Dianne Barker

Author: Dianne Barker

  • Mentoring in the Marriage Season

      Have you been blessed with a mentoring relationship–someone who walked alongside you, teaching gently from life experiences? I’m grateful the Lord sent older friends to guide me through challenging places. My friend, author Janet Thompson, has a new book that shows the value of these relationships: Mentoring for All Seasons: Sharing Life Experiences and…

  • Starting the New Year with Confidence

    We’ve launched a new year and I’m wondering…did you start with confidence? I love filling in my calendar—special events and appointments I’ve already scheduled and lots of open spaces for opportunities God will send. What will he send in the coming months? Only he knows. I stand with open hands to receive what he’s already…

  • Need Fulfillment? Expect a Package Soon

    “This is the Fulfillment Department,” said a stranger’s voice. He had a package ready to send. The best telemarketing call ever! Wish I hadn’t clicked to end the conversation. Sometimes my hands are faster than my brain. I rarely waste time listening to telephone sales tactics, but later I wondered what else he might have…

  • Maximum Living–Have You Found It?

    Maximum living is that superior quality of life Jesus called abundant (John 10:10). How do we access that? While teaching a couples’ Sunday School class, I read aloud the focus verse for the week. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my [firm,…

  • Trusting God When Your Heart Is Broken

    I learned awesome truth from two young college students. My daughter was competing in a beauty pageant and returned from practice one evening a little discouraged. All of the contestants had amazing talent performances, and she worried she didn’t have a chance to win. Moments later her bubbly personality kicked in as she explained how…

  • A New Perspective for a New Year

    I’ve missed you, Lord. You know I’ve been busy lately. It seems only yesterday we started a new year and I started strong, meeting you in the mornings the way Moses did. He knew the importance of getting his instructions and being renewed. I know that, too. But some days life is just too much—too…

  • The Great Slaw Caper

    My upcoming book Help! I’m Stuck and I Can’t Get Out! includes an anecdote, “The Great Slaw Caper.” You can read the story on the More to Life Magazine blog October 23. Thought you might enjoy the recipe. Refrigerator Slaw Thinly slice and place in large bowl: 1 large head cabbage 1 large onion 1…

  • Celebrating Marriage

    Today my husband and I celebrate our 49th anniversary. We married young without any teaching on how to make a marriage flourish or counseling on building relationships. Couples stayed together because they’d made a vow to God—only death would separate them. Extended family, the church, the community, and the culture supported that commitment. Although James…

  • Reinventing Yourself for a Comeback

    I was born with a silver pen in my hand, so to speak. The Lord blessed my young life with huge success. I landed my dream job at eighteen, writing for the local newspaper while attending college, and wrote my first book at twenty-four. My 1986 book Twice Pardoned (life of Harold Morris) was #…

  • Exchanging Hurt for Joy

    Lord, do you care that I’m still bleeding? A fresh wound left me groaning in pain…struggling to get past the hurt…wondering how on earth I’d get over this. Have you been there? Disappointed. Wounded. Bleeding emotionally. The injury inconceivable. Where did that come from? How could anyone be so cruel? It happened. It’s unchangeable. Now…what…