Christian writer – Laurel Luehmann

Dreams and goals for Autumn 2025

September 8, 2025September 8, 2025by Laurel LuehmannLeave a Comment

Hello, friends!

This isn’t going to be a poetic post…it’s just me trying to kill two birds with one stone. The first bird is my hope to post more frequently here, and the second bird is to make a fall bucket list.

And speaking of birds, I saw a bald eagle flying almost at eye level the other day!! (My eyes were higher up than they usually are because I was in a tractor, but still. I love bald eagles, and it was an audible gasp-worthy moment.)

Anyway.

The list.

Glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

My friend Danielle always puts this on her monthly goals posts, and I’m stealing it because it’s such a good reminder of how to order my hopes and dreams.

Make apple fritters!!

I’ve been doing this for a few years now, and it’s always one of the first things I look forward to when the temperatures start dropping. I only let myself make them in autumn, so the process (and the product) are a delicious seasonal treat!

Not allow my phone or an open laptop in the kitchen and instead keep a current read close at hand.

If I’m eating alone, it’s all too easy for me to default to looking at a screen, and I’m sick of it. For several weeks now I’ve often been keeping books on the kitchen table to grab instead of my phone, but I’m signing the practice into law now.

Take discipleship more seriously, both on the giving and receiving end.

Seeking the friendship and counsel of older women and sharing friendship and counsel with younger women is something I want to pursue more intentionally this autumn…and the rest of my life.

Do a hike + picnic when the fall colors are the most vibrant.

Ahh!!!

Host a bonfire (or two or more).

I am so grateful I don’t live in an area that is frequently under burn bans! I would be so miserable. I love fire.

Faithfully show up to write and let it be as messy as it needs to be.

I’m no longer one of those people who has a thousand book ideas floating around in her head, so the weeks after a book release can leave me feeling rudderless as far as writing goes. I don’t know exactly where writing will take me next, so it’s difficult to set goals for that apart from aiming to be faithful to sit down and at least turn the faucet on to see what comes out! My official goal for myself is to spend 30 minutes writing something each day…but it’s been a struggle, so that may just end up being a habit I hope to have implemented by the end of autumn.

~~Put a pot of mums in front of the house.~~

I actually just did this yesterday!! They look so happy.

I’d love to hear in the comments…what are some of your hopes and goals for this autumn?

Stay the course!

❤ Laurel

Poetry

a new poem for August…at last!!

August 4, 2025August 4, 2025by Laurel Luehmann2 Comments

Hello, friends!

I haven’t shared a poem on the blog in…a very long time. Let’s change that today, shall we? I’ve come to find that I love referencing seasons and months in my poetry, and this poem reflects that. I hope it can be an encouragement to you.🫶🏼

August…

even its name on my tongue

feels like an exhale of lifted weight…

we made it.

hot, sticky mornings are s l o w l y giving way

to dawns that call for hoodies

as sunlight smiles golden through tasseled corn,

heralding harvest.

the best is yet to come…

the wait will soon be over.

we will soon sink our teeth into

crisp, sweet kernels, and

wipe the gift of butter from our chins

and exclaim in delight over the firstfruits.

we will savor

sweetness forged in the heat of summer,

and that, I believe,

is a foretaste of heaven.

writing updates

Applications for my street team are OPEN!!!

June 14, 2025by Laurel LuehmannLeave a Comment

Hey, friends!✨

Release day for my upcoming poetry collection is less than two and a half months away, and I’m looking for a group of people who…

love finding beauty in the tiniest corners of life
want to see my poetry make its way a little farther in the world
can commit to helping me spread the word online about my upcoming poetry release
could go for a good bookish freebie or two (but hey, isn’t that all of us??)

If that describes you, you may be interested in joining my street team! I’ve linked the application below, and there you can find some more details about what being a street team member would entail.

Check it out!

That’s it for today, friends! Regardless of whether or not you’re able to commit to joining the street team, I am so grateful for your readership and your support. Thank you for being here!🫶🏼

Stay the course!

✨Laurel

Personal, writing updates

Shall we make blogging cool again?

June 9, 2025by Laurel Luehmann16 Comments

A few weeks ago I was FaceTiming a friend, very messily eating my noodle soup and rambling about how much I missed blogs and blogging.

Blogs were such a joy for my teenage self, both as a creative outlet and as a means by which I could be encouraged and inspired by other women I would never have been able to “know” otherwise. I was by no means a perfect teenager (HA!), but the intentionality and convictions I did possess were fueled and shaped in part by the blogs I read. I’m so grateful for them.

In my corner of the writing world, however, blogging isn’t a huge deal anymore. So much of it now is all about building a thriving IG community, creating digital resources, and putting out consistent newsletters.

I miss the days of rambling blog posts, of not trying to sum up a complicated thought process in a way that will capture a short attention span, of posts that read more like a letter from a friend than a best-foot-forward scramble for likes and engagement.

(Don’t get me wrong…social media has so many perks, but lately I’ve been seeing more of its detrimental effects, both on my attention span, my time management, and even the way I want to spend my time. I don’t like it at all, and I’m trying to figure out what my use of it should look like going forward.

Anyway.)

I so miss blogging…so what if I tried doing it again? The way I used to, but, you know, hopefully better? Much better??

“You should do it,” my friend said, without batting an eye. “If you’ve thought about it this much, you should just do it.”

I knew she was right, but then the second-guessing came in.

But I’m a mess!

I’m not qualified.

I don’t know what I’m doing…I really don’t know what I’m doing.

But I kind of feel like I should start blogging again.

I got to chat with a friend on a hike the other day, and in talking about something completely unrelated to my hesitations about blogging, she shared about part of the exchange between Moses and God at the burning bush…

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?
So He [God] said, “I will certainly be with you.”
exodus 3:11-12a

Moses’ qualifications for the way in which God wanted him to walk did not lie within himself, but in God’s presence and calling.

I will forever, on this side of eternity, be a mess.

I will forever be unqualified in some way.

I will forever be still learning the ropes of my current season.

But I feel convicted to start blogging again…to write through and about what I’m navigating in this gloriously wild chapter of life. That includes but is not limited to:

Living singleness well, undistracted and wholly for Jesus
Stewarding my time well
Cooking for one (or for a mob; there is rarely an in-between)
Knowing and loving more deeply the heart of my precious Savior
Being a better friend
Reading across a few different genres…okay, a lot
Doing my work well – whether as an employee or as a writer
Carpe-ing the diem

Hear me clearly: I really don’t know what I’m doing, and I think I may be more aware of that than ever. I am young and inexperienced in so many ways, but if I can bring a bit of encouragement, hope, a feeling of being understood, or even just a good laugh to someone in this corner of the internet, I will be happy.

I’ll be writing primarily with an audience of women my own age or younger in mind, but I hope that my posts can be a blessing in some way to any woman who stumbles across this blog.

So.✨

Let me know in the comments if there’s a certain topic (or two or three) that I listed above that most interests you, and I just may let the feedback determine the next post!

Or I may not.

We shall see.

Till next time, stay the course!

❤ Laurel

Uncategorized

Carving legacies in souls

January 29, 2024January 27, 2024by Laurel Luehmann4 Comments

Hello, friends!

Today’s post is a repost from a couple of years ago that echoes what’s been on my mind lately. I hope you enjoy! ❤

What will I leave behind?

It’s a question that’s tugged at my attention for years. As I read the stories of eternal heroes with short lives and stared at the caskets of people I held dear, the question haunted my mind.

so small and

insignificant

one breath will

blow this life away, and

what

will be the proof that

it was here?

mangled lives

and broken hearts?

friendships

that were torn apart by

hands that now lie still and cold?

oh, no!

forbid it, Lord!

A month or so ago a friend and I were wandering through a beautiful cemetery that sprawls over several acres of hills. (You know you have loyal friends when they smilingly join you on strange expeditions.) There were so many old gravestones – some tipped and sinking deep into the soil. Several were ridiculously tall and ornate, but they were so old that wind and water and time had wiped the sentimental words right off of the marker. Their attempts to leave an echo of their greatness were in vain.

Of course I hope that I leave behind me a trail of words that can point others to Christ and to truth decades after I’m gone, but paper burns. Ink fades. Files become corrupted.

If words are all I leave, I’ve failed.

For even if my words could surpass the masterpieces of Dickens and Shakespeare,

If I sang with the voice of an angel,

If the world remembers my name until the world stops turning,

But I have not love…

I am nothing.

oh, Father, keep me

on the sidelines with a loving heart

if I can’t champion the world

with outstretched hands.

Words fade. People don’t.

Let’s live our lives accordingly.

Book Reviews, Journaling, Personal, reading

December Memories – 2023

January 1, 2024by Laurel Luehmann5 Comments

Happy new year, friends!

Goodness. In some ways I feel as though 2023 never existed, and in others I feel as though it lasted a lifetime. XD Maybe I’ll do a year wrap-up post in a week or so, but here’s December’s recap for now! Here’s a coffee for the ride.☕ 🙂

And now, Lord, what do I wait for?
My hope is in You.
Psalm 39:7

Things worth remembering…

my dear aunt’s homegoing…only happy tears for her from now on. ❤
lots of cousin time
learning that thou shalt trust thy grandmother’s navigational advice and not thine own misgivings (I’m sorry I doubted you, Grandma.🙈)
minute-to-win-it games with friends (bonus points for not burning the house down)
crocheting a beanie that no one wants to wear
all of the Sunday School Christmas program practices
the Christmas program itself…everyone brought their best to the table and made it so special!
a very brown and green Christmas
surviving weeks of cold and flu bugs viciously crawling through the household

When we have an agenda for God, we can’t see the gifts from God.
ann voskamp

What I’ve been reading…

Hickory Dickory Dock – Agatha Christie

“I congratulate you on having such a unique and beautiful problem.”

The plot here was excellent, but the side content was a little more mature than I was hoping for. Sadness.

Fawkes – Nadine Brandes

How many of us acted and spoke out and fought for beliefs that we held because our environment told us to? As much as I wanted to blame my England, I knew the blame sat with me. I hadn’t trained myself to discern. To examine. To seek the source. That was about to change.

I wasn’t expecting the allegorical elements of this book, and I absolutely loved them. With its nods to history and the complex plot, I enjoyed it immensely! It’s a little on the bloody side, but such a good read if you don’t mind that.

4:50 from Paddington – Agatha Christie

The truth is people are an extraordinary mixture of heroism and cowardice.

I thought this mystery was absolutely brilliant, and I had the satisfaction of having called the culprit…but not completely accurately.

The Greatest Gift – Ann Voskamp

The answer to deep anxiety is the deep adoration of God.

Oh, goodness. This book was exactly what I needed this year. I loved the action items and journaling prompts at the end of each day’s reading!

Ishtar’s Odyssey – Arnold Ytreeide

“Just this morning the tastiest redfish in the lake swam up to me and said he was there to give himself up for the most honorable and noble Persian man of an approaching caravan. And here you are!”

Salamar laughed a loud laugh. “And for how much did this redfish say he would sell himself before being smoked and salted?”

The boy shrugged. “Oh, only a small token of, say, five measures of fine Persian tea.”

Listening to my dad read this in the evenings this month was definitely a highlight!

I am more sinful and flawed than I ever dared believe,
more loved and welcomed than I ever dared hope.
elyse m. Fitzpatrick

From the journal…

Fill me with more of You and a blessed self-forgetfulness.

Lord, thank You for the gift of laughter…for the ability to hold things loosely and lightly because You are the one who truly holds it all.

*Remembering the character of our God will lead to a complete trust of Him with the future.*

The sinner must come to Jesus, not to works, ordinances, or doctrines, but to a personal Redeemer, who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree.
charles spurgeon

What are some of the memories/thoughts you’re carrying away from this past December?

Stay the course!

❤ Laurel

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase something through one of the links I share in this post, I receive a small commission…at no extra cost to you.:)

Uncategorized

God with us – a repost

December 18, 2023by Laurel Luehmann5 Comments

Hello, friends!

I wrote this two years ago and decided to reshare it because 1.) it was Christmas program weekend (!!!) and that absorbed my thoughts and enthusiasm more than blog posts did, and 2.) it says so much of what’s on my heart again this year. Why try to be original when something old will do? 🙂

Regardless of whether your joy is full or if it’s something you’re looking hard for this year, this post is for you. ❤

Every year we talk about how the Christmas season is so hard for many people.

It’s always acknowledged, but all the acknowledgements in the world won’t change the fact that many of us will be crying inside at times this Christmas, even as we’re surrounded by family and friends who love us more than we know.

But don’t you know that this ache, this emptiness, this longing loneliness is the very reason Christmas even exists?

This world is broken. People fail. Hearts shatter. People hurt. People die.

So God wrapped himself in trembling flesh to heal that brokenness for eternity.

God with us.

Not God peering down on us from the heights of His holiness. Not God ruling over us. Not God commanding us from a distant galaxy.

No.

God with us.

God wailing with hunger and cold.

God being carried from His home country to safety.

God playing in the very dirt His fingers once molded to form the first of his people.

God trying to escape the exhausting press of a crowd.

God sleeping in a boat in the middle of a churning sea.

God weeping.

God making a meal for his best friends.

God sweating our blood, pleading with His Father for an easier path.

God dying.

God hurling away our sin and drawing us near to Himself.

God with us.

In our pain, in our sorrow, in our heartbreak, in our loneliness, in our brokenness, in our despair…

God with us.

God promising that the brokenness of this world is not the end. The end of the brokenness will come and seep into eternity…

Us with God.

Book Reviews, Personal, reading

September memories – 2023

October 2, 2023by Laurel Luehmann3 Comments

And we leave September in the dust…

(Actually, we’re leaving it in splashes of mud. LOTS of mud. After a very dry summer, we spent a week in mud that made reminded me of London as portrayed in Bleak House.)

When you think of what you are, and despair; think also of what He is, and take heart.
C.H. Spurgeion

Things worth remembering…

covering the corn silage bunker
breaking two plastic forks on a meatball in the span of 3 minutes
starting Sunday school up again
hosting this poetry challenge with a friend
finding that the fastest route is not always the most direct one
APPLE FRITTERS.
Making more progress on Project Redemption…make sure you’re subscribed to my newsletter to read an exclusive snippet and hear some fun info on the project coming later this week!

There is always time to do the will of God. If we are too busy to do that, we are too busy.
elisabeth elliot

What I’ve been reading…

Southpaw – Tabby RH

Garrison leaned his forearms against the island and bowed his head, letting the wooden countertop take his weight. The High King was still in the business of redemption.

This book!!! There are so many elements of the plot and characters that I want to emulate in my own novels, and it was an absolute joy to read. If you love involved plots with elements of mystery and memorable characters, you’d better get your hands on a copy!

The Pursuit of God – A.W. Tozer

Others before me have gone much farther into these holy mysteries than I have done, but if my fire is not large it is yet real, and there may be those who can light their candle at its flame.

I’ve been in a bit of a non-fiction reading slump, but I so appreciated this book a couple years back and I’m determined to appreciate it again.:)

The Fellowship of the Ring – J.R.R. Tolkien

It was generally agreed that the joke was in very bad taste, and more food and drink were needed to cure the guests of shock and annoyance.

I’ve decided to finally read through this trilogy for the first time this autumn, and I’m thoroughly enjoying it.

You have put gladness in my heart, more than in the season that their grain and wine increased.
Psalm 4:7

From the journal…

Lord, don’t let my fear overcome my desire for what is good and righteous. I just want to want Your ways completely.

Don’t let me choose tasks based on ease, but on Your heart.

Lord, help me to whole-heartedly love Your will, even when it comes at a great cost to myself.

Lay down your life FOR GOOD on the altar of truest love. If you are nothing else, be a clear channel of the love of Christ.

What are you taking away from this September?

Stay the course!

❤ Laurel

Photo by Sandy Millar on Unsplash

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase something through one of the links I share in this post, I receive a small commission…at no extra cost to you.:)

Book Reviews, Journaling, Personal, reading

August 2023 memories

September 4, 2023September 1, 2023by Laurel Luehmann4 Comments

Hullo, friends!

(Can you believe it? I’m actually getting back into my schedule of posting once a week! XD)

August in my corner of the world was full of life: good and hard and sweaty. (Man, was it ever sweaty.) Here are some of my favorite takeaways…

Things worth remembering…

kayaking with a friend, in which chatting + drifting happened as much as paddling 😂
pizza dates with siblings
a walk in near-complete darkness (for the record, it was not my idea)
laughing at laughter
raccoons (real and stuffed) and the most glorious puns
hearing this song for the first time
not melting in the mid-August heat (lemonade helps)
becoming an editor and cover designer for siblings
a women’s conference and my first book table ever (!!!)
prepping this poetry challenge with a friend
quality time spent working and laughing and studying with friends
finishing several books and paring my “currently reading” shelf down to an almost-healthy size
THE FLIES DYING. Now I can be happy and drink my coffee in peace without them wanting a taste.

To every right there is attached a duty, and to every privilege there is tied an obligation.
peter marshall

What I’ve been reading…

Holiness: The Heart God Purifies – Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

In other words, we must make it our constant, conscious ambition and aim to be holy. We have to work at it, concentrate on it, as an athlete sets his sights on winning an Olympic gold medal: He focuses on his objective, he trains and strains to achieve his goal, he sacrifices for it, he endures pain for it, and he puts aside other pursuits for the sake of a higher pursuit.

Reading this while going through Leviticus has been extra convicting/challenging. I highly recommend it.

The Memories We Painted – Caitlin Miller

But wasn’t that what love looked like — loving and being afraid? Wanting the best for someone but afraid of what that meant, of letting go when everything in you still wanted to hold on?

It’s been a while since a piece of fiction has wrenched and strengthened my heart like this.
This slower, introspective read is beautiful, and while some of the dialogue seemed a bit too eloquent (and because of that, slightly unrealistic) for my liking, I loved the way the author expressed the reality of suffering in an honest and hopeful way and wove so many pieces of the story together so masterfully. The dual timeline was also done extremely well! It lent so much depth to the main characters.

The Importance of Being Earnest – Oscar Wilde

“If you are not too long, I will wait here for you all my life.”

Oh, my goodness. I read most of this aloud to a sister, and half of the time was spent laughing. The humor, plot twists, and foreshadowing are all spot on, and I’ll definitely be reading this again when I need a good laugh.

Look for Yellow – Anna Barroso

I’ll never be a sparkling one
but I hope I’ll catch your eye
I’m dripping with mold instead of glitter
oh how I want to be beautiful
how I want to shine for you

I have mixed feelings about this book…I LOVED the gut-punches and “I feel seen” moments the author delivered in some of the poems, such as the one quoted above…you know, those words you want to roll around and savor in your mind for awhile.✨
Personally I feel that the poetry could have used a bit more clarity and proofreading, but it does contain some real gems for the ones who need to feel seen and known in the middle of grief/hard times.❤️

Their feet upon temptation,
Their faces upon God.
Emily Dickinson

From the journal…

I know You are enough — always will be — but I’m coming to realize that sometimes You show up for those You love by sending them someone who will show them Your love in a very tangible way. (Make me this kind of person.)

The FOMO is hitting hard today…oh, give me a very real sense of Your ability to use me everywhere.

(On the Passover in Exodus 12) I love how God asks them to celebrate this victory of His before it even comes fully to fruition…much as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper in anticipation of the day when we will eat and drink with Christ in His kingdom.

Oh, Father! Keep my eyes and heart and hope fixed on You, not Your work or blessings.

What are you taking away from this August? Did you have a favorite read of the month?

Stay the course!

❤ Laurel

Photo by Anne Nygård on Unsplash

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase something through one of the links I share in this post, I receive a small commission…at no extra cost to you.:)

Uncategorized

Comfortable or Complete?

May 23, 2023by Laurel Luehmann8 Comments

Is it my prayer to be made comfortable, or to be made complete?

The topic of joy and trials linked together has been on my mind lately, and since I haven’t shared one of these “on my heart” kind of posts in a while (it’s been mostly poetry, life updates, and trying to convince you to buy my books! XD), I thought I’d try to gather my ramblings into a blog post.

Can trials seriously be an opportunity to rejoice?

In spite of having James 1:2-4 memorized for years, I’ve been reading/recalling it wrong this whole time. In case you aren’t familiar with it, here it is…

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
James 1:2-4

Honestly, whenever I read or recited this verse, most of the last part was drowned out by the first part: My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials… And to be honest, I pictured this joy as a “grin and bear it” sort of thing. A grimacing endurance of hard times because we know that good things are ahead for us as Christians (see Hebrews 12:1-2).

But in listening to this message and recent sermons and small group discussions, it finally hit me that joy isn’t just something that we’re supposed to cling to as we weather the storms of life. It’s something that can be found because of the storm.

“…count it all joy…knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.”

Sure, the trial itself isn’t any fun. At all. (Unless you love pain.) But we can rejoice in the fact that the trial will refine us, revealing to us our weaknesses and showing God’s strength through us, and ultimately conforming us more purely to His image.

“But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

I mean, if that’s not encouraging…

And this we also pray, that you may be made complete.
2 Corinthians 13:9b

Then this verse popped up in my Bible time the other morning, and it made me ask myself how often I pray to be made more mature, more complete, and then come crying to God when the very trials that will give me maturity slip (and sometimes pour!) into my life.

Quite honestly, it’s often.

Very often.

But I want to stop living that way.

I want to get in the habit of embracing the struggles. Of choosing to see the end result instead of simply wailing about the current mess, while somehow managing to delight in the lovely moments of now instead of being lost in an eternal chasing of the future.

So there it is…a sort of brain dump of what I’ve been processing lately. It’s by no means an exhaustive essay, but I hope it gets some wheels turning in your head and pushes you deeper into Scripture and prayer like its doing for me.

Stay the course!

❤ Laurel

Photo by Jonathan Ouimet on Unsplash