Where I’ve Been & Why I Woke Up Discouraged Today
I woke up feeling blue today. I wasn’t really sure why. I couldn’t exactly put my finger on it other than the fact that I had a few stressful dreams.
I dreamed I was preparing a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. There was a large group of people to feed, and I was failing at best. They were waiting at the table for me and it seemed like everything I tried to do was undone. Not enough meat, not enough variety, not enough hands… The turkey was huge, but once I carved it, the platter was empty. I finally got it all out on the table and realized that I forgot the gravy. I woke up feeling frustrated and ready to push the dream aside, but it was nagging at me all morning.
Then God revealed it to me. You were my guests, the food was the Word, and the table was this world wide web I’m serving it on. I know that people need to be fed, but somedays I feel like the dishes I serve just don’t measure up.
Sometimes you don’t realize what’s nagging at you until God brings it to your attention, and I guess that’s where I’ve been the last few weeks.
When I started blogging, the internet was a much different place. I was about 37 at the time, and I’m 52 now, which means I’ve been blogging for 15 years.
I started in a little corner of the web with a blog called, “What Would Jesus Blog?” After that, I started one of the first Christian online magazines called, “Christian Women Online.” The internet was a much quieter place where ideas had room to grow, and for some reason, I had plenty of them.
It’s busier now, and most days I feel stagnant. Time-Warp Wife is a small voice in a ginormous crowd. It’s been three weeks, and the truth is that I haven’t felt worthy enough to step back into this ministry.
Satan’s whispered in my ear more than once. Rather than tuning him out, I’ve let his words of discouragement separate me from this ministry for nearly a month.
Paul writes, “One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14, NIV
Unfortunately, I’ve been more focused on what’s going on beside me than what lies ahead. I see amazing bloggers with fresh ideas, and it slows me down. I see branding with all of the bells and whistles, and I take one step back instead of pressing forward. I see corporate websites with hundreds of employees reaching millions of people a day… but then I see my Savior and a handful of twelve faithful followers, and I realize that God’s wisdom excels mine in ways I’ll never even begin to understand. He gives me hope to press on.
And so I’m pressing on in 2018, to finish the work God has called me to. I’m working my way through Exodus again. We did this study a couple of years ago, but the format for my Bible studies was different at that time, and so I’m in the process of creating a study guide for you. The book of Exodus is an incredible Bible study, that I’m sure you’ll love! Make sure you subscribe (click here) so you’ll know when it’s ready.
And, will you pray for me through the next few weeks? Pray that God will light a fire within me, that He will help me to focus on the work HE gives me to do, and that He would encourage me to press on.
Finally, my mom is dying of cancer. Could I ask for your prayers again, sweet friends? Not so much for myself, but that God would grant mom strength and comfort during this difficult time she’s facing.
You are loved by an almighty God,
Darlene Schacht
The Time-Warp Wife
65 Comments
Mary Tullila
Oh Darlene..I’m praying you thru this season of unsettled cultivation. A cord of three or more strands gives a return ! There is beauty in smaller harvests . I’m part of a small tribe…carry on!
It’s all gonna turn out Eternal. Prayers for your dear momma too. ?
Darlene Schacht
Thank you Mary. <3
Roberta
Thank you. This spoke to me today. Prayers for you and for mom. Stonger than you know. Be blessed.
Suzy
God has something big or the enemy wouldn’t be pressing so hard! Please know that despite bad dreams you have brought hope, encouragement and Biblical wisdom to me each day and I am so grateful for you and how God uses your ministry! Your Mother and you are in my prayers! I lost my mother just before I turned 40. I pray you can enjoy every minute with her.
Darlene Schacht
Suzy, I hadn’t thought of it that way. Thank you for that thought.
Laurie Shelton
Praying for your Mom & you during this difficult Season of life. You are a blessing to many who need to hear the truth in today’s world. May God Bless you! I appreciate you!
Not Today Satan.. Not today Satan!! ???❤️??
Laurie ??
Lorna
I never comment on …well anything anywhere on the internet but this post caught my attention. Actually your mug in the photo made me click through from Facebook (I love that mug) but immediately the first sentence drew me in. I wanted to say that I love your daily little shared photos with the scripture. They are often so perfectly targeted that it’s as if The Lord Himself made sure they were sent to me. I love your blog. I have been abundantly blessed by your small, unique and very powerful voice. I KNOW that you and I follow the same Jesus, HE is evident in you. I am grateful for your blog and I pray that The Holy Spirit pours Himself out onto you and your ministry.
Darlene Schacht
Lorna, thanks for the comment. So nice of you to pause for encouragement. I got a few of those mugs at Hallmark. Do you have Hallmark in the US? I’m thinking you do. I think they had four different ones. I would buy one each time I went. 🙂
Karen
Darlene, I will pray for your mom and you…my mom also died of cancer, though a long time ago, I remember, though, how very difficult it was…I will be lifting up prayers for you. This next comment is meant for your encouragement though. I have done most of your Bible studies over the years, and I have your Exodus study from the past but for some reason never finished it. Since Exodus is one of my favorite books it has been calling me to finish…this year I am reading through the Bible again, 3 chapters a day, and when I got to Exodus, I thought it was the perfect time to finish your study…so each day i matched my 3 chapters with yours and yesterday I finished both…that was so fulfilling! I am thrilled that you are doing another…Will definitely look forward to it. I also did your study on the feasts…wonderful. God bless you and your mom Darlene.
Darlene Schacht
Thanks Karen. Your words are so encouraging. Love in Christ… Darlene
Karen
Your Bible Studies have started a fire in me to dig into God’s word with joy and explore what He has for me. You are making a difference. Focus on God– remember that you are Loved by God and each and every one of your followers. Please in these trying times–remember to take time to rest, to laugh and enjoy the life our wonderful Lord as given you. Take time–lots of time to be with your mother. She will only be here a short time–She is important right now. We will be waiting when you are ready to return to us. God Bless you and keep you filled with joy strength and determination. Looking forward to your study–but it is important now for you to be with family as much as possible. God will Keep you and direct you. Karen
Weslie
It can be overwhelming to be a small fish in a big sea. But your blog is authentic and that counts for so much! don’t let the number of followers dictate your success – but think of your impact on each individual. What if you made a huge difference today in just one life? Would that inspire you? YES, it would! That old saying, Bloom where you are planted is very real and that is all God wants. Keep up the great work.
Also, saying a prayer for your Mom and you today. He knows the need and I trust you can feel his loving arms around you today.
Laura Adkins
Darlene,
I am new here and I am very much looking forward to learning with you! Please don’t be discouraged! I love what you said about Jesus and his twelve….just look at what they accomplished. Prayers for you and your dear mother. God bless.
Maurine
So sorry to hear about your Mom. Losing my Mom was one of the hardest times of my life, I so miss her. I feel for you, it’s just hard. ??
Kathy Brandt
Praying for you aND your Mom. Please don’t give uo. I have learned so much from you. Sometimes bells and whistles overwhelm me. You be you. That’s what God intended?
Jennifer
You are in my thoughts and prayers.
You help me Dailey I hope you know just how much and how many people you really do help. I love your work and your books. Never doubt what you are doing or how good you are doing it. Your mom and you are in my thoughts and prayers.
AGAIN, Thank You for all you do for me through your studies
Colleen
I opened your email today drifting down to what Paul said and continued to the end. I am having an emotional day and in the book I was reading she prayed that God would show her a sign that things would be OK. Then I open my email to your comments. I went back and started at the beginning of your email and here I am. For a couple of years I have been alone and daily ask God to help me get through another day and not be alone. I am living by faith because I believe this is where he wants me to be, sad as it is. I have a lot to be thankful for. I enjoy learning a deeper thought into the Bible because alone I just do not understand it. I wait for Friday when there is no fancy artwork or encouragement to buy in your emails. Today touched my heart because we are looking for a sign that God will help and encourage us for another day. Prayers for your Mom and that you both will find peace. God Bless!
Robin
I could relate to everything you wrote today. I’m the same age as you and can remember how the internet was 15 years ago. It has become overwhelming. Thank you for your voice for Jesus, it helps me and so many others. I lost my Mom to cancer about ten years ago, and I will certainly be praying for her, as well as for you and your family. I hope you gather strength from God to press on, knowing that so many are holding you up in prayer.
Charlotte Bowen
I’m so sorry about your mom. I lost my mother last year due to injuries sustained in a car wreck. After a five week recovery and plans to move her to a rehab for a few weeks a blood clot took her on the very day she was to be moved. Since then my life has been chaos being the primary caretaker for my dad who is in a local nursing home and my husband who is 20 years my senior who suffered a minor stroke a few years ago. I buried myself in doing what I thought God was calling me to do. I was teaching at my church and head of our hostess committee. I was in charge of any activity that involved our kitchen. I loved what I was doing and felt I was doing a really good job at it. After a busy day of feeding a family who said goodbye to a loved one, rushing to check on my dad who had called to say he was having some breathing problems, sitting in the doctors office with him for 4 hours and rushing to Wednesday night services at church my husband popped off with a comment that really hurt me to my core. He said I was a lot like my mom, always want to go, go, go! This bothered me because my mother could not handle being still and was always on the go playing cards several times a week, playing bunco or anything else she could find to do. Everything I was doing was for others, not for my entertainment. With a broken heart and tears flowing I resigned from everything other than taking care of my dad and my husband. Now I realize it was really the best thing. I am able to spend more time with them and can have some downtime for myself. I don’t feel the pressure I didn’t recognize before. I feel like I can breathe a little easier. Maybe God is telling you to spend more time with your mom during this season and make some changes to your ministry that will lighten that load a little. Take advantage of this time because it will never come again.
Bobbi
Dear Darlene,
Thank you for your post! Thank you for being honest and authentic! Just this morning I was wondering how you are doing because I hadn’t seen an email from TimeWarpWife in awhile (so it seemed). I have to admit that I don’t always complete the bible studies you post. I also would like you to know that you have definitely made a mark on my heart and have helped me grow in knowing and trusting God… in short: you have been a blessing to me (though I haven’t met you in person yet).
We all need a time of refreshment. Please do not get discouraged… you are loved by an almighty God (if I may borrow the phrase). And please, do not stop including lovely printouts to color. 🙂 Praying for you and your mom.
Lynn Lacourse
Thank you for your honesty. Hit the point this morning.
Crystal Farquer
Your transparency and vulnerability are what makes you relatable. Thank you so much for sharing your heart. I love that God called you in and reminded you He only had twelve. Each person you encourage is super important to our Daddy. I recently began a new faith blog and i told myself that if even only one person reads and is encouraged that i will praise God and keep going. He left the 99 to go after one. You are an inspiration to me and im sure many others. If your interested in taking a peek at my blog i would love some constructive criticism, you’ve been at it for 15 years and have a wealth of knowledge i dont. It’s called Growing Faith Pains and its a .com
May God wrap your mother in his loving arms and saturate her with peace. Praying for legions of angels to take up residence at her sidae as the Holy Spirit moves in her and our Lord’s will is done. Peace, comfort, and joy be yours and hers in Jesus most powerful and precious name Amen.
Rachael
Darlene, thank you for your posts. Thank you for pouring into those of us who are half full, mostly full and some on just plain empty.
Prayers up for you and your mom for endurance during this time. Know that God will always be your rock, your guide, your comforter. Continue to look to him in the days to come….
Bless you!
Barbara
You and your mom are in my thoughts and prayers. I am 43 and loss my mom in my early 30’s. It was extremely hard for me. Big hugs my sister in Christ.
Your blog, emails bible studies, and journals are a huge blessing to me and many others. I use your “quieting your heart journal” for all the books that you do not have a journal for. Then I purchase your other journals as well. I am praying that you will make a journal for each of the books in the bible. I refuse to purchase any other journals but yours. They were with me at the beginning with I first started reading in God’s word. They and you gave me the encouragement to start a bible reading plan, and to stick with it. So much thanks to you for all the encouragement and the beautiful ever-so-rewarding bible studies! May God continue to bless you!
Ann Mrozek
Darlene, thank you so much for all your words of encouragement, and enlightenment. You and your Mom will be in my prayers and my thoughts.
Sometimes, I get so tied up in ME, that I forget that I am not alone in my struggles. You have given me hope and encouragement, and I am so grateful. God Bless you always, and give you the strength you need to get through the trials that you are experiencing.
Marsha Harwood
Oh, sweet friend–I so get you as I’m there, too! You started a couple of years before me. I first ‘met’ you through CWO. That site helped me to connect with so many other amazing women aspiring to glorify God with their blogs. You’re right–those were simpler times. Blogging and the WWW is such a different place. I want to write. I want to keep my blog going. I want to get Grace Cafe Radio back up and running. But times are different. I’m now 65 years old, and a cancer survivor. I sometimes feel like I missed my window of opportunity that the Lord gave me — like I squandered it in some way.
My IRL ministry has changed, hubby is retired, we’re downsizing and doing a lot of weeding out and parting with things that I never dreamed I’d be getting rid of at this point in my life, but then, they are just things so why is this bothering me so bad? I’ve hit a dry spot spiritually and emotionally. I haven’t posted anything new on my blog/website in months. My laptop died in October and we haven’t been able to replace it so I either use my phone or borrow my husband’s laptop. All my creative juices, thoughts, photos I’ve taken, were in that computer. Yes, I have the hard drive so hopefully, it will all be intact when I finally can get a new Apple, but in the meantime, I’m not writing anything new. I’m serving up “leftovers” so to speak. Reworking and posting older stuff. I so want to be out of this dark season, I’m just having a hard time seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
I’m sorry to hear about your Mom. I can’t imagine how hard this must be. I’m blessed to still have my healthy 95-year-old Mom. I will most certainly be praying for you and your family.
Thank you for allowing me some space to vent my feelings. I feel like I’m walking beside you. Love you, my friend.
Marsha Harwood
As I’ve thought on your post more and prayed for you while working on a crockpot meal, I realized I failed to tell you what an encouragement you are to me and thousands of others. Your transparency, the way you work hard at producing AMAZING FREE CONTENT for all of us to benefit from. You are a true inspiration to me.
Jenny
Oh Darlene, so sorry you are going through this season with your Mom. What you do is so valuable to me. I have done each study since I found you a few years ago. Especially enjoyed the Feasts!! I have been reading and forwarding the daily marriage prayers to my husband for a few years now as well. Much fruit has come from that! Please don’t look to your left and right. You were created for a specific purpose and are fulfilling that purpose like no one else can. May you feel the presence of our God of all comfort in a very tangeable way today. (I just learned comfort means to strengthen and encourage!) He is Jehovah Rapha, the One who heals you and makes bitter experiences sweet.
Love and Blessings to you, sister!
Jenny <3
Kat Clark
Thank you very much. I really enjoy your blog and your honesty. Sometimes we tend to think we’re the only ones dealing with certain challenges, but your blog reminds me I’m not alone.
Dawn Jones
Darlene, when we are doing what God has set aside for us, the devil comes against us in a very focused attack. There are people that you are specifically able to reach and minister to. The Bible says when one person is saved there is a celebration in heaven so it’s not how many you reach, but that you reach women who reach women.
I know how precious our mom’s are and I can only imagine how you feel. I pray for comfort and strength, and peace that passeth all understanding as you and your mom travel this part of the journey.
Thank you again for your insightful Bible Studies and your incredibly beautiful journals, you minister to so many.
Candy
Darlene,just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy all you do. My husband and I read the Marriage Prayer every day that we can and I also look at your housework tips now and then just to keep up. Having your Mom sick with cancer is enough to make you so down,but You touch more peoples lives than you know. Zechariah 4:10 Who despises the day of small things? And 4:6 Not by might,not by power,but by my Spirit says the Lord Almighty. China or paper plates, the food is still Gods word and he will fill the hungry, even if it’s just one ,it’s worth it. Praying for you and your Mom. Press on dear Sister. Ephesians 3:20 Now to him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
Amy Deas
Your post struck a chord with me today. I feel like I’ve been stuck in a rut since I left my job in September for health reasons. It’s been hard (almost impossible) to find a job out of my field (speech language pathology), and one that’s work at home (we lost one of our vehicles because of money issues from me leaving work), and that’s not stress filled. I started the new year with hope, and it seems like Satan keeps pulling me down. If it’s not the job situation, it’s my health that seems to keep me from moving forward with ministry opportunities and with figuring out what steps to take next. It’s hard not to believe the lies Satan tells us. I pray for both of us, that God and His Holy Spirit will send us both the needed refreshment and guidance. Thank you for all you do!!!
Vicki
Sister Darlene; I am praying for you during this Generation that makes us feel “irrelevant”. I found your blog at a time in my life when it was shattered by adultery and more than 100 times you have been the light of Christ shining in my dark. I pray you never stop. I only subscribe to a handful of godly women on the web – Ann voskamp, Jolene Engle, and Courtney @womenlivingwell and yourself! The internet needs Woman like you!! Even if the masses never have ears to hear; He said they wouldn’t! But we do and we love you! Thank you for all that you do! XO
Amanda Rychtarik
Darlene,
I have been a faithful follower of the Time Warp Wife Blog/Pinterest/Facebook for years now. I’ve done every study you’ve had. I love the insight you provide and have seen such growth in YOU from the first study through the latest one. I had been searching for a bible study that was real. Nothing frilly or top water. You have always provided that for me! I love how you ask questions that make me want to dig deeper into the Word. I’ve shared many of your thoughts when I teach my teen girls class or ladies auxiliary class. I’ve also shared your blog with others in our church that are now following you as well. I pray for you often because I know you want God’s Word shared truthfully and in a way that’s understandable no matter how young or old you are. Your studies are so much more personal and I love the fact that you don’t do simulcasts and such for the “bigger audience” because I personally feel that you lose much of the intimacy that you bring when it’s presented on a larger scale.
I will continue to pray for you and your family as you deal with your momma’s diagnosis and treatments. Cancer is big, but our God is bigger!! Much love to you and yours!
SAMANTHA POLLARD
This post brought tears to my eyes. First, my heart goes out to you and to your mom and I am praying for you both. Second, Satan would like nothing more than to discourage you and ultimately all of the women you reach. Don’t let him have that control. You have a very important ministry so please try to keep focused on that. I always appreciate you! Much love, prayer and support my dear friend!
Jae
Prayers for you and your mom. Your ministry is a huge blessing and an encouragement for me and soooooo many others. I love your bible studies and always look forward to the next one.
Beatriz Sanchez
I love your blogging style and ministry. Thank you for helping me study and learn God’s Word. I always look forward to your studies. Can’t wait for Exodus. Press on and be blessed. Prayers to you and your Mother.
Erika
I honestly thought I read the tittle of this blog wrong or thought it was a guest blogger but never thought you would feel like this, you are the one whom gives us encouragement, but we all have some of those days and even then the Lord’s grace and love shows as his word says When we are weak, he is stronger. You can have 5 million followers with all the bells and whistles but if you are not inspire by the mighty Lord and his Holy Spirit you have nothing, with one single person connected with you and with the same Holy Spirit filled you have yourself a gem of a blog, you are a vessel used by the Lord to inspire and help us achieve a deeper connection with our God, please never look any where else but his Scriptures, let your ideas and thoughts come from only the Lord himself, any one can manage to put a beautiful blog but there are only those whom hear the voice of the Lord, follow his heart and share it with others out of Love and that is you, you bring truth and love and joy to your writing and when I read your stuff I know you are real and sincere. I will pray for you and your mom, may the Lord bless you both and give you much love and encouragement, no matter how a battle ends, battle of cancer, death or anything else, the battle has been WON thru our Lord Jesus Christ and with his win, we have also won. Tomorrow will be a new day, Jesus will be there too.
Rachael
Oh Darlene, Prayers for you and your Momma during this season of your lives. Remember your are stronger then you think and braver then you know. God has something good planned for Satan to be trying so hard to stop it.
You are an inspiration to so many!
Prayers and Hugs!!
God Bless You!!
Jenn
Your post brought tears. Prayed for your mom. That is tough, and I’m so sorry. My mom is leaving us, slowly, from Alzheimer’s. Keep on writing your blog and don’t look at what else is out there. It’s daunting. Just keep sharing your heart and what God is teaching you. God bless!
Candis
Darlene ~ I am praying for you and your Mom. Your ministry is a blessing. Keep pressing on!
Gina
Do Not Give Up!!
I can very much relate to your feelings, and become entrenched in the same thought pattern myself. Your work is such a blessing. You never know who will be touched by even the smallest thought you may have.
Frances
Oh my goodness! It breaks my heart that you feel this way, but I can totally relate! I want you to know that I have shared your website with other women many times because your messages encouraged me and helped to teach me how to be a godly wife. You might not feel qualified and you might not feel like you’re doing enough but I can assure you those are just lies from the enemy. Also, please remember that it isn’t in the number of people you reach, but that you are making the effort which is what we’re called to do. – We also mustn’t forget that we might always get to see the fruits of our labor, but God does and that’s what counts. Please keep pressing forward. There must be something that the enemy sees in you and is afraid of since he is trying so hard to throw you off track. The enemy is the one that needs to be thrown off track and to the side. Tell him you don’t have time for his schemes. God has you my friend! Stay strong in Him! ❤️
Debra
I have never posted on a website but wanted to encourage you. Your blog has inspired me in so many ways to draw closer to God. I send it to friends going through hard times. I share it with my husband. Your impact has been much greater than you know. It is very difficult to persevere sometimes, especially with family sickness happening. I know God is with you and will lift you up. He will show you what to do next. He will strengthen and comfort you and your Mother. I’ll keep praying for you and your family.
Barbara
As a Christian of Jewish decent, I loved the study you did on the Feasts. It made me feel close to my roots and stronger in my faith. I needed more, so I dove right into your first study of Exodus so I could feel more at one with my peeps :).
Keep the faith sometimes winter brings discontent….soon enough the trees will bud again and you’ll feel renewed. For now, know that your friends will pray for you and just enjoy this season of rest. It’s hard to rest when you are used to going (such busy women we are)……but enjoy it.
Kerri
I want to thank you Darlene for being such a light for Christ….I live in the UK and your blog has been gifting me for the past couple of years. Your thoughtful, inspiring posts have lifted, enriched and spoken straight to my heart at times when they were so needed. I will pray for you and your mom. Be blessed abundantly Darlene! X
Amanda S
You are such a light to so many, myself included. I need your marriage prayers everyday- many I save because they are so spot-on I need to return to them. You’re also responsible for turning me on to Bible coloring. I am not good at memorizing scripture, but repeating it while coloring is meditative. Praying for you and your Mom. Be encouraged today!
ARIBI
Those prayers everyday helps me pray for my marriage in ways I never thought of.
ARIBI
Praying for your mother, you, and her family and friends. Thank you for letting God work through you to reach those of us that study with you. I have learned so much from your studies!
Molly
Thank you for this site. I have used it many times. I will be praying for you and your mother. My church issued a 21-Day Challenge yesterday to connect with God for 30 minutes every day for the next 21 days. Thank you for sharing your fears. You will be prayed for.
Jennifer Kinney
Praying for you and your mom!
I have not been following your website for very long (possibly a year). Religion was not something that was talked about in my family growing up. I’m 46 and have never read through the Bible. I have started it and for the past 7-8 months I sit down in the mornings and write out scripture from 2 different scripture writing plans that I follow. My daughter (she is 13 and enjoys going to church) and I have been going to church for the past year. We miss here and there when we’ve had illnesses or just didn’t have the means to get there. I just want her to have the chance to decide for herself what she wants to believe in. I have always believed there was a God but didn’t know everything included in the Bible. I can say that I have learned so much more in the past year and am very thankful for that. You have had a hand in that, too.
I can say that my time I spend in the morning writing out scripture provides me with some peace for the day. It gets me away from worrying about things going on in my life and is just calming for me.
I am so very thankful that I found your website and have learned so much from you. There is still so much more to learn. Thank you for all that you share and teach. May God bless you!
Phyllis Brown
Darlene, I am so sorry that you have been feeling discouraged. You are such a bright spot of encouragement to me that I feel sad that you are feeling down. I hope you can find something or someone to be that bright spot for you. Prayers for you and your mother through this difficult time.
Liz Wiggins-Patee
Dear Darlene,
I was thinking, I get discouraged in my work but nobody sees it. It’s not “public”, like you’ve made your feelings known here. Be encouraged, that Jesus knows just what you need and I believe He will lift you up in just the right way and time.
Also, my prayers for you and your mom. It’s a hard road to travel, but I now know that Jesus has more than enough grace for the journey. I didn’t think it was possible, but HE is!
Hugs to you…
Cassie from True Agape
I am praying for you in this time Darlene. There are times that you feel discouraged but please don’t you are a big blessing to all of us.
Susan Thatcher Oakley
I am also praying for you Darlene. I understand your feelings, I lost my mother just this past year she was 91 and went very peacefully at home. I knew the time was getting near but was very surprised how much I miss her today. I thought I was prepared for her death, but I wasn’t at all. Your blog and bible studies have changed me and sustained me and I look forward to them. I will pray for your well being and the strength to carry on.
Gretchen Letrict
Darlene, you touch more people than you can ever imagine from your “little” corner of the web. I am praying for your renewal and strength. Even the strongest people need to relax, reflect and receive prayers. You put a tremendous amount of work in all of your Bible studies and I know I am not alone in saying I truly appreciate ALL your efforts. Praying for your Mom, as she gets ready to transition to meet our Savior.
Lena
I understand the discouragement. I’m 51 and see so much differently today than yesterday. Sometimes I’m not sure where my place is or what I’m to do. I will be praying for your sweet mom and your family.
Evelyn Bray
I can definitely understand your discouragement. I have been blogging almost 2 years and seeing all the cool, pretty, successful blogs (including yours 😉 ) makes me feel like I’m not doing something right, like I’m failing almost, since I only have a handful of followers. But I keep reminding myself that God doesn’t measure success like we do, I just have to keep on with what He called me to do. I love your blog. It was the first one I ever followed, and have gained so much encouragement from you!
I am so sorry to hear about your mom. I can only imagine how difficult this is for you. Can I send you my book? It is a devotional on suffering. I think it might help comfort you.
Jennie
I have been a follower of your blog for year’s, one of the first blogs I started following and continue to, because of your humbleness and God’s Word.
I am praying for you and your family.
Suzan
Today is Feb 23 (24 –after midnight) and I’m not sure when you wrote the above post but I Thank God that he led me to your page….I too have been extremely discouraged and depressed lately for many various reasons; this post was EXACTLY what I needed to hear at this point in time!
I will be praying for you, and your mother, and would hope you might do the same for me–God knows my needs — Thank you
Rachael Jones
Darlene, I know me reaching out to you is from the Lord. I read your post the day you published it and yet it wasn’t until today that God immediately put you on my mind as I awoke. I am sensing that He wants you to know that it is important to put on the armor of God during this time you are facing. The enemy is certainly the one bringing the discouragement you felt or are maybe still feeling at times. Consider how many lives have been changed because of your faithfulness to proclaim God’s Word and His goodness! The enemy wants to thwart that. But you and I know that God is bigger. There will be spiritual warfare but there will also be abundant grace! I have enjoyed your blog for quite awhile now and you have your own personal style of living out your walk with Jesus – we are all unique, so don’t let the trap of comparison cause you to lose sight of the beauty of that which the Lord instilled uniquely in Darlene. I especially loved the journey through the Feasts – I learned so much! Keep pressing on, dear sister! Praying for you.
Thelma Galloway
MS. Darlene,
You have been such a delight and light for us. We pray that God continues to give you and your family strength through this difficult time. You loyal fans love you and will continue to pray for you and your mom. God never fails.
Thelma
Debbie Smile
Darlene, I rarely content on anyone’s blog, but in all the years and all the blogs, yours has been the one that spoke hope into my marriage on the hard days. Your little voice in the giant blogosphere has been my comfort and censure when I needed it.
Thank you for being you <3
I'll be praying specifically for your mom, and for your family as you transition through this season.
JHays
The devil likes to get into our heads. I’m glad that God brought it to your attention through a dream. Keep on blogging, keep running the race! Prayers for your mama.
Bambi
I am so sorry to hear about your mom.
I will be praying for you.
I have been studying the power of worship and that would be my advice. Worship through this time. There is a song called “This is How I fight my battles”. It says “it may look like I’m surrounded but I’m surrounded by you…” all power in hell wants you to give up making free Bible studies and logging two thousands of women who look to you for inspiration. I will pray that God lights that fire again and allows you to see the value in what you are doing. I will be praying for your family I know this is a difficult time.