This November is an invitation to discover how gratitude changes the way we see the world.
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Prayer
God, meet me honestly in the places that hurt. When gratitude feels far away, help me resist the pressure to manufacture happiness. Remind me that I can bring You my grief and still remain open to goodness. Give me grace for the season I'm in. Amen.
Verse of the Day
Reflection
There are seasons when gratitude lists feel almost impossible.
Perhaps you've lost someone. Perhaps a prayer remains unanswered, or the life you imagined looks very different from the one you're living.
In those moments, being told to count your blessings can feel like being asked to look away from your pain.
But genuine gratitude doesn't ask us to deny what hurts. It allows us to acknowledge the hurt without declaring that hurt is the only thing left in our story.
Maybe today, gratitude is simply recognizing that someone checked on you. That you found a moment of rest. That you were able to tell the truth about how you're doing.
Small doesn't mean insignificant. And sorrow doesn't disqualify you from receiving comfort.
Encouragement
Invitation
If today is difficult, don't force a long list of blessings. Simply ask: What is one small thing that offered me comfort today?
For the Grieving Heart...
When The Words Are Hard to Find is a gentle companion for those walking through grief.
When grief enters your life, words often disappear.
The ache is deep. The emotions are layered. And the weight of loss can leave you searching for something—anything—to hold onto.
When the Words Are Hard to Find is a heartfelt collection of stories, reflections, artwork, and deeply personal prayers created from artist and writer Jessy Paulson’s own lived experiences with grief, healing, faith, love, and loss.
Written over the course of a decade through seasons of heartbreak, rebuilding, and rediscovering light again, these pages offer a safe place to land for those navigating the complexities of being human. Through honest storytelling and meaningful prayer art, Jessy gently explores the realities of grief while also holding space for hope, beauty, joy, memory, and the possibility of living fully again.
Inside these pages, you’ll find: • Honest reflections from the trenches of grief • Comfort for the heavy days when words feel out of reach • Meaningful artwork and heartfelt prayers • Gentle reminders that you are not alone • Hope for healing without pressure to “move on” • Encouragement to continue living fully while carrying love and loss together
Whether you are grieving the loss of a loved one, walking through a difficult season, supporting someone you care about, or simply searching for words to hold onto, this book was created to sit beside you gently in the hard moments.
These are not words from someone standing outside of grief.
They are words written from within it.
And above all else, this book is an offering of hope: Evidence that even after devastating loss, it is still possible to heal, create, laugh, love deeply, and find beauty in life again.
If you don’t have the words right now…you are welcome to borrow these.
At Purpose + Grit, we’re creating a home where faith grows deeper, creativity is nurtured, and stories remind us we’re never alone.
This is a place to slow down, pay attention, make beautiful things, and remember that the ordinary pieces of our lives can become places where God meets us.
Thank you for being part of this little corner of the world—and for helping us make room for more faith, more creativity, and more honest stories along the way.
Everything you receive here is offered freely because we believe good things are worth sharing. If this space has encouraged you, helped you notice something beautiful, or simply given you a few quiet moments, you can help us continue creating and sharing this work by supporting our tip jar below.
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Welcome to Purpose + Grit—a place to slow down, pay attention, and discover God in the ordinary rhythms of life. Here you'll find daily prayers, stories, creative inspiration, and thoughtful invitations to live a little more awake. Through Gritty Faith Magazine, The Practice, books, and the stories we share along the way, we make room for faith, creativity, wonder, and the beautifully imperfect work of being human. You don't have to be an artist or have it all figured out. You simply have to be willing to pull up a chair. Come stay awhile. There's room for you here. Sign up below for our free daily prayer emails.
