Are You Being Encouraged?
If you’ve been following my writing for long, you’ve heard me mention that I mess up sometimes. Well, okay, I mess up a lot. In my marriage, in raising my children, in my Spiritual life.
God says do not envy … I do. Dr. James Dobson says not to yell at your children … I do. The Apostle Paul and a host of marriage experts admonish wives to show respect to our husbands … even when he doesn’t deserve it? I struggle with this one. Boy, do I struggle!
But I’m certain I’m not the only one who falls flat on her (or his) face occasionally. Or maybe daily.
Oh the sweetness of grace!
And that’s the purpose of this blog: to be open about my struggles, so you can feel less alone in yours, and to encourage you in the hope I’ve found in the Lord’s abounding grace. Not just the hope for eternal salvation, which is a treasure beyond measure, but the hope that meets us in our weakness and lifts us to our feet. That daily assurance that we are not alone and never will be.
Because life in a world turned upside-down by sin is not easy.
So, I write and am blessed to do so. And I pray my thoughts minister to you.
“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!“ (Ephesians 2:4–5)
But now, my dear readers, I need some feedback from you. As I continue to reach out, I need to know I’m doing so effectively. So if you would please take a minute or two to answer some questions I’ve included at the end of this post about this site and the words I type, I’d be indebted. All I ask is for honesty and grace.
Please place your answers in the comment box. Each suggestion you offer will be given prayerful consideration, and each point of encouragement much appreciated.
And as we consider the steps God has ordained for this site and in turn each of our ministries (yes, you too are ministering—just in a different way), let’s remember the real reason any of us have joy: the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Questions to consider:
- Is this site welcoming?
- Does it effectively and invitingly convey my purpose of offering encouragement and hope for every day–in other words, is my message clear and focused; will site visitors understand it?
- Do my posts mostly remain focused on the message?
- Is God glorified and esteemed in my writing?
- Do you like and understand my tagline “… by His daily grace” and the accompanying Scripture verse? Is it in line with my stated purpose?
- Or would a different tagline be better, such as “hope and encouragement for every day” or “incredible grace, incredible hope” or “His grace, our hope”?
- Any other thoughts you may have?
Thank you! Your thoughts are valued—and so are you!
By His grace ≈ Julie
Linking with:
Find hope in your real-life struggles. We'll chase it together! I am a wife; mom of 4 (including a young adult daughter with special needs); miscarriage mom of 5; author & follower of Jesus Christ. I write, edit, speak and enjoy everything outdoors.
Julie, I absolutely answer “yes” to all your questions. The only thing I’d say about your tagline is that I am sure some do not truly understand the meaning of grace (God’s riches at Christ’s expense). I do like incredible grace, incredible hope. My concern isn’t about your blog, which is excellent, but my Christian concern is about you…and the fact you post these at 1:00 a.m. or 5:30 a.m. How much sleep to you get? Doing this isn’t worth the loss of your health, for then you can’t really be there to help anybody. Just think about it, Julie. Love in Christ, Jan
Jan,
It would be interesting to know if Julie is a night owl and writing these at those times, neglecting her sleep or scheduling them with a system to post them for her while she sleeps. You are right she needs to take care of herself and it is so sweet of you to be concerned for her well being.
You’re so sweet, Jan! I do admit the 1:00 a.m. postings are true; however, I often write posts earlier and schedule them to run at the 5:30 a.m. time, so it is a little misleading. I’m trying to do more of that. I do realize that I have to manage my time well, or I will burn out–but prayers in this area are always welcome.
I’ve also wondered about whether “… by His daily grace” will be understood for what I mean–experiencing His riches daily through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Each day is doable because He pours out His mercy and grace on us each and every day. We’ll see what others think.
Thanks again, my dear friend!
Yes to the above questions. I really enjoy reading your posts and get much from them. I think your site is well laid out and easy on eyes. I think you keep your posts to a reasonable length making them a good read. You share from your heart and it translate in your words. Keep up the good work.
Thanks, Mary. I appreciate the time you took to respond.
Good feedback from Mary and Jan. I applaud your openness Julie. I’ve only started to read your posts this past week so I don’t have a lot of basis on your overall theme or purpose. So if you can share that information with me, that would help frame my response. Thanks.
I appreciate hearing from you, Brent. I didn’t know what I was doing when I started the blog–I just knew I wanted to offer the hope I found for a full life to those who were struggling. That life can only be found through the grace and mercy of the Lord. I guess my purpose is still the same: to offer encouragement that there is hope in each day, even the “broken” days.
Let me know if you want me to flesh out my response more.
Thanks!
Sounds like then your blog purpose / tagline is “Daily Hope and Encouragement”. I concur the tagline His Daily Grace may not connect with your target audience.
Because I couldn’t remember the questions, I decided to put my answer behind each one in the comment section like this. If I could have figured out how to put my answers in a different color to make it easier to read it would have been better…
Is this site welcoming? Everything about you is welcoming. However, I am turned off by the dark color on the sides of the blog.
Do my posts mostly remain focused on the message? Yes, they mostly remain focused on the message.
Is God glorified and esteemed in my writing? You do glorify and esteeem God in your writing.
Do you like and understand my tagline “… by His daily grace” and the accompanying Scripture verse? Is it in line with my stated purpose? I am not sure the tagline and the scripture compliment each other. The tagline is in line with your stated purpose but don’t get the connection with the Scripture.
Or would a different tagline be better, such as “hope and encouragement for every day” or “incredible grace, incredible hope” or “His grace, our hope”? I personally like the tagline but am not sure if it is the tagline or the Scripture that needs work. Only you know why you have the Scripture.
Any other thoughts you may have? I think you are a wonderful lady and that your heart is to glorify God while providing others with encouragement. I hope my honesty and love in answering your questions has come through to you.
Wow, was I blessed when I met you, Dawn! Thank you for your honesty. I had been wondering about the darkness of the background. The Scripture was chosen in reference to the Lord being in each day, but I plan on revisiting each aspect of my site in response to the feedback I receive, so it may go or change.
Thank you so very much.
Your love shines bright, my Friend.