Women's Ministry Blog by Christian Women Leaders

Psalm 42 concludes with a restorative proclamation but what I appreciate the most about psalms of lament like this (lament is the formal classification for the “sad” psalms) is that God allowed them to be included in this divine love story we call the Bible in the first place! Instead of disowning disillusioned people, the fifty-nine sad psalms are effectively God’s engraved invitation for us to be real with Him—to be honest when our hearts are heavy, and not wear fake happy faces.

Thankfully, God never becomes frustrated with us. He’s patient with our impatience and continues to be faithful even though we’re easily forgetful. The tragedy is how we miss out on an invitation to experience God’s soothing, loving presence when our prayers are more focused on our problems than praying to experience Him.

In Boy Jesus, Joan Taylor provides us with that. Not ponderings, but expertly researched
historical and contextual details that help us make informed guesses about what Jesus’ childhood was like, how he interacted with his family, and how his community helped him prepare for his ministry.

Here are four things Boy Jesus helps us do to know Jesus better:

So as we stand in cold December, bodies and hearts leaning toward hope (because if there ever was a time to hope, something inside of us knows that now is it), and yet staring at a pile of bills or a pile of laundry or a pile of amazon boxes that all want to whisper to us: “your life would be better if you didn’t have _____” let us take a moment to receive (to absorb) that God is leading us to the same place He led David.

Follow these fool-proof tips to create or sustain a thriving relationship with your partner and/or children.

I remember it like it was yesterday, despite it happening twenty years ago. My husband and I were a few months into married life when he encouraged me to try ...

While some say that children’s pastors should shy away from "difficult" passages, there are convincing reasons for welcoming the whole story. First, it allows for the possibility of building a solid spiritual foundation. When leaders teach our children the entirety of scripture, it equips them with a foundational understanding of the nature of God. His love. His compassion. His wrath. His mercy. His grace. All of it allows them to see the Bible as a unified message, not a collection of disconnected stories.

If the whole counsel of God is presented within our children’s ministerial programs, children will learn how the Bible helps them to navigate complex issues like suffering, forgiveness, and temptation. Exploring these topics prayerfully and thoughtfully gives kids a chance to navigate life’s challenges with a biblical worldview.

I was reading through the first chapter of James: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds…” 

What?!

Pure joy?!

I was right in the middle of a trial, and I wouldn’t have immediately thought to consider it pure joy.

But as I thought about it, I realized something. James is not saying, “Look at the trial and feel happy.” No! He knows the visceral emotion partnered with trials is sorrow, not joy. But he says, “Consider it pure joy.” He’s referencing the intensity, not the exclusivity, of the joy. He is not saying, “Have only joy.” He’s saying, “Have the fullness of joy too.” Intensity, not exclusivity. This is important.

God instructs us to confess our sins to Him and our Christian community. You need to find people you can be real with, that you trust, and that genuinely care ...

We, as parents and grandparents, have the power - and the responsibility - to build the safe, sustainable culture that Silicon Valley has continually failed to create. For our families, for our communities, and for our world.

I became a single mother thirteen and a half years ago, when my husband died, leaving me to raise 3 sons who were 9, 12, and 13 years old. Since that time, I have heard countless stories like this one, of women in churches that wanted to care for their families but did not know how. God’s care for single mom Hagar shows us the way.

When I have attended church on these days and been met with the inevitable “Happy Mother’s Day!” I’ve smiled and said, “Thank you” but felt the hurt inside. The well-intentioned greeter doesn’t realize the depth of pain just below the surface. At the height of our fertility treatments, a counselor suggested we skip attending church on these dates, which was good advice.

From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:10–16 Do we ...

We sat down with author John Inazu to discuss his new book Learning to Disagree and how he thinks pastors can use his book as a tool to help their congregations ...

Happiness is found when your unity with Christ leads you to unity with others Recently, I was in Romania where I was working with Ukrainian refugees. We travelled to a ...

Life in abundance refers not only to eternal life in heaven but also to our life here and now. All over the world where I have had the opportunity to travel, it is evident that the deceiver is busy with his business of killing, stealing, and destroying. Deception tells us that it is God’s will that we suffer. The idea that the promises of Jesus for our abundant life are only in our eternal heavenly state steals the destiny of our earthly lives and creates a powerless gospel. Nothing kills hope more quickly than assuming that we have no supernatural ability to create change here on earth and are simply biding our time waiting for heaven.