• Home
  • About the Work in Progress
  • Confident Faith
    • Christianity
    • Women of Faith
    • Weight Loss Journey
  • Confident Marriage
    • Marriage
    • Marriage Resources for Christians
  • Confident Parenting
    • Parenting
  • Confident Blogging
    • Blogging
    • Favorite Link-ups
  • Work with Me
    • Graphic Design
  • FREE Resource Library

Being Confident Of This

Grace for the work-in-progress woman

For the Woman Who Feels Like a Failure This Christmas

December 11, 2018 by jstults 2 Comments

A few years ago, I set myself up for some epic Christmas failure. December had finally arrived. The hope and joy of the Christmas season lay spread before me as thoughts of maximizing holiday fun and education swirled through my head.

I envisioned handmade gifts and peaceful evenings at home near the brightly lit tree, my husband walking our children through the Christmas Adventure Box advent plan.

Yes, I fell prey to Pinterest Syndrome, quite deadly to a mama’s often already shaky confidence. It all began with a few deceptively simple ideas and grew into a nasty and surprisingly strong anticipation of all things good and no things ordinary…. or, heaven forbid, even bad.

My Christmas expectations soared to incredible heights, destined to plummet at the first sign of potential failure. And here I thought I was creating a “simple” Christmas this year (I’ll forgive you if you snicker a little at this point.)

In my defense, the holiday season was progressing suspiciously well for our family. Thanksgiving came and went with no major incidents, and everyone was healthy for the moment, a rare winter treat in a family of six.

My husband and I even managed to put up the Christmas tree and lights with no arguing and minimal frustration, despite the circus of craziness that four enthusiastic children create when forced to wait.
We had conquered a pattern of holiday frustration for the first time in years!

The Holiday Hypocrite

Then somewhere along the line, life began to get very real. Our youngest son, four years old at the time, decided the holiday season would be a good time to test our parental authority in various, publicly humiliating places.

Our budget grew tight.

I stressed about all of The Things on my list.

On top of all of that, we became suddenly busy with all of the typical holiday concerts and programs and gatherings. Not exactly the peace I had anticipated.

And it was all fun and good and mostly necessary, but it does make one a little weary…

For the most part, I was able to maintain the joy and hope of the season, after all there was a lot of sweet memory-making sprinkled into the mix. But I held onto a dark secret.

After all of the praise and promise of the Christmas Adventure Box that I shared with you previously, we didn’t even manage to do it this year! At all.

Nothing. Nada. Zip.

It just didn’t happen.

When holidays don't go as planned, it's easy to feel like a failure. Read how one failed Christmas broadened my view of God's grace! #christmasfail #encouragement #Christianwomen Being Confident of This | Resources for Christian women | devotionals | Bible studies | grace | holiday expectations | set up for failure | overcoming failure | holiday hypocrite | gospel truth

In fact, we only managed to hang onto a few of our typical holiday traditions. I didn’t even attempt to mail out Christmas cards or get a family portrait.

I felt like a failure, no worse – a holiday hypocrite!

My carefully planned and highly anticipated season of hope and joy crumbled before me. The disappointment that followed was slightly bitter and came with a side dose of viral illness, as well as over a foot of snow, that kept us cooped up at home for weeks.

I could have written about it, but to be honest, I felt unworthy. So like most hypocrites, I hid from you all. I quit writing. I quit taking pictures.

I made excuses and planned to resume in the new year. And when I finally succumbed to the viral plague making the rounds in our home, I wallowed in my misery.

For a few days, God and I were barely on speaking terms.

I wasn’t just disappointed about failing to do advent as a family – after all, sometimes as mamas we have to pare life down to the nitty gritty in order to survive with sanity (and with a family who still wants to be around us). My disappointment came more from my hiding away in blogger shame and silence.

The thing is that I believe in Grace, I really do.

I’m very aware that without Grace, I’d be a hopeless mess. Even with Grace I still have nothing to boast about except for a God who gives second chances, and third, and fourth, to infinity and eternity, a God who loves me deeply for who I am, not for who the world thinks I should be, a God who through the blood of Jesus, sees the best version of me even when I’m acting my worst.

But like many mamas, I have a hard time extending that grace to my own messy self.

So, I confess: I’ve been a Holiday Hypocrite.

In fact, I could be called an everyday hypocrite, too, because I’m far from perfect. I still lose my temper. I still forget important events and birthday cards.

I still argue with my husband and become impatient with my children. I’m still selfish with my time. I’m still prideful. I still say “no” to the Holy Spirit in so many ways.

I’m still learning who God made me to be.

But that’s the beauty of our journey in Christ, friends, that we get chance after chance to do things differently.

Those failures we feel so deeply are not the end of the story. We are given an abundance of opportunities to let our Father God change who we are, from the inside out. And that good work He began in saving us from a life of sin, He promises to continue to the very end (Phil. 1:6). We can have complete confidence in that!

So, keep up the good work, friends, even if your holidays fails to live up to your expectations.

Fight the good fight.

Run the good race.

And when you fail or fall, let Him pick your hypocritical self back up again and hold you for a while, heal your wounds if needed, and send you off on your way. Not alone, for He runs alongside you.

Don’t let those fiery darts from the Enemy bog you down, not now, but put on the full armor of God and stand firm in your faith.

No more hiding away, no more pretending to be something we are not, no more fearing what the world thinks.

Instead, let’s embrace our work-in-progress status and the indescribable hope that it affords.

Not to us, Lord, not to us
but to your name be the glory,
because of your love and faithfulness.
Psalm 115:1

Praise be to His Name!

Jen

For further reading: https://arabahjoy.com/uncommon-spiritual-discipline/

Don't make the mistake I made by setting your goals too high this Christmas! #Christmasfail #overcoming #grace #devotional Being Confident of This | work-in-progress women | Bible studies | devotionals | hope for the holidays | preaching the gospel to myself | unashamed | insecurity | identity in Christ

Filed Under: Christianity Tagged With: Christian living, Christian Women, Christmas, Devotional Thought, Encouragement, Grace, holiday hypocrite, Identity in Christ, work-in-progress women

5 Methods for Setting Goals Rooted in Faith

December 31, 2015 by jstults 7 Comments

Perhaps you found your way here after evaluating last year’s successes and failures. Perhaps setting goals is new to you, and you’d like a little help. Or perhaps, like me, you hesitate to set real goals in the first place because you’re desperate to avoid any kind of failure.

If you consistently make and break New Year’s resolutions, or if you often find your enthusiasm waning halfway through the year, then these methods for setting goals will help!

5 Methods for Setting Goals

1. Before you make an attempt at setting goals, spend time in prayer.

First, if you have an area of your life that needs improvement, God is probably already nudging you.  The best goals are those the Father wills for us, and to remain aligned with His will requires a little soul-searching and time spent praying. If you already have some ideas about goals you should set, ask Him for confirmation!

Second, after you finish setting goals, continue to pray over your God-dependent efforts.

For example, when working on getting healthier last year, I often asked the Lord for strong lungs and strong knees so that I could continue working out.  I asked Him to give me the desire to eat right and the desire to exercise. I even asked Him for strength to continue in the middle of some of those workouts.

When I quit praying for those things for a time, I struggled and wasted several months going nowhere.

Because New Year's is right around the corner and resolutions so often fail to stick. Why not try a biblical approach to setting goals instead? These 5 methods will set you on the path to success that lasts!

 

2. Support your goals with scripture memorization.

Often the Holy Spirit reminds me of verses I have memorized at key moments, such as when I’m tempted, struggling to trust, or avoiding obedience.  He even brings to mind verses to encourage me in my efforts.

The more we memorize, the more weapons in our arsenal!

When working on a goal pertaining to a weakness in your life or a desire to achieve something new, find and memorize a few key verses to motivate and encourage you.

And on the heels of scripture memorization…

3. Expect and prepare for opposition.

I’ve mentioned before that as soon as we aim to make positive changes  in our lives, Satan is sure to try us.  When we finish setting goals, we instantly become walking targets!  Doubt easily sets in when we fail to prepare for spiritual warfare.

Even friends or family may unintentionally discourage us because they fail to understand our goals, or perhaps they just don’t agree with them!  Either way, if we expect and prepare for rough seas at first, we won’t be easily deterred when storms blow our way.

4. Start with small steps.

Change isn’t easy, especially if you are trying to undo a life-long habit! Even if you’re simply adding a new habit, real change takes weeks – some experts advise 30-40 days or longer.

Don’t be ashamed of your baby steps!

Use the small start to build to bigger changes.

Starting small after setting goals allows you to focus on one thing at a time so that you don’t feel overwhelmed. For example, if your goal is to eat healthier, start by exchanging an unhealthy afternoon snack for a serving of vegetables.  Once you’ve mastered that step you can move on to a bigger step.

The verse below comes from the days of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. God’s faithful were few in number and faced discouragement at every turn. Theses were His words:

 “Also the word of the Lord came to me, saying,  “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. For who has despised the day of small things?” (Zech. 4:8-10a, NASB, emphasis mine)

Don’t despise the day of small things. Instead, celebrate every small victory!

What direction does God have for you this year? How can you make sure your goal-setting process is rooted in faith rather than in worldly wisdom? #goals #goalsetting #faith #christianwomen Being Confident of This | tips for goal-setting | how to set goals for Christians | Christian resource | grace goals | godly goals | New Year | resolutions | practical tips | praying for God's direction | work in progress women

 

5. Break loose from perfectionism by embracing grace.

I’ve written before about disliking the process of setting goals (and being afraid to get too specific) because I’m afraid to fail. I hate failing! As a perfectionist, I must recognize how this all or nothing mindset limits me.

The only way to break loose from perfectionism’s chains is to view myself as a work-in-progress woman.

“Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 1:6, NASB)

Rather than avoiding the process of setting goals altogether, I purpose to show myself grace!

I know some current goals are going to be long hauls, especially this weight loss journey.  Whereas a setback might have caused me to give up for good previously, with grace in mind I can see the work in progress rather than individual or isolated failures.

* This post makes use of affiliate links. Jen is an affiliate for Grace Goals and will receive compensation for any purchase made through the affiliate links on this blog at no additional cost to you.  Thank you for supporting the ministry of Being Confident of This!

My favorite tool for grace-filled goal-setting:

Do you really want lasting, godly change?

If so, I highly recommend  Grace Goals, a new scripture-based goal-setting workshop developed by my friend Arabah Joy (this is my affiliate link).

Grace Goals contains 5 Workshops to help you identify your greatest desires and develop a plan for pursuing them. Grace Goals also targets the tools you need to succeed and (the most important part, in my opinion) helps you understand how faith plays the greatest role in achieving real change!

If you want God's blessing on your goals this year, then you must begin by asking for His direction! Let Grace Goals lead you through practical steps for discovering your godly desires and planning achievable steps to get there!  #gracegoals #goalsetting #faith #planning Being Confident of This | godly goals | God's will for me | discerning God's direction for your life | Christian women | Christian goals | goal-setting tips | how to set smart goals

Here’s what Grace Goals 2019 includes:

  • year end review sheets
  • spiritual growth inventory sheets
  • practical goal planner pages that will help you break your goal into smaller, less intimidating steps
  • printable pages to help organize your thought
  • The Grace Goals Workshops workbook – my FAVORITE part and what sets this apart from other goal-setting planners (think Bible study combined with practical tips)

Why Grace Goals?

Because as a pastor’s wife and woman of faith, I appreciate the fact that Arabah Joy takes a biblical approach to goal-setting rather than a worldly approach. In fact, in the very first workshop, Arabah Joy recognizes that no goal is worth pursuing if it hasn’t come from God.

If you’re looking for validation for goals and dreams you have already decided for yourself, then this probably isn’t for you.

On the other hand, if you genuinely want to know what the Lord wants you to focus on and the dreams and desires that come from Him (as scary as that can be sometimes), then you will find Grace Goals very helpful!

In fact, the first time I started Grace Goals, I quit.

It challenged me in unexpected ways, so I tucked tail and ran away scared.

But after falling under conviction, I picked Grace Goals back up, and I’m so thankful. Last year I used Grace Goals and the planning sheets to write and teach a Bible study on discipleship for some of the women in our church, several of whom are now discipling others. To God be the glory!

I used Grace Goals again earlier this year to pray over, plan out, and publish a new devotional I believed God had laid on my heart, Being Confident of This.

As challenging as it may be, I look forward to discovering what God has next for the coming year! 🙂

 

LIMITED TIME OFFER

This year Arabah Joy is offering 2 of her own bonuses – a spiritual growth plan workshop, as well as a spiritual disciplines and growth binder!

These are limited offers, so be sure to check and see when they expire.

In addition, anyone who purchases through my affiliate links is eligible for a limited time BONUS from me, too – a Work-in-Progress Toolkit. It’s perfect for those of us who struggle with perfectionism, and is designed to be a companion to Grace Goals – to encourage you along the way by addressing obstacles I’ve encountered when attempting to set godly goals.

 

Learn how a work-in-progress mindset can make the difference between your failure and success! #goals #faith #christianwomen #discipleship Being Confident of This | toolkit | perfectionism | goal setting | printables | weekly encouragement | victory | overcome | making progress | change | habits | growth

 

I know from experience that setting goals can easily be seen as a set-up for failure, so I want to help you learn how having a work-in-progress mindset creates a set-up for success instead!

The Work-in-Progress Toolkit Includes:

  • a beautiful truth-journaling worksheet that can be printed as many times as you want
  • high quality 8×10 scripture prints for you to hang around your home
  • a weekly encouraging email that will help you focus on overcoming those fears and insecurities related to goal-setting

No need to fear the goal-setting process with this grace-filled encouragement in place to help you focus on truth.

To claim your BONUS from me, simply email me your receipt from this year by January 7th and you’ll start receiving your bonuses each week for a month! 🙂

I hope you take advantage of this special offer, friends, because the content here is extraordinary!

Wishing you a fruitful New Year!

Jen 🙂

 

Filed Under: Christianity Tagged With: biblical goals, change, Christ-centered living, failed goals, failure, Goal-setting, Grace, habits, how to set goals, lasting change, New Year, New Year's resolutions, setting goals, success, work in progress

Christians and Sin ~ Grace and Truth Week 43

November 6, 2015 by jstults 2 Comments

It’s Friday, and I’m just thankful to have made it through this week with a smile still on my face (well, mostly, haha). You?

I’m thankful for the Lord’s goodness in giving me the energy I need to get through each day lately.  I’ve started asking Him ahead of time when I know our day is going to be particularly long or potentially stressful to give me His strength and peace and patience. He always does. 🙂

But some days I don’t choose the opportunity for demonstrating patience or joy or strength. Some days I fail.

Some days I willingly sin.

I read a meme earlier this week on facebook that said something along the lines of: The mark of Christians is that they keep on fighting against sin. It doesn’t matter how many times they fall as long as they get back up and resume the fight.

How true.  We cannot expect perfection on this side of Heaven, but neither should we give up!  We choose to persevere, having faith in the results to follow.

This week my friend Dawn shared an excellent post on the mistakes we make.  She wrote of how they can lead to shame, but also to redemption. That’s the amazing Grace we experience as children of God!

Friends, this is one of those posts that bring a smile to your face and gratefulness to your heart – and maybe even a loud, “Amen!” to your lips.  So be sure to stop by and be encouraged. It’s well worth the time!

As we finish off this week, let’s remember how great a God we serve.

We may feel weak, but He is strong.

We may feel inadequate, but He is sufficient.

We may be weary, but He promises rest.

Let’s do it all for His glory!

Jen 🙂

P.S. I think I have fixed my Grace and Truth buttons, so if you’ve had issues with them in the past, give them a try today and let me know if they work! Thanks!

 

Thanks for linking up with us last week. If you were featured, feel free to grab a featured button below!

Grab button for Being Confident of This

<div class=“Being-Confident-of-This Button” style=”width: 150px; margin: 0 auto;”>
<a href=”http://beingconfidentofthis.com/category/grace-and-truth-link-up/
” rel=”nofollow”>
<img src=”http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r536/Kitzers3/GraceampTruth-Featured_zpsvo3gvxsx.png
” alt=“Being Confident of This” width=”150″ height=”150″ />
</a>
</div>

Grace & Truth : A Weekly Christian Link Up

Grace & Truth exists to point people to Jesus! We hope this link-up will be a source of encouragement each and every week. If you’re a blogger our hope is that you’ll use this space as a way to meet new friends within the Christian blogging community. If you’re a reader our hope is that you’ll meet new bloggers that love Jesus just as much as you do! Most of all, we hope you’ll meet Jesus here.

Meet Your Hosts

Satisfaction Through Christ
BLOG
| FACEBOOK | PINTEREST | TWITTER |G+

Kaylene Yoder
BLOG | FACEBOOK | PINTEREST | TWITTER | G+

The Brown Tribe
BLOG | FACEBOOK | PINTEREST | TWITTER | G+

Arabah Joy
BLOG | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | PINTEREST | G+

A Divine Encounter
BLOG | FACEBOOK | PINTEREST | G+ | STUMBLEUPON

Being Confident of This
BLOG | FACEBOOK | PINTEREST | TWITTER | G+

Busy Being Blessed
BLOG | FACEBOOK | PINTEREST | TWITTER | G+

Sharing Redemption’s Stories
BLOG | FACEBOOK | PINTEREST | TWITTER | G+

Grace&Truth-Rules2

1.) Follow your hosts via their blog and/or social media channels. This is not mandatory, but appreciated!

2.) Leave 1-2 of your most recent CHRISTIAN LIVING posts. Please do not link DIY, Crafts, Recipes, etc. Links of this kind will be deleted. We also reserve the right to delete posts that don’t align with the theme or that are deemed by the hostesses to be inappropriate.

3.) Visit 1-2 other links and leave a meaningful comment! We want to encourage community, so please don’t link and run!

4.) All links are randomly sorted – feel free to link as early or as late as you’d like. The playing field is even!

In order to be featured next week:

5.) Grab a button or link back to encourage new linkers. This is not mandatory to participate, but is required to be featured.

6.) Each host will choose one link to feature and promote via their social media channels next week.

7.) By linking up you agree to allow the hosts to use your featured post image if you are chosen as a feature for next week.  By linking up and leaving your email address, you also agree to receive e-mails relating to Grace and Truth.

Grab A Button

Grab button for Being Confident of This

<div class=“Being-Confident-of-This-Button” style=”width: 125px; margin: 0 auto;”>
<a href=”http://beingconfidentofthis.com/category/grace-and-truth-link-up/
” rel=”nofollow”>
<img src=”http://i1170.photobucket.com/albums/r536/Kitzers3/GraceampTruth-125x125_zpsekotjchq.jpg
” alt=“Being Confident of This” width=“125″ height=”125″ />
</a>
</div>

[inlinkz_linkup id=577709 mode=1]

Filed Under: Grace and Truth Link-up Tagged With: #GraceTruth link-up, Christ-centered living, Christian living, Grace, Redemption, sin

There is No Shame in Truth-telling

July 11, 2015 by jstults 20 Comments

I can tell you from personal experience throughout my life that being falsely accused of acting in an unloving manner just plain hurts. Like most other women (and quite a few men), I like it best when people like me. 🙂

Yet there have been times in my life when I have been conscience-bound to speak truth into a tough situation even if I expected it might not be well-received.

What makes truth-telling even more difficult, however, is when fellow  brothers and sisters in Christ ask us not to “rock the boat” for fear of repercussions.

I do not refer to those voices who caution us to speak God’s truth gently or even intelligently (that message is needed, too!), but those who would ask us to quit speaking truth altogether.

Many grow weary of debate in current Christian circles, and some even ask for silence. Yet the example of Christ gives us reason to risk offending others for the sake of the Gospel!

Sometimes false accusations about our character or motives (not just the words we speak) dissuade us from truth-telling. They work just as the enemy intends by effectively shaming us into silence.

Sometimes we simply feel alone in our truth-telling, and so after a while, we simply give up.

According to Billy Graham, “Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are stiffened.”

We need courage now more than ever, my truth-telling friends!

I’m reminded of this recent favorite from Galatians 1:10:

“For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.”

As a bond-servant of Christ, I am willing to cause offense, even at great personal cost, not because I despise others or believe I am so much better, far from it. If you’ve read this blog, you know without a shadow of a doubt that I fall short of perfect.

I eat when I shouldn’t,

I disrespect my husband,

I choose anger instead of joy.

I sin.

I’m a miserable sinner saved solely by grace, Praise be to His Name!

In spite of my own imperfections, I am willing to take the risk of offending because I believe God’s Word enough to bear the wound of potential rejection.

The wound is worth it because I know the power of both grace and truth in my own life for affecting change from the inside-out, and I want others to experience that same power, too, all for the glory of the Lord!

Furthermore, I believe Jesus when He says in Matthew 5:11-12, “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (emphasis mine)

My brothers and sisters in Christ, if you are bearing the brunt of a difficult stance, whether public or private, please realize that you are not alone. In fact, according to Jesus, you are in excellent company!

You see, the world would have us Bible-believing Christ-followers to accept that truth-telling isn’t just un-kind, it’s downright un-Christian.

It’s another Screwtape reversal in which something that is based on a little bit of truth sounds right and good but is really twisted, insidious and destructive.

The world would have us believe a lie.

There is no shame in truth-telling, friends.

Because being a Christian is being a follower of Christ, and Jesus had no problem speaking truth in love, even to the point of death itself. Likewise, his disciples followed his example to their own gruesome deaths, all for the sake of a gospel that the world around them found offensive.

I applaud what Answers in Genesis has to say on the issue:

“As Christians, we need to have the utmost integrity in all areas and be careful not to be a stumbling block to a fellow Christian. We should make every effort to live at peace with others (Romans 12:18). This does not mean, however, we will never offend a fellow Christian if, for example, a rebuke is needed. Even though we speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), we might still offend. We must live by the truth of God’s Word, and those people who are living contrary to the truth are often offended.”

And here’s what Jesus had to say to his followers on the issue:

“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.” Jn. 15:18-19

We can and should expect persecution because of the gospel we are so aligned with!  Not only that, it’s our badge of honor, in a sense.

By all means love one another, but in so doing, don’t become salt-less in a salt-needy world.

Many grow weary of debate in current Christian circles, and some even ask for silence. Yet the example of Christ gives us reason to risk offending others for the sake of the Gospel! Read here to learn why there is no shame in truth-telling.

Instead, put your lamp on a stand for all to see.

“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Mt. 5:16

So this is me,

lifting my lamp,

and praying,

praying that by it, others will see!

Jen 🙂

Sharing with: Saturday Soiree, Grace and Truth

Filed Under: Christianity Tagged With: Bible, biblical authority, Biblical truth, Christian living, Courage, Encouragement, Grace, no shame, offend, Truth, truth-telling, Women of Faith

The Truth About Freedom in Christ

June 19, 2015 by jstults 8 Comments

You may have heard of the “license to sin” as some call it – that tendency to swing the pendulum so far to the side of grace that sin holds little weight. I think a more apt description of this problem is this: the desire to be your own boss.

In mankind the desire to be the boss revealed itself at the very beginning of time. I can just hear Adam and Eve’s thoughts now…It’s my choice. It’s not going to hurt anything to take just one bite. Besides, it looks really good, and why would God want to keep us from something that is soooo gooooood if He really loves us?

Here’s the problem as we see it in our culture today.

We have elevated grace to the false position of self-rule and thus minimized sin.

We believe we can make our own choices because Jesus already paid the price, right? We’re already forgiven.  Besides, there’s that verse in Galatians 5 that says “it is for freedom that Christ came to set us free…” (Gal. 5:1)

We use the word “freedom” to justify our own sin.

How sad that we allow the Enemy to use a beautiful thing like freedom to turn us away from Christ and toward our own fleshly desires!  Such a move is reminiscent of the Screwtape Letters.

The problem with such thinking lies in the meaning we assign to the word freedom. We like to think that freedom means self-autonomy – nobody can tell me what to do!  That’s what the world teaches us to believe.

Yes, it certainly is for freedom that Christ came, but not just any freedom and certainly not the type of self-serving freedom that the world teaches.

Often Christians use freedom in Christ as permission to be their own boss, make their own choices. But the truth about freedom in Christ is the great paradox of grace.

 

Christ came not for the freedom to do whatever we want but for freedom from the slavery of sin itself. That’s the part that we so often get wrong, friends, and I’m just as guilty.

We make believe we have no master but ourselves when we choose our way over God’s way. Ironically, when we do so we open the door to the master of sin, Satan himself. We return to slavery of our own free will.

Romans 6:15-16

“ What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (emphasis mine)

If we persist in sin by denying its power over us or downplaying its effects, then we deceive ourselves.

We willingly choose to let the enemy have his way with us.

And that, my friends, is a dangerous choice.  Sure, we know our eternal destination is secure if we’ve truly accepted Christ as our Savior, but that does not make us exempt from the present reality of worldly consequences.

In the same chapter of Galatians where we read about freedom in Christ, we find this admonition:

Galatians 5:13

“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.”

And in the next chapter of Galatians we find this verse about reaping what we sow:

Galatians 6:7-8

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”

A quick examination of sin in the early church demonstrates deadly consequences of sin here on Earth:

  • When the Corinthian church misused the Lord’s Supper, Paul claimed that sin was the reason for illness and even death among them. (I Cor. 11:30)
  • When Ananias and Sapphira acted hypocritically by lying about a field they sold and holding back a portion of the money that they claimed to give to the church, they were struck dead on the spot, one right after the other. (Acts 5:1-11)
  • In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul cautions that Old Testament stories of God’s wrath against sin serve as warnings to us now.
  • Even certain New Testament men were mentioned by name and “given over to Satan” so that they might learn their wrong and be restored. (1 Cor. 5:5, 1 Tim. 1:20)

Can you imagine any worse consequence than being given over to Satan for a lesson?

We may believe that our sin isn’t hurting anyone else but ourselves, but we would be wrong on that count, too. We can bet that the enemy will seize any chance to lead us back into bondage… and drag a few others along with us.

Consider the generations upon generations upon generations of mankind separated from Life itself by a  single choice? What an accomplishment that was for the snake.

And won’t the enemy be giddy with delight when sin does come to light?  Relentless guilt. Reputations ruined. The lost turned away from truth, stumbling over our hypocrisy. People disillusioned, maybe even wounded.

Sometimes whole churches and ministries, yes even nations and civilizations, fall simply because of our desire to rule ourselves, be our own bosses.

Thus, we fall prey to Satan’s great deception.

The truth is that the often misquoted and misused “freedom in Christ” found in Galatians is about so much more than freedom from rules and freedom from sin; it is freedom to relationship with the God of the universe.

The veil has been torn!

We no longer require a priest to help us with our sin-debt, to mediate between us and God. We are no longer separated by sin! Because of Christ, we come to the Lord directly, and in return, He gives us life.  We are part of His family.

Even more, our Father gives us every good thing we need to avoid sin and do right! (I Cor. 10:13, Heb.13:20-21)

According to the Word, real freedom is found by letting Christ be our master and making ourselves slaves to righteousness.

It’s the great paradox of grace. 

Only by choosing the Living God as our boss can we be released from the bonds of self and sin which ultimately lead to death.

True freedom in Christ, then, is a direct result of the grace that rescues us from death and plunges us into new life.

Romans 6:1-2

“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”

How?

How can we live in it any longer?

This is grace, friends, that the Creator of the Universe would choose a lowly sinner and mold him into the image of His most precious and perfect Son.

Anything less and we limit the power of grace – we miss out on the best aspect of the gift of Salvation!

Do you long for true freedom, friend?

Quit deceiving yourself.

Heed the Word

and make Christ the boss of you.

Jen 🙂

Sharing with: Grace and Truth, Missional Women, The Weekend Brew

Filed Under: Christianity Tagged With: Biblical truth, Christ-centered living, freedom in Christ, Grace, license to sin, slaves to Christ, slaves to sin

Through My Grace-Colored Glasses

May 17, 2015 by jstults 18 Comments

Last night I had a little run-in with Perfectionism again.  He just won’t leave me alone. He follows me wherever I go, pointing out flaws in my house-keeping, my parenting, my marriage relationship, even my walk with the Lord.

Some days I can ignore him and others I just can’t seem to escape. And I know it’s Perfectionism and not the Holy Spirit because of his voice.  He whispers lies to me: “you’ll never change” or “you’re never going to be good enough” or “why even bother anymore.”

I’ve been enslaved by his words before, but last night was different.

You see, my husband and I stayed up much too late because we were arguing about a financial issue.

I felt angry and disappointed and fearful.  The familiar panic of how can I possibly do right in this situation and still get my point across welled up within me, and I knew a battle was swiftly approaching.

I know some of you are chuckling right now, and rightfully so!

It’s the quandary every woman who ever lived on the face of Earth deals with: to obey the Lord and demonstrate respect for my husband or to take control and make my voice heard?

God’s way or my way?

When it comes to submitting to and respecting my husband, I so often feel like Paul in Romans chapter 7. I know what I want to do, what I should do, yet I feel powerless to actually do it.

I’ve believed so many lies for so long.  

I fail frequently.

But the Lord is faithful, and I’m learning to trust His promises to carry that work in me, in my marriage, until completion in the day of Christ (Phil. 1:6).

Later on after our apologies were spoken and we both felt at peace, we finally turned out the lights in hopes for at least a few hours of sleep.

And that’s when it happened.  

Marriage is hard work, and it's easy to feel like a failure. Here's why you need to learn to show yourself a little more grace... #marriage #marriageadvice #Christianwife #grace Being Confident of This | confidence in marriage | show yourself grace | failure | perfectionism | wife | married life | work-in-progress women | encouragement for wives | Christian marriage | faith

 

In the stillness of the dark, my husband’s voice broke through Perfectionism’s insidious whispers, “Thank you for being so calm and patient with me tonight.”

Stunned, my disbelieving heart rejected his kind words and earlier tears returned in full force.

“But I wasn’t patient!” I agonized. “I was so angry and so disappointed and I struggled, I really struggled, not to say mean and hateful things.” The weight of my own sin and failure hung about my neck.

My husband’s reply was quiet, yet firm, “Babe, even though you were angry, you were patient with me. You didn’t bite my head off. You maintained control. You gave me space and that helped me.”

At that moment, the truth of his words broke through Perfectionism’s grasp.  No, I didn’t handle the situation as well as I would have liked; I wasn’t perfect.  Yes, there was definitely room for improvement.

Nevertheless, his words rang true. What normally would have developed into a full-fledged, hours-long fight was briefly resolved.  By the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, I realized that we were definitely making progress.

That’s when I saw Perfectionism for what he was – one part self, one part Satan.  

Self was prideful, Satan was deceitful, and the combination of the two brought me chains of defeat that I no longer wish to carry.

In Perfectionism’s chains, I so often measure in black and white, success or failure, perfect or imperfect.

Praise the Lord that my Redeemer is teaching me to put on my Grace-colored glasses and see the shades of success, to celebrate even the smallest steps of progress, to proclaim every small victory because of His work in me, in us.

 

I hope I never forget that moment.  My husband spoke freeing words to me last night, and the Holy Spirit confirmed them within me.

Daughter, you are the good that you so desperately want to be, not because your efforts are so grand and your reach so high, but because you are walking a path of progress, trusting in the promise of redemption.  I never asked you to be perfect, just willing. At the same time, daughter, you are perfect, not in yourself, but in my Son because He already carried these burdens with Him and nailed them to the cross.  They died and were buried with Him.  But you daughter, you rose with Him in perfection, a new creation, beautiful to behold, born of His glory.  And now you no longer live as a slave in Romans 7, but in Romans 8 as more than a conqueror, confident in the promise that you will never be separated from His love!

2 Corinthians 5:17 proclaims, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold new things have come. (NASB)”

I don’t think I’ll ever cease to be overwhelmed by such truths, such promises, such magnificent grace.  In the midst of my sorrow and my shame, my Savior showed up and handed me a pair of Grace-colored glasses.

Perfectionism, you’re no longer welcome here.

I’m embracing my work-in-progress status

and the grace that has already set me free!

Jen 🙂

*This post makes use of affiliate links. For more information, please visit the Being Confident of This homepage. Thank you for helping to support this blog!

~ You just finished an excerpt from the book Hope for the Hurting Wife by Rebekah Hallberg and Jen Stults, two women who have walked through the valley of troubled marriages and emerged safely on the other side. Their testimonies to God’s presence and hope in the midst of difficulty gives hope to wives who are really struggling not to give up!

 

Find additional encouraging content in this book:

 

marriage help | marriage advice | marriage problems | wife | husband | Christian women | Bible study | devotional #marriage #marriagebook #devotional #hope

 

Sharing with: A Look At the Book, Make Your Home Sing Monday, Tell It To Me Tuesday, Titus 2 Tuesday, Titus 2sdays, Wedded Wednesdays, A Little R&R Wednesdays, Wholehearted Wednesdays, Grace and Truth, Faith Filled Fridays

Filed Under: Christianity, Marriage Tagged With: Christ-centered living, Christian Marriage, Fear of failure, Grace, hope for the hurting wife, Imperfect Marriage, Imperfect Progress, Marriage, Perfectionism, work in progress

Bad Guys Are Real

April 6, 2014 by stultsmamaof4 10 Comments

Bad Guys Are Real, sin, grace, eternal life

I love how she chatters when it’s just her and me in the van, her sweet, soft voice breaking through the unusual quiet as we travel. I point out two military jets flying overhead and she asks if they are carrying a lot of people.

“Well, no, these jets are carrying soldiers who work hard to protect us, protect our country,” I explain.

“They protect us? Like from bad guys?  Mommy, are bad guys real?”  Her voice gets quiet.

I want to tell her, “no.” I want to make her feel safe and secure, but the truth is that bad guys are real.  “Yes, they are real, sis. Some people want to hurt others and do bad things.”

From the front seat, I imagine her eyes growing wide with this information. “Because they don’t love God?” She questions, so smart yet so innocent for all of her five years.

daughter, are bad guys real?, good vs. evil, sin, Jesus, grace, eternal life

I want to tell her, “yes.” Yes, bad guys are bad because they don’t know or love God.  They are bad because they hurt others.  They are bad because they have evil inside, and they do unspeakable things.  That would be the quick and easy explanation, right?

But it’s not the whole truth, is it, this idea that some are bad and some are good?  The truth is we all have evil inside.  We’re all bad in a sense; it’s called sin.  So once again I stop myself from making it sound that simple in favor of telling her the truth.

bad guys, none righteous, we all sin

“Well, yes, some bad guys probably don’t know God or love Him.  But really we all have the ability to be bad.  We all have sin inside of us, and we all make wrong choices sometimes.  It’s only because we believe that Jesus paid the punishment for our sins by dying on the cross that we can choose good instead. That’s the only real difference between the bad guys and the good guys – Jesus.  Without Him we would all be bad guys.”

She falls quiet then for a while, and I know she’s thinking about what I said. I hope and I pray that she really gets it.  That there is nothing good in us, nothing deserving, nothing “better than.”  

Because more than anything I want my sweet, dark-haired beauty of a daughter to know that she cannot, she cannot, be good on her own. She needs Jesus. She needs grace.

bad guys, wages of sin, unrighteous, sin leads to death, eternal life is a gift

Even more than that, I want her to realize that we all need it, this grace, this unmerited, unearned, undeserved, unfathomable gift from a Father God who deigned to love us, a bunch of bad guys, enough to sacrifice His one and only Son.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us,

in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Rom. 5:8

Yes, my daughter, bad guys are real.

But praise be to God,

Jesus is real, too.

Jen 🙂

Sharing with: My Freshly Brewed Life, Managing Your Blessings, Mom’s The Word, Wholehearted Home, Messy Marriage,

Jennifer Dukes Lee, Rich Faith Rising

You may find me linking with any of these lovely blogs.

 

 

Filed Under: Christianity, Parenting, Uncategorized, Women of Faith Tagged With: bad guys, Devotional Thought, eternal life, Faith, Grace, Jesus, Motherhood, sin, unrighteous

The Pastor’s Mulligan

March 9, 2014 by stultsmamaof4 13 Comments

pastor's mulligan. do-over, second chance, ministry life, pastor's wife, forgiveness, grace

We woke at our usual Sunday-morning times and showered and bathed the little ones.  We ate breakfast and dressed in our Sunday-morning clothes and tied shoes and added bows to ponytails.  The morning routine was going relatively smoothly until the phone rang.

I heard my husband say, “Aw, man.”

Concerned, I called out from the next room, “What’s wrong?”

“We’re late!  I forgot it was the start of daylight savings!”

For most church-going families, this would result in either skipping Sunday School altogether or making a red-face, apologetically late entrance.

But I’m married to the Pastor.

So, forgetting to “spring forward” meant people sitting in the sanctuary, sitting and waiting on us.

At first, the perfectionist in me was sorely tempted to give in to crankiness.  Why would the Lord allow us to make such a noticeable and embarrassing mistake?!  How could we have missed daylight savings?!

Somehow, I had missed every possible reminder of the upcoming time change and was honestly clueless.  Right then and there, I decided blaming God wasn’t going to help and neither was blaming myself.  Although forgetting to change our clocks was incredibly humiliating and humbling (and it WAS), it could not have been prevented in any way.

So, when my husband, the pastor, received the call that meant we were shamefully late, I decided to let it go, to trust the Lord, knowing my own conscience was clear.  Knowing that while others might have the right to complain, we could handle it with grace.

You see, the Father’s been teaching me lately how little the approval of men matters in the larger scheme of things.  He’s been teaching me instead to look towards His Son for the approval that I seek. He’s been stretching my ideas about grace.

By the time we made it to church, wet hair and all, Sunday School was already halfway over, but we made the best of it.  I was a little afraid my husband might be chastised, but thankfully our small, country church is full of kind and gracious folks.

And wouldn’t you know the Lord had a word for us today, a word for me.

Because my husband preached on Jonah and the people of Nineveh.  He proclaimed that our God is the God of mulligans, second-chances, do-overs, try-agains.  And we, the pastor and his family, had been exceedingly, embarrassingly late to church that morning. 🙂

pastor's mulligan, second chances, forgiveness, grace, pastor's wife

Wait – it gets even better!  The very best part of God extending a mulligan to the people of Nineveh (and to those of us who trust in Him today) is that no record of previous wrongs exists. The second chance takes the place of the first, wipes it completely out of existence, as if it never, ever happened.

That argument with your husband – wiped out.  Those harsh words spoken to your children – wiped out.  The thoughts you had about that hard-to-get-along-with person – wiped out.  The extra bites of brownie you took – wiped out.  The time you wasted on frivolous things – wiped out.  The decision to ignore the Holy Spirit so you could have more “me” time – wiped out.  The worry, the coveting, the greed, the jealousy, the impatience, the lack of self-discipline, all of it – wiped out.

Sometimes we don’t realize how guilty we’ve allowed the Enemy to make us until we’re reminded of the second chance, the mulligan.  Sometimes we forget that even though life gets hard and our sin nature pulls at us so and we feel helpless, the final battle is already won,  just as we sang in our closing hymn this morning:

“Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,

Let this blest assurance control,

That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,

And has shed His own blood for my soul.”

pastor's mulligan, grace for pastor's and pastor's wives, second chances, forgiveness

We forget that our sins have already been pardoned, mulligan-ed, wiped away:

“My sin, not in part but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more…”

And the victory that is ours to cling to will come.  It will come.  It will come, sisters.

“And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,

The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;

The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,

Even so, it is well with my soul.”

Because by the blood of the Father’s son, Jesus, we possess unlimited mulligans.

Even pastors.

Even their wives.

Psalm 103

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
3 Who pardons all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases;
4 Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;
5 Who satisfies your years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

And in our humility, we see clearly His greatness.

Jen 🙂

*You may also find me at any of these lovely places.

Filed Under: Christianity, Uncategorized, Women of Faith Tagged With: Christian living, daylight savings, Devotional Thought, Grace, Identity in Christ, ministry, pastor, pastor's wife

Confessions of a Holiday Hypocrite

January 15, 2014 by stultsmamaof4 4 Comments

December had finally arrived. The hope and joy of  the Christmas season lay spread before me as thoughts  of maximizing holiday fun and education swirled through my head.

I envisioned handmade gifts and peaceful evenings at home near the brightly lit tree, my husband walking our children through the Christmas Adventure Box advent.

Yes, I fell prey to Pinterest Syndrome, quite deadly to a mama’s often already shaky confidence.

Pinterest Syndrome begins with a few deceptively simple ideas and grows into a nasty and surprisingly strong anticipation of all things good and no things ordinary…. or, heaven forbid, even bad.

Expectations soared to incredible heights, destined to plummet at the first sign of potential failure.  And here I thought I was creating a “simple” Christmas this year (I’ll forgive you if you snicker a little at this point.)

In my defense, the holiday season was progressing suspiciously well for our family.

 

This post has a new home! Please follow the link here to read the rest: http://beingconfidentofthis.com/christianity/holiday-hypocrite/

 

Filed Under: Christianity, Women of Faith Tagged With: Christmas, Devotional Thought, disappointment, discouragement, Encouragement, Grace, holiday failure, Holidays, hypocrite, pinterest, second chances, work in progress

Welcome to the Sisterhood

October 31, 2013 by stultsmamaof4 6 Comments

I’m linking this up with Lisa Jo for Five Minute Friday today (even though I wrote it this afternoon) because she chose the word Grace, which I obviously had already written on today! 🙂  Funny how that works out sometimes.  I considered writing another post, but I just feel like this is fitting.  So, I hope my Five Minute Friday friends don’t mind too much. 🙂  It took way more than 5 minutes, but shouldn’t take much longer than that to read!

When this blog first began, I mentioned that God created all of us sisters in Christ unique from one another, and that He did so with a purpose!  Lately, I’ve been reminded of that fact.  Not only are we unique as individuals, but our walks with the Lord will be unique from one another, as well.  Thus, the ways in which we live out our faith will vary from person to person.

Paul describes it well in Romans 14:

 1 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters…

 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall.

And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

My weaknesses and strengths will not be the same as your weaknesses and strengths, amen?!  Unfortunately, because they are different, I’ll be tempted to compare myself to you, my sisters in Christ, and you to me.  As a work-in-progress woman, I’m still learning how to have confidence in the woman God has created me to be.

However, as much as I loathe this tendency to compare, I see another, more destructive risk to this comparison game, the risk of self-righteousness.  You see, sometimes I compare myself to another sister in Christ and find her lacking, instead. (Gasp!  Shock and Awe!  Let’s be honest – it happens more often than we like to admit.)

Of course, it’s not always quite that blatant; sin rarely is.  But these thoughts that I don’t even want to acknowledge slowly creep in.  I’m so thankful my children are well-behaved (….because so-and-so certainly needs to get a handle on hers).  Or perhaps you hide it more cleverly in thoughts like this – I’ve studied the scriptures, so my position is biblical (which would make any opposing position unbiblical by default).  When we start thinking we have the corner on the market in knowledge, wisdom, or understanding, look out!  We are due for a major fall

Self-righteousness – thinking we can somehow make ourselves right.

How I wish I fell prey to it less often!

Self-righteousness centers around actions and outward appearances rather than the heart itself.   Oh, how we like to focus on the outward rather than the inward, sisters.  I know because I struggle with it, too!

And that right there is the problem: the tendency to quantify and qualify that which we cannot!  The truth is, we’re all on equal footing, all saved by grace alone and not by works, so that we might not boast.  But how often do we find ourselves boasting in our minds and hearts? I readily admit; I’m just as guilty.  God’s grace cannot be qualified.  We cannot and dare not attach strings to something He gives freely!  And oh, is His grace big, my sisters!  It’s so much more than what I can imagine.

Grace, sisters in Christ, freedom in Christ

You may parent differently, dress differently, celebrate differently, eat differently, educate differently, and on and on.  And the truth is – that’s okay.   Part of finding confidence in Christ, learning to be who He created us to be, is also learning to extend that same grace and freedom to others.  Can I not rejoice in the freedom to be me, yet still celebrate your freedom to be you?

More truth from Romans 14:

13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, 18 because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval. (emphasis mine)

What is the pleasing way?  It is not “a matter of eating and drinking,” not a matter of the details, rather it is a matter of “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit,” choosing to live by the Spirit.  That choice brings to mind 1 Cor. 10:3:1

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

In the scope of eternity, the “whatever” doesn’t matter, sisters!  The “glory of God” is what matters.  Do you see it?! 🙂

I want to shout for joy because our God is so good and gracious!  He knows our tendencies to get caught up in frivolous arguments.  He spells it out for us – whatever you do – whichever choice you make – if God’s glory is truly the motivation, then go for it, sister!

sisters in Christ, freedom and grace, not judgement, unity, Body of Christ

If we, fellow sisters in Christ, cannot celebrate each other’s choices to follow hard after the Lord, then who can we celebrate with?  This world certainly won’t be encouraging and celebrating us in our efforts to live worthy of the calling we have received.  Such self-destructive behavior can only be celebrated by the enemy, that twister of truth, creator of lies.  And I, for one, do not wish to give him any cause for celebration!

 “Beloved, let us love one another,” 1 John 4:7

We are sisters in Christ.

Let’s build each other up in love, lest we all fall prey to the enemy who seeks to devour.

 “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.”

Romans 14:19

United in Christ,

united in Love.

Welcome to the sisterhood,

and let the celebrations begin!

Jen 🙂

I’m linking up with any of these lovely blogs.

Filed Under: Christianity, Uncategorized, Women of Faith Tagged With: Body of Christ, Christ-centered living, Christian living, Christian Women, Confidence, Devotional Thought, freedom in Christ, Grace, Identity in Christ, judge, Moms, self-righteousness, sisters in Christ, unity, work in progress

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

Hi, I'm Jen: a work in progress. I'm imperfect - a mom of four, pastor's wife, discipler, and sinner saved only by grace. I like to sing, read, write, teach, and smile. I have a heart for encouraging women everywhere to understand God's limitless love for them and what His grace means for everyday living. Welcome! :) Read More…

Contact Me

jstults[at]beingconfidentofthis[dot]com

Reader Favorites:

  • Why Reading Isn't Enough ~ Study the Bible
    Why Reading Isn't Enough ~ Study the Bible
  • Six Practical Ways to Take Your Thoughts Captive
    Six Practical Ways to Take Your Thoughts Captive
  • 6 More Benefits of Studying God's Word
    6 More Benefits of Studying God's Word
  • For the Wife Who's Not in Love Anymore
    For the Wife Who's Not in Love Anymore
  • The Secret to Being a Warrior Wife
    The Secret to Being a Warrior Wife
  • Painted Red: The Significance of the Passover
    Painted Red: The Significance of the Passover
  • How to Study the Bible: 4 Resources
    How to Study the Bible: 4 Resources
  • Much Ado about Missions: 8 Resources for Teaching Missions
    Much Ado about Missions: 8 Resources for Teaching Missions

Join the facebook page for everyday encouragement!

Join the facebook page for everyday encouragement!

Share This Blog:

Facebook Twitter More...

Follow Me on Pinterest

Visit Jen's profile on Pinterest.
Hope for the Hurting Wife: 30 Days of Practical Encouragement for Your Marriage.   marriage book|difficult marriage|husband|wife|hard times in marriage|marriage encouragement

Categories

New devotional release from Jen Stults - Being Confident of This: 30 Days to Discovering Your Identity in Christ. This book is for every Christian woman who wants to walk in confident faith instead of struggling with doubt, fear, and insecurity! self-esteem | self-confidence | self-help | motivational | personal growth | spiritual growth | how to be more confident | Christian women | devotional | Bible study | identity in Christ | superwoman myth | being like Mary

Copyright © 2023 | Crave Theme by The Pixelista | Built on the Genesis Framework