How God Changed Julie Chen Moonves’ Life: ‘Peace Within Me’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Former THE TALK host Julie Chen Moonves became a Christian five years ago and opened up about the moment she decided to follow Christ.
“My life was very buys, a busy bee, and it seemed glamorous. I had my dream job, a dream husband, a dream child,” Moonves told Relevant. “Then, I lost my main job. I was forced out of my role as co-host and moderator at THE TALK after eight years. It was a fun job.”
“When I lost it, my life turned upside down, like a snow globe,” she continued. “This upheaval triggered a whirlwind of emotions: anger, fear about my future, and an identity crisis. I was so entwined with my identity as a broadcaster that I felt lost. It was the perfect time, a perfect storm, to look upward instead of focusing on earthly things.”
As she struggled with this identity crisis, her aunt passed on a message from a friend simply telling Moonves that she was praying for her. Because of the message, she decided to visit a church.
She explained, “Alone, I broke down in a pew, sobbing, asking God for help, light, love, and hope. That’s when I began to really pay attention and acknowledge Him.”
While she grew up in a Christian home, she had never prayed authentically, adding that her “concept of [God] was simplistic, resembling the wise, old man with a long white beard often depicted in media.”
She has seen Christ change her life in the five years following that experience.
“There’s a peace about me that I never knew existed. I never craved it because being busy with work, which I equated with living, seemed fulfilling. I often ran on fumes, but now there’s a peace within me,” she said. “I’ve never been a worrier, but the level of stress has decreased significantly. I used to be a control freak, thinking that control meant no worries. Now, I realize I’m controlling nothing and am in charge of nothing.”
Moonves hopes that her story can help others find Christ. She did not become a true believer until her late 40s after she already had an established life and career. She wants people to know that it is never too late to turn to Christ. She encourages people to start with prayer, and by asking God into their lives, everything else will fall into place.
“I hope they’re not intimidated to pray, because there is no right or wrong way to pray,” Moonves said. “You just have to start doing it. It’s just communicating with God. You do it when driving, you do it in your head. You can do it when you have insomnia, you can do it when you wake up in the morning.”
“It’s a journey that once you get on track, it never ends until He brings us home,” she added. “Each day, when you grow closer to God and feel His presence, you will have more and more peace that is the constant hum in your life.”
She frequently talks about faith on Instagram. In a recent post, she asked, “What needs to die in your life?”
“It could be a bad attitude, a negative outlook on life, a habit that’s holding you back… we all may have something in our life that we need to say goodbye to. God can help us get there,” she added.
A closer look at Moonves’ story is now available through her audio memoir, “But First, God.”
Movieguide® previously reported:
Former THE TALK host Julie Chen Moonves recently spoke with Kathie Lee Gifford about her conversion to Christianity and her memoir, “But First, God.”
“I am only five years into my walk [with God], and I wanted to tell everyone about my spiritual awakening because I want people to know that it is never too late to start a personal relationship with God,” Moonves explained. “I didn’t find Him until I was 48 years old. I spent so much of my life, you know, making my career and work my false idol.”
“Julie Chen before she found God was a self-absorbed, career-minded, vain, gossipy, fun to be with, but probably kind of a shallow person,” she said previously.
“When I started putting God first, wow, everything shifted,” she continued. “I looked at everything differently and I went about my whole life differently and I got peace that I never knew existed.”
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