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Brenda Bradford Ottinger

Encouraging Women to Live Rooted in the Sacred

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October Spotlight & Giveaway

Welcome back, friend. So glad you’re here, for you’d truly be missed if you weren’t. Thank you for pulling up a chair at this table each week. ♥

I’m so excited to share our Drawing and Spotlight winner this week—our sweet, beautiful sister-friend, Michele M. Woohoo! Congrats, Michele!

So blessed by your example of a Godly writer. We appreciate you so much, and are grateful for your presence in this space each week, friend.  ♥

Michele is a teacher, blogger, reader, and gardener who finds joy in sitting at a table surrounded by women with open Bibles. (To which, exactly, no one is surprised!)

Michele’s online writing space can be found at Living Our Days. There you can find links to follow her blog & follow her on all manner of social media. Michele serves as a sweet constant in the blog-a-sphere, and for that, I’m thankful. If you haven’t had a chance to visit with Michele, I hope you’ll pop by and say hello. I know you’ll leave encouraged. 

Let me know whether you’d prefer the insulated mug, or the writing journal and I’ll get it right out to you, Michele. May the Lord continue to bless your ministry of words. ♥


And, last week’s drawing winner for Charity’s novel, I Get to Love You, is Laura Rath! Congratulations, Laura. If you can get me your info, I’ll have that sent right out to you. ♥



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It’s a casual, pony-tail & sandals environment around here, but a few important reminders:

  • Please remember to visit and leave some encouragement for other friends who’ve linked-up today — this is the heart of community & your words of support could be just the thing another friend needs to hear today.
  • Please only share like-minded words of spiritual encouragement and insight.
  • Please grab the #ChasingCommunity button, or link back here underneath your post. (So others can find us and join the fun too!)
  • By linking up & leaving your email address you agree to receive #ChasingCommunity updates.
I’m linking up today with my friends at #ChasingCommunity. Come join the fun!
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Comments

  1. Bev @ Walking Well With God says

    October 26, 2017 at 5:38 am

    Hi Brenda,
    Looking forward to our “writer meet-up” tomorrow!! See you then!
    Blessings,
    Bev xo
    Bev @ Walking Well With God recently posted…In Whom Does My Hope Lie, Really?My Profile

    Reply
    • Becky Hastings says

      October 26, 2017 at 6:54 am

      Writer Meet-up! So fun! Hope you ladies enjoy your time together! 🙂

      Reply
      • Brenda says

        October 26, 2017 at 5:03 pm

        Thank you, Becky. 🙂 Wish you were able to join us. 🙂

        Reply
    • Brenda says

      October 26, 2017 at 5:03 pm

      Me too, Bev! 😀

      Reply
  2. Lesley says

    October 26, 2017 at 5:52 am

    Thanks, Brenda! So true- knowing we would be missed if we weren’t there makes a big difference. And congratulations to Michele!
    Lesley recently posted…Strong At The Broken PlacesMy Profile

    Reply
    • Brenda says

      October 26, 2017 at 5:04 pm

      ♥ ♥ ♥

      Reply
  3. Michele Morin says

    October 26, 2017 at 6:12 am

    Brenda, what a sweet surprise on this rainy Thursday! Thanks for all the MANY ways you encourage me (and others) here in your wonderful space. And I’m just a lover of journals, so that’s my choice with many thanks to you.
    Michele Morin recently posted…Let It Trouble Your Heart: Jayber Crow Discussion Group (8)My Profile

    Reply
    • Brenda says

      October 26, 2017 at 5:06 pm

      Back at ya, friend. ♥ I don’t think I have your address. hmm. ?? Can you send that to me, and I’ll get the journal right out to you. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Becky Hastings says

    October 26, 2017 at 6:55 am

    Yay Michele! And thank you Brenda for hosting us in such a welcoming space!

    Reply
    • Brenda says

      October 26, 2017 at 5:06 pm

      Thank you for being here, friend. ♥

      Reply
  5. KellyRBaker says

    October 26, 2017 at 8:09 am

    I look forward to visiting this virtual porch, Brenda! Congrats, Michele and Laura!

    Reply
    • Brenda says

      October 26, 2017 at 5:07 pm

      That makes me smile, Kelly. Look forward to connecting with you each week too, friend. 🙂 xoxo

      Reply
  6. Linda Stoll says

    October 26, 2017 at 8:11 am

    Congrats to Michele! For sure, she’s a steadying, wise inspiration to all of us who get to rub shoulders with her.

    Looking forward to hearing a bit about your writer’s meet-up, Brenda and Bev …

    Enjoy!
    Linda Stoll recently posted…In Which I’m Excited to Choose Plan BMy Profile

    Reply
    • Brenda says

      October 26, 2017 at 5:08 pm

      She sure is, isn’t she, Linda. (As are you!) 🙂 ♥

      Reply
  7. Lisa/Syncopated Mama says

    October 26, 2017 at 8:29 am

    Congrats to Michele! It’s always fun to see sweet friends here!
    Lisa/Syncopated Mama recently posted…Semicolons, Cupcakes, and Cucumbers by Steve NewberryMy Profile

    Reply
    • Brenda says

      October 26, 2017 at 5:08 pm

      ♥♥♥

      Reply
  8. Esther | Chosen & Cherished says

    October 26, 2017 at 10:14 am

    Thank you, Brenda, for hosting and YAY YAY YAY Michele!!

    Reply
    • Brenda says

      October 26, 2017 at 5:09 pm

      Thanks for being a part of the party, Esther. 🙂

      Reply
  9. sue says

    October 26, 2017 at 6:48 pm

    yea! I love michele! thanks for hosting, brenda.
    sue recently posted…The Hidden Life: Towel Theology #31 Days to DisappearMy Profile

    Reply
  10. Donna Reidland says

    October 26, 2017 at 7:55 pm

    Congratulations to Michele! She is such a sweet presence popping up in comments and great posts! Thanks, Brenda, for hosting each week! Have a great week-end.
    Donna Reidland recently posted…“Widows, Laziness & the State of Your Flocks” October 26My Profile

    Reply
  11. Maree Dee says

    October 27, 2017 at 1:29 am

    I love the quote you posted. So true we all want to be missed.
    Maree Dee recently posted…Calm My Anxious Heart: How God Enabled Me to Trust: Guest Post by Julie LoosMy Profile

    Reply

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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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