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Brenda Bradford Ottinger

Encouraging Women to Live Rooted in the Sacred

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The Ministry of Hard Things

As the sun whispers its rise in the window behind me, I lay in bed praying for strength to start another day. All too many mornings lately seem to inherit yesterday’s tired spirit. Begging the energy to put on my big girl slippers, I make the bed, brush my teeth, and wake my son as I head downstairs (all while…
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Surviving on a Diet of Prayer and Tears

Slumping deep into his chair at a corner table for two, he ate waffle fries alone on a holiday evening. The sun laid down quietly in the window behind him as snowy hair fell against a face that spilled secrets of sorrow. Vacant eyes and a somber spirit caught my heart. The people-watcher in me wondered about his story; I…
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God Has No Grandchildren

Exactly one minute ago, my eldest son was learning to drive — according to Mom-Time, that is. Now here we are, cruising the back roads of Surreal-ville, as my third son has found his way behind a wheel. These are the moments when I sigh in solidarity with Dr. Seuss: How did it get so late so soon? Oh, how…
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When Showing Up is Hard to Do

Most summer days, you can find me rocking away time on my front porch. I like to think of it as an investment in my sanity. Like many southern porches, ours displays an American flag gracefully flying in the wind with the same freedom its stars and stripes represent. High in the breeze, it’s the backdrop of my daydreams, my…
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Every New Beginning Comes From Another Beginning’s End

  Friends, the “Special Announcement” I alluded to last week is a bittersweet one. I hope you’ll take a listen to the short video above for the details. As always, I’m so grateful for every single one of you who’ve shown up at this table time and time again. Your friendships have blessed me beyond all words. I’ll still be…
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Spring Spotlight & Giveaway

Welcome back, friend. I pray Spring is whispering sunshine-scented joy into your home and life this week. Friends, with all the things going on in my world, I’ve somehow managed to miss the Spotlight & Giveaway drawings for February and March! So, guess what? We’re gonna do this thing Party Style with all three drawings this week!! Let’s get this…
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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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