The beauty of Spring and the lazy days of Summer are upon us, and our goal is to encourage you as you seek to live out your faith wherever the warmer months ahead take you.

 Personal stories are powerful tools for spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, and we pray as you step into the lives of our writers that you’ll be inspired to share yours with others. All of our stories voice a different theme, but all point to one main character — Jesus Christ.

Forgiveness is the central theme of my story. As the Editor in Chief of Living Real Magazine, it’s my desire to be open and transparent with you about my own journey in learning to live real through some of life’s real and difficult experiences. So, through our Going Deeper article, I’m inviting you to catch a glimpse of how God led me to the key of forgiveness, unlocked my imprisoned heart, and unleashed His indescribable joy to flow freely again. Unlocked Hearts, Unleashed Joy ~ Forgiveness Is the Key is my newly released Bible study/memoir through Redemption Press. I strongly believe if followers of Jesus Christ are going to be His light in a dark world, we must first see ourselves through Christ’s eyes, and then genuinely practice the holy art of forgiveness seeing others through His eyes as well.

In this issue, a sanitation engineer gives a sad Cherie Nettles a timely gift as she leaves a sick friend’s house, causing her to smile.

Have you done your spring cleaning? No, I’m not talking about your house. I’m talking about your money. Check out our financial page for some tips on how to clean up your finances.

Joeli Mulligan understands an over-planned, over-stretched, and overwhelmed life. She’s also learning how to slow down and follow Jesus’ method for remaining calm, cool, and collected. And Rebecca Hastings reminds us that how the world defines us is not how God defines us.

Quiddity! Have you not heard this word before?

You must read Rob Buck’s article to be in-the-know.

God doesn’t always deliver us from our suffering, but leads us through it. Scott Wolfe has some unique insight as he was forced to taste and test his own words of comfort, spoken to others so many times before. Are they really true?

In our Counseling Corner we step into the the war going on between Truth and lies. Which side is your mind focused on?

From surviving unspeakable living conditions through toddlerhood, to thriving in the Christian home environment of her loving, adoptive parents, Linda Summerford speaks to the atrocities still occurring within the foster care system today and praises those who are working diligently to make the necessary changes in policies to save the children.

Founder of Alive Again, LLC and a frequent guest on WIS-TV’s health and wellness segment, please join me in welcoming Lere’ Robinson to the LR team. She has invited us into her barn kitchen where she has saved us a seat at the table. She will be serving up a blend of delicious recipes, wellness tips, and sweet encouragement as we seek to nourish our bodies with good, healthy foods. 

What’s new? In-Between is our new digital newsletter designed to keep you up-to-date with what we’re up to in between issues of the magazine. Our first one launched on February 25, 2019. If you haven’t subscribed to receive this extra dose of real life, real faith, and real people into your inbox, please do so by going to our website, LivingRealMag.com. We would love to stay connected with you all year long.

Keeping it real...