By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills We often hear the best way to communicate is to be transparent. Yet many people hesitate to use ihe ability for fear of being labeled needy. What is the difference between transparent and needy, and how do we apply transparency to our lives? Transparent in written or oral communication means that we are allowing others to …
Living the Seasons of Life
By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills The varied seasons of our lives are an intricate part of growth and change. Young and old experience new challenges and victories from the moment we are born. Some of us learn to crawl sooner than others. Some of us walk later than others. Our first teeth arrive at different times. Our first words are never …
March—A Lion or a Lamb?
By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills We’ve all heard March is “In like a lion; out like a lamb.” Where did the saying come from, and what does it mean? Curiosity got the best of me, and I put on my Google hat for a research expedition that explores the month of March. The Farmers’ Almanac states if March comes in like …
God is Not Decaffeinated
By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills How do you view God in your life? Decaffeinated means to have most or all the caffeine removed, usually from coffee or tea. For some, that says the power, punch, and purpose of coffee no longer exists. When I consider caffeine as a stimulant of the central nervous system, I think about how God stimulates the …
Overcoming the Post-Holiday Blues
By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills As we bid farewell to the holiday season, we treasure cherished memories, sweet experiences, laughter, an unexpected gift, and some moments best forgotten. Many of us feel a sense of melancholy, the anticipation of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day are replaced by the ho-hum of the months ahead. The post-holiday blues are depressing but take …
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills In this season of celebration, may love, joy, peace, and hope wrap you in a warm embrace. Praying you see the light of God in unexpected places and hear His whispers of wisdom guiding your every step. With anticipation in our hearts for the new year, trust in the God who fills our lives with purpose. …
God Still Does Impossible Things
DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Guest post by: Kristen Hogrefe Parnell @Kristen Hogrefe Parnell One of my favorite Bible verses as a teenager that remains close to my heart as a thirty-something is Luke 1:37. “For with God nothing will be impossible” (NKJV). Read through the stories of the Old and New Testament, and you can’t help but see impossible situations become possible. …
Unplug This Thanksgiving
By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Thanksgiving is a time to enjoy family and friends, to put people first, and celebrate the blessings God has given us. The best advice I can give is to unplug—That means turning off the busyness of the outside world by silencing our phones and other electronic devices. Determine to participate in old-fashioned, face-to-face conversation. I hear …
Has Your Daily Routine Become a Substitute for Jesus?
By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Our lives can easily slip into a routine that substitutes Jesus-driven devotion for performance-driven actions. We don’t intend for worldly concerns to take our Lord’s place. Priorities hammer our schedules, and we slip into what others expect of us. We go through our quiet times and church activities as before, but our mindset changes. The transition …
The Wings of Poppy Pendleton
DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills Guest Post By Melanie Dobson @MelanieDobson When I began writing The Wings of Poppy Pendleton, I traveled to my setting in New York to explore the mysterious Thousand Islands and tour its Gilded Age castles. Since one of my main characters—a hard-working man named Cade—was an island caretaker for about seventy years, I wanted to learn everything …