Finding Joy — The Story Behind the Pages

When I began writing Finding Joy, I wasn’t sitting at my desk with a clear plan or a neatly outlined devotional in mind. I was simply trying to put words to something God was gently teaching me in real time.

There were seasons when joy felt distant — not because I lacked faith, but because life was heavy. I was learning that it’s possible to love God deeply and still feel weary, uncertain, or stretched thin. And in those moments, I needed reminders that joy wasn’t something I had to force or pretend my way into.

That’s where this book began.

Finding Joy grew out of quiet mornings, honest prayers, and moments of reflection where I realized joy wasn’t absent — it was just quieter than I expected. It wasn’t tied to circumstances changing or answers arriving. Instead, it showed up in small ways: in Scripture that lingered, in peace that didn’t make sense, in the steady presence of God even when things around me felt unsettled.

As I wrote, I wasn’t trying to offer solutions or formulas. I was writing as someone walking the path alongside the reader — learning, trusting, and sometimes wrestling my way toward joy again. Each devotional became less about instruction and more about invitation: an invitation to pause, to breathe, and to notice where God might already be at work.

My hope is that Finding Joy feels like a companion rather than a challenge. If you’ve ever felt discouraged because joy seemed reserved for a different season or a different version of yourself, I want you to know you’re not alone. Joy doesn’t require everything to be fixed. Sometimes it simply asks us to stay present and open to God’s nearness.

Writing this book reminded me — again and again — that joy is closer than we think. Often, it’s waiting for us right in the middle of the life we’re already living.

If this resonates with you, Finding Joy was written with you in mind.

–Kristin