Daily Living
When the Unexpected Is Breaking You
God often uses the unexpected and the unwanted to bring about the best in our lives. But it requires us to let go first. Let go of our expectations. Let go of our perceptions. Let go of our perceived control. And then to open our hearts to receive the fullness of what He has for us.…
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…
Be a Faithful Witness to Your Script: “And It Was Beautiful” (a review)
When I stumbled on Kara Tippett’s blog several years ago, I couldn’t get enough. Drawn in by the vulnerable yet hope-filled updates of her battle with terminal cancer, I drank deep of the wisdom God imparted to her through her suffering. I wrote a review of her first book written in the midst of her…
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 the Scene Unfolding in Your Life Story Isn’t the One You Would Script
Our life story will have hardship and conflict, and although it’s hard to accept, it really is for our best. We all enjoy a good story. One in which there’s a main character we can identify with, a plot that captures our attention, and an ending that leaves us smiling. (Okay, well that is 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…
5-Step Plan for Taking Back Your Rotten Day
It’s alarming how fast my attitude can turn south. With the right mix of conditions, it does a U-turn in about 1.2 seconds — often with little-to-no warning. I became keenly aware of this phenomenon yesterday with the second of our boys returning to college after Christmas break. Runaway Emotions I mostly felt okay: a bit sad…
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…
Are You Missing the Grace Because It Is Masked by the Hard?
I struggle with certain people, but those relationships are actually good for me. I would rather certain circumstances not happen, but in the end, they are exactly what I need. It’s what I call “hard grace.” Those things we’d rather not do or walk through, but must. Those people we have trouble being around, but need to.…
When You Don’t Have It All Together, You’re Still Alright
“We all, with unveiled faces, are looking as in a mirror at the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18 How frustrating! Just when I think I have it altogether, I blow it again. One minute,…
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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