Mary had so many questions for God. The questions, anger and pain intensified throughout the years and seemed overwhelming. If God knew her life before she was even born then why did He allow her to be molested as a child? Why did He allow her to go through with an abortion? Could she go on living a lie the rest of her life? Was there any hope? Could God ever forgive her? Could she ever forgive herself or other people that were involved? Would she ever see her child again? Those profound events that reshaped her life would forever be with her. She searched the bible for answers. Her story tells you how it affected her life, the babys life and others involved. With abortion there are several people involved like the father, doctors, nurses or maybe even the person that helped make the decision? I Was Once Ashamed But I Am Now Forgiven helps you find answers and forgiveness.
Do you long for something more in your relationship with God? The good news is that “something more” does not mean “doing more.” God is not waiting for you to get your spiritual life “right.” He wants to be with you right where you are. The real question is not “What does God want from you?” but “What does God want for you?” Sharon Jaynes understands what it’s like to have a “glory ache”—a longing to experience God’s presence on a daily basis. She also knows how easily working for God can get in the way of intimacy with God. And she’s discovered that we tend to make our faith journey much too hard. In A Sudden Glory, Sharon uses Scripture and story to help you erase the line between your “spiritual life” and your “daily life” as you enter the sanctuary of God’s presence even in the middle of your busy, messy day. Here you will find your eyes opened to moments of sudden glory in which the Creator assures you of His love as you live and move and have your being in Him. Here you will discover true freedom—the freedom of experiencing God in a deeper and more intimate way than ever before. Includes Bible study and discussion guide.
Bestselling author, speaker, and activist Christine Caine helps you overcome past guilt and live an unashamed life. Shame can take on many forms. It hides in the shadows of the most successful, confident and high-achieving woman who struggles with balancing her work and children, as well as in the heart of the broken, abused and downtrodden woman who has been told that she will never amount to anything. Shame hides in plain sight and can hold us back in ways we do not realize. But Christine Caine wants readers to know something: we can all be free. “I know. I’ve been there,” writes Christine. “I was schooled in shame. It has been my constant companion from my very earliest memories. I see shame everywhere I look in the world, including in the church. It creeps from heart to heart, growing in shadowy places, feeding on itself so that those struggling with it are too shamed to seek help from shame itself.” In Unashamed, Christine reveals the often-hidden consequences of shame—in her own life and the lives of so many Christian women—and invites you to join her in moving from a shame-filled to a shame-free life. In her passionate and candid style, Christine leads you into God’s Word where you will see for yourself how to believe that God is bigger than your mistakes, your inadequacies, your past, and your limitations. He is not only more powerful than anything you’ve done but also stronger than anything ever done to you. You can deal with your yesterday today, so that you can move on to what God has in store for you tomorrow—a powerful purpose and destiny he wants you to fulfill. Join the journey. Lay ahold of the power of Jesus Christ today and step into the future—his future for you—a beautiful, full, life-giving future, where you can even become a shame-lifter to others. Live unashamed! Dive deeper into the Unashamed message with the Unashamed video study and study guide. Available now.
Women desire to live well. However, living well in this modern world is a challenge. The pace of life, along with the new front porch of social media, has changed the landscape of our lives. Women have been told for far too long that being on the go and accumulating more things will make their lives full. As a result, we grasp for the wrong things in life and come up empty. God created us to walk with him; to know him and to be loved by him. He is our living well and when we drink from the water he continually provides, it will change us. Our marriages, our parenting, and our homemaking will be transformed. Mommy-blogger Courtney Joseph is a cheerful realist. She tackles the challenge of holding onto vintage values in a modern world, starting with the keys to protecting our walk with God. No subject is off-limits as she moves on to marriage, parenting, and household management. Rooted in the Bible, her practical approach includes tons of tips that are perfect for busy moms, including: Simple Solutions for Studying God’s Word How to Handle Marriage, Parenting, and Homemaking in a Digital Age 10 Steps to Completing Your Husband Dealing With Disappointed Expectations in Motherhood Creating Routines that Bring Rest Pursuing the Discipline and Diligence of the Proverbs 31 Woman There is nothing more important than fostering your faith, building your marriage, training your children, and creating a haven for your family. Women Living Well is a clear and personal guide to making the most of these precious responsibilities.
God still has a plan for you--not in spite of your past, but because of it! Do regret and shame over your failures, sins, and shortcomings make you wonder how you could ever be loved, much less used, by a holy God? Tracie Miles felt the same way until she discovered the path to healing, peace, and significance. She helps you recognize that God not only has a purpose for you, but He has prepared you for your divine purpose based specifically on the experiences of your past. Through her own story and stories from other women who have discovered God's purpose for their lives because of adverse experiences, Tracie helps you see how God can turn pain into purpose. You will find forgiveness and healing from the troubles of your past, discover the courage to step out of your comfort zone to help others find hope and strength, and be inspired to step into the beautiful future God divinely designed for you. "No matter what you've been through or what's been done to you, if you're still breathing, God isn't finished with you yet! Let Tracie Miles help you discover your calling and the way you are uniquely equipped to make your life count!" --Renee Swope, bestselling author of A Confident Heart and Proverbs 31 Ministries' radio cohost, "Everyday Life with Lysa & Renee"
What Can You Do When You Feel You're Just Not Good Enough? Do the voices in your head say you're not good enough, smart enough, pretty enough...or just not enough, period? It's time to stop listening to lies that sabotage your confidence and embrace the truth of who God says you are. Popular author and speaker Sharon Jaynes exposes the lies that keep you bogged down in shame, insecurity, and feelings of inadequacy. By recognizing the lies and replacing them with truth, you'll be able to silence the voice inside that whispers you're just not good enough accept God's grace and move past failures that have defined and confined you preload your heart with truth to fight your deepest insecurities Your confidence and faith will grow when you trade self-defeating thoughts for God's truth. Today is the day to embrace your incredible worth as a woman who is uniquely fashioned and spiritually empowered.
Helps readers move beyond the wounds and baggage of bitterness, disagreements, and broken relationships. "True or false: most Christian pastors and counselors agree on what forgiveness is and how it should take place." This question is part of Chris Brauns's Forgiveness Quiz that draws readers into his book and gets them thinking about the subject of forgiveness. The truth is, pastors and counselors disagree profoundly on this subject. Unpacking Forgiveness combines sound theological thinking and honesty about the complicated questions many face to provide readers with a solid understanding of biblical forgiveness. Only God's Word can unpack forgiveness. The wounds are too deep for us to find healing on our own, and the questions are too complex to be unraveled by anything but the wisdom of God. This book goes beyond a feel-good doctrine of automatic forgiveness, balancing the beauty of God's grace and the necessity of forgiveness with the teaching that forgiveness must take place in a way that is consistent with justice.
A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.
Friendships with other women are as important to our mental, physical, and spiritual health as rest, exercise, and prayer. We don’t just want friends—we need friends. God created us for relationship. Yet despite being more connected than ever before, we struggle to feel connected. From the false intimacy of social media to busyness and relational conflict, there are many challenges to developing authentic relationships. If you’ve ever been hurt by a friend, struggled to balance friendship with everyday life, seen a friendship end too early, or longed for deeper and more authentic friendships, this Bible study is for you. As Natalie leads you in a deep exploration of timeless truths in the Old and New Testaments, you will learn how to develop and nurture the kind of enriching and satisfying friendships that build up the body of Christ and bring honor to God. Personal testimonies and stories of successes and failures add a level of authenticity that is refreshing and insightful. As you learn to cultivate God-honoring relationships, you will become more like Christ and demonstrate His love to a broken world. Study participants will find deep study of Scripture's principles for God-honoring friendships; help for navigating conflict, setting boundaries, and learning to forgive; in-depth study of Scripture with testimonies and stories that "ring true," the do's and don'ts of authentic friendships; and Bible-based guidance for building stronger and deeper relationships. The Leader Guide contains six session plan outlines, complete with discussion points and questions, activities, prayers, and more—plus leader helps for facilitating a group. Other components for the Bible study, available separately, include a Participant Workbook, DVD with six 16-20 minute sessions, and boxed Leader Kit. “Becoming Heart Sisters is a beautiful reminder of how powerful walking hand in hand with a loyal friend can be. After completing this study, you will be better equipped to be this kind of God-honoring friend. Thank you, Natalie, for the charge to sacrificially love and serve our friends.” —Lysa Terkeurst, New York Times best-selling author and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries
