-
The Best Christian Guide for Fair Fighting in Marriage
Need some strategies for fair fighting in marriage? You’re not alone. Fair fighting takes practice in learning to communicate well and graciously handle conflicts. We sometimes forget we need to practice forgiveness and grace the most is at home. We let down our guard and raise our expectations with our families, which is a recipe for disaster. Marriage can bring out the best in us, but also our worst. We’re living in close quarters with another sinner. Our flaws and quirks are going to bump elbows sometimes. Sometimes, those elbows are going to hit sensitive places and arguments start. For me, it’s been a real work of the Holy Spirit…
-
Do I have to go to church to be a Christian?
Do I HAVE to go to church to be a Christian? The weekend is finally here, but instead of resting, I hop on my to-do list and finish Saturday feeling accomplished and exhausted. But, as I set my alarm for the morning, sometimes, I’m tempted not to rise and shine. Can’t I give God the glory, glory from home? Is worshipping from home a legitimate choice? Am I still a Christian if I don’t go to church? Going to church is not a part of salvation. When we add requirements to salvation or Christianity that Jesus did not, we add burdens and weights to the light yoke of Jesus. “Going…
-
Christians Can’t Swear
“I love Jesus, but I still swear sometimes,” she said. Somehow hearing that out loud didn’t sit well with me. I mean the Bible says not to take the Lord’s name in vain, but there isn’t a list of forbidden words. Who says what is okay and what isn’t? Who says Christians can’t swear? The Holy Spirit convicted me on this point. Confronting my own mouth, I felt compelled to do some digging around in the scriptures. It didn’t take long for me to realize that Christians can’t swear. Here are the proof texts I found to hold myself accountable. First, the importance of ALL of our speech in our…
-
Why, yes, we do validate!
Friendship is not for the faint of heart. Real friendship can be messy sometimes if we’re real, honest, and hold each other accountable. Nothing is harder than hearing you’re wrong from someone you really respect and want to be respected by, but if I’m wallowing in pig poop, I need someone to tell me this isn’t the time for a facial! However, I’ve been known to stand in the poop and try to argue that it’s a spa treatment. God has really been teaching me to listen to the correction, searching my heart for any truth in it. Because I’ve learned that even if the entire message doesn’t apply, there…
-
The Butterfly Effect: Handling Rejection as a Christian
How are you with handling rejection? I’m not very good at it. God has shown me better how to handle it, but it always hurts. When someone I care about rejects me, my first reaction is intense hurt and sorrow. I want answers. What did I do? Am I not a good person? But . . . not every rejection is about me. If it is, if I did something unwittingly unkind, then I need to own it, but I have had to learn that sometimes the conflict is not about me. Sometimes, they are rejecting Christ in me. So what should we do when people reject us because of…
