Valentine’s Day is here and love is in the air. The allure of chocolate is everywhere! I’m definitely a fan of both. A little over a decade ago, however, I wasn’t sure love was an option for me anymore. I thought I might have to settle for chocolate. My first marriage of almost twenty-one years…
Author: anchoredvoice
Loved Already
The 12-pound black-haired baby had ridden all night on a train through the vast Chinese countryside. She was giddy with exhaustion and passed serenely into my arms. I stared into her familiar eyes—eyes I had stared at for countless hours in grainy orphanage photographs. Who are you? I wondered. Of course, she was my daughter,…
First Love
“It was a flower,” writes Denise Levertov in the opening line of her poem “First Love.” She goes on to describe falling in love with a pink convolvulus at a tender age—“barely / old enough to ask and repeat its name.” It looked at me, I looked back, delight filled me as if I, not…
Becoming Who You Are
By Sarah Sanderson I’ve lived through a little more than four decades, and each has brought a tremendous amount of change. I began the 1980s as an infant, and ended them an adolescent. I entered the 1990s in middle school, and left a college graduate. In 2000, I received an engagement ring; by 2010, I…
A Long Hello and a Short Goodbye
Author: Laura Sumpter Turning the page of the proverbial book of life is a lot like jumping. The fear that comes with the unknown, coupled with the excitement of saying goodbye to the bad while lingering in the sweetness of saying hello to the good can send butterflies through even the most adventurous of souls. …
His Perfect Plan
By Kara Williams Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21 (NIV) Every person reading this has received the time-gift of living through the past decade: ten autumns and winters, springtimes and summers; 3,652 sunrises and sunsets; air filling and leaving your lungs over a…
Making Room for the New
Author: Beth Vice On days without sunny skies and fluffy white snow, January can feel dark—leafless trees, decay-matted flower beds, and unrelenting cold. It’s a stark contrast to the color and exuberance of Christmas. This is the month I struggle most with depression, overeating, and the desire to hibernate. But taking time to celebrate the…
Understanding Wisdom
Wisdom has always sounded like a grown-up word. I can remember hearing stories of Winnie the Pooh and the “Wise Old Owl” being the center of knowledge and direction for A.A. Milne’s lively creatures in the Hundred Acre Wood. I can also remember sitting in Sunday School class as the flannel graph images of King…
Nothing is Impossible
Author: Donna Marie As I pray, I hear God say I will show you the way Nothing is impossible With God you are unstoppable The old is gone The new is here You belong Can’t you hear You know I care I need you to share My love for them So, let’s begin My words…
Hurt That Brings Healing
Author: Laura Sumpter I pushed the off button and tossed the phone onto my bed. As I did tears began pouring down my face. “Not again,” my head screamed. “Not again! Dear God, I can’t…” my thoughts stopped short as quiet tears turned to sobs. I thought through the words I had just heard. For…
Anchored Voices 