Hope Walking with Wendy L. Macdonald: Recent Episodes
Hope Walking with Wendy L. Macdonald
When someone asked me to pray for someone who was already on my private prayer list, I cringed. Not because I wasn’t already praying for him, but because I always found it hard to muster up the enthusiasm to pray for that person. It’s hard to pray for people who have hurt people you care … Continue reading What’s the Greatest Gift We Can Give? Part 5
Don’t you love it when a God moment arrives at just the right time? This happened to me after I gave one of the greatest gifts you can give a person. Before I share the God moment with you, let’s start at the beginning of this story. My favorite pastime besides being out in nature … Continue reading What’s the Greatest Gift We Can Give? Part 4
Sometimes the greatest gift we can give gives us much more in return. One morning while reading Our Daily Bread, I had an aha-of-the-heart moment. Most of their devotions touch me. But this one caused me to tear up. A pastor demonstrated through an unusual stunt how powerful God’s handiwork is in our lives. He … Continue reading What’s the Greatest Gift We Can Give? – Part 3
I hadn’t planned on making this greatest gift thing a series, but that’s exactly where it’s headed. One evening in mid-December, when I hinted to my husband that I wanted fairy lights for Christmas, my daughter overheard. Then she privately asked him not to get them for me. She wanted to give me a set … Continue reading What’s the Greatest Gift We Can Give Part 2
What is the greatest gift we can give to everyone around us? One December morning on the fringe of my quiet time, I heard a whisper and felt a nudge. If I obeyed the Holy Spirit’s prompt, I’d be able to give the gift of kindness to someone who has been unkind to me. … Continue reading What is the Greatest Gift We Can Give?
Welcome to Hearing God Through Prayers (Part 5 of the Hearing God Series). A moment of stillness during a midday prayer time helped me more than a million words of petition ever could. Listening to God during prayer time isn’t something I do well. It’s something I aspire to improve at. Being still before God … Continue reading Hearing God Through Prayers →
Welcome to Hearing God through Others which is part 4 of the Hearing God Series that was first shared on HopeStreamRadio. Something he said made my heart turn and pay heed. The person I most often hear God speak through is my husband. That makes sense since I spend more attentive time with him than … Continue reading Hearing God Through Others →
Welcome to Hearing God through Journaling which is Part 3 of the Hearing God series (Previously produced as podcasts for HopeStreamRadio) My family is probably tired of hearing about a phrase I’d like to be remembered by. (Actually, there are several.) But before I tell you the one I’m referring to today, I’m going … Continue reading Hearing God Through Journaling →
Welcome to Hearing God through Nature part 2 in the Hearing God series An unusual bird showed up at our birdfeeder during a wintery cold snap. Before I share which bird it was, let’s talk about some other wildlife first. Each winter I look forward to photographing the most beautiful flying flowers of the winter … Continue reading Hearing God Through Nature →
Welcome to Hearing God Through Tears which is part 1 of the Hearing God series: A recent flow of tears told me it was time to slow down and visit my feelings. Tears aren’t a new topic for me to write about. But I was busy working on a project that overshadowed any miscellaneous writing. … Continue reading Hearing God Through Tears →
For this fifth and final episode in the A Case for Compassion series, I’m going to get personal. While writing these posts, I became acutely aware of one of the weakest spots in my Christian walk. Before I air some of my dusty linen, I want to share a bit about my family’s pets. We … Continue reading A Case for Compassionate Thoughts →
A book on forgiveness inspired me and opened my eyes to the benefits of having compassion for our enemies despite what they’ve done to us. I bought the book to help me navigate some painful memories from the past. What I didn’t expect was how helpful it would be for present trials. I’ve known for … Continue reading A Case for Having Compassion on Our Enemies →
I had a dream that prompted part 3 in my Case for Compassion Series of podcasts. I’m not sure if I would have remembered to note the dream in my journal if it wasn’t for the Bible verse that captured my attention the next morning. Before I share the dream, let’s look at the Scripture … Continue reading A Case for Compassionate Self-Talk →
Part 2 in the A Case for Compassion Series (First broadcast on HopeStreamRadio) A Case for Compassionate Main Characters When a new-to-me descriptive phrase caught my attention, I knew it was the writing prompt I was waiting for to begin the second podcast episode in my A Case for Compassion series. Before I share it … Continue reading A Case for Compassionate Main Characters →
A Case for Compassion Series Part 1 A Case for Compassion Igniting Miracles: Rip and Stick (Previously produced as a podcast for HopeStreamRadio.) Who knew that a recent craft session with my grandson would prompt me to produce a new podcast episode. If it hadn’t been for the Bible verse I read the following morning, … Continue reading A Case for Compassion Igniting Miracles →
I love it when my husband says something quotable. He’s inspired so many of my podcasts and blog posts. Listening closely to him always blesses me with wisdom. He’s not as talkative as I am, so I need to pay heed to what he says. Or else miss out. He didn’t realize how significant his … Continue reading Trusting God When Our Plans Fail →
How do we keep trusting God when the wicked win? I was asked this question way back when I was a brand-new babe in Christ. First, before I share that story, I want to mention we’ve all lived under the title of wicked. We’ve all sinned and gone our own way. Not one of us … Continue reading Trusting God When the Wicked Win →
One of the biggest challenges to faith is trusting God when we witness suffering. This scenario is also an opportunity to strengthen our faith muscles. I’ll explain what I mean about this spiritual workout later. First, I want to share a personal story about suffering. Several decades ago, I deeply mourned for my grandmother. She … Continue reading Trusting God When We Witness Suffering →
Something funny happened after I wrote the first draft for this podcast. I’ll share it with you later. In the meantime, I have a question for you. Are you having trouble trusting God when prayers seem unanswered? I have one especially puzzling unanswered prayer that’s testing my faith to its outermost limits. How do I … Continue reading Trusting God when #Prayers Seem Unanswered →
A song came to mind when Deborah, a friend from HopeStreamRadio, answered my request for a suggestion of what to podcast about. The song I was reminded of was one I had listened to and literally danced to while praising God in the privacy of my home. It happened only a few minutes before … Continue reading Trusting God When Life is Complicated →
My grandson knows how to turn fear into a friend. Before I share his secret with you, let’s talk about 2020 for a bit. Fear is more prevalent in the world thanks to a certain virus that chased us into separate corners. Although 2020 was an anxiety-inducing year, I still believe fear can be either … Continue reading Is Fear a Fiend or Friend? →
With all the stuff that happened in 2020, I found myself thinking about a certain passage of Scripture more and more often. I even looked up the meaning of one of the words in it when the COVID-19 virus strutted its awful stuff across our entire planet. But before I share that verse with you, … Continue reading Is Fear a Sin? Hope Walking with Wendy #Podcast →
This is one personal story I didn’t want to share. When a silly conversation led to serious consequences, I couldn’t help but write about it. One of my favorite topics to read and write is recovery. In fact, I’m presently editing my eating disorder recovery memoir. One thing I learned the hard way about recovery … Continue reading A Silly Conversation & its Serious Consequences →
When I came across an evocative sentence in the Psalms I hadn’t paid much attention to before, I felt uncomfortable writing it down as my verse of the day—so I didn’t. The reason I was drawn to it was because sometimes I battle fear others will get away with evil words spoken against me. That … Continue reading Why We Can Forgo Bitterness →