I was incredibly blessed with not just one but two grace notes this week. Just in case you’re not aware, that’s the phrase I coined in my book, Mom NEEDS Chocolate, for the special little touches from God … His fingerprints on our lives. Yep, they were amazing grace notes all right, because they showed me exactly Who ...
Hoof Prints Across my Heart
Ahh. I just adore the peace and rest I always find in my favorite getaway on earth … our little cabin nestled deep in the bosom of the Smoky Mountains. There are just so many footprints of the Almighty everywhere I look: layer upon layer of purple, hazy mountain peaks, crystal clear streams gushing and ...
Death is a Door
My daughter is 8-months pregnant with my first grandchild – a joyful and wondrous time for all of us as we watch the miraculous formation of new life. But that joy was seriously shaken this week when one of my daughter’s friends gave birth to a precious baby boy, Nathan, who lived only one hour. I’d like ...
My Heart’s in the Arts
My daughter Cricket I had a rather disturbing conversation recently with a co-worker in children’s church. At least it was for me, although he seemed unfazed. I was preparing to show a clip from the overtly Christian movie, Facing the Giants, at the end of a David and Goliath lesson for over 100 elementary-aged kids. ...
Even the Rocks Will Cry Out!
Had a wonderfully uplifting weekend worshiping, learning and just plain goofing off with a delightful group of ladies at an international Free Methodist women’s conference. Representatives of three cultures were there, with interpreters simultaneously speaking during my talks. That was a first for me. One group had headset translators, with a male translator sitting in ...
Throw Open the Drapes!
Oh. My. Stars. I’ve just had an epiphany. A revelation. A break-through in understanding my oh-so-strange self. Early this morning I posted a funny piece about being recognized this week by a reader solely because of the crazy hat I was wearing (see my writer’s blog: www.gritfortheoyster-book.blogspot.com). I closed by asking my three readers if they ...
My Bio
Debora Coty is an Occupational Therapist (B.S. From the University of Florida), a piano teacher, and a freelance writer. She’s also involved in the children’s ministry at her church (Bay Life Church) and is an avid tennis player. One of her favorite books is Christy by Catherine Marshall. She read it nine times as a teenager and named ...
Activating Change
We continuously hear the term “political activist” batted around the media, sometimes as an accolade, sometimes with a distinct sneer (depending upon who’s reporting and what side they’re on). Recently, I’ve become aware of a different kind of activist; someone whose goal is not only to change their city and country, but to change the ...
Rip Off
Thou shalt not steal.Those four simple words echoed through my brain recently when my brand new website was kidnapped and held for ransom. No kidding. Naively, I never knew such a thing existed until my longsuffering husband Chuck woke up at 7 a.m. (after working on the website until 2:30 the night before) and logged ...
BB Gun Stand-Off
“Oh, aren’t they adorable?” I asked Spouse just yesterday as we stood in our front yard observing the new crop of baby squirrels that appear every spring about this time. Carefree little furry rodents chased each other around our big oak tree, scurrying up to perch on low, spreading limbs to peer at us peering ...