The Blog of Amanda Joy Beguerie
Sometimes we make this whole pursuing-your-life-purpose thing so difficult.
I get it.
Because I do it.
I texted one of my very best friends yesterday, spilling my soul on what was really going on in my life, and she reminded me of something so important that I often forget:
Pursuing our life purpose starts first and foremost with loving God, not getting caught up in what we can do for Him.
Can we stop trying to change the world?
Listen close, for just a second.
I say: The world doesn’t need fixing, because it’s already been done.
I don’t mean the world’s perfect. I don’t mean the world’s not broken – just look around, steady your eyes on a little slice of the pain and you’ll be convinced in an instant that something’s sorely wrong, sucked nearly dry of hope.
But there is something greater than the brokenness that we see – something higher, bigger, more powerful than the messes we create for ourselves.
Continue reading “Why We Need to Quit Trying to Save the World”
Happy Thursday, friends. Today, we have a book review for my sweet friend Morgan Elizabeth Huneke’s newest book, Crannig Castle.
Some of you may recognize her name from my partciation in the virtual book tours of hers, from cover reveals to reviews to interviews, and also as a somewhat frequent commenter here on this blog. Morgan’s awesome.
Without further adeiu, here’s the description, then stay tuned for my review following.
Welcome, everyone, to the November edition of the Purposeful Pages Link-Up – and the final edition.
Continue reading “Purposeful Pages Link-Up: November Edition”
Humanness.
There’s something so interesting about being a human being, living in this seemingly endless series of experiences and emotions, events and times of extreme joy and extreme pain.
Life is so beautiful, and so fragile, and we can be so sensitive to all of it.
I know I am.
I’ve noticed this pattern in myself and those around me, of being caught in this awkward middle place of knowing that the Christian answer is that only Jesus can satisfy me – and yet still chasing after these things that I’m sure will bring me happiness.
Because deep down, we all have these intrinsic desires in our hearts. And they’re not wrong at all. Unlike Buddhism, which says “All life is suffering, and suffering comes from desire; therefore, rid yourself of desire,” I say, no, we should keep on desiring.
Continue reading “How to Satisfy the Human Desire for Love, Joy, and Fulfillment”
Sometimes we really don’t need someone to come along and give us a pep talk.
When life’s breaking us, we don’t need someone to come and shout, “Hey! You can do this! You’re amazing! Make your life whatever you want it to be! You are unstoppable!” because we’ve felt firsthand that those things are not right all the time.
We’ve all experienced failure.
We’ve hit roadblocks of all sorts.
We’ve felt that cluelessness when it comes to knowing what exactly we should do.
And so the pep talks often feel empty, shallow, phony. Hollow and falsely encouraging comments coming from people who seem to have their lives together when we do not.
Because often, instead of hearing “Hey, you’ve got this,” we long to hear Someone say, “I know this seems impossible, but I will be with you through all of it.”
Continue reading “How Vulnerability Can Bring Us Beyond Ourselves”
The funny thing about writing is that it’s made up of so many ideas and so few realities. A lot of thinking, a lot of different visions of where to go – and then sitting down at the computer to actually write is often quite torturous.
Yes, I know I say I love this whole writing thing, but it’s really hard, alright?
There’s a lot of thinking involved. A lot of planning. A lot of daydreaming.
And then I sit down to my computer and the words don’t totally know where to go. They don’t know whether to form long sentences or short, to be sophisticated or poetic or blunt, to be precise or to be vague. They don’t know whether to arrange themselves into a concise doctrinal argument, or into a messy, heart-spilling session of vulnerability.
Continue reading “On Planning and When Things Turn Out Radically Different Than We Imagined”
My author friend Kendra E. Ardnek’s newest book released yesterday, and I’m pleased to share it with you all.
Scattered Journal Pages 