-
In The Dark Valley of Waiting: Hope Comes With the Good Shepherd.
When life’s adversity thrusts us into a valley, shadows loom large and darkness creeps in. Despair can threaten to undo us, and doubts about God’s goodness can overwhelm us. Here, in the valley of despondency, the Good Shepherd whispers, “Don’t be afraid. I see you. I am with you. I will protect and comfort you. You are mine!” As a child, I never liked being left alone in the dark. In my darkened bedroom, ordinary objects seemed larger and often took on frightening forms. A simple lamp or doll on a shelf, strangely, became a large, ugly monster. Legs that hung out of the covers or dangled over the side…
-
Living Fully Present: Hope in Uncertainty When was the last time God led you into a waiting room? A waiting room without physical walls—a place where adversity and faith meet. Here, you are given the chance to embrace God’s character, yet somehow anxiety and overwhelm flood in, and all you can think about is solving your problem to ease the pain, remove the heartache, or erase the trouble. I am familiar with God’s waiting rooms, as I am sure you are. It has taken me years to realize that when God calls us to enter, He is extending a sacred invitation to spend time with the Divine. It is here…
You May Also Like
Day of Victory!
Letting Go of My Own Understanding
Prayer for Chronic Pain Suffers
-
Feed The Fire In My Soul: Remission! Chemotherapy Reflection Part Four
As I am finishing my second month of remission, I continuously cry out to God with this one plea; “I don’t want my cancer journey to be wasted!” The question that rises out of this plea is; “God how do you want to use me now? How can my cancer be used for your praise, your glory?” Questions after facing finality In staring the possibility of death in the face, I have found that you can ask God one of two things; “God, why me? I have been serving you with my whole life. Why cancer? Why me? Why now!” or “God, allow me the privilege to be a marked…
-
A Cup of Coffee… In Jesus Name
Exiting the coffee shop last week it was unseasonably warm. Spring wrapped in summers temperatures. Trees flouting their first blooms. Sidewalks filled with bike riders and walkers anxious to take in the suns warmth after a long winter. It was the first time I had seen him. There he sat. Ragged. Glazed, unseeing eyes. Slumped shouldered, yet with head thrown back taking in the warmth of the sun’s rays. It was almost as if he thought the sun itself could feed his empty stomach. The first time I had seen him I walked past. Startled by his vacant, glazed eyes. At first they frightened me; but almost instantly my fear…
-
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…
