God used my old “armchair parent” story recently to encourage me in an unexpected way. A few weeks ago, I spent a glorious weekend at the beach with a group of my closest girlfriends and my sister. All but one had heard about the time my daughter’s former principal called me an armchair parent. My newest…
Have you ever given God an ultimatum? I only did it because I was desperate. My husband, Steve, was not convinced God would be okay with my ultimatum. Until I quoted the scripture that kept running over and over in my head. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will…
Husbands and wives need to be on the same page, right? Soon after our son’s April wedding, Steve and I finally agreed to move forward with downsizing. If you read last week’s What Happened in April, you may have followed the link to a July 2021 post about the magnet on my refrigerator that says,…
Do you like it when God tells you to wait? I guarantee that at least 99 times out of 100, I’m not happy about it. I wrote about one of the rare times I welcomed waiting in my July 2021 post, When God Laughs. I told the story of delaying our decision to downsize, but…
The 150th episode of the Believe & Speak podcast posted today. Click to listen. For months leading up to the January 1, 2020 launch of my podcast, God kept after me to begin podcasting regularly. I’d been consumed with feelings of inadequacy, and the prospect of writing and recording enough episodes to release a new…
Is it bragging when you acknowledge your worthiness to receive? I’ve come a long way from believing Satan’s lies that boasting of God’s kindness to me somehow demonstrates arrogance. My whole purpose for writing my mid-week miracle stories is to testify to God’s tangible presence and activity. God gets the glory for the things he…
The longer I walk with God, the less I believe in coincidence. Merriam-Webster defines a coincidence as “the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection”. God has a way of turning accidents into providence. In my previous post, I Went Missing to Find Joy, I…
Isn’t it nice to be missed? Yesterday I received a text from a childhood friend who I rarely see and seldom speak with. So, I was especially touched that she reached out to me from the other side of the country concerned about my wellbeing. The text read: Hi Shawna, I haven’t seen you on…
What word goes in the blank I left in the subject line? If you’ve heard that familiar idiom, you’d correctly answer that the devil is in the details. But if you listen to Episode 107 of my podcast, Believe & Speak, then you might answer differently. The Lord God is in the details. In fact, he…
Don’t you love it when a door finally opens? Lockdowns shouldn’t apply to phone interviews, right? But 2020 offered few opportunities for me to speak about my book release. So, I set a goal (and prayed fervently) to be interviewed on a radio show before the end of 2021. If you read Hope Gives Life…
