Accepting the Holy Spirit’s Help: What Pentecost Teaches Us About Self-Sufficiency
“The stubborn strain of self-sufficiency is found throughout Scripture, and we’re no different in our modern context. Our culture praises those who do it all, do it perfectly, and do it themselves. Even within the church, we can use our obedience to God’s good commands to prove our own self-sufficiency. But when we refuse the help Jesus promised us, we become exhausted by our feeble attempts to prove ourselves or ashamed because we could never do enough. However, Jesus hasn’t asked us to strive in our own efforts; he’s invited us to be empowered by his Spirit.” Accepting the Holy Spirit’s Help: What Pentecost Teaches Us About Self-Sufficiency by Bethany Broderick
Back to the Basics: Practicing the Rhythms of God's Grace
“The gospel assures us that we are kept and held and secured in Christ (that is unchanging and forever), but these rhythms of grace help us to press all the more deeply into him—again and again and again. We don’t pursue deeper holiness through the spiritual disciplines in order to achieve or earn anything before God; rather we grow into richer knowledge of him by weaving these rhythms into the fabric of our lives. We will always (even in heaven!) be growing into deeper understanding of and love for God. And with the Spirit’s help, day by day we can work to grow in this knowledge of God by practicing the rhythms of God’s grace so that we might 1. love God more, 2. train ourselves for godliness (1 Tim. 4:7), and 3. teach, disciple, and grow alongside other brothers and sisters in the faith (Col. 3:16).” Back to the Basics: Practicing the Rhythms of God's Grace by Lauren Bowerman
Changing Our Heart Instead of Our Goals
“This season, I want to focus on changing my heart instead of chasing worldly goals. Yes, goals are a good and helpful tool, but Christ looks at the heart. What is our heart like? Are we moldable and able to conform to the Potter’s hands? Or is our heart hard like rock, unwilling to change?” Changing Our Heart Instead of Our Goals by Grace Thomas
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
How to Respond to Words of Offense
“Regardless of what kind of speech the culture says is preferable, we should desire to hear wise and righteous words of warning and advice. Instead of being quick to anger, we ought to praise God when that exhortation comes from our loved ones. They know us! And they speak truth to us and reprimand us best as those who live in close proximity to our sin. Admonishment can be hard to hear for a variety of reasons, but if we prepare for what we may hear in advance, we will be in a better position to listen and accept reproof.” - How to Respond to Words of Offense by Sharon Ide
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
What Makes a Woman Great?
“What makes a woman great? Is greatness about reaching some expected status like “engaged” or “married”? Does it mean climbing the corporate ladder, gaining influence, and outdoing those around you? Maybe greatness is about finding your “thing” and becoming an expert at it. Or perhaps it’s about becoming true to ourselves by listening to the voice within. Maybe greatness is learning how to unhitch ourselves from everyone’s expectations in order to find true happiness. Or is it?” - What Makes a Woman Great? by Kristen Wetherell
When Intrusive Thoughts Keep Intruding
“Because we all live with a nature warped by sin, we all fight intrusive thoughts. From aggressive insecurities, to catastrophic fears, to disturbing mental images, intrusive thoughts can take many forms. Sometimes we can banish unwanted thoughts as easily as swatting flies. But there are other times, perhaps more frequent, when the door to our mind keeps violently banging open. As followers of Jesus endowed with the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16), what can we do when intrusive thoughts keep intruding?” - When Intrusive Thoughts Keep Intruding by Erin Davis
I Want to be a Christian, but There’s One Thing
“I wanted to be a Christian, but I wasn’t going to let my girlfriend go. That was my one non-negotiable. Surely, there was a way around that. Surely, God really didn’t care about who I was attracted to, who I married, who I loved. Right?” - I Want to be a Christian, but There’s One Thing by K. Price
Help! I'm Trapped in My Insecurities!
“If we can see each other we can say hello, we can make a new friend, we can have a funny conversation about Colossians or Kingsolver or Costco. We can let the stifling air squelch out like an untied balloon, flying out of our fingertips until it flops to the ground, deflated and powerless, no longer trying to lead the way. De-weaponized awkward balloons make way for something else to lead the way: like truth.” - Help! I'm Trapped in My Insecurities! by Holly Mackle
Three Pitfalls When Life is Hard
“It’s easy to equate our ease and comfort as God’s love for us, and our pain and suffering as his punishment or indifference. But his love is not dictated by the circumstances around us, it’s dictated by the truth that he loved us when we hated him, died for us while we mocked him, and pursued us while we were determined to go our own way. When we face painful circumstances, even the ones that seem senseless, we need to constantly remind ourselves of God’s steadfast love toward us. When we can’t understand his ways, we can trust his character.” - Three Pitfalls When Life is Hard, by Sarah Walton
Communion with God Through Ordinary Means
“To communicate his grace to us, God has likewise given us means of grace: the preaching of the Word, the Lord’s Supper, and baptism. When I was growing up, I wanted new and flashy ways to grow in my relationship with God. I wanted a fresh word and a new outpouring in my life. Yet God has chosen something much more ordinary—a preacher with a Bible, bread and wine, and water.” - Communion with God Through Ordinary Means, by Lara d'Entremont