SarahLCook

🌿 Soulful Sundays: Joy in the Gospel 🌿

Today I’m launching something new, and I’m calling it

This will be a weekly (or maybe as often as time allows 😉) pause to ponder and capture lessons that shape not just how we work and lead, but how we live.

This week’s insight came from a Church conference message by Annalaura Solomon, MPA, titled “Joy in the Gospel.”

She spoke candidly, stating that she was "reporting from the dumpster fire of life,” sharing the coping skills and lessons she’s learned along her journey.

Her honesty was refreshing and deeply instructive.

Several statements from her message continue to stay with me:

✨ “Don’t compare healing with earning.”

Joy, growth, and wholeness aren’t rewards we accumulate through effort alone.

She reminded congregation members that “our good works come from an expression of our changed hearts,” not as a résumé of how we’ve earned love from God.

✨ “Don’t be a liar, liar pants on fire.”

Annalaura's statement was spoken with humor, but grounded in truth.

Real joy requires honesty, with ourselves and with others.

Self-deception delays healing.

Truth creates space for grace.

✨ Joy is about focus, not circumstances.

She quoted President Russell M. Nelson, who said:

“The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives.”

That perspective feels especially relevant in seasons when life feels messy, uncertain, or overwhelming.

✨ Covenants as a source of strength.

Annalaura reminded listeners that our covenants with Jesus Christ are not burdens, but beautiful sources of joy, power, and strength.

As I head into a new week, I’m sitting with these questions:

➡️ Am I focused on earning or becoming?

➡️ Am I allowing honesty and grace to do their work in me and in others?

Here’s to choosing joy...

Not because life is perfect, but because our focus is purposeful💛

Always remember - God is good, and He loves you infinitely and perfectly!

💛Sarah L Cook, M.Ed.

I don’t know about you, but I make mistakes on-the-daily…

Want to know what’s so amazing about that?


Jesus still takes me back.

He welcomes my repentance…

My moment by moment (return to Him)…

Every. Single. Time.

In the grand scheme of all time and eternity, His Sacrifice for each of us has the capacity to make all things right…

So maybe people think I take Jesus too seriously…

I do know this - I am truly thankful He takes me seriously too!

Happy Sunday, y’all!

I used to think I was unwanted and unloved by God...

"He couldn't possibly love me in all my imperfections and with all the mistakes I have made over my life..."

I began to do thought work and challenge those beliefs and I realized how much I was loved and wanted no matter what...

As I learned to believe that I was loved, it helped me immensely to love others more fully and authentically!

I love reading books and listening to talks that open me up to an even more expansive view of God's love for all of us...

The past week I have been reading, "Embraced" by Lysa TerKeurst and love how the words Lysa has written envelope my soul and cause me to lean into God's love!

Thank you and for allowing me to partner with you!
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