Joyful Life | Marnie Hammar

Joyful Life Magazine

The Joyful Life Magazine posts inspiring devotions on Instagram (@joyfullifemagazine) and encouraging essays on their blog written by a team of gifted writers I admire and adore. I am deeply honored to be on the Blog Contributor Team and the Devotion Writer Team, and have linked those writings here.

Marnie Hammar

Dec 22, 2020

The Weary World Rejoices

My rush to pull out the ornaments and set up the tree and string the lights isn’t actually rooted in holiday cheer this year. The allure...

Marnie Hammar

Dec 10, 2020

God's Answers in My "Why's"

I was on my knees again over one of those confusing, painful situations that just hasn’t resolved. I was asking God, again, why He had...

Marnie Hammar

Nov 17, 2020

The "Happy Jesus" Guy in the Chicago Loop

My first fancy job required a daily train ride into downtown Chicago. On Fridays, as I joined the throng emerging from the train station,...

Marnie Hammar

Nov 9, 2020

Learning Resolve from Fallen Leaves

My footsteps cracked acorns as I came up the hill. The morning light highlighted the greens and reds and golds ahead of me.⁠ ⁠ I delight...

Marnie Hammar

Oct 20, 2020

The Way Out of My Mess

I used to hate the question, “Have you prayed about it?” Because when people would ask me that, most likely, I hadn’t. I loved Jesus, but...

Marnie Hammar

Oct 2, 2020

On Needing an Untamed God

I used to want a “tame” version of God. My love for checkboxes and predictability and control was drawn to the parts of God that I could...

Marnie Hammar

Sep 25, 2020

Am I Doing This For God or With God?

I was camped out in the ER with a teenage boy who did not belong to me. During a flag football game gone wrong at the senior high...

Marnie Hammar

Sep 8, 2020

The Sweetness that Comes When We Taste and See

For years, I’ve stared down pineapples at the grocery store, telling them that I’d enjoy them more if they’d just be a bit, you know,...

Marnie Hammar

Aug 24, 2020

On Flourishing and Forcing

Late last summer, we planted a new hedge. Well, bushes that would grow together to form a sort of hedge-type thing, anyway. For almost a...

Marnie Hammar

Aug 20, 2020

Finding Peace Even in Shifting Sands

I never thought I would buy face masks at Old Navy. Or sneak a side-eye at the current supply of toilet paper at Target. Or gravitate...