The Living by Design Blog
The Bible is packed with the spiritual nourishment your soul craves. Our aim is to provide resources to help you break it down into bite-sized pieces that are easy to digest. Articles on the Living by Design Blog are packed with heart-focused content, practical solutions for real life, and Bible-based training. Since launching this blog in 2014, we’ve featured more than 100 guest contributors. If you’d like to submit an article for consideration, please review our submission guidelines.
By Anna Gibson Maybe she’s mad at me. The thought sneaks in, unbidden, at two in the morning. I try to shrug it off, roll over, and will myself back to sleep. But I can’t. Was it something I said to my sister? Is she offended? I gnaw on these
By Jana Carlson “I’m afraid we’re not going to survive this,” I confided to my friend. Our family was in the midst of a tsunami of adversity, and I was desperate for something to change. My body felt on the verge of collapse after enduring months of unrelenting anxiety. As
By Dr. Billy Ready, Jr. A lady in a church where I once served as pastor told me she was “living at peace” with her sister-in-law by never being in the same room with her. At Christmas, she volunteered at homeless shelters and church. But when it was time for
By Kara O’Byrne The cold hardwood floor under my feet reflected the frigid feeling in my heart. The silent house paired well with the tears slipping unchecked down my cheeks. Each new dawn brought another battle in attempts to rise from the ashes of my broken marriage. With solutions far
By Amy Simon I typically look forward to my writing routine—sitting at my kitchen table, equipped with fresh coffee, a snack, and my open laptop. This use of my gifts should be enjoyable, but today it feels stressful and frustrating. Have you ever experienced something that should bring you joy,
By Beth Ferguson Some seasons feel like rebuilding walls, one heavy stone at a time. The work doesn’t stop. The days are long. Joy feels far away. That’s precisely where God’s people were in Nehemiah 8. They had rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem after years of ruin. The city finally
By Sally Johnson It was one of the most horrific times in my life. I’d been blindsided by the hidden, unacceptable, and hurtful decisions of my husband, and, consequently, my life toppled off its axis. Life as I knew it crumbled before my eyes. I was devastated. Not knowing what
By Jessica Jolley I lay in a crumpled heap, tears streaming down my face onto my husband’s lap. The foundation of all I believed was crumbling. I was still learning the ropes of a new culture from our move to East Africa alongside dealing with postpartum anxiety. I was also
By Michelle Shook If someone asked you to summarize the entire Bible in one word, what would you choose? There was a time when I would have said “long” or “confusing.” Then one day, I decided to do something crazy; I read the whole thing cover to cover in six
By Rachel Greening He couldn’t love me well. His attempts left me emotionally bruised and bleeding more times than I could count. He said he loved me—and he thought he did—but whether he lacked the skill or the understanding, I was always left shattered and feeling unmistakably unloved. After decades,
By Bethany Broderick The clock read 7:30 a.m., and I was already behind. I raced around my house—re-washing a load of sour towels, worrying about the e-mails pinging my inbox, and urging my kids to hurry up because we were late. I glanced at my unopened Bible on my nightstand,
By: Sarah Koontz Several years ago, I started writing Bible studies because I noticed something I couldn’t ignore. So many women wanted to read Scripture, but they weren’t always sure where to begin or how to understand what they were reading. They loved God’s Word, but it often felt intimidating
By Patricia Russell He asked for a time to meet and have a conversation, but for all sorts of reasons, the response was always, “I don’t have time.” After weeks and months of the same response, he stopped asking. The lack of communication spilled over into other areas. The relationship
By Sarah McClelland Sunlight pours through the cracks in the curtain, steeping my room in a warm but unwelcome glow. I squint at my clock. Morning, already? My head sinks back onto the pillow, and I quietly hope time rolls back so I can get a few more hours of
By Jana Carlson What’s your “if only”? What change are you convinced will finally bring you peace? Maybe it’s a job, a diagnosis, a relationship, or some sort of breakthrough. If only we had more financial stability.If only parenting were easier.If only my health improved.If only our marriage were better.If
By Jenny Marcelene Standing in the toy and picture book-strewn dining room, I stared out our third-floor apartment window. The sun cast a shadow across the rocky, empty lot across the alley. Unsettledness crept across my heart. How do I teach my preschooler and toddler to follow Jesus? Discipleship felt
By Jen Ludwig Advent (from the Latin word adventus) means “coming” or “arrival” and is traditionally a time of preparation. During these weeks before December 25th, we are getting ready for the arrival of our Savior. We wait expectantly for the coming of the King through the eyes of the
By Rachel Greening It was a practice I said I would never employ as I caressed my bulging belly, feeling my first baby’s tiny limbs flutter inside me. But when in the wilds of raising a toddler, it came out by default. “I’m counting to three!” I tell my 20-month-old
Are you looking for a simple way to invite Christ into your Christmas? We have created a FREE Advent Reading Plan that takes just 15-minutes per day, 5-days per week to complete. As you walk through this 4-week plan, you will be invited to slow down, remember, anticipate, and rejoice
By Susan Cort Johnson Do you frequently use the word “blessed”? I consider myself blessed when I find a parking place in a crowded lot, have a warm fire on a cold, winter night, or wake up to the smell of coffee in the morning. We can list a multitude
By Cheryl Esper Balcom I flipped another page of my Bible, the thin paper crinkling. I frowned in concentration. I thought this would be simple. Surely, I could find examples of people giving thanks in the Bible. To my surprise, I wasn’t finding many. Locating ‘Thank You’ When we read
By Colleen C. Howard Some days, my mind feels like a whirlwind, life unravels around me, and clarity’s nowhere in sight. I’m in motion, but going nowhere. Consumed by the chaos and heat of my circumstances. In these moments, I struggle to connect with God. But prayer can extinguish the
Women around the world are craving God’s Word and we are intent on creating free resources and tools to satisfy your spiritual appetite. Most of our readers would agree that we could all benefit from carving out a bit more time and space for Jesus Christ in our hearts and
By Katherine Grote My four amazing children are my sun, moon, heart, and every other sappy thing people say. The oldest is 20-I-know-everything-about-life-can-you-put-some-money-in-my-account years old, two are teenagers, and the youngest is 11 going on 35. My kids are also the cause of the tic under my left eye and
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