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Brenda Bradford Ottinger

Encouraging Women to Live Rooted in the Sacred

Help for the Weary Woman

Help for the Weary Woman

Rise before dawn for an hour of Bible study and a five-mile run: Check! Fold laundry and order groceries while…
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The Confidence to Believe You Belong

The Confidence to Believe You Belong

It was my first day at a new school—midyear, where everyone knew each other and no one knew me. Nine…
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When You Feel Like You’re Not Enough

When You Feel Like You’re Not Enough

I’m a woman of habit, so every morning, like a playlist on repeat, I make the bed, shower and dash…
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Peace by Piece

Peace by Piece

The relentless heat of a late southern summer hung in the air as I cheered from the sidelines of my…
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To the One Who Longs to Feel Known

To the One Who Longs to Feel Known

Songs of soft praise laced with the warm scent of coffee hovered in the air as cheerful ladies trickled through…
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Letting Go of Clutter and Holding On to Peace

Letting Go of Clutter and Holding On to Peace

The Carolina clay has housed our family roots for over a decade now, but prior to settling here, we moved…
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When Life Doesn’t Follow Your Plans

When Life Doesn’t Follow Your Plans

Short on time and long on haste, I jotted a nearby address into my car’s GPS one morning and, to…
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Seeing God in the Middle of Your Messed-Up Plans

Seeing God in the Middle of Your Messed-Up Plans

I’ve had my share of daydreams about living on permanent vacation, but this wasn’t how I pictured it going down….
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Thirsting for Rest Amid Stress

Thirsting for Rest Amid Stress

I’d barely tiptoed into dreamland before hearing a clamor down the hall. Rising in the moonlit shadows, I tend to…
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Never can there be too many magnolia pictures. . S Never can there be too many magnolia pictures.
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Says the lens of my eyes; of my soul.
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(“Not so,” says my iphone storage, but that’s a tomorrow problem.)
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Every time I leave my house, I can’t not stop, not stare, not take another jillion pictures.
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This magnolia tree of mine, she keeps a record of time, reaching farther into the sky with each passing year.
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In all her southern glory, she lifts leaves and limbs toward heaven, pointing to the One on whom all glory rests.
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Boldly, yet elegantly, she speaks of a Creator who, year upon year, grows lovely things under the banner of His care in the lives of His own.
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Even in times when life doesn’t feel full of lovely, may we listen to the magnolia’s anthem.
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She doesn’t question the winter, knowing full well that her Maker has yet to deny spring its beauty.
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I wonder how breathtaking magnolias must be in the City of God. ✨
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“Not to us, O, LORD, not to us, but to Your name goes all the glory for Your unfailing love and faithfulness.” Psalm 115:1 💕
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#magnolia #spring #beauty #glory #godsglory #wordship #praise #faithfulgod #riseup #showup #christianwriter #ministry #amwriting #leadership #influence #serve #growwhereyoureplanted #pictures #grace #bible #weary #listen #joy #life #lovely #plants #garden #majesty #southern #naturespeaks
The May calendar has a way of turning our thoughts The May calendar has a way of turning our thoughts toward home, doesn’t it?
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Perhaps, for you, that’s a beloved Home State where the soil smells like childhood and dreams.
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Or, maybe the humble shelter of your youth, where boo-boos were kissed & fairytales carried you into dreamland.
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Perhaps you’re like me, and yesteryear’s home holds heartache and rejection, insecurity and confusion.
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Far too much of my past I spent chasing roots, not sensing an inheritance of belonging within the halls of my kin.
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Layer by broken layer, though, the Lord is healing me from within, showing me that…
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What our hearts long for can’t be satisfied with what our lives long for.
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The temporal can’t pacify the eternal.
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We’re so prone to searching for home in containers not meant to carry its calling—whether in place or people, title or position, acceptance or belonging—that we seek to satisfy its longing with lesser things.
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Having a sense of home within our circles is beautiful and sacred, but—it’s a shallow substitute for the inheritance we have in God.
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No place, no person, no position—no earthly brand of belonging—can ever claim home to your soul like the Haven of Him.
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Quiet your spirit in the shadow of His covering, dear friend, for never will He stop calling you His own. 💕
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#home #mothersday #belonging #longing #rejection #insecurity #questions #confusion #heartache #brokenness #leftout #healing #acceptance #inheritance #haven #soul #rest #childofGod #included #christianwriter #ministry #influence #leadership #amwriting #abandoned #forgotten #loveofgod #youreenough #comeasyouare #faithfulgod
Dear friend, do you feel like you’re etching a p Dear friend, do you feel like you’re etching a prayer into the ear of God, day upon year upon decade?
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You’re asking “why,” and “when, O Lord,” yet the situation your heart plays on repeat at the altar of God, remains seemingly unchanged.
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Oh, friend, I understand; me too.
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Sometimes those miracles we’re waiting for, they come at the expense of years of prayer.
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Not because God is cruel, but because God is thorough. He phones nothing in; takes no shortcuts with our hearts.
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The life-mending, soul-touching, supernatural work of God takes time to witness from our perspective.
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Oh, but take heart, dear friend, for God hears the cries of your heart.
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That outcome you’re praying for? Your God is already there, working out the details ahead of you.
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Even when it feels like you’re crying yet one more prayer into the silence, He hears and is moving ahead of you in ways you can’t even imagine right now.
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Hang on, my friend; keep praying, for those prayers are a worthy sacrifice to the only God who is altogether able. 🙌💕
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#questions #confusion #heartache #uncertainty #weary #prayer #miracle #godisalreadythere #faithfulgod #hope #praise #remember #waitongod #trust #faith #patience #ministry #serve #influence #leadership #godisable #christianwriter #amwriting #worthygod #exhausted #drained #grateful #struggle #stress #bible
I wonder, friend, do the demands of life leave you I wonder, friend, do the demands of life leave you feeling downright weary at times?
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If so, I understand. Me too.
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Oh, that our souls would rest in remembering that Jesus also knew what it was to feel weary as He walked this earth in human flesh.
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You are not alone.
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This one’s for the weary. 💗
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Head over to Proverbs31ministries.org. to read & join the conversation! 💕
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#weary #exhausted #tired #spent #hope #jesus #rest #weariness #busyness #struggle #serve #ministry #leadership #servantleadership #influence #humility #godknows #godcares #legacy #boundaries #wisdom #prayer #makeadifference #sacrifice #peace #faithfulgod #proverbs31ministries #followjesus #itsgonnabeokay #godisnear
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