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Telling the Story: Evaluating on a big day
BY DAWN REED In early 2019, someone in a Bible study encouraged me to write a mission statement. (It might have been Craig Groeschel or Lysa Terkeurst.) A mission statement is typically for a business, church or ministry. It might sound silly that an individual would have one but it was a great idea for
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Telling the Story: What lies beneath
BY DAWN REED Life had been hard for Miss Slone before the flood. Before July 28, she had been going through chemo for cancer. Due to missing work for her treatments, she was let go. She has already lost her mother, father and four siblings to brain or colon cancer. Meanwhile, she has pressed on,
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Telling the Story: Seeing Clearly
BY DAWN REED It was the strangest thing: All of a sudden, she looked older. Much older. Her face was all wrinkly. She saw it every time she looked in the mirror. And her legs…they had varicose veins! Everywhere. Why, she’d never noticed those. Something strange must have happened during the surgery. She would need
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Telling the Story: Mr. Goodson’s Apples
BY DAWN REED Mr. Goodson thought his apples were poison. Hold that thought. A few weeks ago, my friend and neighbor, Paige, spotted beautiful apples on our other neighbor’s tree. Since we both love the delicious fruit, she encouraged me to ask if we could pick some. She had company that evening and couldn’t go.
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Telling the Story: God Working in Esther
BY DAWN REED My beloved gifted me with The Women of the Bible Speak by Shannon Bream. I’ve been digging into the lives and stories of 16 Bible girls, applying their wisdom to life today. When I began the chapter on Esther, I wondered what new things God would show me. (I will never, ever
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Telling the Story: In sickness and in health
BY DAWN REED In October 1980, my beloved and I raced to the state line and got married — against my mother’s wishes. We were 18 and madly in love. She thought we were crazy. Standing in the belfry of the Wise County (Va.) Courthouse, we repeated vows that sealed us in matrimony: “to have
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Telling the Story: Waiting for the Green Light
BY DAWN REED At 5:30 a.m., it was still pitch dark. Ink black. Heading to Lick Creek for a RAM dental clinic last Saturday morning, I told myself more than once that I was on the right road. But it was hard to tell. Still miles from the clinic location, I came upon a temporary
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Telling the Story: In the day of trouble
BY DAWN REED “Call upon Me in the day of trouble…” Psalm 50:15 I cried at the Mexican restaurant last Saturday. Normally a place of chips, salsa and laughter, I was reflecting on the day. I tried to describe it to my beloved through the tears. My friend Paige and I wanted to help in
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Telling the Story: Floods of All Kinds
BY DAWN REED Noah knew a thing or two about floods. Chapters 6-8 of Genesis document the true story. When the door closed on the ark, he was surely flooded with a wave of emotion. There are many kinds of floods that don’t involve water — some good, some bad. On June 30, Floyd County
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Telling the Story: When you pass through the water
BY DAWN REED The Israelites were in a bad spot. Water was on one side; Pharoah’s chariots were on the other. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. Then in an emotional moment, the Israelites blamed Moses for their predicament. (Why do we always have to blame someone?) “What have you done to
