Robin MounceThe blog
Lessons Robin is learning about Christ through daily life
Read short insights into the lessons Robin is learning about Christ through her daily life. Join her to reflect and process your own life experiences.
2026
Stranger Danger
My first-class seat on the flight home was inviting, where I could relax with my cheese-and-fruit plate. A young man smiled at me while he sat in his window seat, and I…
You Can Take the Dog Out of the Country, but You Can’t Take the Country Out of the Dog
Brady, our two-year-old German Shepherd, considers himself the manager of his woodland kingdom and takes his bunny patrol seriously. Fluffy pushes his buttons as he darts through the acreage, teasing him. Brady…
Tree Planted by the River
I walk my German shepherds in the icy air, so cold I can’t take a deep breath. Frost crunches under my boots, and my fingers are painfully stiff from the bitter chill.…
Dreary Winter Day
Monday, January 19th, a thick fog hangs over the winter sky at a freezing 23 degrees. The mountain across the river struggles to rise above the dense gloom. The ridge pushes through…
2025
“To be, or not to be: that is the question”
This morning I woke up to my quiet time and I read John 3:30. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John the Baptist is talking about Jesus Christ and his coming…
Who orchestrates our thuds?
I have learned that life orchestrates our "thuds" but also God knows what is best for us to grow closer to him in the midst of our "thuds." God does do the…
Who is your God?
I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; before the “gods” I will sing your praise. I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name I…
What is victory?
Every morning about a dozen deer saunter to my feeding trough. They jostle for prime dining positions and sometimes kick another away. Eventually, everyone gets fed. After the hubbub feeding frenzy and…
Watch and pray
Which type of person are you? Fix and pray, or watch and pray? Think about how you handle frustrating situations or unexpected heartaches. You have a close friend that is choosing poor…
Wait for the Lord
“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:14). Larry Crabb writes in this book, The Pressures Off, “You’ve realized that what you…
Through which identity door are you walking?
I loved being a mother. I enjoyed my kids and I committed my time and energy to them. I had fun being a mother. I often think that I had kids so…
The repurposed life
Think about the time when you were 14 to 16 years old. What kind of goals, visions, and dreams did you have for your adult life? Did you want to be a…
The love of God
“On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I cling to…
The best laid plans of a women go thud
For these past two in a half months this saying “the best-laid plans of women go THUD” has been my repeated phrase. My plans did not pan out as I thought they…
The battle of the rudder
We have a cabin in Ione, WA on the Pend Oreille River. The other day a paddle boat was floating down the river and we decided to go and retrieve it and…
Taking my life back one inch at a time
After three years, when I was going through a variety of losses where I literally had the rug taken out under my feet, I made a decision to take my life back.…
Silent casualty
My heart goes out to pastors’ wives’ as I hear their stories of heartache. Their husband may be going through a difficult time in the church. He may be wrestling with a…
Sad Saturday
I woke up this morning on April 3rd, the day before Easter, quite depressed. The weather was stormy and the clouds were the color of “Spokane” gray. I had not been around…
Pray and watch and hope
The other day I spent time with a woman whose husband has kidney cancer, her grandson has a brain tumor and she has a neurological condition where she shakes all the time.…
My personal God
I am here sitting in my dining room in Washougal Washington overlooking the Columbia River. If I stand up and look out the window I can see Mt. Hood. Across the river…
It's not if; it’s when!
We think about “if” as we make plans for our day. “If I work out, if I eat healthy, if I read a chapter today, if I clean my house.” But what…
In the midst of the mess, keep seeking the Lord
My life has been pretty messy these past several months. - Our move to Washougal. - Getting our house on the market. - Finding a house in Washougal. - College tuition, taxes,…
If you want to accomplish something, you have to do it!
I pondered this thought the other day as I was debating whether to work out. My mind went through all the reasons why I did not need to work out that day.…
How do we forgive lost dreams?
I have been asking the Lord how we are called to forgive, but it still hurts. What do we do with the hurt? We know that scripture says that if we don't…
Hope in the midst of a broken world
My husband and I just returned from a trip to Houston, Texas. It has been about five in a half months since the hurricane, named Harvey, flew through the town and dumped…
Heart work is hard work
As I have been studying the heart and living with my own heart I realize that the heart is complicated and mysterious. According to the “Dashboard” dictionary, it states that “the heart…
Heart of personal discovery
These past few weeks I have enjoyed our Christian Life Coaching classes. I have enjoyed reading Gary R. Collins's book. I have enjoyed the interaction with my “buddy” Laurie Pittman. I have…
Harm is not harm if it does good
Hayden was almost three when we were swimming in my friend’s pool. As I gathered our stuff to leave, I heard commotions and coughing in the background. Hayden was flailing and gasping…
Freedom versus control
I have two German Shepherds. One, named Rufio, is almost 10 years old. The other dog, named Archer, is 2 1/2 years old. When we picked Rufio out of the liter he…
Finding a new trajectory
I realized the other day that my strength in Life Coaching is giving my clients a “trajectory.” I enjoy watching my clients reach goals that they never knew, originally, existed. “Existed” is…
Fear and loss of control
I was on a walk today and I asked the Lord... “what is my deal with fear?” I realized over the last several years there are a few fears that have surfaced…
Confident hope in the Psalms
You have just received a phone call from your son and his wife has cancer. You have a friend whose husband has had an affair and leaving his wife and family for…
Are you nice because you are nice or are you nice because you want something?
The other day I was in Best Buy and I was working through a refund issue on a refrigerator we were purchasing. It was becoming a headache but the customer service people…
"You remembered"
Over 10 years ago my husband was a pastor, and we left our church that we dearly loved. We were intertwined with the people in that body of Christ and we always…
2022
2019
Favor with God?
This morning I was reading in the book of Luke, the story about Mary and how the angel visited her and told her she has found “favor” with God. In fact, the…
Doing life with your adult children
This book is practical in its instruction and helpful with interesting illustrations and advice that you can hang onto and implement easily in your relationship with your adult kids. The book begs…
A heart at peace
“A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” Proverbs 14:30 I am experiencing an inner peace as I sit at our cabin and watch the gentle…
