Delight Yourself in the Lord... Even on Bad Hair Days

We have a special guest posting today, on a delightful devotional worthy of your interest.

Whether single or married, career girl or stay at 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 thought 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!

Kristin Billerbeck is a best selling author of 30+ novels and novellas, Christy award nominee, and two time ACFW Book of the Year winner. Sandra D. Bricker is an award winning author of laugh out 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 award winning novelist and has written inspirationalromantic 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 Fund

INTRODUCTION

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


Do NOT Pull!

We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19

If you have ever talked to a mother about how she felt when her first child was born, you’ll hear words like, “I never knew I could love anyone this much.”

Love for our children is beautiful and unconditional, even when others question our
devotion. Once, when…ahem!...someone’s three sons were all under five years of age, our new church decided to have its first ever Christmas brunch before service to celebrate our first holiday season as a “family” with fellowship and food.

What a beautiful picture of Christ’s love, right? Now…imagine, if you will, a five-year-old boy who sees the pretty red plate on the wall, and can read the sign that says DO NOT PULL. His four-year old-brother also understands the meaning of RED. Both older brothers know instinctively that, if they pull this lever, they will be in big trouble. However, if they talk their darling little two-year old brother into pulling it, that wouldn’t be so bad, would it? And here’s the beauty part: They get to see what will happen and won’t be responsible.

Just as people begin to sit down, brunch is interrupted by the piercing wail of the fire
alarm, which does not stop until the fire department arrives twenty minutes later and charges their mother $150 to turn off the alarm. And now everyone has evacuated the first, and incidentally the only, Christmas brunch.

Let me just say that the organizers of this brunch were not happy. My family was not
feeling the unconditional love of Christ in those moments; instead, they were feeling
consequences of sinful actions. And trust me, the boys knew what they were doing was wrong, or they wouldn’t have talked their little brother into doing it for them!

Times like this inspire me to think about how God must want to drop His head into His hands over and over again at my foibles. He must think, “I know she knows better!” And He probably shakes His head and wonders if I’m ever going to get it. Just like I know my son’s great ability to lead others can have a dark side, God knows my own weaknesses. I like to believe He cheers for me when I do the right thing and pass it on to my own children.

Sometimes, the ability to love is not easy, but I think that’s why God shows us what it
looks like. When we see the good and the bad in others, and sometimes ourselves, we are seeing people as God sees them: in love. Not perfect, but worthy of love.

Today’s Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank You for creating me as You did with a sinful nature, but a heart to do rightly. Help me to find my way in this world, to do Your will, and forgive myself and others as easily as You forgive me. When it’s time to get up and try again, be with me today in Your Strength. Amen. –Kristin