Stacey Pardoe

Encountering God in the Ordinary

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  • My Books
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  • Faith and Family
  • My Story
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  • Purposeful Living

    6 Prayers for Loving Others Even When They’re Hard to Love

    May 21, 2025 /

    Years ago, God brought an acquaintance into my life who was hard to love.  She often called me multiple times per day.  She was easily offended and didn’t respect my boundaries.  I felt called to continue loving her, but it wasn’t always easy.  Today, we’ll explore six prayers for loving others, especially when loving doesn’t come easily. 6 Prayers for Loving Others Over time, I realized I needed God’s love to pour through me if I was going to carry his love into challenging relationships. No matter how hard I tried, willpower didn’t help me become more loving.  I needed God to work in my heart and give me his…

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    How to Focus on Jesus Instead of Focusing on Your Problems

    October 4, 2017

    8 Life-Changing Prayers for Your Daughter

    March 22, 2023

    Living in the Joy of the Lord: 6 Practical Ways

    September 6, 2017
  • Embracing Your Journey
    Purposeful Living

    Embracing Your Journey: 5 Tips to Help You

    March 12, 2025 /

    “God’s gifts are woven into every journey,” a friend once reminded me.  “Embracing your journey happens when you learn to see the gifts, especially the ones hidden beneath challenges.” I’ve thought of her words dozens of times since that day. I invite you to join me in a place that often inspires my writing—the tiny cabin where our family escapes for long weekends surrounded by rolling hills, beech trees, and open skies—and we’ll talk about learning to embrace our moments. Embracing Your Journey The steady cadence of rain falling on a metal roof is broken by children’s squeals in the distance.  A few minutes ago, my husband and sons took…

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    How to Glorify God in Your Body: 5 Practical Ways

    August 23, 2017

    Join the Book Launch Team for Our New Mother-Daughter Devotional Book!

    October 2, 2024

    4 Ways to Stay Focused on Jesus at Christmas

    December 11, 2024
  • Sowing Spiritual Seeds
    Purposeful Living

    Sowing Spiritual Seeds: 8 Truths for When You Doubt Your Calling

    March 5, 2025 /

    When I became a teacher, I remember looking around and thinking, The needs are so great, and I’m only one person.  What difference can I possibly make?  The idea of sowing spiritual seeds for God’s glory felt like a long shot.  I was just trying to survive. Two decades later, I’m no longer teaching in a public school.  But I often look at the world’s condition and have similar sentiments.  The needs are so great.  I feel so small.  What impact could I possibly make? Maybe you’ve experienced similar thoughts. Sowing Spiritual Seeds When You Feel Insignificant Not long ago, I read the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000.  The…

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    Showing Grace

    7 Practical Ways to Show Grace to Others

    March 15, 2017

    What Does It Mean to Live Life to the Fullest?

    December 1, 2021

    How to Know If You Are Walking in the Spirit: 5 Ways

    July 13, 2022
  • Bible Truth for Everyday Life

    How to Cultivate Contentment When You’re Tempted to Grumble

    February 26, 2025 /

    A grey sky hovered over the mountains as we climbed out of the valley.  Cloaked in wildflowers and the viridescent glow of summer growth, the hillsides held us in welcoming arms.  The scene felt like a gentle invitation to cultivate contentment and peace. As we traveled up the mountainside, the tender growth of flora was gradually replaced by tall stands of conifers—lodgepole and jack pine surrounding us like protective guardians. We spotted elk grazing in meadows and moose meandering through willows. The shift came slowly at first.  The trees began to thin and give way to more expansive meadows.  Before long, the scant trees all clung to the mountainside below…

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    Feeling Left Out? This Is for You . . .

    July 5, 2017

    4 Insights to Help You Keep Trusting God When It Hurts

    March 9, 2022

    I Am Tired, God: Encouragement for Exhausting Seasons

    July 24, 2019
  • Purposeful Living

    5 New Year Prayer Points for a Fresh Start

    January 1, 2025 /

    I meander slowly through a forest encased in white.  Strangers’ footprints delineate the path through crusty layers that have thawed and frozen a dozen times.  I’m in the woods today to regroup and focus on the months ahead.  The New Year always feels like a fresh start.  Today, I invite you to join me as we explore five New Year prayer points to help us begin this year with focus and hope. 5 New Year Prayer Points for a Fresh Start I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of picking a word, a verse, or a resolution for the New Year.  This year, as I stroll through the forest, I…

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    20 Words of Affirmation for Every Child

    May 29, 2024

    How to Get Out of a Rut in Life: 4 Ways

    April 18, 2018

    Joy in Jesus: How to Cultivate It in Your Life

    March 1, 2017
  • Purposeful Living

    4 Ways to Stay Focused on Jesus at Christmas

    December 11, 2024 /

    For the first year in decades, I counted winter as a gift this year: not a grueling season to survive, but a wonderous season to embrace.  As I aim to give thanks for the colder weather and darker days, I’m also reminding myself to stay focused on Jesus at Christmas this year. I tend to get pulled into the rush of my Christmas to-do list, making it tough to stay centered. If you can relate, here are four ways I’m helping our family stay focused on Jesus at Christmas this year. How to Stay Focused on Jesus at Christmas Let’s look at several practical ways to keep our focus on…

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    How to Be a Woman of Influence and Inspiration

    February 1, 2020
    Showing Grace

    7 Practical Ways to Show Grace to Others

    March 15, 2017

    10 Biblical Affirmations for Kids of All Ages

    August 10, 2018
  • Bible Truth for Everyday Life

    10 Life-Giving Bible Verses About Light and Truth

    December 4, 2024 /

    As we prepare our hearts to celebrate the coming of the Light of the World, I’ve been soaking in Bible verses about light and truth.  I invite you to join me as I watch the morning dawn, and we’ll savor these Truths together. 10 Life-Giving Bible Verses About Light and Truth This morning the sky greeted us with a color I’d never named.  Like a tree-ripened peach, it smiled down from above—ready to offer the gift of its entire self. Thunder groaned a foreboding warning to the south, and I pulled the blanket over my head, resistant to surrender to the light. Meanwhile, I’ve learned that the light finds me…

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    10 Comforting Truths for Your Storms in Life

    January 24, 2018

    What to Do When God is Silent in Your Life

    November 13, 2019

    Stepping Out in Faith: How to Take the First Step

    June 13, 2018
  • Purposeful Living

    How to Renew Your Mind From Negative Thoughts

    November 27, 2024 /

    I recently set out on a slow walk down our country road as the sun set behind the barren maple forest.  I had no way of knowing that the walk was going to be a lesson in renewing my mind.  Perhaps you need this space as well.  Maybe you need to lean into learning how to renew your mind from negative thoughts. As I walked, I noticed that the tree line had turned gray with winter. I’m not ready for these long, dark winter months, I thought. I cringed at the thought of long evenings inside the house and whiteouts rolling in from the west. How to Renew Your Mind…

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    16 Practical Ways to Keep Your Heart on Fire for God

    August 30, 2023

    How to Be a Woman of Influence and Inspiration

    February 1, 2020

    How to Love Like Jesus When It Doesn’t Come Easily

    August 5, 2020
  • Transformation

    4 Signs That God Is Pruning You

    July 17, 2024 /

    Do you sense that God is pruning you and cutting away parts of your life that aren’t bearing fruit?  Today, I invite you to join me as I stand on our front stoop, and we’ll talk about the signs that God is pruning you. Signs That God Is Pruning You Yesterday, I pruned the Rose of Sharon. It’s not the season for pruning, but the roseate blossoms were drawing bees to our front door. With flowers hanging like a garland around the door, it was just a matter of time until someone got stung. Suppressing a twinge of sadness, I snipped and shaped the unruly branches. About halfway through the…

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    Overcome Anxiety With God: 6 Steps to Help You

    February 6, 2019

    How to Be Transformed by Grace—and Why Willpower Doesn’t Work

    January 3, 2024

    Recovering From Church Hurt: 6 Steps Toward Healing

    February 28, 2018
  • Purposeful Living

    7 Uplifting Prayers of Gratitude to God

    June 19, 2024 /

    Nightfall welcomes a resplendent moon, and I admire it from the window.  As I watch the first stars emerge, my heart fills with thankfulness, inspiring me to draw near to my Creator with prayers of gratitude to God. Today, I’m sharing seven prayers of gratitude to God with hopes to inspire your prayer life as well. After exploring these prayers, we’ll talk about how to cultivate prayerful lives. 7 Prayers of Gratitude to God In his letter to the Thessalonian church, the Apostle Paul encouraged these believers to be joyful always, pray without stopping, and give thanks in all situations (1 Thess. 5:16-18). Interestingly, recent findings in neuroscience reveal that…

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    How to Get Out of a Rut in Life: 4 Ways

    April 18, 2018

    God’s Grace Is Sufficient in Every Season

    July 14, 2022

    Inspiring Scripture About Serving in Quiet Places

    June 10, 2020
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I’m so glad you’re here!

Welcome to Encountering God in the Ordinary. I'm Stacey Pardoe, and I hope to help you connect with God in ways that refresh and restore your soul. I warmly invite you to get started by checking out my library of free devotional books on my “Free eBooks” page.

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My Books

A mother-daughter devotional book to help moms and daughters connect with each other and grow closer to God! Written with my teen daughter, Bekah!

God is waiting to set you free!

Lean Into Grace

Are you tired of feeling stuck in some area of your life? God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you've been unable to achieve through willpower alone. Let Lean Into Grace lead you into God's love as he heals your heart, refreshes your soul, and sets you free.

A mother-daughter shared devotional journal just for teen girls and moms!

This mother-daughter devotional helps moms and daughters discuss tricky topics, including purity, peer pressure, dating, and more, while also leading them both closer to God.

I also offer more than a dozen free eBooks and online devotionals!

Check out this link to view and download more than a dozen free eBooks and online devotionals.

Recent Posts

  • 7 Prayers for Joy and Peace No Matter What You’re Facing
  • 6 Prayers for Loving Others Even When They’re Hard to Love
  • 7 Powerful Scriptures for Spiritual Attacks
  • What Is the Spirit of Offense & How to Overcome It
  • 12 Ways to Destroy the Works of the Devil
  • 10 Spiritual Reflection Questions for Growth and Renewal
  • Is God Calling You to a Balanced Life? (10 Insightful Scriptures on Balance in Life)
  • The Secret No One Tells You in Your Lowest Moment
  • 14 Free Devotional Books to Help You Grow With God
  • A Free 2024 New Year Devotional to Help You Grow With God
  • How to Cling to the Lord When You'd Rather Cling to Control
  • Your Pain Has a Purpose, and This Is Part of It . . .
  • How to Find Freedom From Your Secret Sins
  • How to Stop Worrying and Trust God in Tough Times
  • The Lie You Might Believe if You're in the Refining Fire

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