Defining Womanhood

My family moved around a lot while I was growing up. Between kindergarten and the twelfth grade I attended seven schools, lived in five different cities, double that many homes, and went to five different churches. The numbers just get higher if you add my life before and after school age. I am a shy introvert by nature, but all of our moving really helped me learn to step outside of my comfort zone when it came to meeting new people and making friends. Experience taught me that staying within the realms of comfort did not magically bring joy in each of my new situations. I had to take risks and put myself out there to make friends and have a fun school experience. I still have the same introvert struggles as an adult, but now they play out in areas such as greeting visitors at church, inviting people to our home, investing in the lives of younger women, and most importantly, sharing the gospel. My "comfort zone" tells me how happy I am wallowing in my own selfish presence,...

At certain times growing up, I heard pastors and teachers say that they felt like their message was directed more at themselves than anyone else. I'm going to start by making a similar claim. This post is directed at myself today as I fight the urge to feel self pity and irritation. The goal is to remind myself how to live out the beauty of the gospel even when my feelings internally whisper selfish desires. "I love you, but I just don't like you right now." Have you ever thought or even spoken these words to someone close to you? I admit that this phrase has crossed my mind many times over the course of my life. It has been directed to those closest to me such as my parents, my brother, my husband, and even my two-year-old daughter. (That's low!) What is really at the heart of disliking someone you love, and how can we transform our thinking in moments of dislike? What is really at the heart of disliking someone you love?   Let's answer this question wi...

I have always enjoyed listening to statistics on different subjects. I am a very visual learner, so when a pastor or speaker presents a statistic for what they are discussing, I am then able to create a visual of the impact those numbers represent. I recently came across a Barna study that compiled survey information from 1991 to 2011 concerning differences in men and women's faith over the course of those twenty years. I will just be focusing on the statistics for women throughout the remainder of the post. This may not be the most current information, but I believe the conclusion is just as relevant today. This study tracked surveys in relation to fourteen religious beliefs and behaviors of significance. Here are the opening lines from the article. "No population group among the sixty segments examined has gone through more spiritual changes in the past two decades than women. Of the 14 religious factors studied, women have experienced statistically significant changes ...

It is so wonderful to be back with you all again through Defining Womanhood. The last two years have been a tiring yet amazing whirlwind of church ministry, marriage, and motherhood. I am excited to bring new insight and a reinvigorated passion for sharing biblical truths in relation to living out God's design for women. This last year I was able to watch the Revive '17 women's conference which was focused on Titus 2. Since then, I have been able to dig even deeper into this passage of scripture and learn what living out the beauty of the gospel looks like in a christian woman's life. Are you ready to join me as we strive to be the women that God designed us to be? If so, then get ready to be challenged and encouraged as we take this journey together.