Fearfully and Wonderfully Made?
“The self-love culture is so pervasive that many of us do not even realize we too have bought into it. While self-love diagnoses the human problem as a lack of appreciation for ourselves, the Bible diagnoses the human problem as a lack of appreciation for our God and our neighbor. The great commandment of our culture is “love thyself!”, but the great commandment of Jesus is “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:37, 39).” - Fearfully and Wonderfully Made? by Paige Stitt McBride
Hope for the Homesick
“Homesickness is a feeling we all carry within us. It makes itself known from time to time, perhaps when we pack up our bedroom to head to adulthood, when we come back and realize we’ve changed, or anytime we change houses or towns. It can prick our hearts even as we stay put. Maybe home doesn’t feel safe—or perhaps it is safe, but late at night we worry someone terrible will intrude or someone wonderful will leave. All of it leaves us longing for a permanent, impenetrable place where we are planned for, welcomed, safe, loved, and liked. We all have stories of homesickness, and that’s why it matters that God has a story of home for us.” - Hope for the Homesick by Caroline Saunders
True Belief Leads to Obedience
“What does it mean to believe in God? Maybe it’s like this: while we exercise our muscle to believe—while we abide in the vine, walk with the Good Shepherd, rest in our Father’s arms, and turn in the direction of our Heavenly Father, day after day—we remember the context in which we do our believing and choosing. For the only reason you and I can choose God is because, given the choice between us and everything else, he chooses us—every time.” - True Belief Leads to Obedience by Laura Booz
Genesis: From Slavery to Freedom
“Genesis was a gift to God's people. It was a guide to assist Israel in re-narrating their experience of life post-slavery. Even though the stories in Genesis are now nearly 2,500 years old, they feel familiar. I feel a strange connection to Israel's hopelessness in Egypt. I don't wake up to brick-making, but I do wake up to the slavery of shame.” - Genesis: From Slavery to Freedom by Chris Ammen
Unity in Female Friendship: A Liturgy
“May we be full of hope for each other,
believing the best about one another,
rejoicing with pure hearts at our sister's success
and carrying her burden when the weight is too heavy.
May we lay our lives down,
as our first Friend taught,
filled with honor and binding ourselves in love,
trusting that Your generosity extends to us all.” - Unity in Female Friendship: A Liturgy by Audrey Elledge and Elizabeth Moore
Identifying our Sin Patterns for Growth in Godliness
“Recognizing your tendencies towards certain sins is the first step in fighting sin and walking in obedience. Thanks be to God, the penalty for our sin was paid for once and for all by the atoning work of Christ on the cross. But the painstaking journey of transformation is one we will walk until we are home at last in Heaven. Recognizing sinful patterns in our lives that can become habitual if left unchecked is important because it helps us to quickly acknowledge and address the areas that keep us from being conformed into the likeness of Christ.” - Identifying our Sin Patterns for Growth in Godliness by Meredith Boggs
Remembering Our Identity as We Engage the Online World
“We all want lives that are rich in relationships and memories. We want to feel connected to a real community with a deep sense of belonging. And we want our work and service to make a difference in other people’s lives. But we will never experience the fullness of these things if we are looking to our screens to tell us who we are. In Scripture, we will discover the truth about who we are, how we were made, and what our purpose in life really is. In God’s sanctuary, we not only find deep quiet and genuine soul rest, but we also find everything our identity-driven hearts have been longing for. For our identity is found not in a screen, but in Christ alone.” - Remembering Our Identity as We Engage the Online World by Denise J. Hughes
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
Inviting Women Back to God’s Table
“Why are people so likely to move away from their church community today? One of the biggest reasons is that many aren’t aware of why the local church is so important for believers. The theology of the Church wasn’t something they learned in Sunday School, and when you lack the why behind your actions, it can be difficult to stay committed in hard times. As Christian women who care about the church body, we can help educate others about this important theology and how God works through each of us to build his Kingdom. ” - Inviting Women Back to God’s Table, by Ericka Andersen
Believer, The World Needs What You Have
“Over the years, we have witnessed tremendous cultural changes that have produced genuine challenges for the gospel. Yet one thing never changes: people’s desperate need for God. No matter how secular or hostile it may become, culture doesn’t have the power to erase the creational longings that God has placed in all humans: for meaning, love, purpose, identity, and connection. So here’s the puzzle: Why do many Christians sincerely believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the most wonderful, liberating news that God has ever given our weary planet, yet struggle to share it?” - Believer, The World Needs What You Have, by Rebecca Pippert
In Your Trials, Remember What Is True
“Maybe you’re single, and you want to be married. Maybe you just learned your mom has cancer. Maybe your husband has been unfaithful. Maybe your baby is in the NICU. Maybe you’re juggling multiple responsibilities and don’t know how to be “all in” with any of them. Whatever it is, your hard is your suffering. Like a wounded animal, vulnerable to a predator’s attack, we’re more prone in our suffering to the enemy of our souls. But God’s Word teaches us how to ‘be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might’.” - In Your Trials, Remember What Is True, by Katie Faris
God's Sovereignty in Our Suffering
“We don’t need to know all of the answers for why *fill in the blank* is happening before deciding to trust God. Our pain doesn’t have to make sense before God uses it for his greater purpose. Even as we groan earthside, Scripture reveals reasons to rejoice over the results of suffering in our lives—endurance, character, and hope (Rom. 5:3-5). Our dependence on God is never so apparent as during periods of suffering. Sometimes, the character he wants to develop in us for his glory can only come through hardship. We can learn to receive this as a gift; that our Master Gardener’s pruning produces the fruit of his Spirit in us.” - God's Sovereignty in Our Suffering by Ashley Setterlind
Yearly Bible Reading: Reading God’s Word for Our Joy
“One of God’s sweetest gifts, besides Himself, is his Word. Scripture is God-breathed. Both the Old and New Testaments are his words that reveal him to us (2 Peter 1:21). The Scriptures are useful, binding, relevant, and true (2 Tim. 3:16–17). The law is perfect and revives the soul (Ps. 19:7). The Lord uses His Word to bring people to Himself (Rom. 10:17). God has been gracious to give you and me access to know many things about Him: His creation, His desires for us, and, most important, His Son. Are we reading and treasuring this precious gift?” - Yearly Bible Reading: Reading God’s Word for Our Joy by Trillia Newbell
The Giver is the Best Gift
“The truth is, we cannot have joy, peace, love, or hope apart from their perfect embodiment in Jesus Christ. Christmas is not about warm fuzzies; it is about the One who finally delivers on the promise of everything we acknowledge as good and true. The Bible will not let us have ethereal virtues. Do you want peace? Christ himself is our peace (Eph. 2:14). Do you want love? Christ himself is love (1 John 4:8). Do you want hope? Christ himself is our hope (Titus 2:13).” - The Giver is the Best Gift by Jared C. Wilson
The First Gift Giver: How Our Christmas Giving Displays Our Savior
“At this time of year, we celebrate the coming into the world of the first and greatest Giver who is also the best and most beautiful gift. Thankfully, it looks like Christmas will no longer be constrained by Covid. As joyful as that isolated Christmas in 2020 turned out to be for my family, the joy of giving gifts can only grow when we spread them abroad more widely. There will be joy for the givers. There will be joy for the getters. And—we can pray—there will be joy for those who learn something of the Christ who is reflected in the giving.” - The First Gift-Giver: How Our Christmas Giving Displays Our Savior by Lizzie Laferton
Predicting Jesus: Finding Hope in the Old Testament Prophecies
“It wasn’t until I studied Isaiah and all the prophecies that came true that I finally let go of my doubts. When I studied the virgin birth, the root of Jesse, the costly cornerstone, and the one who would cry out in the wilderness, I began to see Jesus all through the words of Isaiah. Isaiah spoke of a Messiah who would heal the deaf, the lame, and the blind. Isaiah 53 has so many details about the suffering and atonement of Christ on the cross, only God himself could have “written” it. Studying Isaiah created in me a steadfast assurance that the Bible is from God and about God.” - Predicting Jesus: Finding Hope in the Old Testament Prophecies by Kim Erickson
Advent Hope Far as the Curse is Found
“This Advent season, let us wait together with great expectation for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us live in the light of Jesus’s birth, death, and resurrection and set our hope on his second advent—when we will dwell with God and he will wipe away every tear and death will be no more. Let us fix our eyes on the promise of his blessing that every single thing will be made new and whole and perfect and beautiful—far as the curse of sin and death is found.” - Advent Hope Far as the Curse is Found by Lainee Oliver
The Future of Journeywomen
“Journeywomen exists to come alongside women to move them to know and love God and his Word, to find hope in the gospel, and to invest deeply in their local churches as they go out on mission for the glory of God..” - The Future of Journeywomen by Hunter Beless
Trusting God in Seasons of Transition and Change
“Transitioning into a new season can bring a rush of emotions. It can bring excitement and joy over the coming of a long-awaited hope, or it can usher in uncertainty and a longing to stay put just a little while longer in the face of the unexpected. Our incoming seasons may look different, but regardless, transitions can produce both sweet memories to cherish and stressful situations to navigate. Fortunately, there are steps we can take to stay focused on God throughout the journey.” - Trusting God in Seasons of Transition and Change by Chrissy Callahan
Hope and Healing in the Bread and Cup
“Through the Lord’s Table we are invited into a special aspect of on-earth-as-it-is-in-Heaven: we choose healing instead of bitterness, we choose love over hatred, and we choose to belong to each other. We participate in the ministry of reconciliation rather than amputating ourselves from the body of Christ. In Communion with the local church, mercies are made available to us that we wouldn’t otherwise experience. This is the mercy of ushering down to earth parts of heaven, bringing to parched ground the living waters of God’s Kingdom. Together, we take, break, eat, and drink in remembrance of the God who has come and will come again.” - Hope and Healing in the Bread and the Cup by S. A. Morrison