…think about such things. Philippians 4:8
Hi friends! The head pastor of my church asked me to share a testimony this past weekend about experiencing Jesus in my daily life. This is the manuscript version of what I shared: Hi, I’m Deanne and I am a stay-at-home mom of three children. My youngest child, Salem, has a very rare genetic syndrome. …
Continue reading "How my neighbor changed the way I think about my son"
“Open your hand, Ezra! Open your hand!” I still remember the sweet, young Vacation Bible School counselor speaking in her peppiest voice as she was giving high tens to all of the kids in her group. When she got to Ezra, she was confused by his semi-open right hand. I could see her thoughts turning …
At the start of 2018, God asked me to live a hidden life for an indefinite amount of time. I was sitting in my husband’s office during a four-hour spiritual retreat. I had approached this particular retreat with some solid expectations. We had been living in California for about a year and now that all …
I watched in dreaded anticipation as the two women approached me. One was Salem’s speech therapist, Maddie, and the other was her supervisor, Susan. I had been in the waiting room while Salem was in his therapy session. Today he was being evaluated to see how he had progressed since beginning therapy several months ago. …
When I graduated from high school at seventeen years old, I promised myself that I would never come back to Southern California. The smog, the traffic, the lack of seasons, the bubble community of my Christian denomination, the superficial culture, and so many other reasons were only part of why I wanted to leave. With …
Continue reading "Why I begged God not to bring me back to California, and why He did."
When I was a teenager, I struggled for a long time to forgive someone who had hurt me more than anyone. My pain was so severe that I often went to bed at night asking God not to wake me up in the morning. After years of torment and asking God to help me, I …
Salem isn’t growing well. A couple months ago I took him to his 14-month well-child appointment and came home feeling defeated. He was seen by a different doctor that day as his primary doctor’s schedule was too full. The doctor was nice and calm, but as soon as she stepped in, I wished we were …
At the end of August 2008, Andrews University became my new home. Although I feared the brutal winters that everyone warned about, I had transferred there for my junior year of college to begin my studies in Speech-language Pathology with great excitement. I only knew one person at the school, but going to places where …
Whenever people come to our house, they love to look at these canvases made by our amazing friend, Emily Carlson. Shortly after the question comes, “how did you guys decide to name your kids?” The truth is, we didn’t. God named our kids. And He even planned it so that they all fit together in …
This is the excerpt for your very first post.
Whatever is... 