Warren resident Linda Dingeldein is pictured here with her most recent publication called “Hope In The Waiting: Living With Expectancy and Trust in the In-Between.”

Linda Dingeldein has lived in Warren just under a decade and has come to enjoy the community as she forms close relationships and expresses herself authentically.

Wanting to be fully present to each person she encounters, Dingeldein is an artist of both paint and text.

The author and self-taught artist grew up in upstate New York as part of a large family. Her father was a professor of industrial arts and a visionary. Saying that, from an early age of 10, she wanted to be a writer and credits her father with her passion for writing and entrepreneurship.

While studying journalism at Moody Bible Institute, she met her husband, Joel Dingeldein, a LeTourneau engineering student who grew up in Warren. In addition to her passion for writing, Dingeldein felt a strong calling to missions, which led her to attend Bethany Mission Training School for two years before marrying Joel. The Dingeldeins, both deeply committed to becoming missionaries, left Joel’s successful engineering career to follow their calling and moved their six-month-old daughter to Columbia, South Carolina, where Joel attended seminary at Columbia International University.

After Joel’s seminary graduation and the adoption of their son, they remained in Columbia, South Carolina, for 10 years, ministering in a local church and with the nonprofit mission organization Christ for India. They deepened their missionary passion by joining World Team, a church-planting mission organization, and relocating to Mississauga, Canada. During this time, she served as a women’s speaker and authored several magazine articles. After five years, Dingeldein and family would be asked to move back to the United States to help with a mission merger. Moving again was difficult, but was able to find her voice through writing pieces of interest for a newspaper in Bucks County, Pa.

Although eager to serve overseas, this passion would not be realized until much later in life. With their children now grown, the Dingeldeins were unexpectedly asked to move to the Philippines. Although it took her a year to say yes to this move, she expressed her gratitude for this life-changing experience of meeting such kind and generous people. While there, Dingeldein was asked to lead a women’s retreat for Chinese women living in Hong Kong. This retreat inspired the writing of a short prayer book, which would later be rewritten into a full book called “Praying Life in the Word: A Woman’s Guide to Praying Scripture.” Over the years, Dingeldein benefited from Stormie O’Martian’s authored work on praying scripture, which would drive her personal passion and writing. Dingeldein said, “The passion for it comes from knowing that the Word of God is truth, and when I don’t know what to pray because life is so hard, instead of not praying, I can read the Word of God as my prayer. I have hope because it’s God’s will, and I am hiding it in my heart. It’s prayer–that is based on scripture.”

“Praying Life in The Word” was published in 2022.

Becoming an artist in watercolor was not something Dingeldein grew up having skill or interest in until she had the opportunity to write a children’s book. She had long desired to write a book, which would come when a dying friend’s heart was heavy, for her grandchildren to know where she would be after death, prompting Dingeldein to write her first children’s book, titled “Bella Bunny’s Big Question: Grammy, Is Heaven For Real?” Trying hard to get what was in her head and heart onto paper, when it came to the illustrations, Dingeldein taught herself to draw and paint with watercolor. Several years later, the book was complete. Through the journey of completing and publishing her book, Dingeldein said that God taught her about persistence, as she accomplished her main goal of helping her friend’s children. This has led to a deeper vision of the need for more help for children going through deep sorrow, pain, and grief. Dingeldein expressed her strong interest in sharing her book with local organizations to help children better understand grief, sorrow, and loss.

In 2019, the Dingeldeins visited Warren after hearing about a need at one of their supporting churches that was without a pastor. Shortly after, Dingeldein’s husband was asked to serve as pastor at the Calvary Baptist Church in Warren. Sad to leave the Philippines after eight years, yet at peace with the move to Warren, the two have lived in Warren ever since.

Although she described herself as an introvert, she shared that God opened a door for her to speak. Saying that even though it was scary, she enjoyed traveling and speaking at Christian women’s clubs. A few months ago, she was asked to speak on a podcast after co-authoring a collaborative work with nine other women. It is her most recent publication called “Hope In The Waiting: Living With Expectancy and Trust in the In-Between.” Dingeldein commented, “Waiting is really hard. Everybody understands that, whether it’s a kid waiting for their birthday to come or adults waiting. We don’t like waiting because we often don’t know what the outcome is on the other side.”

The chapter that she wrote is called “In Times Of Uncertainty: Living Fully Present In The Wait.” Her life has brought her through many waiting rooms. Saying that God has been faithful to give her hope through trials such as a cancer diagnosis (three years in remission), Dingeldein shared the journey online as she endured all that came with it. When someone questioned if she really believed what she was writing on her blog and social media posts, she answered, “I do. Every word.” Saying that she wouldn’t write what she doesn’t believe and that it is what God gives her to offer words of hope to others. In her chapter, she shares about the waiting rooms in her life. “In times of uncertainty, knowing that God is present, that He is enough, He sees me, and He knows me,” added Dingeldein.

Just prior to the cancer diagnosis, in the parking garage of the Cleveland Clinic, she told her husband that they needed to make a choice now, not after adversity comes, but prior to it. Committing the whole situation to God, trusting Him and relying on Him, they were determined that they would have faith through the journey. When she found out that she had non-Hodgkin’s B-cell lymphoma, she realized at that moment that her life was getting turned upside down, and that she was entering a different kind of waiting room. Most people want to escape the diagnosis and often get angry, especially during the painful and sleepless nights. Dingeldein pointed out, “Following God does not mean there is no pain, but He is our hope, He’s present and walking with us.”

Unable to attend church for quite some time while battling cancer, Dingeldein could not compromise her health, which left her feeling very lonely. She found it difficult to read her Bible, so her own book, “Praying Life in The Word,” kept her hope alive, and she said, “I thought to myself: ‘God, did I write this for myself?’ My lifeline is being able to pray God’s Word and know it’s God’s truth and God’s will. He’s going to penetrate it into my heart.” She got through this difficult time by using the writing she had done, which she felt was a gift God gave back to her.

Dingeldein is convinced that everyone encounters waiting rooms filled with adversity, ambiguity, and tough decisions. Life is full of unexpected challenges, and finding purpose, even when it’s dark and hope seems absent, God is present. In those moments, He becomes our source of hope during difficult times. While speaking about suffering, she said, “If we don’t have God, we do not have hope. There’s no hope without God, His Word, and the promises we can rehearse and remember during hard times. For the joy set before me, as the Beloved of God, I am going to endure the pain because I know that God never wastes our pain.”

As Digeldein referred to her contribution of Hope in the Waiting, she stated that, “Living fully present is an accepting response to where God has placed us in this immediate moment. It means that we cling to God in this time of adversity instead of wishing it away, knowing that God is trustworthy and in complete control. We realize that our situation does not feel good right now, but we understand all His works are for our good.” Raw and real, Dingeldein firmly believes that there can be good that comes out of bad.

Expressing to the world with words of hope, especially in times of waiting, Dingeldein shared, “God put something in my lap that I could give to encourage others.” Her watercolor art has become more than illustrations for her books; she now uses it for greeting cards as well. She stated that we are born to create. “If you feel there’s a lull in life, you’re probably not creating. You probably need to pour out what you’re feeling into being creative.”

Linda, wife of Pastor Joel Dingeldein of Calvary Baptist Church in Warren, has a heart which has been shaped by thirty plus years of missionary work. She is passionate about authenticity and living openly from one’s God-given uniqueness–being your true self as God made you–and about how to do this during challenging times. Linda often shares her experiences and the struggles she faced, offering hope through her writing and artwork. When she is not creating, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, who affectionately call her Crème.

Dingeldein also has written about peace and love for another Hope Books collaborative project with over 70 authors. This publication, “The Advent Collection: Hope, Peace, Joy, Love,” was released in November 2025.

Follow Linda Jane Dingeldein on Facebook or visit lindajanedingeldein.com