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Dana Rongione 02/05/2024 Dana Rongione 02/05/2024

The Illusion of Greener Pastures

Have you ever driven by a sheep farm and seen those silly sheep with their heads stuck through the fence, munching away at the grass on the other side? I see it all the time here in Wales, and it always makes me chuckle. I mean, come on, sheep! The grass is the same on your side of the fence. But for some reason, the stuff just out of reach always seems greener, doesn't it?

As humans, we're not that different from those woolly creatures, are we? We've got this bad habit of ignoring the blessings right in front of us and instead reaching for things that are out of our grasp. We're never quite satisfied with what we have.

Dana Rongione 26/02/2024 Dana Rongione 26/02/2024

Finding Courage in Unseen Allies

Do you ever feel like the lone voice crying in the wilderness? In 1 Kings 19, the bold prophet Elijah despaired that despite his faithful efforts, rampant idolatry prevailed. With wicked queen Jezebel threatening his life after an intense showdown with her false prophets, Elijah fled in fear, feeling alone in the spiritual fight.

Exhausted and afraid for his life, Elijah collapsed under a desert tree, begging God to let him die. Right there, we see a mighty man of God reduced to hopeless tears by isolation and weariness in well-doing. Elijah lamented, “I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away” (v. 10).

Dana Rongione 17/05/2023 Dana Rongione 17/05/2023

Hope for the Heavy Heart

Some of you have probably wondered where I’ve been and why I haven’t been writing. It’s quite a long story, so let me sum it up the best I can. In the past three weeks, our entire ministry team has been sick with the flu. Tennille and I finished preparing for and hosted the annual ladies’ retreat with nearly 60 ladies in attendance for the week. Jason celebrated his birthday. And we’ve been finding and setting up a new sponsorship in Wales after finding out that the church hosting us was told they no longer qualified. Yes, due to some weird changes in the wording of the laws regarding sponsorship, our sponsorship was revoked, making our visas invalid.

Dana Rongione 28/04/2023 Dana Rongione 28/04/2023

Doggie Days and Unmet Expectations

With the spring weather finally emerging here in Wales, Jason purchased and set up a two-seater swing for me to enjoy. I love spending time outdoors and curling up in a comfy place to read or write. After he set it up, Tess and I spent much of the day snuggled together in the plush swing. To say she was as excited about it as I would be an understatement. She loved it so much that she went outside by herself after lunch. When several minutes had passed, and she hadn’t returned, I went to check on her. Guess where she was. That rotten little thing was stretched out on the swing, enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. In her mind, she had a new outside bed. After enjoying more time outside as a family that evening, Jason and I removed the cushions from the swing and brought them inside to keep them dry during the next few days of rain.

Dana Rongione 25/04/2023 Dana Rongione 25/04/2023

Don’t Fall For Satan’s Lies

Today’s video is an excerpt from my Wilderness Wanderings Series from several years ago. If you want to get the full context of the story, I encourage you to read Numbers 22-25. The focus today, as the title states, is to remind us to beware of Satan’s attempts to deceive us. I hope it will be a blessing to you.

Dana Rongione 28/02/2023 Dana Rongione 28/02/2023

Battling Discontentment

Last week, Jason and I were in Manchester, England, for a missionary retreat. It’s a time for several missionary families to get together and encourage one another in the Lord. There’s food, services, and of course, fellowship. All in all, it’s a wonderful event.

Before leaving, Jason and I cleaned out the refrigerator to make sure we didn’t come home to any surprises. One of the things we needed to toss out was a partial loaf of bread already showing signs of molding. (In this damp environment, bread products do NOT last long.).

Dana Rongione 04/01/2023 Dana Rongione 04/01/2023

Be Careful What You Ask For

One of the things I love about where we live is that it’s a very safe place. We live in a small community where there is little crime. Wales, as a whole, has very few dangerous animals, so I don’t have to worry about being attacked by a bear or bitten by a snake while out on my daily walks. In short, I feel very comfortable being out and about or even staying home alone.

The only danger I have discovered is living only 45 minutes from the book town of Hay-on-Wye. Yes, a book town is precisely as its name suggests—an entire town dedicated to books.

Dana Rongione 17/12/2022 Dana Rongione 17/12/2022

When the Enemy Won’t Quit

Yesterday was our weekly hike date, but it was a bit unusual. We had a couple of light snowfalls over the previous weekend, and the temperatures had remained sub-freezing all week. That being the case, there was still some snow and ice dotting the landscape around us, but we knew the surrounding areas weren’t bad at all.

Unfortunately, the area we had planned to hike had gotten considerably more snow than we had. The winding roads were white and icy, and when we arrived at our destination, we discovered the trails were buried under at least three inches of snow.

Dana Rongione 07/12/2022 Dana Rongione 07/12/2022

Praying Through Discontentment

Christmas can be the most wonderful time of the year. Unfortunately, it can also be a breeding ground for greed, commercialism, and discontentment. Yes, there’s something about the Christmas season that can cause us to look at our surroundings or circumstances and feel lacking. We find ourselves thinking, If only I had ______, I’d be happy.

This morning, in my devotion time, I read a rather convicting statement about how we often attempt to deal with discontentment. The author questioned our methods for coming to grips with our dissatisfaction and remarked that we often don’t ask God to help us with our attitude but rather to “fix” the situation so we’ll be more content. Ouch!

Dana Rongione 12/10/2022 Dana Rongione 12/10/2022

Oh, Oh, Oh, Green Giant

As part of my devotional time this morning, I read an inspiring blog post about how to stop comparing ourselves with others and live the life God designed us to live. This is an area I struggle with regularly as I always feel I’m falling behind or missing the mark in various areas of my life.

Evidently, my battle with envy is even more severe than I thought because as I read this dear Christian woman’s blog, I felt myself turning green.

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Dana Rongione