•Abide in Me
Abide in Me by Staci Stallings“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you.” --John 15: 7Abide in me. The three words with which Jesus invited his disciples to place their faith in His love as they walked to the Garden of Gethsemane that last fateful night. He wasn’t just talking to the disciples though. No, He was talking to us, too. And these three simple words, if understood and acted upon, can make all the difference in a Christian’s...
•Are You Rich?
Are You Rich? by Staci StallingsAre you rich?Stop. Think about that question for a moment, and answer it honestly. Let it wind down through your head, past your heart and into your soul. Put it into first person.Am I rich? Ask, and wait for the answer. It’s important to get an answer because your whole life is currently being controlled by that answer. Everything you do is colored by it. Every single facet of your life is shaped by it in some way. In this life there are four answers, and...
•As
As by Staci Stallings“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”-- The Our FatherThe most perfect prayer. The one Jesus told us, “When you pray, pray like this.” Ever since, we’ve been praying the words He taught us. In fact, we’ve prayed it so often that many of us don’t even think about what we’re saying anymore. We run through the words almost unconsciously – memorized to the point that we no longer have to concentrate on what we’re saying.But let me tell you...
•Be Not Afraid
Be Not Afraid by Staci Stallings“Let your heart not be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” –John 14:27Fear is one thing. Helpless anxiety is another. Fear brings up your defenses, makes you ready to fight—to take on the aggressor and win. Helpless anxiety, on the other hand, saps every ounce of energy you have because you know that fighting will do no good and nothing you do will make any difference whatsoever anyway. Helpless anxiety wraps around you like a wet blanket. It weighs on you,...
•I’ll Win It For You
I’ll Win It For You by Staci StallingsThe game was tight. Archrivals had faced off for three and a half periods in a seesaw battle that was going down to the wire. As the clock ticked down, the two sides traded the lead back and forth. Neither could be assured of victory because with the game so close, anything could happen. From the sideline, the coach watched his team getting more and more apprehensive as the seconds ticked away. They were missing shots they never missed. They were missing...
•Just a Typical Teenage Boy
Just a Typical Teenage Boy
by: Staci Stallings
Judge not, lest ye be judged. –Matthew 7:1
The call was controversial—just as all really close calls in baseball are. Full speed the runner slid home and thinking he had just scored a game-altering run, he stood up only to face the words, “You’re out!”
Now you know how it is when you’ve given your all to an effort and you stand up, only to hear the ump say, “You’re out!” Just running for home when the play could be that close takes...
•Let Go
Let Go by Staci StallingsAlthough there are a lot of careers in this life that could teach someone to let go, I think that writing has to be near the top of that list. Maybe that’s because I write, or maybe that’s because it really is. Whatever the case, this understanding was made clear recently when a writer friend of mine asked the question, “How could I not see the holes in my manuscript that my critique partners caught and pointed out? They were so glaring.”As a writer, I completely...
•The Crystal Ball
The Crystal Ball by Staci StallingsWouldn’t it be nice to be able to see into the future? Especially at those times in life when the road forks, and you have no idea which fork is the best choice. You could choose X, and it could work out marvelously—or it could be a total flop. Or you could not choose X and wish for the rest of your life you had.Recently I’ve found just such a crystal ball. No, it doesn’t literally allow us to see into the future, but it does allow for the best decision to...
•The Difference A Boy Can Make
The Difference A Boy Can Make by Staci StallingsSince the time my son looked at me just after he had pulled up to the small, lopsided, dangerous end table I was sitting next to and then growled at me because I told him “No,” I’ve know that boys are different. I saw it in his face. I heard it in his growl, “Leave me alone, Mom. I’m fine!” I had heard about the difference before that, of course. I listened with laughter as Bill Cosby talked about the time he blew up the family stove by turning...
•The Four Most Romantic Gestures
The Four Most Romantic Gestures by Staci StallingsAsk what’s missing in most marriages today, and the women in them will tell you, “the romance.” For the un-romantic among us, the “romance” that these women are talking about has nothing to do with clothes dropping next to hot bodies. What’s been neglected is the real romance that people who are newly in love do automatically but fall away from once the “realities” of marriage and relationship maintenance take over.In writing inspirational...
•The Importance of Balance
The Importance of Balance by Staci StallingsAs a stay-at-home mom, I have had the distinct privilege of being involved in several “mom-lifestyle” discussions. Most focus on the roll of mothers in society today. Generally there are two camps. One says that a mother should stay at home, be there for her family exclusively, and be willing to sacrifice her very life and happiness for the happiness of the family. The second group says no, a mother should be able to pursue her own career, and...
•The Picture
The Picture by Staci StallingsWe had a lot of pictures taken at our wedding—a lot of pictures. We had two photographers and two videographers, so there weren’t many pictures that we missed. However, out of all those pictures, there is one perfectly perfect one. It wasn’t a staged one. It wasn’t one I had on my infamous “list” to have taken. I didn’t know it had been taken. I didn’t even see this one until nearly a month after we’d been married. Yet is it my favorite of all of them. Why?...
•The Red Ribbon
The Red Ribbon
by: Staci Stallings
Everyone wants a blue ribbon. Blue. First place. The best. Even kindergarteners want that blue ribbon. In sports, I was never a blue-ribbon person. In a race I was always last. In baseball I was as likely to get hit on the head as to drop the ball. In basketball I was fine as long as there weren’t nine other players on the court with me. Where I got my horrible sports ability, I don’t know, but I got it. And I got it early.
During the spring of my...
•The Things I Took for Granted
The Things I Took for Granted by Staci StallingsIn the whole general scheme of farm life, there are bad assignments, and then there are dairy farms. I know. I grew up on one. The particular life location to which I got assigned—“stuck” is a better word if you’ve ever been there—was a small family-owned-and-operated outfit, which basically meant if outside workers couldn’t get there, it was up to the “family” to make sure the work got done. With a shutter I remember the Christmas our main...
•There’s Gotta Be An Easier Way
There’s Gotta Be An Easier Way by Staci StallingsHave you ever had a dream that was so close you could nearly reach out and touch it? And yet every time you put your hand out, it turns out to be a mirage. You work and work. You put your all into making the dream come to fruition, but when you get to the place where you think you want to be, all you find is more work to do.I see it with the two college students who work for me and are always hanging out at my house. It seems like they work...
•Up the Mountain of Faith
Up the Mountain of Faith by Staci Stallings“Help! Help! No help, I’m sliding!”“You’re on skis, Ashley. That’s the point.”The poor girl at the top of the line headed to the bunny slope lift was scared to death paralyzed with fear to the point that any tiny move seemed destined to pitch her down the mountain out of control. Her friend seemed not to understand the direness of her situation. To her skiing was easy. She didn’t understand, but I did.Always longer on doubt and fear than on calm and...
•What is Inspirational?
What is Inspirational? by Staci StallingsOver the course of the past ten years, the inspirational book market has exploded. Thanks to blockbusters like the Left Behind series as well as the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, the inspirational market has become a major contender for book industry dollars. There are now lines of inspirational romance, and Chicken Soup-esque fare like A Cup of Comfort, Hugs, and God’s Way popping up in bookstores across the country.In short, there is no shortage...
•What is Success?
What is Success?
by: Staci Stallings
Everyone wants success. People talk about setting goals and positive thinking and getting to the top. However, most of these same people never really define what success means to them. Instead they think only in terms of the next big promotion or the next raise or climbing the corporate ladder, but few ever stop to really look at where these goals are taking them.
World-renown motivational speaker Zig Ziglar says that to define success, you should stand...
•Writing, Reading, Speaking, Talking
Writing, Reading, Speaking, Talking by Staci StallingsFinding the Sweet Spot in Dialogue WritingOver the years I have heard complaints from various quarters—friends, students, and family—that even if they could write the story they’ve always wanted to tell, they could never get the dialogue to “sound right.” This problem is common among writers and lends itself to few easy answers; however, understanding the different modes of communication used to write exceptional dialogue can help even...
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