About Denise Scott

My Story

I am a writer and a poet from the Midwest and the mother of two young adults who were adopted as toddlers from Belarus and Romania. Although content to observe hummingbirds flitting at my feeder, I am occasionally nudged toward adventures such as skydiving, axe throwing, or zip lining.

Daily life comes with its ups and downs, tugs and pulls. Like you, I’ve experienced many struggles, but I want to share one with you. At the convergence of three circumstances—a ministry rejection, the challenge of parenting teens, and my husband’s terminal cancer—came heartache and a determination to remain in God’s Word.

I began to use the concordance in the back of my Bible to look up the verses containing every sad word I could think of. I felt God patiently sat with me, not rushing me, until I was finished with the sad words. That led to a very long conversation with God. Over a three- to four-year period, I explored over 250 words in the Bible. Like many of you, I am learning the practice of continuing with God.

Teaching has been an integral part of my life, first as a high school teacher and then in an assortment of volunteer teaching opportunities with preschoolers, GED students, English as Second Language students, and food pantry clients.

I have benefited from ten years of rigorous study with Bible Study Fellowship International and from years of hearing sermons, reading Christian authors, and participating in and leading Bible studies and small groups. (I suppose God would measure in terms of spiritual growth, not in years of knowledge.) I have shared my testimony on many occasions and have served as a Stephen Minister, coming alongside people in crisis.

Behind the Scenes

At the age of twelve or thirteen, I accepted Jesus as my Savior. I tried, unsuccessfully, in my own strength not to sin. But, between ages thirteen and thirty-five my sins piled up. I excluded God from my activities and decisions, resulting in poor and painful choices. All my wrongdoing created a huge barrier between God and me.

I wish someone would have told me that God knew I could not be sin free and that He didn’t expect perfection. That without God’s help, it is impossible to live a life that pleases him. That He’s the God of second chances. That if I stray, I can return to Him.

The challenges of first-time parenting and invitations to attend church and Bible study drew me back to God. In the past when I read the Bible, I struggled to connect events and verses. To me, the Bible was a collection of childhood stories—Jonah and the Big Fish, David and the Giant Goliath, Noah and the Ark.

But now, as a result of Bible study, I began to understand adult lessons. God’s Word became exciting. Did you know the Bible talks about romance and love, war, spies, shipwrecks, friendship, dysfunctional families, heartache, mother-in-laws, and infertility?

As little children, we are told that Jesus loves us and readily believe it. But somehow when we become adults, we begin to doubt God’s love. As Max Lucado says, “God loves you. Personally. Powerfully. Passionately. Others have promised and failed. But God has promised and succeeded.”