met Sarah and got to know her I always knew she had a sweet spirit, so when she submitted this piece to me I was shocked to learn about the broken pieces of her past. It just goes to show you of God’s forgiving power and how, no matter what we’ve been through, we can overcome.] If there is one thing in my life that I know a lot about, it is anger. I grew up very angry because of a horrible incident that happened when I was six years old. But even the horrible things in life can teach you valuable…
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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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Forgive a Murderer
[Guest Post by Laurie Coombs – I met my new sweet friend through our mutual friend Sarah Francis Martin. Her story on forgiveness rocked my world. Could I forgive a murderer and not only that but–without ruining her story–please keep reading!] What do you do when your world comes crashing down upon you? What do you do when tragedy strikes? When relationships fail? When trust has been broken? When your cheated on, lied to, abandoned, and just downright sinned against? I can tell you this much. Everything inside you will want to hold onto the anger you feel. You’ll be drawn toward bitterness. Yet, even though you may be just…
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Forgiveness: The F Word
[Guest Post by Nicole Reyes – I can’t wait for you to hear her later this month as one of the speakers for Quarter Life Conference. She is an advocate for the local church, and I can’t wait for you to hear why. In the mean time, read her powerful story about forgiveness.] Forgiveness, also known as the F word, can be a hard pill to swallow. Archbishop Desmond Tutu knows what he’s talking about. He said, “Without forgiveness, there’s no future.” Many of you are thinking… “Well, you don’t know the pain I’ve been through.” I don’t know your past pain, but I do know what’s even worse than…
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If I Told You How I Felt
If I told you how I felt–you might not forgive me. This month’s new theme is on forgiving others. And recently, I’ve felt lousy. I even posted this on Facebook last week: “If you’re afraid to say how you really feel for fear of losing the friendship, maybe (gulp) they were never a true friend to begin with!” I felt I couldn’t hold it in any longer. Thankfully, when I woke up early one morning I came across this life changing post from Donald Miller. He admitted to being too careful. He wrote, “The sad thing is when we’re careful, we are actually being affected by fear. People are careful when…
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Do Your Thing
[Guest Post by Laura L. Smith – We happen to share the same literary agent, Amanda Luedeke with MacGregor Literary Agency. She is a fiction writer for young adults and wanted to share some encouragement with you on how to dream and do your thing!] Last summer, while checking into our hotel in Dresden, Germany I had the treat of meeting soccer legend, Brandi Chastain. She had her hair pulled into a ponytail was wearing a T-shirt, athletic shorts and cleats. She was kicking a pink Nike soccer ball in the hotel lobby. Yes, in the lobby. She is the woman known for kicking the winning penalty kick for the…
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Dreams Change
[Guest Post by Shannon Roy – I met her through StartMarriageRight.com an amazing site for building godly relationships. She and I have stayed in close contact ever since, and I can’t wait to meet her in person when I travel to Chicago later on this year. Also, I am excited for her and her upcoming marriage!!] A riddle for you to ponder: What is better than experiencing your greatest dream come true? Before–my answer would be a “few” dreams, but dreams change. The clouds darkened overhead the bright green fields spread out before us. Our SUV radio buzzed as we listened to the coordinates of the brewing storm. Our entourage…
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When Dreams Become Reality
[Guest Post by Joanna Hyatt – Thanks to my other site, Quarter Life Conference, I got to know Joanna. She said she would be glad to share about it on her site, and one thing lead to another, and now she’s sharing an encouraging piece on when dreams becoming reality for you all!] This time a year ago, I was the Director of an established Non-Profit program with a growing national presence. The job could have been mine for as long as I wanted it, bringing the opportunity for broader influence. Yet by May of 2012, I had walked away from that to pursue a different dream. As great as…
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Succeed By Failing
[Guest post by Matt Appling] – I don’t even remember how I got connected to Matt, but I know it was many years ago before my first book, Faithbook of Jesus, was published. I’m so excited to see him finally come out with his first book and I hope you enjoy his piece on pursuing dreams through failure. How do you succeed by failing? Is that even a real question? Certainly, it is. Most of us just never learn the skill of failing wonderfully, spectacularly, unabashedly. But I think failing is one of the most important skills you and I can learn. When you and I were in school, the…
