worshiper, wonderer, writer – seeking to encourage faithfulness in Christian women
I found it interesting recently in my reading through the book of Mark 5 the reaction of fear that appears on two different occasions. The first occurs at the beginning of Mark 5, when Jesus crosses the sea into the country of the Gerasenes. He immediately encounters a demon-possessed man whose condition seems hopeless - …
It sounds odd, right? Most Christian women wouldn't claim to be submitting their time and energy to other women rather than their husbands. However, about a year ago, a friend shared a podcast with me that convicted me to see how I was doing that very thing. Now, if you ask most Christian women who …
I read a very familiar passage during my time in the Word recently. "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the …
Continue reading "The Race Set Before Us; Fighting the “if onlys”"
In Part 1 of this post, I addressed the ditches we can slip into regarding the topic of self-care. While both ditches focus on ourselves rather than the Lord, they will yield nothing more than bitterness and temporary self-glorification. Since I'm talking a lot about the second ditch of elevating self-care, please let me caution …
Continue reading "Part 2: Sustenance in Christ alone yields a dutiful, glorifying life"
I believe an idol has crept into the church today that possibly started withwell-meaning purpose. Most idols usually do, after all. Self-care has become a popular topic in society lately. I thought about listing a few of the quotes that appeared when I googled self-care, but I'll just let you try it yourself. Many of …
As mentioned in Part 1 of this topic, despite the depravity of the human heart, we tend to go on heaping expectations on each other. And these expectations often go unmet, and we respond with shock, bitterness, anger, etc. about practically everything. Why do we do this? I think the answer can be seen in …
Continue reading "Replacing horizontal expectations with a vertical hope, Part 2"
I recently chatted with a dear friend who is about to move overseas to do mission work full-time. As part of the training she undergoes beforehand, she takes an inventory of her expectations in practically every area. Just hearing about it overwhelmed me, so I cannot imagine what she is feeling about having to do …
Continue reading "Replacing horizontal expectations with a vertical hope, Part 1"
Like Jesus, we need to be resolved to have fellowship with our Father. It won’t simply happen. It doesn’t have to look one single way, but the determination to do it needs to be there. This can even look differently in various seasons, but if we value it, we will make it happen somehow because we …
I started this blog series with a focus on how we need these rhythms of returning to Jesus' feet for renewal. But let's take that one step further. We also need these rhythms to help us remember. Remember when we walked through Mark 6? Well only a few short chapters later, in Mark 8, we …
Continue reading "Pursuing Rhythms of Remembrance leads to Self-Denial and Deeper Dependence on God"
As we endeavor to trust our Great High Priest and pursue rhythms of renewal, there will undoubtedly be times when interruptions come our way. How do we view these and with what attitude can we approach them? Are they actually interruptions? That's what we're going to begin examining this week as we continue our journey …
Continue reading "Rhythms of Renewal: Responding with compassion like Jesus to the interruptions"
jami lee gainey 