Whether single or married, career girl or stayâ€atâ€home mom, today’s Christian woman is faced with daily obstacles. Delight Yourself in the Lord…Even on Bad Hair Days is a devotional filled with upbeat reminders about infusing hope and joy in the Lord as the first step toward conquering life’s problems and chasing down the desires of your heart. Through 100 funny and thoughtâ€provoking devotions, the authors remind women to go back to basics with God. And they even share a few private hair confessions along the way! Here’s a sample:
I Wanna Bend It Like Bailey But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:33
I adore children, and my favorite age is right around three or four; they’re just developing their communications skills, but haven’t quite perfected the transition from emotion to verbalization.
While babysitting for a friend’s three-year-old, I encountered the challenge of keeping Bailey occupied so that she might forget that her beloved mommy had left the house without her. And it wasn’t easy.
First, we played Safari. After strategically placing all of her most treasured stuffed animals around the house, Bailey put on a plastic pith helmet and climbed aboard her push-and- ride Jeep and we toured the African plains of home to observe the animals in their natural habitat. When she spotted the giraffe leaning against the refrigerator, Bailey suddenly remembered who had given her that giraffe, and she started to cry for her mother.
Several games and a coloring book later, she accepted my invitation to a tea party in her bedroom. We donned straw hats, and Bailey tugged on little white crocheted gloves. Along with two of our very best doll friends, we sipped from empty tea cups and munched imaginary scones with cream and strawberries. Bailey was enthralled!…Until the garage door went up.Tossing the plastic teacup to the floor, she flew from the bedroom and down the hall. On her trail, I stepped over her hat and gloves that she’d shed on the way. I reached her just as the kitchen door opened and her mother walked in.
So excited to see her mom again at last, Bailey squealed with glee. When the words wouldn’t come, she finally began hopping from one foot to the other, pumping her arms, fists clenched, and her little face contorted. The return of her mother had trumped everything else, and thoughts of tea parties and safaris had fallen to dust. I stood there watching as the child completely surrendered to the ecstatic happiness of seeing the one person that meant more to her than anything or anyone else.
On the drive home that afternoon, I tuned my radio to a local Christian station playing I Can Only Imagine by MercyMe, a song exploring the depths of our reaction when we finally see Christ face-to-face. As I sang along, Bailey’s reaction to her mother’s return home sprang to mind. How sweet would it be to the Lord if, at His presence, we just jumped up and down with the glee of little children!
Today’s Prayer: Oh, Lord, thank You for the sweet parenthood You offer us. Let me always see You as Abba Father, through enthusiastic and childlike eyes. Today I am overcome with joy as I delight myself in You, remembering that Your arms always welcome me, Your thoughts are always about my well being, and there is no one else I would rather see. Amen. –Sandie
Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4
Don’t you just love the promises God gives us in the Scriptures?
Search for me, and you’ll find me. (Jeremiah 29:13)
I’m enough to provide you with everything you need. (2 Peter 1:3)
Commit everything to me and you’ll be a success. (Proverbs 16:3)
The promises of God form the very foundation of our faith; they say to us that, no matter what we experience, our Father is there for us, preparing a solution, or at least an escape route. Although there are times in life when this is more difficult to believe than at other times, the promises are still ours. He’ll never let us down.
It is this knowledge that inspired us to write Delight Yourself in the Lord…Even on Bad Hair Days. The title is particularly apropos, since one of our own went through chemotherapy treatments as we worked together to write this book. Want to talk about a bad hair day?
But even in the worst of our bad hair days, or when the roof is leaking, as we receive a terrifying diagnosis, or while the checking account is bouncing like a rubber ball… we know one thing for certain: Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Throughout this book, it is our goal to remind our readers that joy and hope in the Lord is the opening line to every story of redemption, provision or happily-ever-after.
With love and encouragement from a group of women who could curl your hair with stories of bad hair days!
Kristin, Sandie, Diann, Debby & Trish
Kristin Billerbeck is a bestâ€selling author of 30+ novels and novellas, Christyâ€award nominee, and twoâ€time ACFW Book of the Year winner. Sandra D. Bricker is an awardâ€winning author of laughâ€outâ€loud fiction with 12 novels in print and 5 more slated through 2013. Diann Hunt has published 3 novellas and 17 novels, and she has won ACFW’s prestigious Book of the Year award. Debby Mayne has published 25+ books and novellas, 400+ short stories and articles, and a slew of devotions for busy women. Trish Perry is an awardâ€winning novelist and has written 7 inspirational romantic comedies. These five women are longtime friends, bonded by their love of chocolate and their aversion to bad hair days.
A portion of the proceeds will benefit Ovarian Cancer Research.
