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Budapest, Hungary — Churches Around the World
Today we are back in Budapest, visiting St. Stephen’s Basilica AND the Dohany Street Synagogue. It’s not a typo, my recent Churches Around the World post in Vienna was also a St. Stephen’s! Here is a link for more info on St. Stephen’s Basilica. I was very blessed to get a clear day and got excellent pictures (if I’ll toot my own horn) of the outside of St. Stephen’s. I thought it was very impressive, and loved the courtyard! So did little O. Also in Budapest, we visited the Dohany Street Synagogue. Although not a church, this is still a place of worship and I thought would fit well into this…
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Lessons from Prophetess Huldah
[Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Remi Roy. It is the next installment in her series of guest posts focused on people in the Bible! Check out the first one on Priscilla and the second on the Proverbs 31 Superwoman. Thanks again, Remi, for blessing Devotional Diva with your writings! Today we are learning lessons from the Prophetess Huldah.] Lessons from Prophetess Huldah Focus and attention are the paths to greatness and significance. This is both a natural and a spiritual principle. To be good at something we need to pay attention to it, we need to practice and work at it. It’s a simple and straight forward…
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No Fairy Tale Marriages
[This is a guest post by Melody Quinn. As a fellow Disney lover, I’m completely on the same page as Melody. Honestly though, even if I didn’t love Disney, I think I’d agree with this marriage advice! Thanks again, Melody, Bravo!] No Fairy Tale Marriages My childhood was filled with Disney movies and fairy tales. I read and re-read books full of original and modern fairy tales. I re-watched every Disney movie a hundred times, and still watch them to the annoyance of my husband. I used to attend dances and banquets with my imaginary prince. My childhood room was plastered with Disney posters. My own choice, my mother likes…
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You are a Vineyard Waiting to Happen
[This is an excerpt from Bobbie Houston’s (of Hillsong notoriety) beautiful book Stay The Path. I received a copy of this book from the publisher. I loved Stay The Path, and highly recommend it, especially if you are in ministry. It is truly beautifully written. I chose this section of the book because I thought it could apply to so many of us, and was so true!] You are a Vineyard Waiting to Happen You are a vineyard with endless vines within your sphere. If you are facing challenges within the “vineyard of marriage,” an ocean of good people exist who can speak into your life and give you solid biblical…
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Vienna, Austria — Churches Around the World
Traipsing around Europe has given my husband and I plenty of opportunity to see churches — and so far, this is my husband’s favorite one! St. Stephen’s Cathedral — Vienna, Austria We didn’t get the chance to go in, but honestly, the best pictures of most Cathedrals are taken outside. The architecture is just astounding. My husband also took a midnight stroll while I was at the hotel with O and checked it out at night, which was apparently very cool. He reported that the Cathedral looked like “a ghost church.” I really liked the gothic feel of St. Stephen’s Cathedral, too. It was very different from any church we’d seen…
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Infertility – Joy In The Darkness
[Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Naima Johnston Bush. Wow. This is an amazing story on infertility, and Naima has also blessed us with a song today! Thank you, Naima, for having the courage to share your story to spur others forward!] I’ve been blessed to work with students and the Lord, in his infinite wisdom has given me a mother’s heart. There are my college kids from the years I worked in higher education, who lovingly called me Momma, the kids from the youth group where I served as an adult leader who now have kids of their own. I’m so proud and honored to have played a…
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Foster Kids and Garbage Bags
A good friend of mine, Emily, is currently in the process of fostering and adopting two children. Through this process, she learned more about the foster care system and how scary it really is for the kids. Emily and her family felt led to start a project to fight a huge problem they saw: When foster kids are taken from foster house to foster house, most of the time, they just have to put their few belongings in garbage bags. So the project aims to put together duffel bags with items foster kids might need, like hygiene products, towels, clothes, books, stuffed animals, etc. Here is the link to the Davis Family Project.…
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Some Spring To-Do’s
This spring, I am in the US spending time with my family. (It’s just me and little O for this trip). We are here to be in another wedding and for my brother’s graduation at the end of May. Living in Italy is a great opportunity and at times a lot of fun, but there’s just nothing like being at home in the states. There’s things I can do here that I just can’t overseas. Like, obviously, throw a birthday party for O with all of our family. This brings me to my first spring to-do I wanted to share: 1.Plan the best Thomas the Tank Engine party I can!…
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Quieting My Mind
Quieting My Mind [Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Paige Magee. When Paige sent this devotional in, I instantly connected with it. Sometimes, it is so hard to shut off our busy minds. Thanks, Paige!] “Dear God, I desire to sit in silence with You, but I’m bringing a lot of noise along with me. Please help me set my thoughts aside. I give them to You, so I can hear You.” I remember being on a retreat in college when the leader told us to find a spot and take an hour for quiet reflection – pray, read and listen. I remember taking my Bible upstairs and…
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Grateful for My Body
Grateful for My Body [Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Leslie Uffman, who has an amazing fitness and body confidence story to share today! Leslie competed in triathlons (insert horror face emoji, then two “100” emoji’s here), but still wasn’t happy with her body. Read on for how she became grateful for her body!] “LESLIE, YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!” It was May of 2015 and I had been working toward this finish line moment since the summer of the previous year. For anyone who doesn’t know what an Ironman is, it is a long distance triathlon that combines a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride, and…
