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It Is Okay to Be Ordinary
Is it okay to not make a splash by doing something recognizably great that leads to acclaim and social media notoriety? Why is there so much pressure on girls and women today to be powerful, to start and lead a cause, or to stand out above everyone around them by their success? Are you letting yourself down if you are just an ordinary woman letting God be the one who is extraordinary? Is it okay to be ordinary? That is what we will explore in this post. Not Accomplishing Anything? Several years ago, I read an Engage blog by Tiffany Stein called “Next Steps.” Tiffany wrote about the pressure she…
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Women’s Bible Studies Available Online
Are you looking for a quality women’s Bible Study for yourself or for your group? One with study questions that can be easily read online or that can be freely downloaded and printed? We have so many available for you right here on Bible.org! Check out the studies listed below according to the topic and what comes along with it—a study guide to download, any audio files that coordinate with the studies, and teaching aids. Many of them are also available in print form for those who have limited access to a printer. Ready to explore?
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Jesus vs. Sexism
Do you believe God made male and female different? Me, too (Gen. 1:27). Does it concern you when people turn gender differences into essentialism, saying stuff like “God made women to nurture and men to do the thinking,” and call such binary thinking “biblical”? Me, too. (1 Thess 2:7; Luke 2:19). Does it frustrate you when people say God made it a women’s role (as opposed to a man’s) to cook and serve food (Gen. 25:29; John 21:9–12; Acts 6:2–3)? Me, too. Does it bug you when you see a speaker lineup for a Christian conference that leaves out minorities, including marriage conferences where only men teach? Me, too. (1…
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I Want to See His Face
During worship at my church recently, the familiar song, “I Want to Know You” struck a different chord in me than usual. The chorus—representing the soul speaking to Jesus about knowing Him more—declares, “I want to know You, I want to hear Your voice, I want to touch You.” The next phrase is what grabbed me, “I want to see Your face.” Could the picture on my iphone really be His face? I recently read the book Heaven Is For Real in which a little boy (Colton) recounts his visit to heaven when he was only 3 years old. Colton died for 3 minutes and spent that time in heaven…
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Seriously? Jesus Traveled with Women?
Do you ever wonder why it was not considered scandalous that Jesus had private conversations with women? That Jesus had women traveling with him—and even supporting him financially? I mean, Jesus was also alone with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, and when his own disciples returned, they were surprised to see him talking with a woman (John 4:27) Women with Whom Jesus Had Conversations First of all, Jesus definitely broke with social convention where women were concerned. Consider Mary of Bethany sitting at his feet in the posture of a pupil with a rabbi when Martha objected to her sister’s neglect of her domestic duties. Indeed, Jesus was…
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Jesus Understands Moms
My journey into motherhood began 38 years ago today. Before then, I was a mom-to-be who read all the books available and thought she was prepared with the techniques of mothering. Oh, how naïve! I had made straight A’s in “book learning” for years, got lots of awards for achievement, but mothering this baby girl who was so unpredictable was the hardest challenge of my life. When I complained to the pediatrician at the first postnatal visit that Jennifer didn’t do anything the books said she should do (sleep 20 hours a day, be comforted when I rocked or nursed her), he had the nerve to tell me that she…
