Equipping Women to Live a Set Apart Life
Christian living related blog posts, including blog posts on prayer, Bible study, living a set-apart life, spiritual disciplines, and Biblical terms and concepts.
When I prayed about a word for 2017, I imaged something I could proudly display on my wall like “bold”, “brave”, or even “rest.” Yet, God made it clear, my work was “meek.” Just the sound and look of the word brought up images of being weak and miserable; but out of obedience, I decided […]
I am always up for a good challenge. “Thirty days to declutter your home.” I am in! “Fourteen days of prayer for your husband.” Sign me up! A friend saying, “Hey, I bet you could run a half marathon.” Sure why not? So when I first heard the challenge of a yearlong spending freeze, I […]
Here at Joy Pursued, we are slowing making our way through the Beatitudes. Starting next week, we will dive into what it means to be meek. “Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5 NKJV). I am excited about this topic, because meek is my word of the year. Therefore, I wanted to […]
“Would you say the gospel is the most important thing in your life?” my small group leader asked one night. Heads nodded around the room. “Then why don’t we wake up thinking about it? Why isn’t it on our minds all the time?” Silence. No one was brave enough to voice the sad truth; even […]
As I set my mind on Good Friday, I felt drawn to Isaiah 53. I’ve read it over and over again, trying to comprehend the emotional pain and suffering of Christ. Verses 5-6 tells us: “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes […]
When I feel frustrated, irritated, impatient, or just in a bad mood, an argument always takes place in my head. My mature Christian self says, “you really should pray and ask God to help you let go of this negative attitude.” But then my stubborn, childish self crosses her arms and says “I don’t want […]
“You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.” Matthew 5:4 MSG The Message version on Matthew 5:4 begs the question, “What is most dear to me?” I brainstorm the different possibilities: family, friends, safety—all dear to me, […]
We are working our way through the Beatitudes here at Joy Pursued, and today I am excited to have Julie from The Hallway Initiative here to introduce the second Beatitude. If you new around here, you can find the introduction to the series here, and see all the posts on the first Beatitude here. Have […]
One relationship my pride shows up in more than any other is in my marriage. Since marriage brings our sinful nature to the surface, we should not be surprised to find pride here. Yet, if left unchecked, pride can destroy your marriage. Pride creates dissonance between couples. When we pretend we are perfect, our spouse […]
I am watching my daughter play contently on the floor when suddenly she springs up and runs off to her bedroom. A minute later she toddles back towards the living room carrying her bag of mega blocks. Unable to keep her balance while carrying the giant bag, she trips over her feet and falls down. […]