In unity on National Day of Prayer

On Thursday, May 3rd, I drove over to Rockwall City Hall. I’d read about a noon-time gathering planned for the National Day of Prayer (NDP). Sure enough, I saw red, white and blue balloons and people in non-business attire making their way toward the front of the tall building. Attending a NDP gathering seems a […]

Book signing at Blue Ribbon News Chic Fest booth

Join Blue Ribbon News at Chic Fest, a shopping, dining and entertainment extravaganza designed to “celebrate the chic in you” – with fashions, jewelry, makeup, music, and more. Chic Fest will run from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, May 5 at The Harbor in Rockwall. Bring your girlfriends – or the whole family – to enjoy […]

Beautiful Battle: A Woman’s Guide to Spiritual Warfare

   Non-fiction book by Mary E. DeMuth; review by Patti Richter Mary DeMuth is an organized thinker and writer. The staff at Harvest House Publisher likely knew this before hearing—and accepting—her idea to write a book about spiritual warfare. How many women write books about spiritual warfare? Probably not many, especially the stay-at home kind. Theologians […]

Puppy promises and prayers

It poured rain on the spring Saturday that I drove across town on a mission of motherhood. But I was less than half-hearted to fulfill it. My more enthusiastic, 13-year-old son sat in the middle seat of our minivan as we plowed down a waterlogged road, looking for street signs. The small plastic bin next […]

‘Because you care: Spiritual encouragement for caregivers’

By Cecil Murphey and Twila Belk; book review by Patti Richter Cecil Murphey and Twila Belk have worked together for years. He is the author of more than 125 published books, while she is a writer and speaker and also works as his assistant. But they have something more in common—both are long-term caregivers. Now […]

God’s not-so-random acts of encouragement

God’s not-so-random acts of encouragement

My friend has experienced God’s very present help in trouble. But Ann has a problem. After seeing so many signs and wonders, she worries that people might not believe her testimony. Last year proved the most difficult one of Ann’s life. A corporate calamity loomed overhead for months on end. Meanwhile, both her parents’ health […]

Down with resolutions – except one

Down with resolutions – except one

It seems I picked the right year to nix the idea of making my annual list of resolutions. Fortunate too that I stocked up on boxes of tissue, antihistamines and expectorant. My first week of 2012 was spent depleting those supplies, not thinking a whit about any personal goals beyond getting well and back to […]

‘150 Quick Questions to Get Your Kids Talking’

‘150 Quick Questions to Get Your Kids Talking’

Non-Fiction Review by Patti Richter 150 Quick Questions to Get Your Kids Talking Written by Mary E. DeMuth Trying to get our children to open up and talk often proves futile. Seemingly overnight they can go from endless chatter and questioning to quiet reserve and disinterest in parental perspectives. How do we share our values […]

De-stressing at Christmas – in the closet

De-stressing at Christmas – in the closet

Some people trim their Christmas tree after Thanksgiving dinner. They head out early on Black Friday and do all their Christmas shopping by day’s end. They have their family-photo-Christmas-cards in the mail by Dec. 1. Then there are the rest of us. We pull out our Christmas boxes and let them incubate for days, as […]

A lesson in forgiveness at Thanksgiving time

A lesson in forgiveness at Thanksgiving time

A depressed soul and a holiday make a poor pair. I sat down to pray about my unhappy condition on a mid-November morning. I had my health, my family, and a new home. I could have written a turkey-size list of things to be thankful for. But instead, complaints ran through my mind like newsfeed […]