Christian grief does not require pretending everything’s okay. It does not mean we cease to feel or to hurt or wonder if the void will never again be filled. It does not mean we’ll be healed, but it does mean that we face all the pain and loss with the presence of a loving and faithful God.
![Don’t Miss Out [Book Review]](https://phyliciamasonheimer.com/wp-content/uploads/Image-from-iOS-scaled-e1630686894496-1080x675.jpg)
I love a good book on the Holy Spirit.
He is, as Francis Chan put it, “Forgotten God” – often overlooked and misinterpreted, either ignored in our churches or emphasized beyond what Scripture says. That’s why so many Christians struggle either to embrace the Spirit’s role or to understand Him outside of sensationalism. When Jeannie Cunnion released this book, I was thrilled to provide a resource for my community.
Dear Grieving Christian,
You think you have time to prepare. Sometimes you do. But all the preparation in the world can’t stop the way it overwhelms you. When that photo falls out from the album, or the world stops at the party where they should have been, the hollow carved by their absence cannot be ignored.
Since The Chosen – a TV series about the life of Jesus and His disciples – launched in 2020, I’ve received a plethora of questions about watching the show, what I think of it, how to interact with it, etc. Per the usual, I don’t plan to tell you what to think; I would rather teach you how to think through the show and get the most out of it. This led me to write a quick post outlining some tips for engaging with the show and including your kids or friends in the discussion of it.
This episode is an overview of the nature of the Trinity and why God as triune is a fundamental Christian doctrine! We look at the fights within the early church to defend Christ’s deity (including Athanasius’ On the Incarnation) and how these fights were finalized in the Apostles and Nicene creeds. We then look at teachings like modalism, oneness and eternal subordination of the Son.
![Should Christians Tithe? [Two Views]](https://phyliciamasonheimer.com/wp-content/uploads/visual-stories-micheile-ZVprbBmT8QA-unsplash-1080x675.jpg)
We pass the basket for “tithes and offerings” without blinking, but have you ever stopped to think about those words? Tithes and offerings. It’s an indication there is a difference between a tithe and simple giving! And there is. A “tithe” means a “tenth”, and it’s a principle we see in Scripture primarily in the Old Testament.
![Growing Slow [Book Review]](https://phyliciamasonheimer.com/wp-content/uploads/IMG-9865-1080x675.jpg)
Growing Slow came out earlier this year just as Farmer Bob, our neighbor, was planting his corn. As I write this, the corn was indeed growing slow – and now it’s ten feet tall, swaying in the field behind our house. As I read the book (both personally and in a mom’s study I hosted) I felt as if I had an actual visual of the principles in Jennifer Dukes Lee’s book: principles of cultivating, planting, harvesting, and rest.
I did not know I was ill until my first daughter was born. A few days after her birth, my body broke out in a blistering rash. From the soles of my feet to chest, neck and hands, I was covered in hives and blisters. I laid on the couch in our duplex living room – it was 80 degrees in Lancaster County that September, and we had no air conditioning – soaking in sweat and too blistered to move. I struggled to care for my baby and deal with the itching. Desperate to distract myself, I took her for walks every day – not realizing that so much walking postpartum was unwise and unhealthy for a postpartum body.
Have you ever fasted? Maybe you’ve thought about fasting but weren’t sure where or how to start. Maybe you thought only “hyper spiritual” people fasted. But in Scripture, we see tangible examples of people fasting in all stages of life! Even Jesus – who had all the strength He needed for every task – fasted as an example for His disciples, and His statements about fasting were “when” not “if”!
![Satisfied: Finding Hope, Joy and Contentment [Book Review]](https://phyliciamasonheimer.com/wp-content/uploads/IMG-9703-1080x675.jpg)
This book is physically beautiful. It’s like a coffee table book, or your nicest cookbook, pretty enough to leave out and pick up periodically to read the short chapters. It’s filled with beautiful photos, which actually made the reading experience even better and also fit with the content of the book.
If you’re looking for a book that is calming but encouraging, gentle but convicting, educational and beautiful, you’ll enjoy Satisfied: Finding Hope, Joy and Contentment Right Where You Are.