Spiritual Disciplines in Every Season
“Each time life changed, I was frustrated that the rhythms of Scripture reading, prayer, and memorization I had worked hard to cultivate crumbled like sandcastles. Yet it was during these difficult seasons that God taught me that my spiritual growth was not based on my own efforts but in his gracious and powerful work in me. In his Word, God has given us an abundance of “tools” for spiritual growth: Bible study, prayer, fasting, corporate worship, confession, meditation, silence, and more. Each of these tools is a gracious gift God uses to draw us to himself.” Spiritual Disciplines in Every Season by Bethany Broderick
When You Feel Like a Broken Record
“I’m so tired of my own voice saying the same words over and over” I recently lamented to an older mom, “I feel like a broken record. What am I doing wrong?! When will it click?!” “If you feel like a broken record,” she said smirking, “you’re probably actually doing it right.” She went on to highlight the need for consistency in training, as well as the fact that change and learning are a process—often a slow one. Often, I have the same attitude toward myself that I do toward my kids. Why do I keep failing at the same things over and over?! What am I doing wrong?” When You Feel Like a Broken Record by Abbey Wedgeworth
Four Reasons to Be Thankful for the Mundane
“If you think about it, the hills and mountaintop experiences are few and far between. The mundane is where real life happens, and if we look hard enough, we can find tremendous sweetness and joy when we recognize that the Lord goes with us, even in the everyday, humdrum routines. So rather than complaining or looking to the next more exciting season, perhaps, we can find many reasons to be thankful for this mundane season.” Four Reasons to Be Thankful for the Mundane by Abigail Houston
Hormones & the God Who Holds Us Together
“As women, our hormones can end up directing the traffic of our hearts. And they’re really not very good at it. A dip in one chemical messenger or an increase in another leaves us going along just fine one moment—and wrecked the next. Hormonal changes and imbalances leave us more prone than we might otherwise be to irritability, anger, depression, and unpredictable crying spells. But here’s the truth that we need to grapple with: While hormones can help us explain our shifting emotions, they are not an excuse for the sinful behaviors that can often follow.” Hormones & the God Who Holds Us Together by Whitney K. Pipkin
Believer, Who Are You Trusting for Your Sanctification? by Lara d'Entremont
“Books, apps, practices, habits—these tools are all God’s gracious gifts to us and can be instruments towards our change—but they are not the conductor. They can be a balm to our weary and sore hearts. Yet when we place all our hope in these tools rather than the One who, by his grace, makes them effective, we’re trusting in the wrong place.” - Believer, Who Are You Trusting for Your Sanctification? by Lara d'Entremont
5 Ways to Combat Half-Hearted Worship on Sunday
“It's already difficult for my weak flesh and distracted mind to worship the Lord rightly, and if I’m not doing anything to prepare my heart for worship on other days of the week, it's even harder. How much more would I benefit from Sunday’s blessings if I anticipated them rightly ahead of time? After all, worshiping God together alongside the body of Christ is a gift. Singing songs of praise, confessing our faith with other brothers and sisters in Christ, and hearing God's Word preached faithfully is something we as Christians look forward to each week, and part of anticipating its blessings is preparing practically for it!” - 5 Ways to Combat Half-Hearted Worship on Sunday by Lainee Oliver
False Gods and the One True King
“As I have come to understand idolatry, I’ve grown in awareness of my sin. Previously I believed generally that I was a sinner, but as a rule-follower with “good” outward behavior, I had never considered that my sin could be my inward motives, desires, and passive aggressive demands as motivated by ruling idols. By God’s grace, the more I became aware of my sin and the many ways I resurrect false gods, the more in awe I became of the One who lived the perfect life for me and paid the penalty my sins deserved. The more I see my tendency toward idolatry, the more I cling to Jesus, knowing that but by his grace my heart is prone to wander and leave the God I love.” - False Gods and the One True King by Kristen Hatton
The High Priestly Prayer: How Jesus’ Words Help Us Pray
“We can only imagine how heavy our Savior’s heart must have been as he washed his beloved disciples’ feet, knowing within a few hours he would be dying on a cross for them . . . and for us. He knew they would desert him at his darkest hour, and yet, he chose to pray for them . . . and for us. That powerful prayer—called the High Priestly prayer of Jesus—is found in John 17. As believers, we can apply that same prayer to our own lives today.” - The High Priestly Prayer: How Jesus’ Words Help Us Pray by Judy Dunagan
A Foolish Love by Katy Morgan
“It is one of the most moving—and terrifying—moments in the story of David. In 2 Samuel 6, the ark of God is brought to Jerusalem. As this symbol of God’s presence is brought through the city, David strips down to what is apparently very little and dances before it “with all his might” (v. 14). Later, David finds his wife Michal waiting at home. “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today,” she spits sarcastically (v. 20). The narrator tells us she despises him for what he has done (v. 16). The story is moving because it reveals the depths of David’s unashamed devotion to God. But it’s terrifying because it forces us to realize that we’re a lot less like David than we think. Too often, we’re rather like Michal instead.” - A Foolish Love, by Katy Morgan
Unity in Female Friendship: A Liturgy
“May we be full of hope for each other,
believing the best about one another,
rejoicing with pure hearts at our sister's success
and carrying her burden when the weight is too heavy.
May we lay our lives down,
as our first Friend taught,
filled with honor and binding ourselves in love,
trusting that Your generosity extends to us all.” - Unity in Female Friendship: A Liturgy by Audrey Elledge and Elizabeth Moore
Identifying our Sin Patterns for Growth in Godliness
“Recognizing your tendencies towards certain sins is the first step in fighting sin and walking in obedience. Thanks be to God, the penalty for our sin was paid for once and for all by the atoning work of Christ on the cross. But the painstaking journey of transformation is one we will walk until we are home at last in Heaven. Recognizing sinful patterns in our lives that can become habitual if left unchecked is important because it helps us to quickly acknowledge and address the areas that keep us from being conformed into the likeness of Christ.” - Identifying our Sin Patterns for Growth in Godliness by Meredith Boggs
Remembering the Gospel
“An unfortunate thing happens to many of us after we have been a Christian for some time. The gospel becomes so familiar that we begin to take it for granted. Without even realizing it we start to view the gospel message as basic or rudimentary, as something we move beyond once we come to Jesus. But in truth, we will never arrive at a place where we no longer need the gospel. There is never a moment when our hearts and our minds do not need to be saturated with the message of God’s goodness and grace to us in Jesus. As believers, we must remember the gospel. Sometimes this practice is described as “preaching the gospel to ourselves.” But what does that mean? It means we remind ourselves of what is true based on the promises of God as revealed in his Word.” - Remembering the Gospel by Erika Allen
When Anxiety and Fear Press In
“What if, instead of torturing ourselves by getting on every fear ride and daydreaming about all the bad things that might result from our current reality, we used our imagination to visualize what God has said is true in his Word? Jesus is present with us, and he loves us. What if we imagined him lovingly sitting with us in our kitchen as we struggle to manage three active children, holding us on the couch as we walk through the disappointment of another argument with our husband, comforting us with his kindness when we get the scary phone call? Jesus’ love for us is what is real, not the stories we spin in our fear. What if we daydreamed about that?” - When Anxiety and Fear Press In by Hope Blanton and Chris Gordon
The Tale of Two Days
“Have you ever had one of those days where you fall into your bed at night and rehearse all the ways you blew it? You are angry with yourself and angry with everyone else who made you act in all the ways you don’t want to act. As you toss and turn unable to sleep you wonder if God is as disappointed in you as you are in yourself. Or conversely, have you ever had one of those days where you slowly descend into your bed on a cloud of peace and rehearse all the amazing things you did that day? On and on the list of your good deeds goes, and the longer it gets the more convinced you are that you’re really excelling in the fruit of Spirit that your pastor preached on last week. As you drift to sleep you wonder if God loves you a little bit more today. However, the one thing that’s missing from both days is any thought of Jesus.” - The Tale of Two Days by Jessica Thompson
Uprooting the Weeds of False Beliefs
“Sin affects every area of our lives, including how we think and what we think. However, we’re not without hope, and we’re not without help as we address deeply rooted thoughts and beliefs. Second Peter 1:3 tells us God’s “divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness,” and in John 14-16, Jesus teaches that the Holy Spirit works to help us, teach us, convict us, and guide us into all truth.” - Uprooting the Weeds of False Beliefs by Ashley Chestnut
Our Good Father's Discipline
“As an adult, I find I continue to resist discipline, particularly God’s discipline. When trials, disappointments, and challenges come my way, I see them as things to avoid or resist. I look for ways to get around them. I find myself saying that all-too-popular childhood complaint, “It's not fair.” Other times, I look at hardships as punishment for something I've done wrong. Or perhaps, I think, I wasn't good enough and God is disappointed in me. Rarely though do I pause to consider, “What might God be doing in my life? What might he want me to learn? How might he use this hardship to make me more like Christ?”” - Our Good Father’s Discipline by Christina Fox
Honoring Your Mother-In-Law
“Showing honor to the woman who raised our husband, who nourished him with daily meals, drove him to countless practices and cares so deeply about him, is actually a way to love our husband. If our husband constantly hears us complaining about something his mom did, tension can build in both the marriage and the relationship with his parents. How can we seek to show honor to our mother-in-law, even in the midst of a difficult relationship?” - Honoring the Other Mother In Your Life, by Stacy Reaoch
The Feast of Obedience
“As believers in Christ, we don’t need to chase after the things the world chases, even basic provision (Matt. 6:33). We don’t have to buy into the lie of scarcity when we have an abundant Father. We don’t have to determine our day by the amount of energy in our tanks, for we know that if God is calling us to something, he will give us all we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).” - The Feast of Obedience, by Aimee Joseph
Jesus and Our Words: How Knowing Jesus Transforms Our Speech
“When Christ ascended to heaven, his work on earth continued. Since the day the Spirit was given on Pentecost, Jesus has actively built his Church with the witness—the words—of his followers. As they have proclaimed the gospel and explained the Scriptures, the Church has grown. Even now, Jesus is building his Church as his people speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15-16). But you may wonder, “How is it possible that my words could be useful for the building of the Church? How can my conversations contribute to the body of Christ?”” - Jesus and Our Words: How Knowing Jesus Transforms Our Speech by Cheryl Marshall and Caroline Newheiser
Giving or Grabbing the Glory: Fighting Self-Righteousness by Remembering What God Has Done
“Remember what the Lord has done! As an unbeliever I was as selfish as they come, looking only to my needs and desires. I would calculate how to exert minimal effort for maximum gain in nearly every circumstance. Then Jesus changed it all. So the minute-by-minute giving of my time and energy in motherhood, imperfect as it is, is truly and utterly miraculous. I can delight in laying aside “self-care” for the constant care of my six children knowing that Jesus did that! To God be all the glory.” - Giving or Grabbing the Glory, by Janaye Atkinson