I’ll never forget that little doll I once had. With blue eyes and blond curly hair, Peewee was smaller than most dolls her age. I knew that I loved her from the very first moment I opened the box.

While the older kids were at school, I was busy at home with my baby–changing her Kleenex diaper, washing her hair, and swaddling her wee little frame in a tea towel blanket. At five-years-old, I was the best mom I could be.

By the time I was 8, we were closer than ever, but things around me were changing too fast. My sisters were getting married, having babies, and buying homes of their own. With that, mom suggested it might be time to let go. To let my niece have the doll since she was younger than me.

“You’re a big girl.” Mom said, “And besides that, you can play with the doll when you go over to visit.”

Reluctantly I agreed.

About a week later, we drove to their house. The closer we were, the more excited I was. I wanted to hold her, to play with her, and possibly try to convince them to give Peewee back.

Hustling out of the car, I ran through the gate and into the yard. Grass clippings littered the sidewalk, flesh colored debris littered the grass.

Could it be? I wondered. Could that be my doll?

Stepping in for a closer look I saw something I’ll never forget–torn to shreds by the lawnmower–my doll was in pieces all over the grass.

As I got to thinking about that today I was reminded of the precious gifts we’ve been given from God. Our children, our marriages, our families our friends. Our bodies, our earth, our homes, our jobs… With a mission, to make the most of these gifts in the time that we have.

How are we using the gifts that we have? How are we caring for them? Are we investing time in our marriage, our children, our families, our friends? Are we treating our bodies, our earth, our homes, and our jobs with due care?

What will God find when He comes back for His church? Will your gifts be well cared for, or tossed away to the side? Can you say you’ve done your best with gifts you’ve been given? Or are you ashamed of the state that they’re in?

The good news in all this? We still have time. How much? We don’t know. It could a day, it could be an hour, it could be year…. In any case, let us use this time we’ve been given to make the most of God’s gifts.


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Tilling the Soil

Read the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30

Planting Hope

So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. (Romans 14:12, KJV)


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Darlene Schacht and her husband Michael live in Manitoba Canada where the summers are beautiful and the winters are cold. Together they’ve come to learn that relationships aren’t always easy, but that marriage, the way God intended it to be, is a treasure worth fighting for.

She began her publishing journey about twelve years ago when she pioneered one of the first online magazines for Christian women, known at the time as “Christian Women Online Magazine.” After three years, Darlene left CWO to blog as a solo author at Time-Warp Wife Ministries.

It was also during this transition that she worked alongside actress Candace Cameron Bure to write the NYT Best-Selling book, Reshaping it All: Motivation for Spiritual and Physical FitnessReshaping it All was the winner of both the 2011 USA Best Book Awards and the 2012 Christian Reading Retailers Choice Awards.

Author of more than 15 books, Darlene continues to write and to minister to her readers through her blog at TimeWarpWife.com.

Connect with Darlene:

Facebook: @timewarpwife
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Twitter: @timewarpwife

You are loved by an almighty God,

Darlene Schacht
The Time-Warp Wife