Behind the Scenes

The comment stung like a paper cut—small but surprisingly painful. "Now, we just have to get Dana out there doing something," my coworker had quipped, presumably in jest. Though meant to be humorous, the words settled heavily in my spirit, and I found myself mentally cataloging my daily responsibilities.

From my home office, I design promotional materials, organize events, prepare music and Bible studies, create floral arrangements, and handle correspondence for our ministry. Yet because most of this work happens behind the scenes rather than in the public eye, it's easy for others to overlook these contributions.

As I nursed my wounded pride, the Lord gently reminded me that I often treat Him the same way.

Dana Rongione 20/06/2024 Dana Rongione 20/06/2024

Helpless But Hopeful

At the time of this writing, it is three days before our biggest community event of the year. I’ve been planning and preparing for weeks, hoping to iron out every wrinkle so the day will run smoothly and successfully. But you know what the Bible says about man's plans, right?

About a week and a half ago, my back decided to throw one of its fits. This wasn't its everyday pinch, sting, and ache. This was lying flat in the bed for an entire week! Yup, a whole week where I couldn't work on the mountain of things that needed to be done. Oh, how helpless and frustrated I felt.

After a visit with my osteopath, I finally started feeling some relief and could start pecking away at a chore here and there as long as I took long rest and stretch breaks in between.

20/12/2022 20/12/2022

Sometimes We Need the Rain (Repost)

We had a pretty decent winter storm come through last weekend. It started off as a wintry mix, then turned to snow, and then back to a wintry mix. Needless to say, it was quite treacherous outside.

By Sunday afternoon, most of the snow and ice had melted off the roads, but our side yard was still a big sheet of white ice. It was fun slip-sliding my way to the truck so we could go to church Sunday evening. (I looked like Bambi on ice, only in a skirt and boots.) On Monday, the sun came out, and it was a beautiful day with highs in the mid-50s. Still, the snow and ice on the grass in the sideyard didn't melt. By Monday night, we could still skate across the yard.

Dana Rongione 30/11/2022 Dana Rongione 30/11/2022

I’ll Make It Work

A few days ago, I was posting an update to our ministry website, and the process involved embedding a video. This is something I’ve done a hundred times or more on this particular website platform, but for some reason, it was giving me grief. I tried refreshing the page. No joy. I thought maybe a complete computer reboot would fix the issue, but it didn’t. I even attempted the process on my laptop, but nothing I did seemed to help.

Finally, frustrated over all the time I had spent on a task that should have taken less than a minute, I employed a workaround and embedded the video directly by using up some of the limited storage space on my website.

17/03/2014 17/03/2014

Not What I Asked For

18/02/2014 18/02/2014

Sometimes We Need the Rain

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