Christian walk
When Loving Jesus Becomes About More Than What He Does for Us
Are we loving Jesus for what He does for us or for who He is? 22 years ago, I experienced one of the most devastating events in my life: the death of my unborn baby. This child would have been my firstborn. Up until that time I loved and feared God in an expectant manner.…
When Did It Become About Me? (When Self Gets in the Way)
How easy it is for my good intentions to turn to self-promotion or self-preservation! Satan has a way of turning our focus from where it should be to where he wants it, usually on ourselves. If he can keep us intent on seeking our own pleasure, we won’t fulfill God’s plan for us. The enemy is…
Spend Your Time Well (lessons learned at the #livefree retreat)
I went to collect treasure this past weekend. Treasure of the richest kind: time and space to refresh and renew, shared experiences and resulting relationships, soul connections and heart-felt hugs, godly wisdom and deep spiritual insights. These are jewels often overlooked in our busy lives but found in abundance during this time in the presence of God and with…
When All You Seem to Hear from God Is No (the message of the cross)
Is God’s answer no or really yes? “Daddy, can I ask you even though you’ll say no?” I overheard a little girl ask her father this recently, and I had to chuckle. She asked for a cell phone; he said no. Apparently she trusted his decision and moved on without complaint. I’ve not always been so…
How To Wait Well When You Don’t Like What You’re Expecting
Sometimes we struggle to wait because the excitement of what awaits consumes our thoughts. But sometimes we agonize during the wait because we dread what’s expected. That’s when it’s difficult to wait well. Recently my youngest son expressed the dread of what he expected to be a hard week. I sympathized and then shared what I’ve learned…
What You Need to Know About Expectations in Order to Live Joyfully
Expectations can be a thief, robbing us of the joy of the moment. I expected to be working in the natural biology field until old age set in. I expected to have a pretty easy life: filled with hard work, yes, but faced only with those setbacks hard work could fix. I expected to have…
When You Want To Dive Deep but Feel Stuck in the Shallows
Sometimes we’re on the verge of diving deep and we don’t even know it. Five and a half years ago I began this blog. Nothing fancy, it started as a place to offer encouragement to those who found themselves stuck in the mess of life. A modest beginning, with a couple friends and few family…
3 Reasons to Endure (even when you don’t like the outcome)
We can do our very best and still experience unwanted outcomes. Life just rolls that way. Try as we might, our best efforts often fall short. No matter how hard we try to salvage relationships in our lives, some will end. No matter what we do to remain healthy, illness can (and will) strike. No matter how…
This is So Hard, but Necessary to Live Free!
This, my friends, is so hard! In fact in our culture, choosing to store up heavenly treasures instead of earthly is often met with ridicule. But, oh, is it freeing! I’m talking about detaching ourselves from “stuff.” I’m talking about leaving the comparison game for the living-free one. I’m talking about living an uplifting, impactful, in-the-moment, free kind of…
How Many Times Have I Missed Blessing Another?
My friend had been on my mind for quite some time. It had been weeks since she’d been moved to her new room in the memory-care wing and I had yet to see it. But that morning? That morning I had so many errands to run and lots of editing when I got home! My visit will…
Hello, I'm Julie, an imperfect wife and mother of four. Life in this broken world is not always easy. Yet, joy can be found in each day through the grace and mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I find it's easy for our day's blessings to get lost in its happenings. But God's "mercies never end" (Lamentations 3:22) and His "grace is sufficient" (2 Corinthians 12:9).
May the posts and pages on this site offer you a measure of peace and encouragement.
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