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Brenda Bradford Ottinger

Encouraging Women to Live Rooted in the Sacred

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When You Wonder Who You Would Have Been

Some seasons of our stories are so challenging, they invest themselves into who we become, leaving a clear before and after in their dust. We hold these moments close, protective of their scars, as they nestle deep within our personalities, affecting the way we view ourselves and others. Perhaps someone who was supposed to love you, didn’t — leaving a…
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The Long Prayer of Motherhood

Raise your hand if you thought for sure 2020 would look normal again by now. Me too. In this season of sheltering-in-place, yesterday looks like today looks like tomorrow, yet nothing looks like normal. While this wayward year remains seated in the principal’s office of life, it can feel challenging to lead our families into a fresh semester of uncertainty….
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Daughters of the Day

Once upon a Saturday morning, the house chores held a conference and elected me their leader. While rushing through chores, I noticed a theme unfolding in my living room. All day, our napping kitten, Noelle, scooted herself around, warmly snuggled in the patch of sunlight beaming through the window. As the sun moved across the sky, so Noelle moved across…
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Hope for the Hard Days

Air-conditioning blasted through dusty moving van vents as we pulled away from our southern roots, yet the farther north we drove, the more those vents burned high with heat. Our choice of sandals and shorts proved naive, as 1300 miles later, our new city welcomed us to a sky-show greeting the likes of which we’d never known: snow flurry confetti…
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Free Bird, Caged Song

Dawn awakes, stretching bright limbs wide across the eastern sky. So much energy displayed for such a still moment in time. Willing my spirit to believe in something other than the warm bed I just crawled out of, I rest in the calm of my rocker and behold this masterpiece inching its way up the horizon. Soft light trickles onto…
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Valley of Blessing

We looked like a normal family. On weekends. Every Friday night, my husband’s plane would land, and we’d cram all manner of family life into two insufficient days before Monday barged in with the next flight out. Week after week, month after eight long months. Weekdays were a crash course in “single-mom” life for me as employment changes split our…
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As the days march on and the seasons of our lives As the days march on and the seasons of our lives stack up, we can sometimes wonder how life became so full and time so cramped.
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If you're like me, it can be easy to forget there's abundance in a life flowing to the gentle stream of His sovereign schedule.
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You can read "The Quiet Strength of Slowing Down" on Proverbs31. org . I'd love for you to share your thoughts, friend! 💗
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(P.S., if you don't already, you can sign up to receive free short daily devotions from Proverbs 31 Ministries at Proverbs31 .org!)
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#rest #weary #peace #proverbs31ministries #christianwriter
It never gets old, this glory that rises in my fro It never gets old, this glory that rises in my front yard & sets in my back yard day upon day. ☀️🙌
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Worthy is the One whose glory is greater. ✨
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These sky eyes of mine can’t not watch the beauty He sketches on the canvas above. 💕
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Thank You, Lord. 🤍
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#sunset #glory #god #beauty #christianwriter
Dear friend, are you living in a season of hope up Dear friend, are you living in a season of hope upon hope? If so, I understand. 💗
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The relentlessness of some seasons has a way of tethering our threadbare hearts to hope.
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Unlike other holy hallmarks, sometimes hope can feel hard to define. 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 feels wild and strong; 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩, grounded and secure. Yet, hope can seem wistful, intangible.
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But, more and more I'm realizing that even though hope seems an elegant mystery—Hope is a force unto itself.
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In today's Proverbs 31 Ministries devotion, 𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴, I share how God meets us inside this beautiful mystery of hope with all of Himself. His power has not lost its authority. 🙌 
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Dear friend, I'm here alongside you as together we hold hope inside the lingering heavy seasons of life. 💗
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You can read and join the conversation today at Proverbs31. org . Would love to hear from you, friend. 💕
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#hope #heartache #Proverbs31Ministries #christianwriter
The neon numbers on my nightstand clock insisted i The neon numbers on my nightstand clock insisted it was midnight, yet it may as well have been midday as far as my active mind was concerned.
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Weariness swept my spirit as the enemy nagged notions of angst. 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵? I begged softly into the night.
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Turns out, trying to fill every moment of opportunity can leave you feeling empty of rest.
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Dear friend, can you relate to being in that place of striving to do it all, lest you miss out on something meaningful, while quietly feeling weary and worn?
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We often hear the acronym FOMO—the “fear of missing out.” But what a lullaby it would sing to our weary spirits, if instead we embraced a different kind of FOMO—the “freedom of missing out.” 🙌
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You can read the full devotion live today at Proverbs 31 Ministries! ✨
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I’d love to hear your story, friend. Have you ever felt similarly? 💕
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#FOMO #freedom #weary #christianwriter #proverbs31ministries
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