Hello friends! I’m Courtney Stanford and I’m the writer here at Let Every Heart.
You may be familiar with these lyrics, “Let every heart prepare Him room and Heaven and nature sing!” I’ve basically adopted those words as my life theme, sweet friend. No other song resonates in my soul quite like, “Joy to the World.” In fact, that little stanza from my very favorite Christmas hymn perfectly summarizes my heart for this blog!
An aside: Joy is my very favorite word. I realize that it isn’t completely normal to have a very favorite word, but that is how I roll.
The joy of the Lord is your strength. ~Nehemiah 8:10
The girly-girl mommy of three, rough and tumble, little boys and the smitten wife of the most handsome worship pastor, our home is full of guys (young and old) singing church hymns or kicking a soccer ball loudly…always, always loudly.
I’m an elementary school teacher by day and my classroom is one of my favorite places on earth. I love my students with my whole heart, figuratively speaking. A good portion of my heart belongs to Jesus, my husband, and my own children to be literal. Nonetheless, I do adore my students. It is my life’s work to fill childhood with joy as I teach both integrity and literacy.
In past years, I have been both a working momma and a stay-at-home mommy. I love Jesus with all of my heart and I’ve been learning to leave my comfort zone to follow Him. My days are filled with life lessons in grace, patience, and joy in our little “frat house,” as I work toward the other life goal that I’ve purposed in my heart: to raise my growing guys into Godly men. Most days, I am the pupil of lessons in mercy. Raising three boys and teaching 48 students requires a daily dose of mercy. I need His grace every minute.
I love Christmas and song lyrics. I may even quote song lyrics to you if we chat for a few minutes. I drink far too much coffee which leads to overly animated stories with a few too many hand gestures, to be sure. I’m never without reading material. I start my day with my Bible, drive while listening to audiobooks, and always have a book ready on the Kindle app in my phone.
I am {usually} happy-hearted and I love BIG!
I’m passionate about too many topics to name and do my best to put people, relationships, loving kindness, and Biblical truth before my opinions. I’m especially passionate about loving God and loving others. I need Jesus daily because I strive, fail, repent, and repeat more than I’d like to admit.
This my song through endless ages, Jesus led all the way.” ~All the Way My Savior Leads Me
Won’t you join me on this journey of joy in our Savior?
Wherever you are right now, I want to encourage you there. May I speak joy into your life today? That is my prayer for us. May your heart {and all of the hearts in the whole, wide world} prepare Him room in every changing season of your story!
From my heart to yours,
~Courtney
