Women's Blog

The Christmas season has a way of exposing things in our hearts that may have been hidden. The extra stresses, expenses, expectations, and longings that arise during this season are unlike any other time of the year. How can our hearts be hopeful, joyful, and peaceful?

I feel compelled to speak of the importance for God’s people, those who have been redeemed by him, to really read their Bibles, to not be content wit

God is for you as a mother. God is for you as a woman. He will never leave you to fend for yourself because he is the perfect parent, and you are safe with him as his beloved daughter.

Growing up in a Christian home, the Bible has always been an important book in my life. I was in sixth grade when I first felt a conviction to read it on a daily basis. I was also in sixth grade when I first felt a struggle in my heart. The struggle to read my Bible became a legalistic issue almost when it became a conviction. Reading and studying God's word became something that I knew I should do, and when I didn't, I felt condemned. Yet, in the midst of what would be a 27-year struggle, God used his word in my life in powerful ways. God's word taught me and spoke to me through many times and seasons.

...Toward the end of the seminar, he made a very simple statement that had a huge impact on the way I read my Bible. He said, "When you read the Bible, always look for the gospel." That's it, no magic formula, just an admonition to look for the gospel. He had, of course, prior to that statement spent time teaching us how the Bible is God's story of redemption and that it all points to Christ....

In our world, particularly southern Ohio, we find very little literal wilderness. We are not surrounded by land that is dry, deserted, lonely, or lacking life. As I sit by the window of my home and look out I see rain, green vegetation, blooming flowers, birds, and a steady stream of cars passing by that remind me that people are never far from me. But despite the realities of life in nature, and a population of people nearby, most of us walk through the wilderness at times.

David teaches us that being discouraged is part of the life of faith but he also teaches us what do in those times of discouragement.

This past Sunday Steve preached on the Ascension of Christ. The glorious truth about Jesus being in heaven as my representative before the Father made me want to weep. The enormity of what Jesus had done, and is still doing for me, is so overwhelming. It can be easy to hear a sermon and then go on as usual afterwards without letting the impact of the word affect our lives. James calls this being a hearer of the word and exhorts us to also be doers.

Biblical Resources to encourage you in the task of mothering.

Perhaps you don't think much about a new year because life just goes on as it always has. Perhaps the extra eating, lack of routine, and money spent over the holidays has you longing for order. Perhaps you look at the new year as a chance to improve. Perhaps you look at a new year with an attitude of defeat as you consider all that is going wrong in your life or in the world. Perhaps this new year brings about some regret for all the ways you didn't change last year or the failures that you see. Perhaps this new year brings about a anxiousness and fear of the unknown. Or perhaps you are an optimist and have high hopes and expectations for this year and have joy and confidence as you think about it. I relate with pretty much all of these thoughts. I expect that life will march on much the same as it has yet I do long for more order and improvement and, I am tempted to worry about what this year may hold. I am not much of an optimist but I know that I can face this new year with joy and confidence no matter what my own thoughts and fears may be.

Growing up in a Christian home, the Bible has always been an important book in my life. I was in 6th grade when I first felt personal conviction that I should read it on a daily basis. I was also in 6th grade when a struggle began in my heart. The struggle to read my Bible became a legalistic issue almost as soon as it became a conviction. Reading and studying God's word became something that I knew I should do and when I didn't I stood ready to be condemned. And yet, in the midst of what would be a 27-year struggle God used his word in my life in powerful ways. I had many seasons of growing from what I learned in God's word and many times that it spoke to me directly.

George Mueller, famous for his faith in God to provide for the many orphans he cared for, is said to have stayed in his time with the Lord each morning until his soul was happy in Jesus. And the scriptures remind us that God's mercies are new every morning because of His faithfulness so we have been given a recurring gift from God to start each day with joy in the morning. Not the kind of joy that is based on how we feel about the circumstances of the day but an inner joy that comes from being accepted by the Father through Christ's sacrifice for our sins and a trust in God's faithfulness!

In just three days my oldest daughter will be married. How did we get here so fast? As I looked for an old blog post to share with you all today this one reminded me, though I am now in a different season of life, to cling to Jesus in the midst of whatever situation I find myself in. That I am reconciled to God through the blood of the cross and have the Spirit living and actively at work in me is truth I don't want to lose sight of - even in the midst of busy wedding preparations!

It's been a busy season for us. Life is always busy but this season of moving, selling a home, and planning a wedding, though all good, has been a bit disorienting. How thankful I am that God is never disoriented, stressed, or overwhelmed. He is steadfast, never changes, and is always in control no matter what fills our days. I can have peace at any time no matter what the circumstance is simply by looking to Him and remembering that He is on His throne and that He loves me and is committed to me! Praise God for that!

My name is Joy. It's actually my middle name; my first name is Elizabeth. There's a long story about how I came to be called Joy instead but suffice it to say I've been called Joy since the second grade. Joy is as fine a name as any other but there's something about it which I have found somewhat difficult to live with. Most names are just names, but my name carries with it a certain, presumed persona; my name suggests that I should be joyful. All...The...Time.

The struggle is real. I hear this phrase quite a bit from my daughter who tells me it's a common saying among the "younger generation." I've heard it used as a comic narrative regarding things that don't really matter such as, "I can't decide what to wear...the struggle is real," but I have also heard it describe true struggles like, "I don't know what to do with my life...the struggle is real."

I recently awoke with a cloud hanging over my head. Ever had one of those days? You know, nothing is really different in your life and circumstances than the day before but your outlook today is dismal. That's how I felt as I awoke and all the little nagging concerns over a myriad of issues began to grow and threatened to blow my faith to bits.

I grew up in a state where fair skies were the norm, beautiful mountains could be hiked, and the waters of the Pacific Ocean enjoyed. While I certainly enjoyed all of those things, growing up in Southern California also quickly acquainted me with fear. I am sure that I would have been a fearful person no matter where I grew up but the uglier realities of living in Southern California increased my natural tendency to fear exponentially. Turn on the local news and, of course, you were inundated with news of rapes, kidnappings, murders, and even serial killers. But unfortunately there were even more "closer to home" examples as well. A woman in our church was stabbed and killed as she was taking her morning jog by a man who was casually jogging past her from the opposite direction. A guy from our youth group was killed by a gang on the beach. The examples were not all violence. My brother's best friend died in a car accident when he was a teenager. We visited one of my dad's friends in L.A. who went into a depression and lost everything when his wife left him (he was literally living at the park for quite some time as a homeless person). A young wife died of cancer (as did my mom). These people were professing Christians and this challenged my young hopes that God protected those that belonged to him. It was quite obvious to me that God "allowed bad things to happen to good people" and so I became even more fearful.

I love Sundays; seeing one another, greeting one another, encouraging one another, worshipping our Lord together through song and the preached word...already can't wait for next Sunday! But it's certainly easy to forget the gospel throughout the week isn't it? It only takes a brief amount of time before our memory of what we were so encouraged and challenged by begins to drift. One of the purposes of this blog, beyond announcements and such, is the desire to spur the church on in Godward thoughts throughout the week. Lord willing, as this blog continues to become used by our body it will serve to be an encouragement and reminder of our hope in Christ th

George Mueller, famous for his faith in God to provide for the many orphans he cared for, is said to have stayed in his time with the Lord each morning until his soul was happy in Jesus. Lamentations 3.23 tells us that God's mercies are new every morning because of His faithfulness. We are given a gift from God to start each day with joy in the morning. Not the kind of joy that is based on how we feel about the circumstances of the day but an inner joy that comes from being accepted by the Father through Christ's sacrifice for our sins and a trust in God's faithfulness.