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.
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...
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.