Creating a Calm Home

by Arlene Pellicane | | 12 comments

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If you were to observe my home, you won’t catch me doing linens on Mondays, mopping on Wednesdays, and doing my once-a-month cooking on the first Friday. One fine day, I was actually dusting the blinds. My husband James yelled, “What’s that noise?” alarmed the kids might be messing with something.

“It’s me, cleaning the blinds!” I shot back proudly.

He was quiet for a moment and then yelled in amazement, “I haven’t heard that sound in 10 years!”

Each home will have its own level of neatness to aspire to, but there is something that everyone can agree upon as ideal: living in a calm, peaceful home. What is the atmosphere of your home on most days? Could you

Speak Lord, I’m Listening

by Arlene Pellicane | | 11 comments

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“I can’t hear you!” I yelled downstairs to my daughter who was apparently trying to tell me something.

No matter how trivial or how urgent her message was, I could not receive it because I was in the bathroom! In order to hear my daughter’s words, either she had to move towards me or I had to move towards her.

I can’t help but think of how many times in the day God may want to speak to me, but I am just not in the right place to hear. Maybe my heart is filled with worry. Maybe I’m running from one activity to the next, filling my spare moments with texts and emails.

Maybe my posture, my heart attitude,

He’s One Step Ahead

by Arlene Pellicane | | 14 comments

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I stared at the pile of papers, unsure for the first time about how to complete them. It was the middle school registration packet for my oldest son Ethan. I wasn’t sure how to fill out a few blanks. It all seemed so much more complicated than elementary school.

The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.

I had faith this verse even applied to middle schoolers.

Like in the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, I decided to “phone-a-friend” for help. Not just any friend…my middle school counselor friend.

You see, just a few months before deciding on where Ethan would go to middle school, we joined a small

Big Goals, Big Life

by Arlene Pellicane | | 8 comments

We hope you are enjoying the Girlfriends in God daily devotions. We (Mary, Sharon, and Gwen) would like to introduce you to some of our special friends. From time-to-time, the Friday devotions will be written by one of our friends in ministry. We call them our “Friday Friends.” So grab your Bible and a fresh cup of coffee and drink in the words from our “Friday Friend,” Arlene Pellicane.

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Every year, I attend a personal growth conference with some truly inspirational people. Speakers have included greats such as Neil Armstrong, Zig Ziglar, Lou Holtz, Andy Andrews, and Jim Rohn. I know being exposed to this caliber of professionals has pushed me to become a better person, wife, and mom.

Some may wonder about

Hot or Cold

by Arlene Pellicane | | 17 comments

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I have a habit with my coffee that some of you will relate to. Others may be tempted to think less of me, but I will just have to risk that for the sake of this devotion.

I am a coffee re-heater. I take my morning cup of coffee and I nurse that same cup for hours. I take a few nice hot sips and set my mug down. Several minutes later, my coffee is lukewarm. It’s no longer good. I head to the microwave to make it hot again. I take a few sips and repeat this process a few more times throughout the morning.

Coffee’s good either hot or cold. There is no in-between. The example of

Closed for Renovations

by Arlene Pellicane | | 3 comments

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Have you ever driven to a store or restaurant only to find a sign on the door reading “Closed for Renovations”? What an inconvenience, right? But hopefully you were “wowed” at the grand re-opening when you saw the finished product and the improvements made.

Do you ever wish you could have a “Closed for Renovations” sign over your life?

Wouldn’t it be nice to take time out to renovate yourself without any interruptions? If only you could stop the texts and hit the pause button on your obligations. Sure it would be inconvenient, but wouldn’t it be worthwhile? Let’s just imagine you have a few days without any responsibilities except focusing on the areas in your personal life that

Dilute No More

by Arlene Pellicane | | 4 comments

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My husband James is a diluter.

He dilutes fruit juice with water. He dilutes hand soap to make it last longer. He adds water to the shampoo bottle. And friends, he even dilutes my family’s maple syrup.

When we’re gathered around the breakfast table with hot, yummy pancakes, we all know one thing. Our maple syrup will be watery and thin. It will need to be applied quite generously to have any taste at all.

One glorious day, the maple syrup finally ran out. When I bought new maple syrup from the store, I roared to my husband, “You will not touch this syrup!”

Maple syrup is meant to be enjoyed undiluted.

This is how the Word of God should be consumed

Joy in the Triathlon

by Arlene Pellicane | | 2 comments

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Oh friend, please don’t misunderstand. I didn’t participate in a triathlon. I watched it.

A few years ago, my family was on vacation and just happened upon an Ironman 70.3 triathlon in progress. We had never seen anything like it before. The Ironman 70.3 races include a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride, and a 13.1 mile run, which adds up to 70.3 miles of total racing. We watched in amazement as numerous forty and fifty somethings crossed the finish line and even a 69-year-old, but we were most inspired by the man we saw biking using a racing wheelchair.

He had no legs and was motoring through those hot, rigorous miles using his upper body alone.

Turning Worries into Prayers

by Arlene Pellicane | | 6 comments

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It was just a small errand that turned into a worry fest.

I wanted to send a friend a gift just because, so I packaged it up and placed some stamps on the envelope. I headed for a new “village post office” I had seen in my neighborhood. I figured they could weigh my package and make sure I had put enough stamps on it.

When I arrived at the post office counter which was housed in a gas station, the man at the counter smiled. “You’re in luck,” he said. “The mailman is just about to leave with today’s packages.” I asked if he could weigh my package to double check if the postage was correct. “I’m sorry,”

Our Personal Trainer

by Arlene Pellicane | | 4 comments

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One Christmas, my husband, James, had an unusual gift request. He asked if I would work out with him every day for one month.

Hmm…in one way this was an easy present. No need to spend any money or stand in line to buy that perfect gift. In another way, this was a hard gift. Exercise every day for a whole month???

I was struggling with back pain and foot pain, and James saw this as an opportunity to fix all that was ailing me. It’s kind of hard to say no at Christmastime so I accepted this holiday challenge. 

James kept a notebook with our exercises listed. The first days were tough. “Can’t you do more?” he would say. “Is