Shame: How God Uses Our Weakness to Show His Strength
““Shame on you!” I heard this phrase many times growing up in the 80s. It became a common way for adults to address children’s misbehavior. But what weight do these words actually carry? Shame. On you. Despite hearing the word “shame” frequently, I lived many years without understanding what it really was and how it impacted me. Now as a mom and a pastor’s wife, I want to be able to spot shame and its harmful effects in and around me. I want to link arms with other women as we “put off” shame as part of the old self and instead “put on” the freedom, joy, and security that Jesus has for us (Eph. 4:22–24)! ” Shame: How God Uses Our Weakness to Show His Strength by Myra Dempsey
How to Minister From a Place of Loneliness
“For me, ministering in a season of acute isolation feels like the cabin pressure dropped, the oxygen masks came down, and I’m fumbling to help others while I’m struggling to stay conscious. Maybe you’re a mom, experiencing deep loneliness with children to care for. Or maybe you’re wrestling with grief and loss but trying to love your church well. Perhaps you’re starting over in a new place or stepping out in faith to do something the Lord has led you to do and you’re feeling lonely. Sisters, the Lord sees you and desires to meet you in your loneliness.” How to Minister From a Place of Loneliness by Bev Chao Burrus
How Our Theology Fuels Our Ministry
“Ministry can be really hard; from serving in the nursery to groundskeeping to singing and preaching, you might experience a lack of gratitude and/or criticism. The music is too loud, the nursery is too small, the sermon is too long. Complaints, lack of gratitude, and difficult conditions all make serving less than desirable at times. Why continue to serve in exhaustion or annoyance from the demands and criticisms of ministry if we don’t know the God we serve?” How Our Theology Fuels Our Ministry by Kelly Ottoway