How to Live Loved

Today I’m welcoming my friend, Wendy Blight, to have coffee with us and share from her new Bible study on 1 John, I Am Loved: Walking in the Fullness of God’s Love. Plus, she’s giving away a copy to one of you wonderful women below! See why I love her? You will too, sister, so get ready, get set, and let’s go … let’s learn how to live loved.

In 1 John 3:16, John tells us to love one another.

Easy to say, but, oh, so hard to do.

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Yet God clearly calls us to this. Why?

Because God knows there are people in this world who’ll never walk through the doors of a church, join a neighborhood Bible study, or attend a Christian conference. But, they will encounter His people, women like you and me. And through us, they’ll experience God’s love. His beautiful, pure, unconditional love.

Why You Can Stop and Smell the Roses This Christmas

I’ve got an old mason jar tucked away in my jewelry chest. Some of my most precious possessions are inside.

Now, if you saw it, you may think the jar is full of dried up, tired, mismatched potpourri, all different shades of faded brown and gray — not very attractive! But I’ve been intentional about what I have put in this jar for the last 30 years.

To me, this old mason jar is beautiful.

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Within the antique blue glass are the petals from the first roses Phil gave me on Valentine’s Day when we were dating. Mixed in with those are rose petals from my bridal bouquet along with petals from the roses he gave me on our first wedding anniversary. They are joined by petals from the dozen roses he brought me when our first son was born.

Live, Love, and Soar: How to Find Joy in the Season You’re In

It’s Sunday night and for the first time in 28 years, I am wandering around my kitchen trying to figure out what to do tomorrow morning. I don’t need to wake up a child for school like I have done for the past two decades, every Monday morning.

I don’t have to check the fridge to think ahead about what I will make for breakfast tomorrow. I don’t need to pull out a lunch box and make sure it is clean and free of Friday’s sticky leftovers. I don’t need to go into a boy’s room and check on his homework or his heart.

I don’t need to go ask anyone about their schedule for the coming week so I can plan transportation or meals. I don’t need to load the dishwasher so my kitchen is not such a mess at 6:00 AM because I don’t have to get up at 6:00 AM and there are only two coffee cups in there anyway.

It was only yesterday that I held my firstborn. It was only yesterday he started kindergarten. It was only yesterday that his little brother was born. It was only yesterday that we listened to Adventures in Odyssey. It was only yesterday that I snuck a paper cup full of Goldfish and Cheez-Its onto the top bunk because he couldn’t sleep. It was only yesterday that our house was full of the pings and buzzes of Mario and Pokemon. It was only yesterday that we were at orthodontists and soccer practice and debate tournaments and orchestra concerts and parent/teacher conferences and graduations.

It was only yesterday, but yesterday now feels like a thousand years ago.

3 Gifts God Gives You When You Feel Insecure

For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7 NIV

Well, sister, that is some good news, right? Now, if I could only live it out!

I often lack confidence. Timidity sometimes gets the best of me. And, I bet you know exactly what I’m talking about. Timidity, fear, and a lack of confidence aren’t what our Father gives His daughters.

When You Need to Be Cradled in God’s Compassion

When I was pregnant with our first son, I thought that baby would never be born! I was so late delivering him that I actually dreamed I was an old woman — gray hair and all — still pregnant, panicking in my doctor’s office, begging him to do something!

Weird dream, I know. The point is, near the end of a pregnancy, a mama feels worn out. It’s easy to feel like the whole thing is lasting just a little too long, and that’s even when the baby comes on his due date!

Sixteen very long, swollen, puffy, unattractive, exhausting days after we expected our son Clayton to be born, the doctor used a steady stream of Pitocin to coax him out of the womb and into the world. I was so relieved!

Funny how those late arrivals seem to take their time and run late even when they’re teenagers. Too bad a Pitocin drip doesn’t work on them!

There is a reason a baby is supposed to stay in his mama’s womb for 40 weeks — he needs that time to grow, develop and be nourished. A baby born prematurely is at risk and a baby who is very late in arrival is at risk, too.

If You’re Afraid of Not Measuring Up

When I went to China, I got to meet some of Phil’s students. Oh, I guess I should tell you that was the reason we got to go on such an amazing once-in-a-lifetime  trip; Phil was invited to teach at Liaoning Normal University in Dalian, China. While we were there, I got to visit his Venue Management class and meet his students.

Phil had told them I was blind and they were curious and asked lots of the usual questions like, “How do you ___?”(fill in the blank). There are a million “How do you do___? ” kinds of questions when you’re blind, but one young woman’s question totally blew me away — it was very revealing.

In broken, but very good English, she asked: “When you became blind, were you afraid people would be ashamed of you or your family would not love you?”