This printed Study Guide Workbook is designed to accompany the video course entitled "Praying Your Thorns with the Mystics." Please note that this is a workbook only — the video course is sold separately and available at LeadershipBooks.com.
More than just a supplement, this hands-on guide is your personal companion for deeper healing, spiritual growth, and reflection as you journey through the powerful teachings of Chronic Grace and the Praying Your Thorns video course.
Through thoughtful prompts, weekly reflections, and guided journaling, this workbook will help you:
✅ Transform grief, fear, and uncertainty through structured prayer
✅ Deepen your spiritual walk through the wisdom of Christian saints and mystics
✅ Strengthen your trust in God’s plan and presence
✅ Cultivate a deeper, more meaningful prayer life
✅ Experience healing through sacred stillness and honest self-reflection
Whether used individually or in a group setting, the Praying Your Thorns Study Guide Workbook is crafted to meet you where you are—and gently lead you into deeper communion with the heart of God.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julie K. Rhodes lives in Fort Worth, TX, with her husband Gordon and two teenage kids Drew and Maddie, plus pug Eloise ("The Eyeballs."). She performs regularly on stages all over Dallas-Fort Worth area and has multiple film and commercial credits.
WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT CHRONIC GRACE
“Julie Rhodes is the Midge Maisel of evangelicalism: prim, smart, funny, and honest — struggling through faith-shaking hardship with guidance from ancient tradition, and sometimes talking back. Chronic Grace is a recipe book for life, offering nourishment for any reader who faces real challenges and knows that real success takes more than a ring light.”
— Ryan Sanders
Commentary Editor
The Dallas Morning News
“In a world where we expect doctors to figure out and fix everything, Long- Haul COVID has stumped even the best of them. Long COVID means “fevers, malaise, racing heart, diarrhea, shortness of breath, cough” – and more. What’s it like for a woman, a mother, a wife, a career-woman to endure months of no diagnosis when she knows from bones to skin that something’s there? Chronic illness requires chronic grace to sustain the fragility of life in the whatever-it-takes quest for healing. Julie Rhodes’ soul-open memoir transcends the path of description, though myriads in the world with Long COVID need a companion like Chronic Grace. She transparently probes God, the Bible, her prayer life, and some of the greatest spiritual masters as she probes her own “quivery, shivery” heart and faith. What’s it like? Julie, in turning her transparent self toward our loving God, provides words for the journey and healing for the heart. Chronic Grace is a textbook of the journey of faith.”
— Rev. Canon Dr. Scot McKnight
Professor of New Testament
Northern Seminary
“Can I be honest? I couldn’t put Julie’s story down. While enjoyable, beautiful, and compelling – it also took my breath away because it held all my fears. As her unexplainable Long Haul COVID symptoms seemed to unendingly stack one upon another, she didn’t give up but leaned in. She did what I hope I would do. She leaned on the cross of Christ and found God’s grace. And she leaned on the saints of old to borrow their truth for herself. Part history lesson, part unfiltered inspiration, and part wellplaced humor, Julie leads us through her valley and helps us see that the bright light of Jesus is always there. If you are facing uncertainty or fear or need a good reminder that no matter what comes your way, Jesus will be with you, and he is, indeed, enough – read Chronic Grace.”
— Jodie Niznik, author,
Bible teacher, and host of the
So Much More podcast
You may also contact Julie at Leadership Speakers Bureau to schedule her for speaking or leadership engagements.
