Empty Places
Life's Journey Dana Rongione Life's Journey Dana Rongione

Empty Places

After scavenging through the pantry, refrigerator, and freezer, a man stands back and declares, "There's nothing to eat!"

A woman (who may or may not have red hair) peruses her closet for twenty minutes only to conclude she has nothing to wear that day.

A couple sits together on the couch in the quiet of the evening, mindlessly flipping through the channels on the television. Two hundred channels later, they come to the same conclusion: there's nothing to watch.

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Not One Is Missing
Hope, Comfort, God's goodness Dana Rongione Hope, Comfort, God's goodness Dana Rongione

Not One Is Missing

For the past few months, I haven’t witnessed the starry sky for one simple reason—it wasn’t dark enough. Yes, one of the things that has taken us by surprise since moving to Wales is how long the days are in the summer. With Wales being so far north, the sun rises around 4:00 in the morning and doesn’t set until well after 10:00 in the evening during the summer months. Even after the sun sets, it never truly gets dark. This is one of the main reasons we have light-blocking curtains on the windows. That being the case, it’s been a while since I’ve seen the stars. At least, it had been until a few nights ago.

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You Are What?
Dana Rongione Dana Rongione

You Are What?

And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel,and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you;and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you. - Exodus 3:13-14

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The Long Night of Nothing
Discouragement, Hope, perseverance Dana Rongione Discouragement, Hope, perseverance Dana Rongione

The Long Night of Nothing

After four years of traveling and eating out the majority of the time, we’ve finally settled enough to where I can address my eating habits and exercise routines again. For me, unfortunately, it means using that ugly four-letter word—diet.

Yes, I’m past that lovely age where I could skip one snack and lose three pounds. Way past! Now, I look at food and gain three pounds. And in the past four years, I feel like I’ve put as many pounds on my body as we did miles on our vehicles. Well, maybe that’s a bit extreme, but the truth is, I’m heavier than I’ve ever been in my life, and I don’t like it.

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Are You Doing Your Part?
church growth, Reaching Out To Others Dana Rongione church growth, Reaching Out To Others Dana Rongione

Are You Doing Your Part?

For the past few weeks, I’ve been studying the book of Nehemiah again. I love that little book of the Bible. There is so much meat in there, and it seems like every time I read it, I see things from a different perspective.

The first time I dove into Nehemiah, I saw the correlation between the building of the wall and the battle against anxiety and depression. I uncovered so many nuggets of wisdom during the study that I wrote a four-book series entitled, Rise Up and Build.

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