I Want You To See God In Your Story!

Anna Barton
Hi, I’m Anna

If you’re anything like me, maybe you haven’t always believed that God’s grace and forgiveness are meant for you.

That’s hard to say out loud – and it’s something I struggled with for years.

Now I help women see God in their story by sharing my own story – Living A Sonrise Life. Every day I pray that more women will see The Son rise in their own lives.

This Is What I Do

At Sky Blue Annie, I share how God led me to this tiny corner of His kingdom, to live for Him and share my faith with you. I pray that you will find something helpful or encouraging here.

If you pray, I would deeply appreciate prayers for courage and grace, and that I would speak the truth in love.

I hope women will see that even though we all fall short, that God loves us anyway. We can find this out for ourselves in His Word – The Bible – and we can learn this from each other, as we share our stories.

Is This You?

Are you a Christian woman who isn’t actively maturing in your faith? (I was, too.🙋‍♀️) Maybe you don’t attend a church right now, or you might attend church, but you just don’t spend much time in God’s Word… because, where do you even start? 

I’ve found that many women struggle with applying the Bible to their daily life, which is why my passion is showing you Biblical Truths, and where to find them, by sharing anecdotes from my life, so you can see you’re not alone in wrestling with The Truth. One of the things my readers love most is that I share from my heart, and I would love for you to see if my story compels you to explore God’s Word for yourself.

A wise young pastor once said that we don’t grow in our faith by stating, “I am a Christian.” He’s absolutely right.

Feeding the Body Of Christ

Women need other women. Women who can relate. Women who join together to grow in God’s Word. Women who will stand with us in fervent prayer, hug us like a sister, and listen to us read aloud from the Word of God without fits of laughter when we mispronounce a Hebrew name.

I don’t have a Masters Degree in Divinity, or any formal theological training, but I do have what billions of other people have: God’s Word (the Bible), and I have a desire to learn it.

You May Be Wondering…

Is there an easy way to read the Bible?

Why bother with church — when it’s not even Easter or Christmas?

What’s a good way to get to know the women in my church?

I can help you. I’ve been the one who’s hungry for God’s Word, the new person in church (again), and the one with the most questions (it seems!).

We Weren’t Always “Church People”

The only time we darkened the doorway to a church in the first few years of marriage was to attend a friend’s wedding.

Then, a few years afterward, when Bernice – a little old lady in Slidell, Louisiana – invited us to attend classes at her church.

We lied to her and told her we already had a church.

I mean we tried those classes for two weeks — then we lied. We just  didn’t feel comfortable there.

God knew this was a big fat lie, and I just imagine the belly-laugh He had as we covered our tracks with poor Bernice… while finding a church home!

We turned to the Yellow Pages to find “our” church!

It Was A Coin Toss

One of us grew up nominally Methodist, and the other was nominally Lutheran. Lutheran won the toss, and we figured we’d try the Methodist church the next week, if the Lutheran one didn’t work out.

We liked that Lutheran church so much, we never bothered with the other. After membership classes and my husband’s baptism, we were confirmed together, and the rest is history.

Many moves and many Lutheran congregations later, here we are.

We All Need Grace

Even though my name (Anna) means Full of Grace, I am a sinner. It’s my human nature. I’m a flawed and sinful woman who knows the humbling, freeing power of God’s grace and forgiveness. This is because I am also a child of God.

Jesus Christ is my risen Lord, my Savior, and my King. I am reborn, and was adopted into God’s family.

As a forgiven sinner, I am reminded to show God’s grace to others. His love – our response. Sometimes I actually do, and other times I revert to my default: my old sinful nature.

Perfection? Yeah, No.

While my opinions are my own, and I do prefer informed opinions over uninformed, let’s just say I have shoe prints on the inside of my mouth that remind me I am completely fallible. So, please continue reading at your own risk.

Likely, I will go on my merry way, stopping now and then to pull my foot out of my mouth and offer an apology.

I Want To Connect With You

As long as I have a connection with the Internet, I hope to have a connection with you!

Please feel welcome here, just as you are. It’s not awesome being on the outside looking in, or always feeling like the “new girl.” So, from Sky Blue Annie, welcome, Sister! Make yourself at home.

God uses imperfect people since forever, and I am just one of millions. I share my triumphs and the try-oomph’s with women who need to know they’re NOT alone.

The blogosphere is vast, with countless choices and countless voices, and Sky Blue Annie is my voice. Maybe my stories will resonate with you, and you’ll come back to hear more about Living A Sonrise Life.

I’d really like that!

P.S.

  • Annie. Anna. Anne. I answer to all of them.
  • My nickname. My given name. The name I asked my husband to call me, since there were five Annas in my family.
  • I married Lance, the man of my dreams, over four decades ago. We still hold hands.
  • Together, Lance and I raised a mighty man of God – so between Raising a son, and The Risen Son is how I came up with “SONRISE” for Living A Sonrise Life.
  • The small patch of ground we call “Sonrise Hobby Farm” is where we raise chickens, bees, and – you guessed it – hobbies.