Welcome to my little corner of the blogosphere! With so many other good writers vying for your precious time, I’m grateful that you’ve stopped by my neck of the digital woods.
I’m Julie, wife to Jon and homeschooling mommy to our (soon to be) 6 amazing spark plugs. I’m an impatient, introverted germ freak who's been redeemed by Christ's finished work on the Cross.
About me:
I love fog. I love solitude. I love tea. I love reading.
I don't love hallways.
In fact, when we bought our first mobile home, one thing I loved most about it was that it had no hallways. That house was made for me!
So, why would I create a blog about waiting in the hallway, something about life that drives me so crazy?
“Until God opens the door, praise Him in the hallway!”
When I first heard this quote, it woke me up to an important truth: even though I don't like hallways (i.e. times of waiting and hardship), I have a choice to make. I can either fuss my way through them, or I can praise the Lord as I wait them out. The second option was preferable, and so The Hallway Initiative was born out of my need to remind myself to choose joy no matter my circumstances.
My family and I have been through some tough things – much of it self-inflicted, but all of it God-permitted. We’ve faced financial hardship, numerous medical diagnoses, secondary infertility, and a heart-wrenching cross-country move. More and more, I'm finding myself in the hallway, waiting (albeit impatiently) for the Lord to direct my steps. Although I so strongly dislike hallways, I'm finding that they're good for me.
Ironically, we now live in a home with - you guessed it - a GIANT hallway. As much as I still dislike hallways, both literal and figurative, I’ve actually come to love my new home, hallway included. Our hallway has numerous benefits, like keeping the bedrooms separated from the living areas (great for sleeping babies) and helping to hide bedroom clutter when we have guests over. Truthfully, it’s shown me that hallways can be beautiful.
About the Hallway Initiative:
My goal here on the blog is to offer Biblical encouragement for times of waiting and hardship, not because I'm now an expert in such things, but because I need to be reminded over and over again about God's faithfulness, to praise Him when life is hard. I started writing online as a way to help both my readers and myself keep our eyes on Christ.
Feel free to search the blog, join my newsletter, or drop me an email at julie(at)hallwayinitiative(dot)com. I don’t love social media, but you can connect with me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest if interested. For now, I'm leaving other channels for later, perhaps when the spark plugs are older and I mistakenly believe I'll have more free time. :)
If you’d like to know more about my story, I share an in-depth look in my new ebook, “A Place Prepared.” You can also read a few silly factoids about me here.
But what about you?
Are you in a hallway in life right now? Do you feel stuck and desperate to get out? I'd love for you to join me in choosing to praise the Lord, no matter how long and dark your road ahead is. We can't always choose our circumstances, but we can choose to rejoice despite them. And we can do it together and encourage one another along the way.
