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Looking Out the Window: Shannon Vannatter's Touching Mother's Day Devotional

WRITER MOM “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” (Psalm 127:3) The offer made my mouth water. Imagine a conference promising a free critique by a professional editor. It was the stuff of a starving writer’s dreams. My dilemma: as a stay-at-home mom, I rarely spent more than a few hours away from my eight-month old son. An editor willing to evaluate my manuscript over a casual dinner beckoned to me. However, the thought of leaving my son for an entire day gave my heart a painful thud. As always, my husband supported my desire to write. He urged and eventually cajoled me to attend the seminar. I expected to miss my baby, but never anticipated just how badly. As I prepared to leave that morning, hubby walked me to the car holding our son. A quick kiss goodbye and my guys turned toward the house. Our son’s questioning gaze over his father’s shoulder almost convinced me to stay home. At the conference, though the speaker interested me, thoughts

Looking in the Window: Jesus Loves Me

Often children remind us of truisms we've forgotten, or haven't heard in a long time. Sometimes we hear a youngster say something that's so true, and we comment, "Out of the mouths of babes." When I've observed elementry students playing in groups, I've often noticed how they talk about caring. There are such phrases as "Who cares?" "Tell somebody who cares," "Nobody cares," "I don't care," and "Why should I care?" to name a few. Even at this early age, they, like us, seem to be searching, reaching out for someone who will be concerned if they're sad or hurt. No one cares more about us than Jesus. He suffered and died on the cross for our sins. If we trust in him, he'll be there for us. His compassion is so much deeper than we can imagine; his power so great he rose from the dead. Matthew 28: 1- 6, "After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary w

Looking Out the Window: Lisa Lickel's Lenten Devotional

LISA LICKEL WRITES ABOUT G OOD WORKS GIVING UP SOMETHING AND GRACE Lisa's giving away a copy of her Barbour mystery, The Gold Standard Yet even now, says the Lord, return to me with all your heart. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. --Joel 2:12-13 It's Lent, traditionally a time of mourning, of self-contemplation and self-deprivation. Most of the people in my circle don't pay it any more mind than Advent. My husband I moved about a year and a half ago to worship with a new congregation after spending our whole married lives with one body of believers. We are learning different ways of celebrating our Lord and Savior, and it is good. We are also able to share some of the meaningful traditions from our former congregation; one of which is to gather during this time as a smaller group. Come, let us return to the Lord; for it is he who has torn and he will heal us; he has struck down and he will bind

Looking Out the Window: Welcome Regina Andrews

Hi Regina, First, tell us a little about yourself . Thank you so much for having me here today, Gail! I live in Providence, RI, and grew up in nearby Barrington. After graduating from Providence College I attended the University of Delaware, eventually earning my Master’s Degree in American Civilization from Brown University. Nature inspires me and my husband and I enjoy visiting nearby Cape Cod. My hobbies include Travel, Museums, Theater, Classical Music, Choral Singing and Gardening. Also I am a radio host for In-Sight, an association dedicated to providing services to the visually impaired of all ages. What an interesting and rewarding life. Tell us about your latest book. My newest book is “Light of the Heart. This is Book One in the Sterling Lakes Series. The premise of the Sterling Lakes Series is how the renovation of the church in town leads to a rebirth of the entire town itself on many levels – physically, emotionally and spiritually, to name a few. “Light of the Heart” deal