-
Surprised by God: Chemotherapy Reflection Part Three
On January 06, 2023, I went for my third chemotherapy treatment. I have now made it halfway through! After a good appointment with the PA on the oncology team, I headed off to treatment. It was a full waiting room and took a while for me to get a space. All twenty-three rooms on my side of the hall were full, except for two, and one was to be mine. Making a Choice Due to technical issues, my treatment was delayed two hours. Joel and I realized this would be a very long and tiring day, with a three-hour drive home on top of treatment time. I had to pause…
-
God of All Comfort: Chemotherapy Reflections Part Two
This past week was the week of hair loss, hours of debilitating headaches, nausea, insomnia and the realization that I am on chemo. Yet this has also been the week of celebrating the joys of getting-to-do the mundane. Preparing a meal, creating an online shopping order, addressing Christmas cards, washing and folding a load of laundry, wrapping a Christmas gift, making annual cheese balls, dipping chocolate pretzels and making peppermint and almond bark. As the week continued to progress, the good began to outweigh the days of laying low. For this I have been grateful! Yet in the not so good days, I have found that during this holy season…
-
In Need Of The Miraculous: Chemotherapy Reflections Part One
This holy season my mind turns once again towards the birth of Jesus. The wonder. The mystery. The miraculous. How often do I allow this same Jesus to show up and make Himself known in my everyday life? And when he does show up, do I see Him and share the magnificence of what He has done? A week had passed since my first chemo treatment. To my amazement I mostly had energy and thankfully no nausea. To my dismay a molar crown fell out. After my recent tonsillectomy I noticed this crown was not seated properly and had most likely been loosened during my procedure. I…
-
Wasting Energy On What May Never Happen
The sun is shy, blinking its way through the rain-filled clouds. On days like this, I awake in a mood. I want to stay asleep instead of bounding out of bed with anticipation of what a new day will bring. I click on the white, year-round Christmas lights in my studio. An apparent need for extra light on this dismal summer morning. On my way for coffee, I click on the set above my dining room hutch. Some days just call for extra illumination. This is one of them. Rest Robbers How is it possible to wake up just as tired as you were when you went to bed eight…
-
About The Author
About Linda J. Dingeldein Linda J. Dingeldein; author, invited international speaker and artistic enthusiast; embraces culture, and makes room for her soul to breathe through the creative media of ink and watercolor. Linda’s passion for prayer has been the root of her learning to pray God’s Word. Over thirty years of service as a missionary has her now ministering alongside her husband who pastors a church in Warren, PA. It is Linda’s desire to live authentically out of her true self as the woman God designed her to be, and in so doing, pass on to other women the joy of living freely as the Beloved of God. View…
-
Big Announcement!
HAPPY TO ANNOUNCE! Praying Life in The Word: A Woman’s Guide to Praying Scripture Now available on Amazon! Linda J. Dingeldein’s Praying Life in The Word: A Woman’s Guide To Praying Scripture offers a fresh guide for women of all ages to acquire the benefits of learning the spiritual discipline of prayer. Through the process of prayer-worship, we learn to hide God’s Word in our hearts so that we can live a godly life. A life that lays hold of God’s exceedingly great and precious promises, while offering the privilege of interceding for another person, while we commune with our LORD. As women who desire to follow Jesus Christ, prayer will…
-
Look to the Hills
The hills touch the sky. My eyes lift from the din of today’s circumstances. In my upward gaze I find solace and strength to face what lies in the valleys of my soul. Jesus is my soul keeper. He shepherds my soul well. I stand amazed at how Jesus knows what lies in the cracks and crevices of my soul. He knows what lurks behind the shadows; ever longing to rescue me from danger. He delights to meet me as I draw near to Him. He is ever present. Always willing to meet me where I am. Today, this is enough for me. He is enough. …
-
Prayer for Direction
Oh God, I want to know your ways. Lead me in your truth and teach me; for you are the God of my salvation. You chose me before the foundation of the world that I would walk in you. Make known your ways to me, O LORD. Illumine your path before me. Exchange my aimlessness with godly purpose. Show me the righteous way to walk. I need to know your path, for here my footsteps will be sure, steady and purposeful. God, I trust in you to lead me in the very best pathways for my life. I wait for you to guide me. Give me a patient…
-
Floral Love
A new gift of creativity came with 2021’s mark of isolation. Inked florals poured out of my imagination, coming to life on paper through a soft blend of watercolor. This gift of God’s grace ministered life to me during a time of national upheaval. Ink and color became a needed respite during months of uncertainty and unrest. To my delight and amazement, these first six designs became the birth of creating blank notecards. This first set is entitled Floral Love. My heart has found joy through this gift of art, yet it is a great reminder of the love-gift that God so generously extends to all people, everywhere. For this…
-
The Tension of Art and Words
This past year in isolation, art became a daily rhythm of soul care for me. Little watercolor vignettes poured from paint and brush. This was something I didn’t know I could do; but there they were, teacups bursting with blossoms, flowers and leaves spilling from water pots, tea cups and mugs. Yet in the act of art, my words became pushed aside; revealing a season for new things where words were not present. The joy of creating art made my heart swell, while the lack of words was something new to me. I have always had words. This art journey was a surprise I was not expecting. This became troubling…
