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.
Article by: Sarah Koontz, Founder of Living by Design Ministries This time last year, I decided to start a yearly Bible reading plan. I honestly didn’t think I was capable of sticking with it. But I wanted so badly to read my Bible in a year. So I tossed my
A Guest Post by Chioma Oparadike Have you ever experienced a season full of such difficulty and discouragement, you struggled to remember the good times? Struggled to find God’s goodness in the midst of all your worries, heartache, and pain? When we are in that dark place, it’s easy to
Article by: Sarah Koontz, Founder of Living by Design Ministries Are you a Christian woman longing for more of God in your daily life, yet inexplicably stuck in a spiritual desert, struggling to find your way back to the Living Waters? I’m here to say, you are not alone! Sadly,
A Guest Post by Liz Petruzzi Jesus wept. –John 11:35 God of the Universe. Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. The Great I AM. These are just a few of the words used to describe God. Yet, even in all His glory, God didn’t exempt Himself from suffering.
The final chapters of Ephesians contain the Bible’s most comprehensive teaching on marriage and family followed by a strong warning to beware of the invisible battle. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness,
Because of underlying health issues, my body craves rest and often demands it. This used to frustrate me to no end. It made me feel weak, less-than, incapable, a burden to others. I would push through all of the signs of fatigue, striving to be the person I thought everyone
Healthy is a synergistic concept that requires body, soul, and spirit to accomplish. It is a filter that you use to make each and every decision in your life. It is something you work towards and rarely ever achieve, but your efforts are never in vain. Each healthy choice you
Most people treat spiritual growth like a big juicy apple when they should be treating it like an onion. Rather than working their way towards God’s design for their life one layer at a time, they take big bites and often lose interest after just a few mouthfuls. The purpose
A Guest Post by Jodi Fairclough Recently, I witnessed a friend experiencing a depth of pain that caused my heart to shatter in sympathy. Her struggle touched a place in me that remembers, all too well, how debilitating and life altering pain can be. Her pain was ugly, unfair, and
Faith-filled podcasts are warm and inviting like a steaming cup of Earl Grey tea on a brisk fall afternoon. A simple invitation to rest awhile in the company of new friends. I’d love to have my own podcast someday. But until that day comes, I’ll continue to find great joy
My Worthy of the Calling free online Bible study launches today and I am overwhelmed with gratitude for this glorious calling God has placed on my life and all He has done to make me worthy of it. As it is with any writing project, things have not gone as I
Important Announcement: We recently updated and re-released our Worthy of the Calling Study. Not only did we go back through and update the study material, but we also created a printable version, a going-deeper guide, and an audio version. We hope that these additional resources will help even more people
When I found out I was pregnant with my second child a short 6-months after my first was born, I made two promises to myself. Once this baby was born… I was going to get a really cute new haircut. I was going to start taking Zumba classes at a
A Guest Post by RebeccaLynn Dikeman Motherhood threw a curve ball that knocked me flat on my face. I sat in the dark room, sobbing and begging God for help. My first-born lay beside me, eager for his midnight feeding. As looked into his blue-grey eyes, I grieved as feelings
Article By: Sarah Koontz, Founder of Living by Design Ministries Exactly two days before the eagerly anticipated first day of school, my husband and I decided to homeschool our oldest daughter. She’s struggled with dyslexia the past five years and we just didn’t have a peace about sending her back to
A Guest Post by Karin Peters “That is not your circus and those are not your monkeys!” My mom’s favorite quote echoes in my mind when I feel suffocated by too many projects or the lack of checks on my to-do list. This is usually when I fall face first
When was the last time you thought about the Ten Commandments? I mean, really thought about them… God’s words, carved on stone by His own hand, a gift to His chosen people. I sometimes wonder what it was like to be one of the Israelites rescued from the house of
A Guest Post by Kate Hendrick When it rains, it pours. We’ve all heard the saying and most of us have experienced a few emotional and spiritual floods in our lifetime. A gentle rain quickly escalating to a full on deluge; gushing water sweeping us off our feet and
Article By: Sarah Koontz, Founder of Living by Design Ministries A 2002 study by the Southern Baptist Convention’s Family life Council found 88% of the children in evangelical homes leave church at the age of 18. Eighty-eight percent. Of those who leave, only 60 percent will ever return. Scary, right?!? This
A Guest Post by Samantha Carter.* I’m sitting on the dry grass in front of the coop. The green flecks of spring are beginning to grow though the dead fall grass still lingering. Green life, reaching for the nourishment of spring sun. Kristopher always loved watching the chickens for some
Article By: Sarah Koontz, Founder of Living by Design Ministries I’ve been waiting ten years for this. That’s 3,650 days. 87,600 hours. More than 5,000,000 minutes. Waiting. Dreaming. Counting down…. But it’s finally arrived. A deliciously memorable motherhood milestone….. After years and years of “you must be within arm’s length” and “high-alert, don’t-look-away,
“Mommy, this was the best day ever,” my 8-year old daughter announced in between bites of frozen custard. It was our very first day of summer break, and we were making the most of it. After an impromptu playdate at the park with two of my best friends and their
A Guest Post by Gleniece Lytle There are many things we do, as moms, to keep our homes running smoothly and our families fed, clean, and content. That is part of what gives us joy and purpose. But what mom doesn’t crave those quiet, uninterrupted moments? Those chocolate-melting-in-your-mouth-with-your-eyes-closed moments. Those
Article by: Sarah Koontz, Founder of Living by Design Ministries Do you remember what Glinda the Good said to Dorothy at the end of Wizard of Oz? Dorothy was begging Glinda to help her get back home and Glinda’s reply was, “You don’t need to be helped any longer. You’ve
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