The school that I teach at assigned every teacher a book to read over the summer. One huge benefit of teaching at a Christian school is that they can assign us Christian books to read. We had the option of choosing between two books, so I chose John Piper's Think. When I went to Bethlehem, one of the advantages of being a member was that we received his newest book as a token of appreciation for freeing him to write. I must say, I miss those days. I'm fairly behind on my Pastor John library! So I was really excited to have the opportunity to read Think.
I Want it All
There has been a lot of talk lately about whether or not women can have it all, and by all people usually mean work full time as a mother. But all this talk about what a woman can or cannot do in her various seasons of life can be applied to any age, any marital status, and any amount of children in the home. A recent Forbes article states that young women today don’t feel as inclined towards leadership because of fear of failure. They have been told their entire lives that they can have it all, and unfortunately they have heard that they must be it all. The author says:
God is On His Own Timetable
True confession: I am an impatient person living in an impatient age. This does not work well when I stop to realize that God’s timetable is often much different than mine. Immediate for him is not immediate for me. For God a day is like a thousand years. That’s a long time for a person who wants things to happen in minutes, not millennia. And I don’t think I am alone in my desire for the immediate. In this digital age, our impatience is even more pronounced.
Sex, Dating, and Relationships: A Book Review
As a marriage and family teacher, I am always looking for helpful resources on a biblical understanding of marriage, purity, and sex. That's why I was really excited when I learned about this new book by Gerald Hiestand and Jay Thomas, Sex, Dating, and Relationships: A Fresh Approach.
My writing elsewhere
Why Jesus Isn't Your Boyfriend: A Christian Critique of Dating God (for Her.meneutics)
Mourning with Those Who Mourn on Mother's Day (for Her.meneutics)
Mourning the Death of Family Friendly TV (for Her.meneutics)
Love the Church (for Boundless)
Co-workerlationships (for Boundless)
Interview with Nancy Guthrie (for Her.meneutics)
The Kate Middleton Baby Watch and Why We Shouldn't Participate (for Her.meneutics)
A Christian Response to Gay Bullying (for Her.meneutics)
Sugar Daddies and Abba Father (for Her.meneutics)
Don't Waste Your Infertility (for The Gospel Coalition)
Jackie O and Complementarians (for The Gospel Coalition)
Confessions of a Recovering Feminist (for The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood)
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made in a Fallen World (for The Gospel Coalition)
An Interview with Mary Kassian (for The Gospel Coalition's Book Review site)
Book Reviews
Give Them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson (for the Christianity Today Women's blog)
By His Wounds You are Healed by Wendy Horger Alsup
Naked Spirituality by Brian McLaren
Half the Church by Carolyn Custis James
Manning Up by Kay Hymowitz
The Undistracted Widow by Carol Cornish
A Way with Words by Christin Ditchfield
Surviving the Loss of a Child by Elizabeth Brown
A Theology of James by Christopher W. Morgan
Trusting What a List Can't Tell You
In college I had a list. You probably know the one I’m talking about. It was the list. The list that promised me I could (and would) find the man of my dreams. The list that held every quality I desired in a husband. The list that I tucked away for that special day—the day I met him and we lived happily ever after.
Lessons from Unanswered Prayers
I have said it before on this blog, and the Lord keeps bringing me back to it. The psalms are filled with tremendous encouragement and hope for the weary Christian. In them we find honest human emotion: joy, pain, sorrow, happiness, and the like. There is something for everyone in the psalms. In the last few years I have repeatedly gone back to this precious book. I have found encouragement, hope, comfort, and peace from God through these inspired writers.
Friday is for Food: Ranch Cheeseburgers
My husband could eat cheeseburgers at least once a week. He LOVES them! I love a good burger, so I don't mind meeting this food need of his either. Lately, I have been experimenting with them. I have tried a couple of different options based on burgers we have had at restaurants or ideas from friends. This one, so far, has been my favorite.
What Does it Mean to Be "Pro-Woman"?
There is a lot swirling around in the media these days about whether political candidates are “pro-woman.” So much so that some of even labeled this political season as being about the “war on women.” And honestly, it’s hard to decipher what is true and what is for show. Who really cares about women? What about their personal lives? Does it matter if they have been unfaithful? These are questions go back much farther than just this political race.
A Surprising Encouragement (at least for me!)
One of the main reasons I enjoy running in the morning is the fact that I can usually make my way through a sermon over the course of my run. It's primarily owing to how slow I run, which is more of a jog than a run. But it serves my soul. I like morning, but I also find that it is in the morning where the greatest battle for my joy happens. I can go to bed feeling pretty good about the next day, and wake up completely discouraged. And all I did was sleep! It is in these dark moments that I have experienced God's kindness through the preaching of his word.