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The Promise of a New Year

iflourish — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 11:00:16 +0000

Belinda Elliott While rummaging through childhood keepsakes at my parent’s house during a holiday visit, I found several notebooks filled with school assignments and a couple old journals. Flipping through them brought back a flood of memories. Slumber parties with best friends, grade-school crushes, high school heartbreaks, joyous occasions, painful losses—I recorded all the highlights [...]

Lay Hold of His Blessings for 2013

iflourish — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 18:42:16 +0000

Editors Note: iFlourishOnline writer Kristin Reeg wrote this New Year’s blessing for 2013. I found it very encouraging and thought our dear readers would also want to receive the encouragement and truth from her words, reminding us of HIS Words, as well. Read her letter, allow the promises to wash over, in and through [...]

40 Years of Roe

iflourish — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 00:00:34 +0000

40 Years of Roe by Bethany Bomberger, The Radiance Foundation “I could out-cuss the most crass of men and women; I could out-drink many of the Dallas taverns’ regulars; and I was known for my hot temper. When (some) pro-lifers called me a murderer, I called them worse. When people held up signs…I spit in [...]

Does going for “great” make life messy?

cshawver — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 11:00:24 +0000

Kristin Cooney – “Mom, that house is a MESS!” observed my 6-year-old, staring out our kitchen window at the construction site next door in our new neighborhood. He was right. Board scraps, bricks, sawdust, and soda cans lay all over the ground. The “yard” was a clumpy dirt and clay disaster. Besides unsightly, it [...]

A Leader in Waiting

cshawver — Wed, 26 Dec 2012 11:00:15 +0000

Felicia Murrell – I think one of the worst things in the world is being a leader with no place to lead. It’s one thing to not know who you are. It’s another thing altogether to know who you are, understand what you were born for, and yet have no place or voice to be [...]

God Is Santa Claus?

cshawver — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 11:00:07 +0000

Kristin Reeg – Free?! Did somebody say free? I do believe “free” is my favorite four letter word. I get so excited when I go somewhere and see a sign that says, “Free.” My eyes begin to enlarge like the Grinch’s heart. Sometimes those free gifts are not anything I want or need, but I [...]

Heavenly Piñata Hitters

iflourish — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 11:05:28 +0000

“Ye have not, because ye ask not.” – James 4:2 Nathalie Jeter – When I was in graduate school, I had a lot of reading to do. To avoid eye strain, I usually studied near a window in my apartment so I could look outside once in a while and allow my eyes to relax. One [...]

Striving for a Picture-Perfect Christmas?

iflourish — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 10:36:18 +0000

Belinda Elliott – It is that time of year again. Christmas decorations, festive parties, candlelight church services, extended time with loved ones—I love Christmas! At least mostly. I admit, if I’m honest, there is also a little part of me that cringes when the Christmas music begins to play and decorations start to appear in department stores. [...]

HAPPY HEART, HAPPY START

iflourish — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 10:47:25 +0000

Jennifer Avis – Happiness. When you kick back and really think about it, you may notice that most people search for happiness outside themselves. Maybe they are searching for it in a relationship. Maybe in another house. Or maybe in their children, or their dog, or some type of material object that consumes them. And to [...]

Spark Your Heart with Inspiration This Season

iflourish — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 11:00:24 +0000

Anna Bowman – A few years ago, my husband and I were like many so-called middle-class American families. We made six figures in salary, had a great house and nice cars. Oh, and we were miserable. Our priorities were so upside down that we almost fell apart. Once we began to submit to the Lord’s [...]