A Cup of Comfort for Christian Women

Stories that celebrate your faith and trust in God

Colleen Sell

• Publisher: Cup of Comfort
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9781440511189
• eBook ISBN: 9781440511769
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped." —Psalms 28: 7-9Christ has always played an important role in many women's life. Today you face a whole new set of challenges as you work to find the balance between staying true to your faith and balancing work, family and everyday life. A Cup of Comfort for Christian Women features stories from ore than forty women whom Christianity still plays a large role in their lives as they navigate their roles as mothers, daughters, wives, sisters, and friends. From young women just finding their way to Christ to long-time believers who find reminders of God's strength in the most unexpected of places, each story displays their courage through hardships—and infinite gratitude for the Lord's gifts.Not only will this beautiful collection inspire strength and deepen your faith, you'll also find the encouragement you need to preserve through life's obstacles from women who have been there and understand exactly what you're going through.

Contributors

Tami Absi (“Milk for Babies and a Golden Calf”) lives in Dayton, Ohio, and teaches English to eleventh and twelfth graders. Her writing has been published in Mock Turtle Zine, A Cup of Comfort^® for Couples, and online news venues. She is happily married with two lovely children, Josh and Jackie.

Sandy Adams (“The Life That Almost Wasn’t”) has been writing, speaking to women’s groups, and teaching marriage seminars for over twenty years. She and her husband of thirty-nine years reside in Georgetown, Texas. She has one son and four grandchildren. Sandy’s passion is finding and sharing the beauty and joy of each new day.

Monica A. Andermann (“A Living Lesson” and “A Most Important Prayer”) is a freelance writer who lives on Long Island with her husband, Bill, and their cat, Charley. When she is not writing, she most enjoys reading or spending time with family and friends. Her work has been widely published both online and in a variety of print media, including several credits in the Cup of Comfort^® book series and other anthologies.

Nancy Antonietti (“Blessed Mothers”) is a retired engineer who has given up design of experiments in favor of crafting dialogue and spinning narrative. She lives in New Hampshire but dreams of moving to Sicily. While caring for her family and learning to quilt, she is currently working on a novel. Her writing has been honored by PEN Nob Hill and Seacoast Writers and published in various magazines as well as in A Cup of Comfort^® for the Grieving Heart.

Teresa Brady (“A Time to Dance”) is passionate about spending time with her grandson, writing, working in women’s ministry, and working alongside her husband in ministry for over thirty years.

Nancy Brewka-Clark (“The Other Cheek”) lives with her husband, Tom, in Beverly, Massachusetts. Themes of hope and redemption have inspired many of her more than five-hundred published nonfiction articles, short stories, poems, and plays.

AnneRené Capp (“Did You Say Angels?”) is the pen name of an impassioned freelance writer and poet who feels motivated to uplift the hearts of her readers and considers the Bible to be her tool of precision. A lifelong resident of Northern California, she enjoys all genres of writing but is especially fond of humor — per Proverbs 22:17: “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”

Priscilla Carr (“Love Is a Christian Verb”), memoirist and poet, is founder of The Poet’s Studio of New Hampshire. Her prose appears in Adams Media’s Cup of Comfort^® and Hero^® book series, and her poetry in It Has Come to This:Poets of the Great Mother Conference and Grandmother’s Necklace. She is a mentoree of Robert Bly and Donald Hall.

Sharon Christensen (“God Hears”), a professional food writer, ACF-certified executive chef, and vegan, delights in experimenting with food, creating recipes, and sharing plant-based dishes with her family and friends. She and her husband, Don, own a health food store, Nature’s Food Center, and a vegan restaurant, Nature’s Bounty, in Lakeport, California.

Sally Clark (“Roller Coaster of Faith) and her husband live in Fredericksburg, Texas, with their two grown children and five grandchildren all living nearby. Sally began writing when they retired from their restaurant in 2001. Her award-winning stories and poems for adults and children have been widely published. She also writes greeting cards, devotionals, nonfiction, and humor.

Anne Magee Dichele (“Blessed By a Buick”) is a professor at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, a published poet, and a writer of stories for adults and children. She lives in New Haven and is blessed with two wonderful sons, a loving family, amazing friends, and most important, a deep faith in God’s unending care for each of us.

Debora Dyess (“The Hobbyhorse Miracle”) still attends Southside Baptist church, where she is a member of the children’s ministry team. Now a grandmother and full-time writer, Debora is published in several anthologies and is editor for bellaonline’s News for Kids site. She still plans things out for God and is constantly amazed at His better plan.

Shawnelle Eliasen (“Personal Hannah”) and her husband, Lonny, live in Illinois. They have five sons, and Shawnelle home teaches the three youngest. She began writing two years ago and has been published in Guideposts, Mom Sense, Marriage Partnership, and anthologies such as A Cup of Comfort^® for Couples, Christmas Spirit, Praying from the Heart, and others.

Patricia Fish (“The Only Thing That Matters”), of George-town, Delaware, is retired and busy in her church. She also enjoys blogging, gardening, painting, and being a grandmother.

Judy Gerlach (“Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy”) works for her husband, Greg’s, video-production company in Lexington, Kentucky. A published author of church drama, she began her writing career writing plays and sketches for her church. Judy’s nonfiction work has been published in two of Adams Media’s Hero^® series anthologies as well as in A Cup of Comfort^® for Fathers.

Leann Guzman (“This Broken Vessel”) is an attorney who lives near Fort Worth, Texas. She is a happy wife and frugal mom of three as well as an avid reader, aspiring gardener, occasional writer, frequent cook, and blessed child of God.

Taryn R. Hutchison (“Worth the Wait”) is the author of We Wait You: Waiting on God in Eastern Europe and has published stories in two other anthologies. Taryn served on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ for many years, later working at Golden Gate Seminary. She and her husband recently relocated to western North Carolina.

Jennie Ivey (“Bless These Reckless Drivers”) lives in Cookeville, Tennessee. She is a newspaper columnist and the author of three books — Tennessee Tales the Textbooks Don’t Tell, E Is for Elvis, and Soldiers, Spies, and Spartans — and various other fiction and nonfiction works. She and her husband, George, are the parents of three grown children.

Marsha Mott Jordan (“His Night Watch Care”) is a humor and inspirational writer and speaker, the mother of a grown son, and the grandmother of a little boy who is the joy of her life. She lives with lupus, her rocket-scientist husband of nearly three decades, and a toy poodle named King Louie in the north woods of Wisconsin. After her grandson was badly burned, she founded Hugs and Hope, a nonprofit organization dedicated to cheering critically ill and injured children. She is the author of the essay collection Hugs, Hope, and Peanut Butter, which is illustrated by children battling for life.

Kathryn Lay (“A Walking Testimony” and “Twice Blessed”) lives in Texas with her husband, daughter, and two dogs. She and her husband help lead a training school for young future missionaries. She is a full-time writer, author, and speaker for children and adults.

Mitsie McKellick (“God and the Radio”) lives in Mechanic Falls, Maine. She and her husband, Tim, recently began pastoring a Vineyard Church in nearby Naples, Maine. They have five children and one grandchild. Mitsie enjoys gardening, arts and crafts, writing for a local newspaper, and telling stories.

Jennifer Mersberger (“A Perfect Fit”) is the founder of Lamplight Ministry. As a public speaker and author, Jennifer encourages the hearts of women. Her Bible study, Parables of the Master Storyteller, equips readers with God’s Word in their daily lives. She and her family live in Newark, Texas, where she is an avid scrapbooker.

Katrina Norfleet (“Released”) is a mother, author, and Life Purpose Coach^® who makes her living as a marketing communications writer but feeds her soul writing fiction and creative nonfiction from her home in Maryland. Her work appears in the Victorious Living for Women anthology, Our Voices at www.BoomerWomenSpeak, various magazines, and her blog, Joy-Filled Life.

Galen Pearl (“A Mustard Seed of Faith”) is the pen name of a Southern girl transplanted to the Pacific Northwest, where she is a full-time teacher, a part-time writer, and the single parent of five adopted and foster children. She blogs and leads retreats and classes based on her program to develop habits to grow a joyful spirit. Her hobbies include tae kwon do, quilting, studying languages, and playing mahjong (badly).

Mary C. M. Phillips (“Air in My Tires” and “My Song, His Timing”) is a musician and writer of short stories. She has toured nationally as a keyboardist and backup vocalist for various rock groups and musical comedy artists. She is blessed with a wonderful husband, son, and stepson and resides in New York.

Ellen Seibert Poole (“Fruitful or Fruitless?”) is a freelance writer, a musician, and an occupational therapist on “creative sabbatical.” Her published work includes articles and stories for magazines, newsletters, and compilation books. Formerly of Portland, Oregon, she and her husband, Harley, now reside in rural Southwest Washington, and are the proud parents of adult daughters Andrea and Erika.

JoAnne Potter (“Caught”) is a retired teacher. During her twenty-five-year...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Air in My Tires
• A Sign from Above
• Love Is a Christian Verb
• Personal Hannah
• The Other Cheek
• The Life That Almost Wasn’t
• His Night Watch Care
• Blessed Mothers
• A Living Lesson
• Love Covers
• The Test of Tithe
• A Mustard Seed of Faith
• Fruitful or Fruitless?
• A Perfect Fit
• Necklace of Many Blessings
• A Walking Testimony
• Bless These Reckless Drivers
• This Broken Vessel
• Seeds of Friendship
• The Hobbyhorse Miracle
• Divine Intervention
• God and the Radio
• It Is a Gift to Receive
• Bless the Weeds and the Children
• Caught
• Jesus Took the Wheel
• My Journey from Judgment to Love
• Twice Blessed
• Worth the Wait
• Shirley, Goodness, and Mercy
• The Only Thing That Matters
• Roller Coaster of Faith
• Released
• Did You Say Angels?
• God Hears
• A Most Important Prayer
• Mentoring Megan
• Blessed By a Buick
• Milk for Babies and a Golden Calf
• A Time to Dance
• My Song, His Timing
• My Cross, His Cross
• Contributors