About the Author

Bonnie Gray is the author of Sweet Like Jasmine, Whispers of Rest, wife, and mom to two boys. An inspirational speaker featured by Relevant Magazine and Christianity Today, she’s guided thousands to detox stress and experience God’s love through soul care, encouragement, and prayer. She loves refreshing your soul at...

(in)side DaySpring: things we love
& you will too!
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(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
DaySpring.com
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Comments

  1. Oh, Bonnie! My stars…I admire you so much! You prove that the right way isn’t always the easy way. You are brave, courageous, beautiful and so, so talented! You keep up this writing thing…it is who you are!
    I can hear God saying, “Atta girl, Bonnie!”
    I’m going to vote for you now! 🙂

  2. Thank you for sharing your story! I know I have just recently found your blog and started reading it through revelife…but you have touched me with your writing and spoken to my own heart. Thank you for living your story and writing.

  3. Bonnie !!???
    um, wow. stuck on the wow for a bit. God bless you.
    and some of this resonated with me.
    I will set aside time later today to get back to this.
    and is it okay if, without knowing, that I am sure your mother is proud of you.

  4. Bonnie, you are courageous and beautiful. Your story brought me to tears. It is so difficult to step out in faith, and you, my friend have taught me so much with your story. God Bless You and thank you fro sharing that.

  5. this is beautiful… i too lived by my parent’s checklist for YEARS… it was disasterous… now I’m trying to daily live God’s adventure for me too 🙂

  6. Finding one’s story is a lifelong journey. Your post sent me down excellent thought-paths on this, which I will continue on all day. Hard choices and every time we think we know what the ending will be, we are surprised again. Thanks so much for sharing this!

  7. Bonnie, how amazingly beautiful! I just don’t even know what else to say, though I want to go on and on about this post! I’m off to see the film!

  8. Thank you so much for sharing your story. I knew you as FaithBarista but had no idea. I have not had a story as gripping as yours but have dealt with the guilt of not being the girl or woman my parents see my as…….I understand just a little bit!

  9. The expectations placed on us by parents or other authorities are so hard to break free from. Praise God for His mercy and grace! I’m thankful you did and continue to break free and carry out this amazing ministry of encouragement you have. Thanks Bonnie.

  10. This is amazing Bonnie! How could you be anything other than a writer? God formed you for this. Thank you for opening up a painful and difficult chapter of your life to us. Your genuineness is refreshing and inspires that in me. 🙂 Good luck on the contest! I think you should win.

  11. Bonnie,
    I loved your story…its a story of grace and courage…one which should encourage each one of us…to learn to break free from our past and become all that God wants for us. I am encouraged!
    Thank you and God bless
    Gladwell

  12. I hope your Ah-ma learns to appreciate that she has a daughter who will fulfill her own dreams, and make your dream her dream instead of resenting that it didn’t work out vice verse.

  13. Wow, what a heart-wrenching yet inspiring story. What a good message for us as parents to not put our expectations and dreams on our kids and give them that burden. And also, a message to follow God, not to live for others.

  14. Engineer-turned-writer. You, too? 😉
    Thank you very much for allowing me a glimpse of your story. Can’t wait to see more glimpses as I get to know you in the time ahead of us.
    And what a gorgeous little baby in those photos there. 🙂

  15. Dear Friends —
    Wow. Thank you for being here to encourage me and surrounding me with your support! I can’t express how much this means to me.
    It’s been rather emotional and healing writing and filming.
    Thank you for steadying my heart with your words!
    With gratitude…
    Bonnie
    (FaithBarista)

  16. Oh. Bonnie. Such a painfully beautiful story. I am touched by your courage to throw off the things that hinder and press on to enter into His story–your story–knowing that, really, He was the engineer from the beginning. And that, really, it’s all one story. Just a new chapter in a sense. For what’s gone before is a well of healing for others as you enter into their stories. I’m so very glad I’ve connected with you.

  17. Thank you for sharing your story. I’m looking to live my own story right now, and yours inspires me. It also gives me hope that I can find the story God meant for me to live – and live it!

  18. I commented this on Faith Barista, but I wanted to share it on here too:
    Wow, very tremendous story. I have a deeper appreciation for your writing now (and I already was pretty fond of it to begin with). I also understand why you can tell that there’s so much heart put into your posts. Just

  19. Bonnie, what courage that must have taken. Family pressure can be difficult to break free from. But God has a plan for your life and I’m so glad you agreed to His plan. In the process, you are blessing many, including me.
    Blessings and love,
    Debbie

  20. Oh Bonnie, thank you! I am struggling to write out of my mother’s story too, but it’s a different trajectory. She was American born Greek and I’ve married an American born Chinese man. Mine’s a modern Persephone story. Don’t have a blogsite or I’d join your faith barista community. You bless me; God bless you!

  21. Bonnie,
    Thank you for sharing this. And for the reminder that God created a story for each of us and that even when it is hard, He has us in the palm of His hand.