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Vulnerability Yields True Community
After a particularly hard week, I spent an evening pouring out my heart to a trusted friend. Having a good listener at the other end of my struggles lifted my spirit. My sharing turned into mutual encouragement, finishing with a time of prayer for each other, acknowledging that we both had needs that neither of us could fix. The words that touched heaven were heart-pleas, that God would show us His presence, administer His peace amid overwhelm, and invade the lives of those we love by showing up and doing the impossible. In short – do a miracle in us and them! Prayer brings peace and the empowerment of the…
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Speaking truth into your gifts
Speaking truth into my God-given gifts became a reality today, as I worked through the edits to the first half of my children’s book. After finishing, this thought hit me. I am a writer! Even though I have been rhyming poetry in my head and dreaming up story plots since I was a child, it has been hard to call myself a writer. Not only did I think there was no room at the table for me, I felt deeply that I could never push my uncredentialled-self up to this platform, where highly qualified people created and collaborated. How often do we live out of who we think we are,…
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Courage to Risk
Today I risked! My children’s story is now in the hands of an editor. The Bella Project has been seven-plus years in the making. When Covid hit, I decided to pick Bella back up, and see her come to life by putting watercolor to her simple sketches. It has been exciting to see the progress over these past eight months, as I have steadily plodded along, putting corresponding illustrations to the words of her story. But…just hours after hitting send on my story, I felt like my spirit plummeted. Have you ever felt this way? You finally move forward on something you feel God nudging you to do, and then; BAM!…
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The Conversation Connection
As my husband and I sat in a local coffee shop, we began a conversation with a young business man. The emblem on his shirt causing us to wonder what his line of work was. Just one, simple, inquisitive question opened the door for a fascinating conversation in which we learned that he was a financial planner who loved Jesus and used his line of work to represent Christ to those in his sphere of influence. A friendly conversation took off from there as we sat on common spiritual ground. His passion rose to the surface as he expressed that he had been coming to the realization that often what…
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4 Steps to Rid Yourself of Fear-Chatter
Letting Truth Take Hold In previous weeks we have learned about the debilitating effects of attending to fear-chatter. Take heart my friend! Through the truth of God’s Word, we CAN rid ourselves of fear-chatter. If you haven’t joined the conversation yet; check out our first dialog at http://www.lindajanedingeldein.com/fear-chatter/ And the second at http://www.lindajanedingeldein.com/fear-chatter-continues/ This is the final posting in a three-part series. Ridding ourselves of fear-chatter takes work. As I have gone through the discipline of putting these steps into practice, I have seen how my desire to overcome fear-chatter can be easily thwarted. Be patient! It takes time; but in the end you will reap the blessing of learning…
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Fear-Chatter Continues
As we spring courageously from the tip of fear we launch ourselves into a world of authenticity, truth and freedom. Risky but rewarding! Authentic living begins where the tip of fear ends! Linda Jane Dingeldein: Different by Design Where fear ends-life begins He was a large, intimidating figure in contrast to my petite 15-year-old frame. The only teacher who taught the required math class I needed to graduate High School. As I entered the room the smell of fear still hung heavy, mingled with stale air from the previous class. I took my assigned seat, instantly coveting those who sat further toward the back. Startled, I looked up.…
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Fear-Chatter
Fear – Chatter: Stepping into the conversation I have never liked ordinary. The word ordinary sounds too much like the word beige. Nothing extra. No descriptors. Just plain-blah-beige. I am sure that some will argue with my next statement. So, here goes! “I don’t think there are any all-inspiring descriptors for the words beige.” It just shouts ORDINARY to me. Shades like sangria, cerulean, mulberry or even marmalade instantly take my mind far away from the ordinariness of beige; to a world of color, design and endless possibilities. A satisfied extra-ordinarian My husband is a satisfied “ordinarian”. He loves vanilla ice-cream. He is satisfied with brownies without the nuts.…
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Living Fully Present
Over the past few months I have been in transition. A bit of culture shock as I have left my home in the Philippines and have re-entered my passport country, the United States; for a much-needed sabbatical. I have never been very good at transitions. For some reason, even if I know they are coming and I think I have prepared for them, I still struggle. This transition has been no different. Transitions cause me a great deal of personal, inner reflection as I assess what I am leaving behind and begin to anticipate what I am yet to embrace or going towards. For several weeks now, I have…
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The Fear Of Imperfection
My mind’s eye can see what I want. My heart knows what will make something look picture-perfect. Is this perfectionism or striving towards excellence? Separating perfectionism from excellence: Lately I have been seeking the answer to this question: “What is the difference between perfectionism, or striving towards excellence in my work?” As I have churned this question over in my mind, like shells tumbling in the rolling tide, I have begun to see a clarifying difference that separates these two thoughts. As I took a discovering look at myself, I realized, that there are times that the motive for my work stems from a deep-rooted need to gain value, acceptance…
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Day of Victory!
How is it, that I can wake up on Valentines Day and feel like all the love is slowly being squeezed right out of me? Thirty-seven consecutive Valentines Days shared with my husband Joel, and here I was entering this one with a melancholy attitude I couldn’t identify. I should have prepared myself for the unexpected low, as I had just said hard good-byes to my brother and sister who were visiting here in the Philippines. While my brother was doing ministry work in the Province, I enjoyed two remarkable weeks together with my eldest sister. Each day was hinged with laughter, reminiscent memories of experiences from days gone by,…
