05/16/12 - Welcome

Dear friends,


Blogging is new to me but talking to friends is not!  The last few years have brought circumstances into my life that blindsided me. Thankfully, a few dear friends encouraged me by just listening. Many of us “empty nesters”, “sandwich generation”, experiencing “boomerang kids” and more are wondering how to do life. We ask each other how to end well without wearing out! This blog is to encourage us by looking into the lives of aged women who have walked through these years with numerous harrowing experiences, yet they are lovely examples of women reflecting the grace and mercy of God.

Eventually I realized that these women ought to be shared with others. In my own personal struggles, people who I love and respect as believers in Christ chose to walk away from God and His ways. Waves of sadness and grief at times brought me so low that looking to God was my only way out. During all of these periods of wave after wave of melancholy, God brought some amazing older women into my life. One woman over 80 I met while swimming every morning before 7:00; others I had known for some time. All of these precious women encouraged me by sharing how they walked with God throughout their life; especially during some very dark days.

You are someone I would love to sit and chat with about your life and how God is working to show Himself through you. If you are experiencing doubt, sadness, and questions or are ready to give up entirely, perhaps these examples from older women and how they drew near to God for strength, wisdom and comfort will inspire as you see strength of character alive and active! I know for myself, as these women pointed me to Christ, they brought hope, dispelled my fears of walking away from my Lord and saved me from wallowing in self-pity and doubts.

I invite you to, “Laughing at Winter”, a blog for anyone searching for godly examples of women who have been in your shoes and never quit! I pray you will be blessed as I share what is on my heart and some of the best conversations I benefited from with encouraging and wise aged women of God who learned through living that we can fearlessly laugh at the winter years ahead!


Julie