Everything I Loved in April
It's telling that I'm posting April's favorites list in May. May 1st was the launch of my new biblical time management course - Driven Women - so every effort at getting a post published came to naught! Better late than never, right? I have so much to share from...
Teach Me to Number My Days: How to Stay Productive without Hating Your Life
I have a unique approach to productivity; one I don’t think we see often in this culture.
I believe rest is essential to a productive life.
How to Keep God First in Overwhelming Busyness
I’m writing this past 10 PM… at least an hour past my old-lady bed time! This week has been busier than the previous two combined. I can’t remember when Josh and I had so much going on!
My Secret to Achieving My Goals Every Single Year
I am SO excited to share this glimpse of my goal planning process. For three years now I’ve used Lara Casey’s Powersheets, a goal planning workbook designed to help people of ALL personalities determine God’s priorities for their lives. Through a detailed preparation process, you determine your goals for the year, then break those goals down into monthly, weekly, and daily tasks.
Why Pray if God is Sovereign?
If God knows all, why should we pray? What a question! I won’t pretend I have the answer to every angle of this topic. Many of us have wondered this to ourselves in the dark of the night, when God seems silent, or when prayers go unanswered. What is the point of prayer? How does it work? If God discerns when and how He will answer, what role does my prayer play, if any?
How God Met Me in My Eating Disorder
Junior year of high school, Sunday morning, standing in church. Singing the songs and going through the motions. We bowed our heads to pray.
I hear my pastor’s voice in the background, but I’m praying my own prayer: “God, please fix me.”
It had been another long week… another draining routine of putting on a show – taking on my usual role as the determined athlete, the good church girl, the dedicated student. All while a monster was hiding behind my grand façade.
How to Enjoy Your Life with a Toddler and a Baby
“Just wait until you have two,” She laughed. “One is a vacation.” As a new mom, I was the object of much unnecessary, negative input regarding my solitary offspring. Once I had two – I was told – life would fall apart and all semblance of routine would go down with it.
Perhaps it’s my personality, but when someone tells me something is impossible, my first inclination is to prove them wrong. But really, it’s not even about them: I want to prove to myself that it’s possible to enjoy motherhood, enjoy my kids, and enjoy life – all at the same time.
Is it Really Necessary to Attend Church?
This week on Uniquely Woman, we're tackling why church matters and why it should matter to us. Do we actually need to be involved with a local group of believers? What difference does it make in our lives? We discuss that Jesus died for the church and therefore we...
10 Best Books for Increasing Productivity
Productivity by itself is not an end; it’s a means. As believers, we should strive for grace-based productivity in our work hours (whether in an actual workplace or in the home) so we can be completely present and at rest with the people who matter most. Everything I teach on productivity points to this end!
How to Read More, Faster, and Retain What You’ve Read
I’m often asked how I read so much. I’ve shared my tips for adding more reading to your life on the blog before (along with my book lists)! But I’m also asked how I retain what I’m reading – especially since I read four to five books at once. Today I’ll share all my favorite tips for reading more and retaining what you read so you can use it in daily life!
What Attending 300 Funerals Taught Me About Living
I remember holding her hand as she took her last breaths on this Earth. She lived to be over 90 years old but her life was one of sorrow and regret.
Leaving her little room in the assisted living center to the care of the nursing staff, I called in her death to the head nurse.
This was a normal day for me since I worked as a hospice chaplain. Another day, another death.
During my time as a chaplain, I’ve had the opportunity of attending over 300 funerals. I’ve witnessed the effect that certain lives have on individuals and communities.
That Mom Who Has It All Together… Doesn’t
I’m going out on a limb talking about this; a limb the mommy wars might saw off at any moment, and I’ll go tumbling to an untimely internet death.
But this message is worth the fall, if I take it. Because I’m really over the assumptions we’re making – these assumptions we women make about each other.
A Few of My Favorite Things: March
This is one of my favorite “favorites” list to date (can I say favorites twice?). The items listed here are either already in use or on their way to me soon. If you’re looking for some great birthday and baby shower gifts, this is the list for you! The following products and places really brightened my heart the last month. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.
Does My Husband’s Headship Make Me Second Class?
What does it mean for a man to be “head of the home”? Where does that even come from? Headship of husbands is a controversial issue. Headship is hotly debated in church and culture, often misunderstood, misinterpreted, and abused. But could headship be very different than what we’ve seen described thus far?
Why Women’s Issues Should Matter to Us
We talk about women’s issues a lot on the podcast. But Lisa and I realized we’ve never broken down why we think it’s important to have these discussions. Why does what we believe about being a woman matter?
God is Bigger Than Your Doctrine
The narrowness of my beliefs was safe, comfortable, and secure. I trusted the people I’d read and heard. Their commentary was enough to authorize what I believed, and to question those ideas felt like spiritual treason.
Then I read the Bible for myself.
Is Dating Just Practice for Divorce?
A few weeks ago I received an interesting question on my weekly Q&A show on Instagram. The reader asked: “Do you think dating is just practice for divorce, like many conservative groups say?” I was a little surprised I’d never heard this before, given my own acquaintance with purity culture. It’s the perfect lay-up to the courtship conversation. And it’s a question we really need to answer in an age of temporary love.
This Middle-Road Marriage
I'm posting this episode of the podcast a little late - it actually ran a few weeks ago. In it, Lisa and I discuss the different approaches Christians take to marriage, often summed up with the terms "complementarian" and "egalitarian". A summary of both views can be...
Five Consequences of Misapplying Scripture
A few weeks ago I did a mini-series on my Instagram stories regarding the misapplication of popular bible verses – verses like Jeremiah 29:11. The ensuing conversation in my community was both exciting and discouraging. In one sense, it was exciting to see how many believers recognized the problems with taking verses out of context and misapplying them. But it was saddening to see how many people had learned these verses in their wrong context, and how many of them were overwhelmed and discouraged when they found out this was the case.
Your Husband Is Not Your Father (And That’s a Good Thing)
The role of fathers is vital. The love of a good father shows a daughter the kind of man she should look for in a spouse. But what happens when a father’s example becomes a template?
I think we’re seeing the result of this in Christian dating. Young women enter the dating sphere looking for a copy of their dad. The problem? Fifty year old men don’t come in twenty-two year old bodies! A few weeks ago I discussed three misconceptions about biblical masculinity. If there were a fourth, this would be it: Your husband is not your father.
How the Cross Defeats My Victimhood
There’s a fundamental difference between true victimhood and a victim mentality. A victim mentality is adopted, even when that person is not actually a victim of hurt or abuse. It is characterized by a “life is against me” attitude. This mentality is limiting; it keeps a person from living out their potential.
This post is not in reference to true victims of abuse. If that’s you, please find counseling and mentorship, a safe place to find healing and to work through your past. What this post deals with is a victim identity and mentality; victimhood as a lifestyle. There are several ways to identify this in a person, and following are four consequences of living in defeat instead of overcoming by the power of God.
God Doesn’t Need Your Platform, Period.
From the very beginning of my blogging “career”, I committed to never pursue numbers. As hobby became part time job and now a supplemental income for our family, I have been constantly tempted by the appeal of the numbers game. While I certainly educate myself about marketing, social media trends, and blogging issues, I continue to prayerfully remain faithful to what I knew was necessary at the beginning: To write truth and write it well, whether or not anyone reads it.
15 Bible Study Resources to Take You Deeper in the Word
Everyone wants to know my list of recommended bible study resources. Though plenty of bloggers have written about this same topic, every list is different based on the needs and bible study habits of the individual. Not everyone has a religion degree like I do, but everyone does have access to the same resources I use to study the bible and teach it to my readers. You don’t need a ministry degree to be a faithful student of God’s word!
What’s Saving My Life This February
February in Michigan is one of those in-between months where people start complaining about the length of winter (let’s be real: that’s every month of winter in Michigan!). Since we can anticipate a solid nine more weeks of winter, possibly more, we have to get creative in February when it comes to activities and making the cold more liveable.