Congrats to the Giveaway Winners!

Yes, you read that right – not winner … winners!

I decided to send out not just one but TWO prize packages for my Mother’s Day Giveaway (you just never know what’s gonna happen when you enter one of my Giveaways!).

I’m pleased to announce the two randomly chosen winners are: Julie Grace Ogoc and Crystaleen Grace. Their terrific gifts are winging their way to these lovely BFFs (Blessed Friends Forever) this very moment.

Now I’d like to share a close-to-my-heart personal story from my newest 365-day devotional, Too Blessed to be Stressed: 3-Minute Daily Devotions for Morning & Evening. (You can find them in Christian bookstores and online at Amazon.com and Christianbooks.com.) I’ve heard from many of you that you’re feeling listless and directionless in these post-pandemic days and are asking for prayer for guidance. Let me assure you, my awesome BFFs, that I will pray for you (I feel blessed to be trusted with your prayer requests) – I know that Papa God has purpose and meaning for your life, I absolutely know it. And I have total faith that He will reveal it to you in His perfect timing. I truly get it, girlfriend. I do. I’ve been there too.

Be assured that although people, societies, and even our own bodies may fail us, Papa God never, ever fails us.

 

Not Just Any Arrow

“He has … made Me a select arrow; He has hidden Me in His quiver.” (Isaiah 49:2 NASB)

The eve of my forty-ninth birthday waned melancholy. I’d just received yet another “sorry, we’ll pass” from a book publisher, making my collection of rejection slips big enough to papier Mache a piñata. Maybe a life-size rhinoceros. Okay, a whole herd. 

What really bothered me was the nagging suspicion that I’d misheard my calling. That the Almighty had said, “fight a crook” or “bite a snook” instead of “write a book.”

Flopping despondently across my bed, I randomly opened my Bible to  today’s verse, a supernatural message just for me. Papa was sending me encouragement, reminding me that I’m a select arrow. Special. Even exclusive.

He spoke to my heart that no other arrow’s quite like me; no other person has the exact same background, experiences, and perspective. I’m the ONLY one who can accomplish the task He has prepared especially for me. 

For now, I’m concealed, hidden in His quiver until the right time to use me in battle. Only at that specific time will I be most effective for His glory. Until then, I must remain content to wait among the other arrows, each to be selected in its own time to fulfill Papa God’s designated destiny. 

Wow. I felt as if I’d been wrapped in a warm blanket of assurance that my time would come. Even though I was already pushing half-a-century in age. And you know what? It eventually did … in the form of nearly a million and a half books in print. I just needed to wait on the Lord. 

So what about you, dearest BFF? What are you waiting in Papa God’s quiver to be selected for?

Prayer: Master Archer, Thank You for carving me into a select arrow. Use me at Your appointed time and place to glorify You. In the meantime, help me wait in Your quiver patiently.