Weathering Change: Seeking Peace Amid Life’s Tough Transitions

by Courtney Ellis

“In this beautiful book, Courtney Ellis brings us along with her on a journey through weather, the seasons, the land, and the inhabitants of this earth we call home. … The juxtaposition of story and science, the natural world and spiritual growth—I will never tire of works like these. Courtney has written a book that encapsulates all of this beautifully and I cannot commend this work more to you.” – Lore Ferguson Wilbert, from the foreword If one thing is constant, it's change. You may know it's coming, or it may be unexpected. It may be a change you anticipate with joy, like a new job, a wedding, or the birth of a baby. Or it may be a shift you fear or even moving to a new city, changes that come with aging, or a lost or broken relationship. No matter what kind of transition you are facing, change is difficult. How can you find peace and hope even when everything around you is shifting sand? How can your faith help you weather change? Pastor Courtney Ellis has walked alongside countless people facing changes big and small, welcome and dreaded. She's found that the same two questions come up again and Why is change so hard? And where is God amid these changes? Weathering Change invites you to discover how God equips us to navigate life's inevitable changes. Ellis offers rich spiritual reflections from God's created world and from Scripture that help you prepare for change and show you how to journey through it with curiosity, adaptability, and resilience. In Weathering Change you'll Discover how you can navigate life's disruptive changes, big or small, with grace and courage, Learn deep lessons from God's creation about preparing for and adapting to change, Learn how to find hope and peace amid the challenges and hurts of change, and Use the included discussion questions to explore how these principles can be applied to your life in meaningful ways. Ellis brings a unique perspective, blending theology, biblical narratives, personal insights, and stories from nature to illuminate how God remains present through times of transition. God's "Second Book" of nature provides deep and abiding lessons to sustain us during tough transitions—lessons we can learn from nesting bald eagles, metamorphosing monarch caterpillars, migrating Mobula rays, microscopic aeroplankton floating along with the breeze, and more. Though change is often painful, it is also ripe with possibilities for newness, growth, and transformation. Get your copy of Weathering Change today and begin to face change with grace and courage, finding strength in God's ever-present guidance.

Genres: Nonfiction

216 pages, Paperback

Published February 17, 2026

About the author

Author, speaker, and mom of three, Courtney Ellis serves alongside her husband as a pastor in southern California. Born in the northern woods of Wisconsin, she graduated from Wheaton College, Loyola U of Chicago, and Princeton Theological Seminary. Her books include "Uncluttered: Free Your Space, Free Your Schedule, Free Your Soul," "Almost Holy Mama," and "Happy Now: Let Playfulness Lift Your Load and Renew Your Spirit."

Courtney's passions are to find freedom through practicing Christian simplicity, to give and receive hospitality, to play continually, and to live missionally while inviting others to do the same. She also loves candy and hates being told by her dentist that she should eat less candy.

Courtney's words have been featured in Fathom, Christianity Today, MOPS International, (in)courage, The Glorious Table, Huffington Post, The Mighty, Two Peas in a Podcast, Woven, More Than This, and more.

Find Courtney:

* Blog: www.courtneybellis.com
* Twitter: @courtneyellis
* Facebook: authorcourtneybellis
* Instagram: courtney_ellis_ellis

Reviews

[Shemaiah Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Transitions are tough-- and awkward, but a constant in life. How we handle transition builds resilience for those to come. Through hilarious personal stories, practical advice and descriptions of the natural world, Ellis opens our eyes to see God has not left us to our own devices. In His graciousness He revealed ways to navigate this world and all it throws at us, through His marvelous creation. Not only did I learn much about birds and bears and even ice, in Weathering Change, but finished the book fortified to take on change myself ---as an opportunity to grow.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading Looking Up, a book by this author that brought me such needed help and hope in my grief and trauma recovery, I was eagerly anticipating reading this newest book. Yet I feel tricked and betrayed by what I discovered, and I'm very disappointed.

I would happily give this book a 5-star rating like I did for Looking Up, which also made my top picks of over 180 books I read in 2025. However, due to the liberalism that crept into this book, I felt cheated of the healing experience I sought from it. If the liberalism was removed, it wouldn't hurt this book at all, and the author's beautiful, metaphor-rich writing would be more inclusive for conservative readers.

What offended me that I first thought was a typo was the repeated use of "united States" or "uS" rather than the standard "United States" and "U.S." in all major style guides. I noted a negative reference to MAGA and a story that clearly portrayed the border patrol in a negative light. This was not counterbalanced by negative references to liberals in her book. Though she talked about dressing differently to accommodate her church audiences in Wisconsin vs. California, it seems as though she was not willing to be as accommodating to potential conservative readers like me in her book.

Here's why this concerns me so much. Jesus' last recorded prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane was for future believers - literally for us today. What did he pray for us? That we would have unity in the church. By taking a left-wing stance of talking about the United States with less unity through the passive-aggressive lowercase settings, what example does this set for us in the church? Couldn't the editors at IVP and the author have agreed that this inflammation was completely unnecessary, not to mention contrary to industry-standard editing guidelines?

This book has made me lose trust in both the author and the publisher. I would prefer to read a Christian non-fiction book without unnecessary interjections of political leanings. Though I myself am conservative, I do not share my conservative political viewpoints in my books intended for discipleship in the church. I wish other authors would follow suit as to not offend readers.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley.

[Mhughessc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Courtney Ellis is a speaker and author, who prefers to center her writings around the lessons we can learn from nature. Her latest book is entitled, "Weathering Change: Seeking Peace Amid Life's Tough Transitions." Ellis asserts that we can learn from nature how to deal with change when she says the following: "Nature demonstrates how to prepare for impending change." In fact, she reiterates that nature deals with changes in four ways: preparation, curiosity, adaptability, and resilience. She describes preparation as "reading yourself for what is coming or may come," curiosity as "approaching newness with open-minded interest," adaptability as "the ability to learn something new in one circumstance and then applying that learning elsewhere" and resilience as "the ability to bounce back or carry on after a change or setback."

It's easy to determine just how much Ellis loves nature, particularly birds, in her writing. I think anyone who is religious and likes being outdoors will really enjoy this book. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

[Dorothy Greco · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much appreciated this book. Ellis is warm, wise, insightful, and pastoral. From the publisher: "Ellis brings a unique perspective, blending theology, biblical narratives, personal insights, and stories from nature to illuminate how God remains present through times of transition."

Curiosity is one of her key themes throughout the book:
"Discernment is an exercise in curiosity."
"The more time I spend seeking Jesus, the more I've begun to realize that faith is really a sort of divine curiosity."
"Curiosity is a sacred discipline."

Could not agree more.

If I lived in her neighborhood, I would definitely attend the church she pastors!

[Courtney Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. But then—I wrote it.

I always write the books I need to read. I’ve always struggled with change. Since I was a little girl, my parents have stories of the ways I fought off change. It didn’t get easier in adulthood, so I decided it was time to learn from Scripture, theology, psychology, and the natural world how to weather change well.

The result is this book: part investigation, part witness, part story. What I learned was that change is hard, God is good, and nature can help us through.

Therein lies the tale.

[Sarah Butterfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

Weaving research from the natural world, personal narrative, and deep spiritual insights, Courtney Ellis has written a wise guide and companion for those of us walking through seasons of change. Within these pages, Courtney explores how God meets us in seasons of uncertainty through small, sustaining practices, deep self-awareness, and the wisdom of nature. This book really encouraged me at a time when I was facing unwanted changes and I've already given an extra copy to a friend and coworker struggling through tough transitions as well!

[Jessica Whipple · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the humility with which Courtney writes, and the joy that's such an apparent part of her witness. She simply wants to point us all toward beauty, and she's especially good at finding it--along with echoes of God's love for us--in nature.

[Collin Huber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got a hold of this book in the middle of a season when my own life was marked by constant transition—living in three different homes, traveling internationally, helping our kids adjust to new schools, and walking with my wife as she stepped into a new job. In the midst of all that, this book met me exactly where I was. Ellis's approach to viewing change through the lens of creation is an original take to me, offering a steady, thoughtful way of navigating seasons that feel anything but steady. The final reflections on death especially stayed with me. They brought fresh clarity to ideas I’ve wrestled with for some time, particularly in terms of what it means to live well in light of our limits. This is a beautifully written, deeply meaningful book—one I’m genuinely grateful to have read when I did. In other words, it’s exactly the kind of work you’d expect from Courtney Ellis.