Candidly Christian

Real Women. Real Life. Real Faith.

Valerie Riese

About Valerie Riese

Valerie is a wife, mother, blogger, and breast cancer survivor. After suffering years of debilitating anxiety, she learned that victory over anxiety comes only through surrender to Jesus. Now Valerie writes to point women to Jesus as co-director of Candidly Christian, and as a freelance devotional writer, proofreader, and editor. You can learn more about Valerie at https://www.valerieriese.com

Confessions of a Christian With Anger Issues

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I am a Christian with a temper.

Yes, it’s possible to love Jesus and still have anger issues. I’d like to share my journey with anger for other hot-headed Christians hiding out there. With God’s help, I’m learning to apply His anger management plan, make better choices, and live in peace. I’m here to tell you that you can, too.

From Mouse to Monster

I wasn’t always an angry person. In fact, I was a mouse. I was pushed around by my younger siblings at home and spent way too many lunch hours hiding in the girl’s restroom at school. Fighting was naughty and I was a good girl, so I silently fled instead.

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Candid Moment for When You Feel Like A Failure

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We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 

Romans 5:34- NLT

I eagerly signed up for the writing challenge and committed to write a devotion every day. I announced to the group what a perfect opportunity this is to make progress on my book. 

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When Trouble Comes…

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Cast your burden on the Lord, [release it] and he will sustain and uphold you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken (slip, fall, or fail). 

Psalm 55:22 AMP

A close friend once asked me how I can have peace over a hard situation because we share similar circumstances. 

“I pray it away,” I told her, and then realized how trite that sounds to someone who is hurting. 

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Life is Hard, But God is Still Good

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“Both our van and our stove broke down this weekend, but God is still good.
My head hurts, but God is still good.
I spent the day in the emergency room, but God is still good.
I can’t breathe, but God is still good.“

As I write this on Sunday, Heather Hart has been in the hospital with covid for eighteen days. It’s been a rough time, full of joyful ups and terrifying downs, especially for Heather, but also for everyone who knows and loves her.

We thought she was getting better; we thought she’d be home in a few days, but Saturday night, the doctors said she has bacterial pneumonia. Breathing continues to be increasingly difficult and painful.

We don’t know what lies ahead, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned from Heather since I found Candidly Christian in 2017 it’s this:

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One Thing – A Remedy for Overwhelm: A Candid Moment

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“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Luke 4:18 ESV


Do you feel like you’re in a constant state of overwhelm with all the things you think you should do? They say that just because it’s a good idea, doesn’t mean it’s a God idea, but how do you know what to focus on and when to let go?

I’ve been chasing disappearing shiny objects for years and getting nothing but a headache. But that’s changing since I read “The One Thing” by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan. In chapter two, they discussed the domino effect of focusing on one thing at a time, the one thing that will make everything else on your to-do list unnecessary. If you focus on that one thing, then everything else you need or desire most will fall into place, just like dominoes.

Jesus’ One Thing

As I prayed over this, I remembered a mind map study I did on Luke 4:18-19 where Jesus announced that He is the long-awaited Savior – you know – right before the village tried to throw Him off a cliff.

As I studied Jesus’ own ministry mission statement, I learned that of all the reasons Jesus came to earth, the primary reason was to free us from the bondages of sin. His “one thing,” pointed to the cross. Everything else He accomplished was eternal, divine dominoes.

I’ve often written that Jesus is all things and can do all things, and this is true. But it all started with one thing: the cross.

Jesus is all things and can do all things, but it all started with one thing: the cross. Click To Tweet

Are you working on so many things that you’re finishing nothing? The Bible says that we were created for a purpose, not many purposes, but a purpose. I invite you to ask Jesus what your one thing is and what you should do first.

Jesus, thank you for your focus in fulfilling your purpose, to save me from my own sin. Please show me what my purpose is, how I may best serve the Father like You did. Please help me to focus and to follow You one step at a time. Amen.

Brokenness, Grace & Truth

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I lost a piece of myself when my brain broke in 2014. 

There I said it. And for the first time I can say it without shame. Without judgement. It’s not a curse, it’s just a fact of living with brain injury. 

I’m not the same woman my husband married. I’m not the same person who gave birth to my daughter. I’m not the woman I’d always imagined I’d be. 

And for the first time in 7 years, I’m okay with that.

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Grace & Truth To Cope With Daily Stress

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It seems that in America today; we talk about our stress level like a badge of honor, and we salute those who manage intense stress with apparent grace as battle-tested heroes. 

In fact, I’d be willing to bet that over 3/4 of you reading this right now are living in a constant state of elevated stress. I say this knowing that most Grace & Truth readers are Christian authors and speakers, all working to spread the Gospel. 

But here’s the thing about battle: it always leads to injury or death. 

So why do we live this way, even as we serve Jesus?

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Sharing God’s Comfort, Grace & Truth

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Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV

May is mental health month, so over the past few weeks I’ve seen a lot of athletes talking about their mental health struggles as my husband watches boxing or mixed martial arts. Men who keep punching even when blood drips from their eyes are in tears, explaining why their life’s toughest battles are fought not in the ring, but in their mind. 

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