DAILY ENCOURAGEMENT
365 Reasons to Keep Moving Forward
On the days when moving forward feels hardest, one small step still counts.
A daily companion offering motivation, reflection, and encouragement to take the next step—one day at a time.
AUTHOR · U.S. ARMY VETERAN
Louis Johnston
Encouragement for your journey. Recipes for your table. Stories to share.
Find your next readFaith, family, good food, and a little laughter.
THE BOOKSHELF
Find a book that speaks to you.
From quiet reflection to the family kitchen,
there’s more than one way to keep moving forward.
GLUTEN-FREE COMFORT FOOD
Gluten-Free Without Giving Up the Good Stuff
Keep the comfort food you love on the table while learning practical ways to cook gluten-free.
Family favorites, comfort food, and celiac-safe cooking. Familiar meals and practical kitchen guidance rooted in everyday gluten-free life.
FAITH, LOVE & HEALING
Through the Storms
Find comfort in remembering those you love—and hope for the life still ahead of you.
Reflections on love, loss, faith, and finding the strength to begin again. For anyone learning to carry the past while making room for tomorrow.
FAMILY RECIPES & MEMORIES
From Mom’s Kitchen to the Johnston Family Table
Bring the flavors of home to your table and keep the memories behind them alive.
A celebration of recipes passed down, meals shared, and the memories that live on around the family table.
A CHRISTMAS STORY TO SHARE
The Lonely Christmas Tree
Share a Christmas story that reminds children they don’t have to be perfect to fit in.
A warm picture-book story about belonging, kindness, and discovering that you don’t have to be perfect to fit in.
- Paperbackhttps://a.co/d/03eMOYPE
HOLIDAY FUN FOR LITTLE ARTISTS
25 Days of Christmas Coloring
Turn the wait for Christmas into 25 days of colorful fun with Lizzy and a box of crayons.
A holiday countdown for kids, with cheerful Christmas pictures, Lizzy the dog, and a New Year’s bonus. Made for children ages 3–7.
- Paperbackhttps://a.co/d/01B9WsAh
A LITTLE LIGHTHEARTED FUN
Keep Laughing!
Turn an ordinary moment into a shared laugh with 100 clean jokes you can read aloud.
100 clean jokes to turn that frown upside down. A little laughter to brighten your day, one chuckle at a time.
Choose a format to shop on Amazon, or copy the full link beneath it into your browser. Current prices and availability are shown on Amazon.
ON THE HORIZON
The next chapters.
REMEMBRANCE
Coming soonRemember Their Sacrifice
Honoring America’s fallen and the families they leave behind, through remembrance, gratitude, and faith.
FICTION
Coming soonThe Things We Keep
A mysterious radio carries secrets from the past—and a chance to alter the future.
A CHRISTMAS JOURNEY
Coming soonLizzy’s Christmas Journey Around the World
Travel with Lizzy to discover holiday visitors, family traditions, and Christmas greetings from around the world.
SPRINGTIME ADVENTURE
Coming soonLizzy’s Easter Adventure
A cheerful new adventure with Lizzy, bunny ears, Easter surprises, and kindness to share.
LOCAL HISTORY
In considerationOlean history book
A possible future project exploring Olean, New York.
WORDS & MUSIC · LOUIS JOHNSTON
Never Meant to Stay Stone
The Hurt Gets Worse, the Heart Gets Harder
WORDS THAT BEGAN IN JULY 2000
“I took the stones from every wall
And built a road that leads me home.”
Listen to the song
Country-rock power ballad · 4:26
Lyrics by Louis Johnston
Follow the lyrics
Scroll yourself at any time, or let the words move with the music.
Verse 1
I don’t leave the porch light burning.
I don’t wait up anymore.
I know goodbye by the sound of tires
And the slam of a screen door.
I can smile like it never happened.
I can swear I don’t give a damn.
But every time I say I’m over it,
That night comes back again.
Pre-Chorus
Pain doesn’t leave—it changes clothes
And finds a place nobody knows.
I learned to answer, “I’m all right,”
Then leave the hallway light on all night.
Chorus
The hurt gets worse, the heart gets harder,
One more goodbye, one more layer of armor.
You lock every door, you turn out every light,
Call it being strong—but you’re scared to let love inside.
Anger burns, but it won’t take you farther.
Cold ain’t courage, and alone ain’t smarter.
The hurt gets worse, the heart gets harder—
But we were never meant to stay stone.
Verse 2
I’ve lost people I thought I’d grow old with,
Watched forever turn into gone.
Got good at changing subjects,
Let folks believe that I’d moved on.
I wore silence like a warning,
Kept my answers short and cold.
But nobody ever tells you
How heavy that armor grows.
Pre-Chorus
Every scar becomes a lesson.
Every lesson draws a line.
Draw enough of them around you,
And nobody gets inside.
Chorus
The hurt gets worse, the heart gets harder,
One more goodbye, one more layer of armor.
You lock every door, you turn out every light,
Call it being strong—but you’re scared to let love inside.
Anger burns, but it won’t take you farther.
Cold ain’t courage, and alone ain’t smarter.
The hurt gets worse, the heart gets harder—
But we were never meant to stay stone.
Bridge
Let these walls come down around me.
Let the truth cut to the bone.
I’d rather ache with my heart wide open
Than never let another soul get close.
I am more than what has left me.
I am more than what I’ve lost.
Lord, help me answer when love comes knocking—
I’m tired of keeping every door locked.
Final Chorus
The hurt got worse, my heart got harder,
One more goodbye, one more layer of armor.
I locked every door, I turned out every light,
But surviving alone ain’t the same as a life.
I’m laying it down, though some days are harder.
Cold wasn’t courage, and alone wasn’t smarter.
The hurt got worse, my heart got harder—
But I was never meant to stay stone.
Outro
No, I was never meant to stay stone.
I took the stones from every wall
And built a road that leads me home.
— Louis Johnston
The story behind the song
I first wrote “The hurt gets worse, the heart gets harder” in July 2000. Those words stayed with me for more than twenty-six years and helped inspire some of the poems in Through the Storms. They came from the pain, regret, and loss I carried, and from learning how easily we build walls around a heart that has been hurt. Over time, my writing began to reach beyond that pain. I learned that surviving alone isn’t the same as living, and protecting my heart doesn’t have to mean closing it to love. Those first words eventually grew into the song you hear here. Hearing them put to music brings back memories, but it also reminds me how far I’ve come. I can’t change yesterday. I can thank God for today and decide what I’m going to do with it. The hurt changed me—but I was never meant to stay stone.
Explore Through the Storms
Louis JohnstonMEET THE AUTHOR
Why I write.
I’m Louis Johnston, an author and U.S. Army veteran from the Richmond, Virginia area. I write about the things that matter most to me: faith, family, remembering those we love, and finding the strength to begin again.
Some of my books offer encouragement for difficult days. Others share family recipes, gluten-free comfort food, a good laugh, or a story to read with a child. I hope you find something here that brings comfort, starts a conversation, or gives you a reason to smile.
Explore Louis’s books
For your next chapter.