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  • two roads diverged
    Devotionals

    It’s Just Human Nature

    - By Renee

    We excuse a lot of things by saying, “It’s just human nature.” But what if our natural response is exactly what Jesus is asking us to deny? Following Christ sometimes means denying the default and choosing a different way.

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    Stacked stones representing reminders of God's faithfulness

    What Are You Re-membering?

    October 7, 2026
    Rainbow stretching across a stormy sky above a stone wall, illustrating God’s faithfulness and the tangible reminders He gives us to remember His promises.

    When God Remembers

    September 27, 2026
    Vintage family photographs, handwritten recipes, a WWII uniform, an old Bible, Christmas ornament, and black dominoes with white dots arranged as treasured family keepsakes beneath the title “When We Re-member.”

    When We Re-member

    September 24, 2026
  • Rae Dunn Teacher Mug of Coffee with books and a copier
    Coffee, Copies, and Chaos - Life and Faith

    Would you say your name for me?

    - By Renee

    Every teacher has stared at a class roster hoping to get every name right. A humorous comedy sketch, an embarrassing first-grade memory, and one unforgettable student reminded me why a person's name deserves our very best effort.

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    Teaching Faithfully in October

    September Is Still New

    September 8, 2026
    Yellow brick road illustrating a teacher's lesson about updating classroom examples

    We’re Not in Kansas Anymore

    August 27, 2026
    Rae Dunn Teacher Mug of Coffee with books and a copier

    My First Teaching Assignment

    August 25, 2026
  • Rae Dunn Teacher Mug of Coffee with books and a copier
    Coffee, Copies, and Chaos - Loose Threads

    Copier Conversations

    - By Renee

    After 25 years in education, I've discovered that the most valuable teaching lessons aren't found in textbooks or college courses—they're learned in the faculty workroom, beside the copier, over lunch, and in conversations with veteran teachers. Here are 50 pieces of practical wisdom I wish someone had shared with me before my first day in the classroom.

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    Related Posts

    Teaching Faithfully in October

    September Is Still New

    September 8, 2026
    Yellow brick road illustrating a teacher's lesson about updating classroom examples

    We’re Not in Kansas Anymore

    August 27, 2026
    Rae Dunn Teacher Mug of Coffee with books and a copier

    My First Teaching Assignment

    August 25, 2026
  • scene inside car with a coffee cup and a folder
    Devotionals - Life and Faith

    The Most Joyful Errand

    - By Renee

    A simple coffee stop led to a question: "Are you doing anything fun today?" It reminded me of one of the greatest joys of the Christian life—watching God's people rally around a family in need.

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    Related Posts

    Stacked stones representing reminders of God's faithfulness

    What Are You Re-membering?

    October 7, 2026
    Rainbow stretching across a stormy sky above a stone wall, illustrating God’s faithfulness and the tangible reminders He gives us to remember His promises.

    When God Remembers

    September 27, 2026
    Vintage family photographs, handwritten recipes, a WWII uniform, an old Bible, Christmas ornament, and black dominoes with white dots arranged as treasured family keepsakes beneath the title “When We Re-member.”

    When We Re-member

    September 24, 2026
  • Rae Dunn Teacher Mug of Coffee with books and a copier
    Coffee, Copies, and Chaos - Life and Faith

    Something Stinks…

    - By Renee

    Every school has that classroom—the one that's too hot, too cold, or plagued by mysterious problems. Mine had a smell so awful it made students' eyes water and left me feeling nauseated. What began as a humorous classroom story became a reminder that teachers often know first when something isn't right—and schools should listen.

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    Teaching Faithfully in October

    September Is Still New

    September 8, 2026
    Yellow brick road illustrating a teacher's lesson about updating classroom examples

    We’re Not in Kansas Anymore

    August 27, 2026
    Rae Dunn Teacher Mug of Coffee with books and a copier

    My First Teaching Assignment

    August 25, 2026
  • Rae Dunn Teacher Mug of Coffee with books and a copier
    Coffee, Copies, and Chaos - Life and Faith

    What Education Couldn’t Teach Me

    - By Renee

    For years, I thought my greatest education came from classrooms, graduate school, and earning advanced degrees. Then one student taught me a lesson no textbook ever could—a lesson about compassion, trust, and the choice to keep loving others after your heart has been broken.

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    Teaching Faithfully in October

    September Is Still New

    September 8, 2026
    Yellow brick road illustrating a teacher's lesson about updating classroom examples

    We’re Not in Kansas Anymore

    August 27, 2026
    Rae Dunn Teacher Mug of Coffee with books and a copier

    My First Teaching Assignment

    August 25, 2026
  • Teaching Faithfully in October
    Coffee, Copies, and Chaos - Teaching Faithfully

    Welcome Back, Teacher

    - By Renee

    As another school year begins, teachers are filled with equal parts excitement and anxiety. New pencils, fresh lesson plans, and hopeful expectations are quickly met with the realities of today's classroom. If you're wondering whether you have what it takes to do it one more time, this encouragement is for you.

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    Teaching Faithfully in October

    September Is Still New

    September 8, 2026
    Yellow brick road illustrating a teacher's lesson about updating classroom examples

    We’re Not in Kansas Anymore

    August 27, 2026
    Rae Dunn Teacher Mug of Coffee with books and a copier

    My First Teaching Assignment

    August 25, 2026
  • Women in the Word logo
    Life and Faith

    IT WAS TIME.

    - By Renee

    Three ladies. That's how Women in the Word began. Five years later, hundreds of women have gathered around God's Word, forming lifelong friendships, growing in faith, and witnessing His faithfulness every step of the way. This is the story of an ordinary promise, an extraordinary God, and the ministry He built.

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    Vintage telephone representing the shift from spontaneous phone calls to modern texting and scheduled conversations.

    When Did a Phone Call Start Feeling Intrusive?

    October 10, 2026
    Alive Day I’ve heard that when military folks survive something that very well could have killed them, they sometimes call that date their Alive Day. Well, my husband Tom now has an Alive Day. One year ago today, on October 4, 2025, Tom fell twenty feet from a tree stand. It was already going to be a busy Saturday. My parents were visiting from Virginia because they were in the middle of building their new home in Bluffton, South Carolina. Amanda and Kayla were planning to drive up to Bluffton with them to help make decisions about all the things that come with building a house, and I was going to stay home with the grandkids. The day began around 6:30 a.m. with a phone call that woke me up. Me: Hello? Tom: Hey. His breathing was shallow. He was having trouble speaking. Tom: I just wanted to let you know that I fell from the tree stand. I’ll do my best to make it back to the house. Me: Okay. Click. Yes. I was asleep. And then I woke up. Excuse me, WHAT? I went next door and told Amanda what had happened. She and Kayla were already getting ready to leave for Bluffton before 7:00, and when I walked over, Amanda assumed I was coming to watch the kids so they could head out. Instead, I told her Tom had fallen from his tree stand. She called Marcus. I told Kayla. Amanda and Kayla were ready to leave for Bluffton, but Tom had other plans for the morning. I got dressed, grabbed the UTV, and Amanda, Kayla, and I headed toward the area of our property where we knew Tom had been hunting. Marcus was out of town, so Emma was given instructions to keep an eye on the other kids while we went looking for Papa. We found him on the ground. What Had Happened Tom had a bow-hunting setup in a tree on our property that he had used for years. A ladder stand was positioned next to a climbing stand he had already installed. That morning, he climbed the ladder and stepped over onto the climbing stand. Then both cables holding the base of the stand broke. The platform collapsed beneath him like a trap door. Tom had not yet strapped himself in. He fell twenty feet straight down. He landed on his feet and then fell to the side. Later, he told us that when he hit the ground, he simply could not breathe. He tried to crawl, but he couldn’t. I still don’t know how he managed to make that phone call. Kayla and Amanda helped him get to his feet. I picked up his crossbow. They helped him into the UTV, and Amanda drove him back toward the house while Kayla and I followed on foot. Meanwhile, Marcus was coordinating everything from out of town. He called David, our closest neighbor, who had spent decades working in the fire department. David came over to check Tom and called the local hospital emergency room to let them know we were on our way. Marcus also called Andy, a family friend who lives nearby, and Andy came over ready to help. David and Andy managed to get Tom into the front seat of my car, and I drove him to the emergency room. Andy followed us so that when we arrived, he could help lift Tom out of the car and into a wheelchair. The medical staff took Tom back immediately while I completed the paperwork. By the time I was able to get back to him, he was in a hospital gown and neck brace with several medical professionals surrounding him. They handed me his clothes and wheeled him away for X-rays and scans. Eventually, he came back and was finally able to get some pain medication. At the hospital, the initial scans showed no obvious breaks or internal bleeding. At the time, that felt almost impossible. Tom had fallen twenty feet. And somehow, we were being told that nothing was broken. But that was not the end of the story. Later, after an MRI, we learned that Tom did in fact have a fractured vertebra. He had also bruised internal organs and suffered extensive soft tissue injuries. So while the first news at the emergency room was reassuring, the fall had done real damage. Not Broken Does Not Mean Not Hurt And even that heading turned out not to be entirely accurate. The injuries to Tom’s ankle, leg, hip, and back were significant, and the soft tissue damage has had lasting consequences. His ankle, leg, and hip will never be the same, and some of those injuries will likely plague him for the rest of his life. He spent two months away from work. There was rest. Rehab. Ice. Heat. And a permanent place for his right foot on top of the couch because his ankle needed to stay elevated. For a long time, that elevated foot became part of the furniture. And now it has been a year. He still hurts. That is perhaps the strangest part of looking back. Two years ago, Tom was training for two upcoming marathons. Now he is still healing from a fall that lasted only a few seconds. We are enormously thankful. Thankful the injuries were not worse. Thankful there was no catastrophic spinal injury. Thankful he was conscious. Thankful he could make that phone call. Thankful our family and friends immediately stepped in to help. And most of all, thankful to God for His protection over Tom that morning. We know how differently October 4, 2025, could have ended. We also believe God was merciful, that He preserved Tom’s life for a reason, and that He still has more for Tom to do. But gratitude does not mean pretending everything went back to normal. It didn’t. Some injuries heal. Some leave reminders. And healing takes time. Sometimes much more time than we expect. So today, October 4, 2026, we mark one year. Tom’s Alive Day. A day that reminds us both of how quickly life can change, how faithfully God protects, and how grateful we are that Tom came home. And we are looking forward to whatever God still has ahead for him.

    Alive Day

    October 5, 2026
    Vintage family photographs, handwritten recipes, a WWII uniform, an old Bible, Christmas ornament, and black dominoes with white dots arranged as treasured family keepsakes beneath the title “When We Re-member.”

    When We Re-member

    September 24, 2026
  • Modern playground equipment
    Loose Threads

    Modern playgrounds reveal changes in parenting styles

    - By Renee

    As I looked around, I realized how different this playground was from the ones I took my own children to in the early 1990s—and even more different from the parks I grew up with in the 1970s.

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    Colorful sticky notes scattered across a wooden surface, each featuring a different nickname, including Chase, Jase, Ronny, Ron, Nay, Ren, Reenie, Bow Wow, Kayla, Marcus, Shorty, Justin, Ace, Rabbit, and Toot.

    The Names that Stick

    September 27, 2026
    Close-up of American mah-jongg tiles arranged on a blue rack, with dice, discarded tiles, and other players’ racks visible on a wooden table.

    Apparently, I Play Mah-Jongg Now

    September 26, 2026
    Rae Dunn Teacher Mug of Coffee with books and a copier

    Copier Conversations

    August 6, 2026
  • Rae Dunn Teacher Mug of Coffee with books and a copier
    Coffee, Copies, and Chaos

    Teaching is Messy

    - By Renee

    “It’s the teachers’ lounge. Or the workroom. Or whatever name your school gives to the small, windowless space where hope — and hygiene — go to die.”

    Continue Reading

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    Teaching Faithfully in October

    September Is Still New

    September 8, 2026
    Yellow brick road illustrating a teacher's lesson about updating classroom examples

    We’re Not in Kansas Anymore

    August 27, 2026
    Rae Dunn Teacher Mug of Coffee with books and a copier

    My First Teaching Assignment

    August 25, 2026
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Categories

  • A Christmas Carol Series (6)
  • Book Reviews (2)
  • Coffee, Copies, and Chaos (13)
  • Devotionals (19)
  • Life and Faith (26)
  • Loose Threads (5)
  • Teaching Faithfully (3)
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