In this topic, Julie draws from her own experience of divorce, single-motherhood and being diagnosed with depression. She explores these experiences not just through the lens of Scripture but also through the lens of a kaleidoscope!

Life in all its fullness can be inconvenient and messy sometimes. Julie draws on her own experiences of life’s ups and downs to explore what Scripture has to say about the times of stress, failure and loss that are inevitable experiences of being human. Honesty opens the door to healing.

Julie is a self-declared Word Nerd. From a young age, she has loved diving into dictionaries and thesauruses. In time, her resources expanded to include concordances. This love of all things etymological (that’s the science term for the tracing of a word’s roots and development) lead in part to her enrolling as a mature student to study Speech and Language Therapy at Birmingham City University, U.K.

Julie draws on over 40 years experience of being involved with the musical aspect of church life within various denominations. She has ministered to 1000s in a conference setting, as well as to 6 old ladies and a dog in a more rural setting. Julie also composes and arranges songs for congregational participation.

Whilst studying for a qualification in Mental Health Advocacy in the Workplace, Julie came across the concept of 7 Types of Rest. These are: Physical; Mental; Sensory; Creative; Emotional; Social; Spiritual. Having experienced nervous exhaustion herself whilst still at school, Julie explores these aspects of rest with fresh insight and humour. There may also be some LEGO® along the way.