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.
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. […]
What is pride? My brain conjures up an image of a cartoon character walking around with a puffed up chest. He brags about his accomplishments and shows off his talents. Other people stand back when he passes by, hoping to avoid contact; for pride is never good company. I like this image of pride […]
Growing up, the term Lent was a term thrown around at church but never explained. From what I gleaned, Lent involved giving something up for 40 days, which often turned into a diet; “I am giving up sugar for Lent, hopefully I will lose a few pounds.” From my limited knowledge, Lent made no sense […]
I know I need God, but too often, I act the opposite. I strive to achieve out of my own strength and knowledge instead of relying on God. I pretend to know all the answers and act like everything is under my control instead of acknowledging God as sovereign over all. What I see as […]
“It sounds like God has really squeezed your heart,” my friend remarked; “but it is amazing how He used it to bring you closer to Him.” I nodded in agreement, but found “squeezed my heart” an inadequate description. “Completely stripped,” I thought. Stripped of everything I found fulfillment in. Stripped of comfort, happiness, and stability. […]
Confession: I am a recovering Bible skimmer. You know how Bible skimming works right? Reach a long list of names in the Bible—quickly skim the list and move on. Come across a familiar story—skim over. Hard to understand prophecies? Yep, skim those too. (Sorry Zechariah, I’m just not sure what you are talking about). My […]
“A fairly accurate description of the human race might be furnished to one unacquainted with it by taking the Beatitudes, turning them wrong side out and saying, ‘Here is your human race!’ For the exact opposite of the virtues in the Beatitudes are the very qualities which distinguish human life and conduct.” -A.W. Tozer, The […]
The Restore Joy to Your Marriage series was inspired by one line of a YouTube video, “marriage shakes us up and brings out our worst selves.” The truthful statement frustrated me; “Didn’t God design marriage for good? Why would it bring out my worst self?” In Restore Joy to Your Marriage parts 1-3, I explained […]