Debra DuPree Williams's Blog

4 Lessons From the Parable of the Sower

Having been born in south Alabama, I remember vividly the Peanut Festival held yearly in Dothan, Alabama. Fall is a season of harvest of peanuts, but also of cotton. When the trucks rolled down the roads filled with cotton ready to be ginned, sometimes the roadsides were so white with cotton it looked as if it had snowed.  Homegrown crops harvested between September and November include leafy veggies like collards, kale, turnip greens, and mustard greens. Root veggies are also ready for harvest,...

Falling Leaves and Letting Go – 5 Faith Lessons to Embrace this Fall

There are so many things we can embrace in this season of Fall as we watch the leaves change color and eventually fall.  It’s a time of change, for sure. But it isn’t all about the leaves and the season. This is the perfect time to reflect and make needed changes in our lives. Here are five lessons to embrace this Fall as we watch the leaves change and fall.

CONTROL

I’m not what one would call a control-freak, but I sometimes think, I would have done that differently. Sometimes we cling too tigh...

Pumpkin Spice and Prayer – Building a Cozy Fall Writing Routine

I love Fall. It’s my favorite time of the year. My first child was born at the end of September, and my birthday followed his by eleven days.

The hectic pace of summer days is past, and things are evolving into a slower, calmer rhythm. It’s time to settle into all that is cozy and warm. This just came to my mind, No wonder I write cozy mysteries.

ALL THINGS PUMPKIN SPICE

These days Fall is all about Pumpkin Spice this or that. I know most of my friends go nuts over pumpkin spice, but I must avoi...

Family Reunions – Sharing Old Memories and Making New

The NLT version of the Bible mentions family in some form 399 times. Family is so important that the Bible lists the genealogy of Jesus in both the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke.

Family reunions are always interesting. When I was a child, my Daddy’s side of our family met  in south Alabama every year in July. It was held at a place with spring water feeding the pools. Watermelons were placed in nearby small holes formed by the cold springs. Just mentioning them makes my mouth water.

C...

In an Unholy Mess? Who You Gonna Call?

It had been going on for months, apparently. I was clueless and should have asked my number 3 son, the one who helps me with most of my computer tech issues. This one was a doozy!

Let me begin by saying, I should have taken notice when I saw my email list dwindling with each passing week. Frankly, I couldn’t figure out why. Most of my readers are like me and would call themselves Christian. Were they offended by something I said? Lord, forgive me if that is the case, I prayed.

Honestly, I don’t ...

A Brother Remembered

We’ve been in Alabama for a few days. We don’t mind returning to our home state, but the reason for our being here has been heartbreaking. Our dear brother, Randy Wolfe, husband of my Hubby’s elder sister Kay went home to Jesus this past Sunday after an extremely brief illness. To say this was a shock to everyone would be an understatement of the highest order.

Randy and Kay were married for 57 years. They have twin boys and those boys blessed them with 10 grandchildren. And counting the wives o...

Revive Us Again – Time For Revival

When our youngest was just shy of two years old, we were in a local department store one day. I was pouring through racks as I pushed him in his umbroller (that was in umbrella stroller which folded very neatly for travel and ease of use). Suddenly, he sang forth Lu-yah dine glo-ree. Lu-yah, ah-men! To the top of his lungs. The melody was perfect, and the words were apparently what he heard as I sang it to him each night as he drifted off to sleep.

He may not have understood revival, but he unde...

Downsizing = Unburdening

Downsizing equals unburdening ourselves from many things. At some point in our lives, we’ve probably all done this or we need to do this. As Hubby and I ponder life with most of our sons living within a few minutes or just a few hours rather than days away from us, we see no need for such a large home. They will come when it’s holiday time, stay with one another, or drive back to their homes at the end of the day.

Letting go of things is not easy.

I particularly have this problem with books. I l...

On Prayer

I don’t know about you, but I’ve prayed a lot lately. For many things. With four sons, there is always something about which to pray—a son who lost a wonderful job to AI. A son to be granted a most heartfelt plea. Add in our girls, the-daughter-of-our-hearts and our two granddaughters and their needs, and that is a lot. But then, our prayers extend to other family members and multiple friends.

The idea for this post came from the sermon our pastor, Dr. Justin Alexander, preached this past Sunday...

A Marriage Made in Heaven

Weddings happen every day. There’s no telling how many couples get married on any given day of the week, all over the world. When my husband and I got married a long time ago, most of the people I knew got married in their home church. My husband and I were married in my south Alabama hometown, in the church I had attended since we moved there when I was in the fourth grade.

Most wedding ceremonies/services I’ve attended have been about the same. Ours was beautiful, officiated by my Daddy’s twin...