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Prayer for the Unfocused
PRAYER FOR THE UNFOCUSED [editor’s note: This is part of a series of guest posts by the lovely Kelly O’Dell Stanley. See her previous posts, Prayer for the Weary Parent and Prayer for the Overwhelmed by following the links!] Dear Lord, I’m so glad you are rock-steady, because I feel like I ricochet from one place to the next, faster than I can catch my breath. But it’s not just my activities—my mind, Lord, spins and whirs. So many distractions, so many thoughts, so many ideas, so much to do. I want to pray. I want to focus on you, to prioritize the things that matter and let everything else…
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Prayer for the Weary Parent
But at the same time, I'm weary. It's hard to be a parent, to make decisions that aren't easy and won't make me popular. It's difficult to enforce the rules, day after day, to monitor behavior and ask them to pick things up and remind them to do homework and to not take it personally every time they resist.
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What Doesn’t Kill Us…
What Doesn’t Kill Us Makes Us Stronger [editor’s note: This is a guest post from Devotional Diva alum Sophia Reed!] How many times have you sat in a situation thinking that there is no way out of it? We think about the promises of God, but wonder why it does not apply in our situation. To answer this question I look to some of the prominent figures in the Bible. David, who was known for being a man after God’s own heart. Esther, a small-town girl who became a queen of one of the biggest empires, or Ruth who finally got her Boaz. So often we look at the end…
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Her Everything
[Guest post by Jo Ann Erwin. This post is a part of the 2015 Devotional Diva Christmas series entitled, “Extraordinary Christmas.” It was originally published on Devotional Diva in 2014. I thought it was such a good message and so relevant to Christmas, that I had to use it again this year.] On two occasions I have heard someone say “that is too good to just give away.” When I heard it, both times, I immediately thought of the widow who gave all that she had. Mark 12:42-44 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples,…
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Cross Over
[Guest Post by Rayni Peavy. This post is a part of the 2015 Devotional Diva Christmas series entitled, “Extraordinary Christmas.” It was originally published on Devotional Diva in 2012.] I’d never been afraid to fly. From the time I was a baby I’ve been flying on a regular basis. Even flying across the country a few months after 9/11 didn’t scare me because I trusted God with my life. And then it happened. Several years ago, out of nowhere, I began having anxiety attacks. Unfortunately two of them came back to back on a long plane ride overseas. It was a traumatic experience, to put it mildly. From that moment on…
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Celebrate
[Guest Post by Heather Von St. James. This post is a part of the 2015 Devotional Diva Christmas series entitled, “Extraordinary Christmas.” It was originally published on Devotional Diva in 2014.] Fear – we’ve all faced a form of it at some point in our lives. I’ve learned that your fears don’t define the person you are, but rather how you deal with them. Humor is the way that my husband Cameron and I handled one of the most terrifying and trying times in our lives. In November of 2005, after a series of biopsies and other tests, I was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma. I was a candidate for a…
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Thankful to Be Thankful
[Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Bonita Brewington, or @bbprep as she is known on social media. Remember how I said last week’s devotional was more of a why? to gratefulness and this week would be the how? I was so struck that these two submissions (by two different authors) could go together so well! I hope you enjoy, and if you celebrate, happy Thanksgiving!] Thankfulness has become so “mainstream.” It’s a clique to give thanks — as no one wants to be that person who gets busted for not being thankful! In a world of surface gratitude and accolades, how can you find your true thankfulness? As a…
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From Depressed to Blessed: How I Found an Attitude of Gratitude
[Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Kristen Vortices. I wanted to have some gratitude-focused devotionals in November, as we are celebrating Thanksgiving in the US. This week’s devotional is the why? to practicing gratitude and next week’s answers the how?] A few years ago I found myself depressed. My job became really frustrating and the more I tried to fix my situation at work the more stressful my job became. I became short with my family and friends who I loved. Instead of focusing on others I began to focus on myself. As I focused on myself, I became less and less happy. Finally I fell into depression. For months I lived…
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The Miscarriage Club
[Editor’s note: Do you recognize the pretty lady in that picture? That is Devotional Diva’s one and only founder, Renee Fisher. Today she is bravely sharing about her initiation into The Miscarriage Club. I’m so glad she could do this, because I think miscarriage is a subject that needs to be talked about more openly.] I coughed before my eyes fluttered open. I coughed again, and suddenly woke up. “Where was I?” A nurse quickly walked over to me and asked how I was doing. I told her how excited I was to have the surgery, and how grateful I was to find my new doctor just in time. She told me, in…
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Turning Away From God
[Guest post by Jo Ann Erwin: Welcome back, Jo Ann! I read this submission soon after I had my baby and I was still so full of hormones. I knew a story about a stray kitten was bound to bring me to tears, but when I read this powerful metaphor of turning away from God…well, I think I cried a lot more!] I am leaving the restaurant after a fine meal, my belly is full. As I walk to my car, I hear a distress call. It’s a kitten at the dumpsters. He is frantic. It has been raining and he is soaked to the bone. I call to him and…
