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Book Review

In Anxiety, Blog, Book Reviews on
November 23, 2020

Anxious for Nothing

In just a few days, families all across America will be celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday. But for many people, this year’s Thanksgiving will look very different. At-risk family members may be absent from gatherings. Special food dishes may be no longer affordable and go unprepared. Christians may not be able to gather in their churches to sing and give thanks to God. This year seems to have not given us much to be thankful for. Instead, it has given us a lot to be anxious and worried about. Our heads are filled with questions like, “When will I go back to work? When will my kids go back to school? What happens if I get sick? Will I have enough money to buy Christmas presents this year? When will things return to normal?”

While these questions and others like them are “normal,” they are not something that we should spend a lot of time dwelling on. 

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In Blog, Book Reviews, Self-Love on
October 26, 2020

You’re Not Enough (and that’s okay)

How many times have you seen the phrase “I am enough” on Christian t-shirts or journals, or how many times have you heard “you are enough” being taught at women’s ministry events? While the phrase sounds nice and happy and encouraging, it is actually not a Christian idea. The phrase originated from the self-love culture of our society, and unfortunately this culture of self-love has infiltrated the church.

What is self-love? And why is self-love such a bad thing? These are the questions Allie Stuckey answers in her book You’re Not Enough (and that’s okay). 

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In Blog, Book Reviews, Church on
September 28, 2020

A Place to Belong

Church used to be a much higher priority in our society. Most everyone went to church on Sunday mornings. Businesses were closed and nobody worked so that they could spend their Sabbath worshipping the Lord and fellowshipping with other believers. Over time, things changed. Businesses did open on Sunday, which meant people had to work at those businesses. Other things such as sports games and self-care were prioritized over attending church services. 

Nowadays, church is no longer deemed “essential.” It is seen as something that is good to be a part of, but it is totally okay and normal if you only make it there fifty percent of the time. According to Ligonier Ministries’ 2018 State of Theology survey, fifty-eight percent of American adults agree with the statement, “Worshiping alone or with one’s family is a valid replacement for regularly attending church.”[1]

Yet, the Bible discusses the church and its importance often in the New Testament. Can worshipping alone, worshipping as a family, or watching an online service really be a replacement for going to church every week?

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In Blog, Book Reviews, Womanhood on
August 31, 2020

(A)Typical Woman

I am very thankful for the first-wave feminists. I’m thankful for women like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucretia Mott who fought hard for women’s rights in America, especially the right to vote.[1]Without their efforts, who knows what living in America as a woman would be like.

Sadly, the feminism movement has morphed into something that is completely different and ungodly. If you were to attend a feminist march or rally today, you are likely to hear women celebrating abortion, worshipping themselves, trashing men, and affirming both lesbianism and transgenderism. And these ideas are not just at the rallies. They’ve become present on social media, in the news, and even in the books of some “Christian” teachers. With all these ungodly and unbiblical ideals being thrown at us all the time, how are we to know what it really means to be woman?

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In Blog, Book Reviews, Busyness on
May 25, 2020

Crazy Busy

How has your life changed since the COVID-19 pandemic began? Throughout this pandemic, I have kept my normal hours at work (thank God), though my duties look a little different than they used to. My college classes were already all online, so there was no transition for me to struggle through. I stopped going to church in person. My vacation was cancelled. My women’s conference was postponed. I couldn’t go to Disney World on the weekends. For me, things have been okay, but they’ve been different.

One day, though (hopefully soon), things will eventually return back to normal. Restaurants, stores, and businesses will reopen. We’ll be able to go to work, and our kids will be able to go to school. We’ll be able to travel again and go on vacations. And we’ll get back to our normal, busy selves.

But do we really want to return to that crazy busyness? Where we’re working overtime and it seems like we can never pull our eyes away from our screens. Where we’re driving our kids around to soccer games, and piano practices, and dance classes, and after-school clubs. Where we have so many things going on that we can barely keep our heads above water and our important relationships are oftentimes neglected. If we’re not careful, we’ll once again be consumed by our busyness. How do we fight against it?

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