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Blog postYou probably wouldn’t be reading this if you weren’t a bibliophile—a lover of books. That fact inspires me to share with you a practice which, over many decades of family history, has multiplied our enjoyment of books many times over: reading them aloud together.
Most parents read aloud to their children before they learn to read for themselves, but I suspect that relatively few regularly continue to do so thereafter. I’m not sure my parents would have resumed reading aloud with my si -
Blog postHow reassuring it feels to think we have things under control! The trouble with that feeling is, however, that we never really do. And if feeling in control seems too important to us, the times when we don’t have it can be extremely stressful, to put it mildly. That’s why I feel beyond grateful for a quiet certainty that One who is both almighty and good IS in control, and always will be.
The first time I realized how deeply rooted that certainty had become was on a winter morning whe -
Blog postEven after thousands of years, the Holy Land still vividly illuminates its ancient stories. And for Scripture-lovers, experiencing these illuminations is unforgettable.
Take, for instance, my first glimpse of Jesus’ hometown. Our tour group had just crossed the Jezreel Valley only to see a huge, alarmingly steep hill towering above us. It was the site of Nazareth. Immediately the image flashed to mind of an angry mob that had led Jesus “unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was -
Blog postIt has to have been the worst day of my young life so far. For the first time I was experiencing the loss of someone dear to me. Our precious Nana was the very embodiment of unselfish love. It was painful to imagine life without her.
On the bleak afternoon of her passing, my sister and I had been given a special assignment. We were to do our best to comfort our grandfather while our parents made one last trip to the hospital. What we found to talk about with Dadder on that sorrowful o -
Blog postThe day I made this tray was a sad one. I wanted it to look like my mom’s lovely butler’s serving tray with its gracefully curved edges. In fact, I was quite pleased with the curve I’d managed to saw on the right side in my 5th grade shop class. But then the one on the left came out bumpy and too flat, and my beautiful tray was ruined. What a disappointment!
Over six decades later, as a grandmother, I can’t help smiling as I see that sturdy, useful little tray still gracing my kitchen -
Blog postOn any given day, a simple, quiet message from God can make all the difference…but only if we hear it. So, the question is: How do we do it?
Psalm 85 declares confidently: “I will hear what God the Lord will speak.” Wanting to know more about this kind of hearing, I hunted down the original Hebrew word on my Touch Bible app to get its full meaning. I discovered that shama’ means hearing intelligently, hearing spiritually, giving undivided attention, and that it can also include agreei -
Blog postBooks can speak loudly. . .even to very young children. I don’t think I appreciated quite how much until our first child was a toddler. We’d been reading the story of Peter Pan in a Disney picture book. Her eye had been drawn to the picture of Tiger Lily, tied up by Captain Hook on a partly submerged rock as the tide was coming in. She pointed to it, and though she was not yet stringing words into sentences, the look of distress on her face said it all. I turned the page and showed her the pi
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Blog postSeveral months ago, I listened to an inspirational talk on YouTube. It happened to be in German, and I was surprised and pleased at how much of it I could understand. The speaker pointed out the human tendency to acknowledge the truth of some inspiring affirmation from the Scriptures and then talk ourselves out of it with a “yes, but…” Instead, she said, we need to follow it with a “punkt!”
“Punkt” (the vowel is pronounced like the “oo” in “good”) is the German word for “period,” but wi -
Blog postA celebration of love. Delightful, right? Well, yes. But I’ve been thinking today about those who are at present without a “significant other.” If we confine our concept of love to romantic love only, aren’t a lot of those people likely to feel less like celebrating and more like moping?
But if we expand our sense of love to a more inclusive one, it changes everything. Romantic love is anything but a joy unless it’s returned. We feel a need to get it from a certain person. But what if -
Blog postMy wonderful new publisher, LaShawn Dobbs, set up a virtual book tour for me. Below are links to three of the interviews. Write Stuff interview with Parker Cole (1 hour) So Real with Madelyn (Bass) interview (25 minutes) Don’t Give Up – You Can’t Be Replaced (1 hour 2 minutes)
Books By Joanne Otto
Daughter of Jerusalem
Oct 21, 2013
by
Joanne Otto
$2.99
$8.70
$9.95
Get it by Thursday, Aug 22
Only 1 left in stock (more on the way).
Only 1 left in stock (more on the way).
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$8.70
(9 Used & New offers)
The You-Song
Jun 20, 2018
by
Joanne Otto
$7.95
$19.95
More Buying Choices
$19.94
(12 Used & New offers)
$13.95
More Buying Choices
$13.95
(5 Used & New offers)
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