The best preparation for change is acceptance of where we are. That's a lesson I learned when I lived in Virginia, in a city of nomads and college students. I felt restless and alone. Yet the day I embraced my place, my world was transformed. I don't know if it was my...
As I wrapped up last night's "Top 10 Productivity Tips" video on my Facebook page, I was struck that these tips are just as applicable to Bible study. How many of us struggle to focus during a devotional time? I know I have! Many of us get bored with God's Word and...
Does what we watch really matter? There are days I wish it didn't. There are days I wish I could listen to whatever music made the Top 40 this week, or that I could watch the latest movie raved about by my online acquaintances. Truthfully, I can do these things. I...
I used to say I'd never marry a man who liked to exert himself. Hiking, biking, and walking were my dad's "homeschool P.E" - and there was no class I liked less. If I could avoid exerting myself, I would. Fast forward to college, where late night pints of Haagen-Daaz...
Legalistic parenting is common not because parents hold ill-will toward their children, but because legalism is the easy route. It’s much easier to follow rules than to walk daily in faith, and it’s much easier to parent based on fear and control than complete trust in Jesus Christ.
Using “hate the sin” as a license for cruelty defeats the purpose of proclaiming truth. The gospel needs no help causing division; it is foolishness to those who reject it (1 Cor. 1:22-24). Because the gospel will divide based on its exclusive nature, our job is not to further that division but to simply love the Lord our God with all our hearts (emotions), souls (being), minds (thoughts), and strength (effort).
In their zeal for the word of God, they forgot the spirit of God. They became so encompassed with the law, with the words, and with the rules that they forgot Who the words came from and for what they were meant. Jesus’ work resuscitated the spirit of the law: grace is the motive to obedience.
Does feminism have a monopoly on the "strong woman?" Sometimes that appears to be the case. Third wave feminism grabbed a few words from the English vocabulary and never bothered to give them back. The church - understandably hesitant to align with secular feminist...
I spent years molding myself into my ideal woman. I had a vision for who she would be. I was fairly certain that, with enough work, I could make her happen. I could be all the things: educated, well dressed, articulate, political, logical, and - the end goal -...
< My story isn't anything special. Perhaps that's what you think. I know it's what I thought in the college-group circle. To be honest, I was embarrassed of it - ashamed of my goody-two-shoes life. It seemed like rebellion was a rite of passage and I'd...