I sat in the darkened ultrasound room, three stories up in a 15-story office building in downtown Denver, waiting to see yet another maternal fetal medicine doctor. I was 37 weeks pregnant, and was feeling pretty confident after the growth scan ultrasound. Of course, the stenographers aren’t allowed to tell you much, but after so…
Category: Trusting God
A God-Entranced World
I shift my car into fourth gear, then third, then second, then first, following the glaring brake lights of the car in front of me. Traffic in the middle of the day … it’s becoming normal in Denver. What I didn’t realize was that I’d be parked for an hour with the highway completely shut…
The Lord’s Hand in the Details
It’s been a while since I’ve written. I could blame the busyness of life, but in reality, it’s harder for lessons and observations to emerge in the middle of the battle, having to trust the Lord a day at a time. The best battle accounts and letters home come after the battle, not in the…
From Dusty Journals
Old journals—I’m going through a box of them today. Often, reading back through my old musings, collections of random quotes, scribblings of poems or events of the day make me smile. Remember back to old days, the “way I used to think.” Most will remain there, in dusty journals. But a few excerpts are worth…
Courage Without
In the Newberry-award winning children’s book, Call it Courage, a small boy from the South Sea islands named Mafatu goes on a journey to find courage within himself. Terrified of the sea since the day it took the life of his mother, Mafatu was taunted as “The Boy Who Was Afraid.” Finally, Mafatu decides to…
A Refuge From the Battle
I love word pictures. Maybe it’s from growing up on hours of being read aloud to—Narnia, biographies, historical fiction—that forced me to imagine a picture painted with the beautiful strokes of words. Thus I’ve found scripture’s imagery some of the most sweet, deep comfort during difficult and uncertain times. Within the artistic masterpiece of the…
My Top 5 Most Encouraging Songs
I tied my shoes the other day for my semi-daily run, turned on my earbuds, and set my “favs” playlist to shuffle before turning onto one of my three usual routes. It wasn’t until I had crossed the highway and started running around the park close to our house that I noticed a theme: each…
When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned
There is something amazingly beautiful — and real — about when life doesn’t go our way. I was sitting my the end of my PSDM (Problem Solving and Decision Making) class this afternoon as my professor wrapped up the course by telling us his own life story. The theme was clear: his life had not…
A Real World and a Real God
“He seemed to live in such a real world and to have such a real, great God.” Such was Maria Dyer’s observation upon meeting her would-be husband, the great pioneer missionary to China, Hudson Taylor. I haven’t been able to shake off those words. They strike deeply into the heart of the theme written across…
Why I Need the Gospel Every Day
It’s so simple, but it’s never struck me as so profound, so connected to life. I’ve been a Christian for twelve years, and too often, the simple message of the gospel has seemed so elementary. “That was great for when I first became a Christian, but how does that impact my life now?” I didn’t…
Julianna Writes 