Thank you for stopping by my corner of the world where I’m excited to share my writings with you. We’re all on a journey to our destiny with goals and milestones to be reached in between. If you like true stories with faith and grace, you can find some that may interest you. My goal is to be a blessings and inspire you to move forward. Take a few minutes to skim through my stories.
Life is a Story
My name is not uncommon for people of Finnish descent. I was born in Finland and immigrated to Canada with my parents and siblings at the age of nine.
I’m a wife, mother and grandma. A disciple of Christ. And a retired high school teacher, and just published my second book, a memoir, BETWEEN US A True Story of Longing for Love and Letters. The first one published a few years ago.
About this blog
The purpose of this blog is to support your journey of life by inspirational stories. Even though I’ve been a Christ-follower since childhood, I’ve had to trust God’s grace to be there when circumstances were beyond my control. Trusting God is not always easy when situations seem overwhelming.
Letting go of control is not easy. Sometimes we find purpose in pain. Sometimes in the goodness of God. Other times, through God’s word. Other times in nature or through the kindness of others.
Why I started writing
Although I’ve always liked to read and study I didn’t grow up storytelling. Unlike many successful authors, I didn’t dream of writing as a career nor even as a sideline.
The idea of this blog was birthed during a period of overwhelming struggles when I was encouraged to write my thoughts and feelings in a journal. I had not explored my emotions so I asked my therapist, “What do I write about?”
Stuffing emotions for so long created stress when I faced impossible situations. Surprisingly, I began to experience feelings that I never thought I had. Through it all, I kept the truth of God’s word in my heart, and believed my Heavenly Father would sustain me with His grace. I’ve learned that God is good and He loves me! That’s a huge breakthrough when knowledge dropped from the head to the heart.
We know that God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves Him. They are the ones God has chosen for His purpose.
Romans 8:28
Life Journey
My journey in life so far has been multifaceted by many standards. As an immigrant child who struggled with low self-esteem along with poverty, I made it my purpose in life to get educated and get out of poverty by marrying into money. Seriously. The opposite happened. You can read about it in my memoir, Between Us A True Story of Loving for Love and Letters, published in the summer of 2023
Like the old song reminds us to count our blessings, I’m blessed in many ways. I have a wonderful husband who loves me plus two sons and the blessing of two granddaughters. And a God who supplies my needs abundantly, and I have good health. Thankfulness fills my heart on days when all seems rosy, and long to keep a grateful heart in the darker days.
Let go of control
Since I’m the firstborn child in a large family, I’ve always been responsible and caretaker of younger siblings. I was given adult responsibilities as a ten-year-old girl because my parents didn’t speak English. I vaguely remember doing things like banking, dealing with schools and serving as a translator at doctors’ offices and at grocery stores, and anywhere where communication was needed.
Life was hard for my parents as they had to make a living. I had a lot of freedom to take charge, and became known as the ‘boss’ to my siblings. I wanted to control everything and everyone!
I’m still in the process of recovering from control issues as I rest in God’s grace. I’ve had to let go of things I cannot change, but wish I could, and trust God to bring about change.
And I trust you will be inspired and given hope especially during tough times. Self-esteem, control issues, addiction, family and grace are topics that are close to my heart so they will fuel some of the content of my blogs. Trusting God in all circumstances will help in finding contentment.
Sometimes we walk through life’s disappointments and other times we experience divine appointments.
What you can do
I invite you to follow my blogging journey for inspiration and encouragement. Sign up in the SUBSCRIPTION BOX. You will get new posts right into your email inbox, monthly, or sporadically. Or follow me on Facebook or Instagram. Sometimes I’m on X with Bible verses.
My two books are available on Amazon. The Other Child, a novel, and Between Us, a memoir.
If you’re able to, please share on your favourite social media platform. Or if you’re unplugged, spread the word via email. Thank you for reading.