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Brenda Bradford Ottinger

Encouraging Women to Live Rooted in the Sacred

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A Girl I Once Knew

Doesn’t really seem like it was that long ago…..

I once knew a girl who had a baby boy…a beautiful blond-haired, blue-eyed little one he was.  Her heartbeat, she called him.  Then two and a half years later, that girl I knew, she had another darling son.  This one, olive-skinned with the biggest eyes you’ve ever seen on a baby boy.

This girl – she loved the whole “baby thing”.  She was good at it too, I think.  Changing diapers didn’t bother her; she knew the best baby food to buy, and when the cute infant clothes were on sale at the mall.  And – rocking sleeping babies in her arms – she lived for those moments.

Four years later, this girl I knew was overjoyed to welcome a third little-one-in-blue into her world.  This one slightly plump with the most incredible smile.  Sometimes, when she would look at the baby pictures of her third-born and her first-born sons, she’d have to do a double-take.

That girl I knew, she adored every second of having little ones in her home.  Those boys of hers grew into toddlers and preschoolers, and she laughed and loved them through it all.

Mysterious how that girl walked so quietly out of my life.  She never said “Goodbye”, she never slammed the door closed behind her.  She was just gone.   There are days when I, so very much, miss that girl I once knew.

Today, I am getting to know another girl.  A woman she is.  A woman who is mother to teenaged treasures.  This woman I know, she can still look into the face of her nearly 20 year old son, and see a giggly, red-cheeked little boy playing peek-a-boo.  This woman–she’s also blessed to call another 17 year old precious soul her son.  That son, he still has those big, big eyes.  Those eyes that she always saw in her own reflection and never appreciated—she now sees them in her son and admires them—and the spirit behind the eyes ever so much more.  Oh, and this woman that I know…God smiled on her for a third time allowing her to be mom to yet another sweet cherub who is right on the heels of teendome.  He’s straight from heaven.  He’s all hers; he’s her baby and she adores him.  He’s turning 13, and she wonders—where, on earth, the years have gone?

This woman I know, she’s grateful—ever-grateful—for her three beautiful sons.  And yet, she can’t help but fondly remember – A girl she once knew.  flower

 

“How’d it get so late so soon?
It’s night before it’s afternoon,
December is here before it’s June,
My goodness how the time has flewn,
How did it get so late so soon?”
~ Dr. Seuss  flower

 

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Many a time in life I’ve felt I was standing at Many a time in life I’ve felt I was standing at the edge of a sea, hemmed in by its boundary, unable to discern a path forward.
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If this feels familiar, friend, I have the sweetest of news…
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God has not misplaced His plan for your life.
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Our great God is not bound by limitation. His roads can cross right through our seas, on pathways no one knew were there! 🙌
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Oh friend, may you rest quietly before your God at the water’s edge, trusting Him to bring you to a place of abundance.
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The mighty waters of your circumstances are no match for His power, His heart, His purpose.
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You’re not alone, for He goes before you, ordering unique pathways along His timeline—all for you, my friend.
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Set your every hope into the tender palm of God and walk in freedom, for He is able. 💕
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Friend, no matter what you’ve been through…hea Friend, no matter what you’ve been through…healing isn’t hopeless.
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So often it can feel easier to tamp hurt upon hurt deep into our spirits, than to do a new thing.
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But, friend, our God is a God of fresh beginnings who makes pathways through the wilderness and steams in the desert. (Isaiah 43:19)
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You don’t walk alone, for His kindness and faithfulness walk with you through it all.
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This book _Good Boundaries and Goodbyes_ by @lysaterkeurst is a beautifully honest resource for learning to understand & create healthy, Godly boundaries in our lives.
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If you’re looking for a good resource to begin forming healthy boundaries, or are looking for help to understand others’ healthy boundaries, this book is a great place to start.
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I have an extra copy I’d love to give away. Leave me a comment on Instagram if you’d like to be entered to win.
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Also, OBS (Online Bible Study) is beginning a free online community study of this book January 23rd. If you’d like to sign up, head over to proverbs31.org.
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May this be a stream in your desert, dear friend, the dawn of a beautiful new thing God’s set apart for you. 💕
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About 5-6 years ago I started doing this thing tha About 5-6 years ago I started doing this thing that, at the time, didn’t feel like anything radical or life-changing.
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I simply started trying to stop eating around 7pm, and not start eating again until 11am.
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At the time, I’d never even heard the term “intermittent fasting;” I was just trying this new-to-me thing to help with weight management.
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Over time, I learned that what I was doing was called intermittent fasting, and that it has health benefits well beyond the weight management realm.
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(Search the word “autophagy” if you’re interested in learning more about that.)
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I’m not gonna lie, back when I started, 7pm to 11am was hard! It took some time, and I didn’t always do it “perfectly.”
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These days, I typically go from 6-7pm to 1-2pm. My body has adapted and most days it’s very easy. Often, I’d fast longer except that I take supplements that keep me awake at night if I take them too late in the day.
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Yes, I came to intermittent fasting for the weight loss. (30 pounds has long been gone.) But, I stay because I’ve never felt better. Allowing my body the restorative time each day has been a game-changer for me.
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For a few weeks now, I’ve been feeling like I’m supposed to share this…like someone needs to hear it.
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If that’s you, friend, I want you to know that it’s not as hard as it seems. Start as slowly as you need to. Add another hour or 30 minutes, or even 15 minutes per week until your body adapts.
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There’s no right or wrong. There are no bad days. It’s a lifestyle of freedom. You can switch it all up when you need to or want to for social reasons. It’s easier than it seems.
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I’m no doctor. I’m not medically advising. I’m just a girl who has always longed to make a difference, so I share in hopes of helping.
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No matter what your goals are this year, whether they’re health or relational or work related, it’s okay to go slow. It’s okay to get off track by January 10th and start over again.
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All is progress, my friend. Baby steps count. 💕
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As I sit here, now seven days into being sick, I s As I sit here, now seven days into being sick, I search for words of hope and inspiration to meet us here on this beautiful fresh ground called 2023.
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Words and energy may escape me, but, as we tip-toe into this newborn year—I wish you adventure and abundance, goodness and growth, peace and every joy this year, dear friend.
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It’ll go by fast, 2023. Let’s make some memories and leave it better than we found it. 💕
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