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.
I’ve been studying Jesus’ final teaching and prayer in John 14-17 for the past several months. I knew I wanted to offer a FREE gospel-oriented Bible study here at Living by Design, but I didn’t realize how profoundly my life would be impacted by studying this passage of Scripture. I
This Fundraiser has now ended. Thank you to all who participated. We exceeded our T-Shirt Fundraiser goal of $3000! This will help us deliver more than 12,000 free Bible study e-mails to inboxes around the world. Thank you so much for your kind consideration and support. We can’t do what
A Guest Blog by Bethany McIlrath Silly as it may seem, I didn’t see a connection between reading the Bible and praying for a long time. Then one day in my regular Bible reading, I was desperate to understand what a challenging passage was saying. Desperation has a way of
Is your family busy doing life together but not really connecting? Have the values, expectations, and beliefs you had about a thriving family culture gotten lost in the shuffle of modern-day life? If your family is ready to bridge the gap between the life you are living and the life
A Guest Blog by Rachel Lee There I sat, in a cold, sterile office seated across from two prominent figures from my church. My husband sat next to me, his hand on my knee, offering me the only comfort he possibly could—his gentle touch. Saying with his actions, “I know. I
**This Matching Fund Drive Has Ended** A spark is nothing on its own; a flame cannot grow in isolation. It needs to be nurtured and protected until it grows strong enough to fuel itself. Today I’m going to share a spark with you—a vision I hope will ignite a fire within
The crying started before I was fully dressed and before I was able to have my first cup of coffee. I sigh, “Why Lord, must they wake up so early every single day?“. From the moment my feet hit the floor, demands from my two children begin. My hungry 5-year-old
I often tell my sweet, overburdened girlfriends, “You can have it all, dear. Just not all at once.” They inevitably look at me and reply, “But it seems that you DO have it all. So, what am I missing here?” Ok, wait. That was a lie. They never say that.
A Guest Blog by Sue Donaldson I sat in chapel and wondered, “Maybe it’s not true.” I lay in bed and thought, “What if they are wrong?” I walked to class, lost in thought, “Have I lost my faith?” I was enrolled in a Christian college, on my way to becoming
Article by: Sarah Koontz, Founder of Living by Design Ministries My dad never drinks a whole cup of anything. A mug with an inch of cold coffee at the bottom is a tell-tale sign that he’s been in my house. Personally, I find the habit a bit offensive. Coffee is
Have you ever grown a zucchini plant? Or had a neighbor who grew a zucchini plant? If so, then you know that zucchini plants are productive little buggers, and gardeners are often searching for ways to dole out the abundance. Well, I planted NINE zucchini plants in my garden a
A Guest blog by Emily Sue Allen By the end of the day, I’m entirely at the end of myself. I’m ready for chocolate and looking for a way to numb my mind from the many worries whizzing through it. My large brood of kids are finally in bed, and
Article By: Sarah Koontz, Founder of Living by Design Ministries Hey, mom and dad, I’ve got a question for you. Your son or daughter just turned sixteen and is begging to take your new car out for a spin. They haven’t taken Driver’s Ed. They don’t have a license. But they
Article By: Sarah Koontz, Founder of Living by Design Ministries It’s no secret, I love to read. The written word is my respite, my strength, my passion. Sometimes I analyze the sentences, other times I question the author’s logic or process, but most often I simply drink it all in. I’ve
Article By: Sarah Koontz, Founder of Living by Design Ministries One of the most frequent questions we receive from our female readers is, “Are there any resources you can recommend to help my ‘husband, son, brother, or friend’ grow their faith?” I’m definitely NOT an expert in men’s ministry, so I’ve
A Guest Post by Sarah Gerringer I live in the woods, and the wild birds flock to my feeders. During the day I hear the gentle peck, peck, peck of their little beaks snapping up sunflower seeds. Slow and quiet, I sneak up to the window to watch them feeding
I’ve been performing for the acceptance and approval of others as long as I can remember. As a child, I spent countless hours at the barn with my mom, trying to become a proficient horsewoman just like her. I didn’t love horses the same way she did, but I loved
Article By: Sarah Koontz, Founder of Living by Design Ministries In the past week, I’ve had a good long cry, written several apology letters, and spent countless hours on the phone trying to safely navigate the messy side of ministry life. I’m tired. I’m hurt. I’m sorry. When I made the
A Guest Post by Natalia Drumm An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. Proverbs 31:10-11 ESV Excellence. It’s a word that we use frequently, but very few people
A Guest Post by Michele Morin The insistent tone of my cell phone’s timer carried through floorboards to our basement schoolroom – another call to prayer unanswered. I sighed, turned the page, and continued with my sixth-grader in a lesson on fractions. I had been reading about the historical practice
Wisdom Whispers will take you on a 31-day journey through the life and writings of King Solomon and will teach you how to listen for the whispers of wisdom in your life. King Solomon began his reign with wisdom and ended it with folly. We will explore what went wrong
One of our very favorite Bible verses to pray over our Living by Design community is Ephesians 1:17, ” I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.” The Holy Spirit is our
A Guest Post by Stacy Pardoe The white winds of winter pounded the westward side of our house as I stared into the monotone grays and ivories of the season. In five short months, our little family of four had endured more loss than the past decade; it felt like
Article by: Sarah Koontz, Founder of Living by Design Ministries Have you ever been stuck in the mud? I’ll never forget the day my second grade class took a field trip across the highway to April’s house. April’s dad had been the pastor of the little Baptist church that housed
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