Suffering
Shattered Dreams: How to Find Joy and Contentment There
Successfully navigating through our shattered dreams with contentment and joy means trusting the Lord and looking for His goodness in our current reality. It means we mine the gems we can’t readily see.
Trust God’s Refining Grace (What We Need; Maybe Not What We Want)
God provides what we need, not necessarily what we want, and that’s a good thing. Trust Him to work for your good in and through the pain. Trust His refining grace. God’s Refining Grace If you would have asked me what I needed 30 years ago as a young wife, my answer would have been…
Your Sacred Journey: Through the Struggle Comes Growth
Looking back I see a bit clearer why the Lord didn’t grant my wish for the life I desired. He offered something more to me. He’s asking me to walk a sacred journey, one set apart, dedicated to His service, not my own. Sacred Journey Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary offers this definition of sacred: sacred. 1a :…
Why You Must Fight To See Goodness in the Midst of Your Suffering
Hard stuff can rip us apart if we let it, if we don’t see God’s goodness, but suffering doesn’t have to be joyless. In Press Into the Lord Now and Know a Confidence Not Even Death Can Shake, I wrote of the incredible pain I experienced in the death of my unborn children. In that pain, I…
Be Comforted in Your Pain (you are never alone)
“Don’t let them hurt me!” My young son’s words broke my heart. Although his immunizations were necessary, it wasn’t easy to listen to his cries. Through my nearly 23 years of parenting, I’ve found myself in the doctor’s office countless times with my children. Sometimes the visits have been pleasant, other times not so much.…
Come Lord Jesus, Come! Our Advent Hope #AdventReflections
Recently, I’ve been reminded anew how fragile and precious life is and how tragic this world can be. I’m struggling to process the sad reality of young men who see no hope and end it all—most recently a friend of my oldest; their parents, left trying to make sense of the senseless; moms and dads I love…
Love: The One Thing That Will Get You Through the Fiercest Storm
Sometimes we simply need to know we’re loved. Love is that one thing that can carry us through the fiercest storm. There he lay. Propped on his side, that little plastic penguin seemed to mock the weight of my sadness. Less than an hour earlier my usually happy daughter had thrown this favorite little toy in anger (or was…
How To Find Beauty in Your Broken World
Brokenness just keeps coming, doesn’t it? Listen to the news. Walk into a school classroom and observe the kids. Get out of bed for another day. Brokenness is present in the way we speak, how we act, and what we think. It’s seen in technology failures, bombings, and the hurling of insults, and the prevalence of…
Three Things to Consider When Suffering Makes an Appearance
As believers who love the Lord and long to share in His resurrection, we know we must share in His suffering as well. Most of us, though, want to choose the form our suffering will take. We plan, scheme, beg and bargain to avoid the worst of the suffering. A little bit of hardship is okay, even expected. A brief financial struggle.…
When the Burden You’re Asked to Carry Is Far Too Heavy
Sometimes we’re tasked with carrying a burden too heavy to lift. It’s in those impossible assignments where we discover we’re not alone. Impossible Burden When God asked me to take on the job of parenting a child with special needs, I felt inadequate for the task at hand. My awareness of that inadequacy has increased as my daughter has…
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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