The Journey Ink — Sharonda Cawthon

  As I approach my 39th birthday this year I find myself responding to the “Well, how old are you?” question by saying, “I’m almost 40.” I have rationalized that the practice of saying 40 for the next year will help me to accept it more when it happens. It doesn’t seem like I have been alive that long, but here I am just months away from being one year from 40 and I am thinking about my life more and more. It could be all the reflection from journaling or comparing my upbringing to my husband’s when we chat...

I’m going to say three words that are not always easy to say. At least, they aren’t easy for me to say because I’d much rather choose to move pass the acknowledgement of this at all. Really just ignoring it all together. Maybe it’s pride. Maybe it’s shame. But here they are, those three words. I was wrong. Dear God, was I wrong!  I was wrong about God. Not in the sense that He has not proven to be the true, almighty, living God. I was wrong about what He wanted from me.  My relationship with God was based on...

Let’s see, the last time I wrote I was pondering if there was a point to addressing sin.  A couple of readers responded with comments. I took some time to reflect, pause, reflect again, and more time staring at my screen wondering how much I should say and how much I should keep to myself. Here I am, typing…FINALLY posting this entry.  Let’s rewind for a minute and let me explain with a little backstory about myself. So, the thing is, I have attended church since I was inside my mother’s womb. If you didn’t know already, my father was...

  In case you were wondering where I have been these last few months, your girl is working on her master’s degree (MBA) and my hubby and I launched a new relationship podcast (Until Forever Podcast). But, just let me say that I have missed this. I have missed writing and connecting with all of you. Thankfully, I am not as busy as I used to be and because of that I get to write more often. Let’s jump into a topic that you have probably heard about hundreds of times, maybe even thousands of times this month. Did you...

If you have grown up in church, like me, you have surely heard the term testimony before.  I think of a testimony as sharing with others about something that God has done in your life. A testimony can be shared among a group, a congregation or one on one. The testimony should allow others to see that God was able to help you in your situation and encourage the listener to believe God to help them in their similar situation. Unfortunately, in some churches, testimony sharing turns into story time and people end up bragging on themselves more than they...