For many people, this past year brought changes no one saw coming: job loss, unexpected moves, heartbreak, sickness, and fears for the future. Maybe you’ve felt like me: gratitude for peace, family, and safety, but uncertainty about what the future holds. Even more than that, I’ve been feeling uncertain how to step forward in faith to what God has for me.
Read MoreI have been through a few seasons in my life so far. God has shown me in each season how everything works in His timing and not my own. Some may recall parts of their life with bitterness or despair. Thankfully, I can reminisce on my own with fondness and gratefulness. God had His hand on my life through those times, and His faithfulness is truly evident looking back.
Read More2021. It’s a new year, filled with lots of hope and expectations for better days and more human interaction. At the end of 2020, everyone had big goals and hearts full of hope — hope in the new year, in the flip of a page of the calendar. And within just one week, our country faced an unspeakable trial, knocking down the hope in the better days that were supposed to refresh us in the new year. As Christians, we are called to put our hope in Christ, not in any year or even any person.
Read MoreRead on for an update on when we’re coming back with new content in 2021 and a round up of the top 10 most-read articles on TirzahMag.com in 2020.
Read More“Let’s get off social media for Lent this year,” she said. That was how it started. We were juniors in college when my roommate suggested we fast from using social media platforms for the forty days of Lent. We chose social media for a number of reasons: to refocus our attention on God, take a mental break, and witness what would happen to us without it.
Read MoreI love the recounting of Jesus calming the storm in the gospel of Luke. I read it again yesterday, as I read in my chronological Bible and caught up from the days I'd fallen behind. I thought I'd write it out for you.
Read MoreI recently found myself fascinated with the Enneagram Type Personality Test. A lot of my favorite podcasters talk about it, my friends all talk about it, and I enjoy the Instagram posts and series. I thought it would be cool to do an article about it. I decided to look into the history of the enneagram. Where did it come from? How did it originate? Who developed it? How should Christians approach the enneagram? I walked out of writing this article more uncomfortable and unsettled than I began.
Read MoreDoes prayer come easily to you? It is rarely seamless for me. My thoughts wander, I become distracted by something I forgot to do, or I end up staring at the spots on my ceiling wondering how they got there. Or, I just forget.
Read MoreThe start of a new season usually means updating our wardrobes, decorating our homes, and buying the perfect candle from Target. But living seasonally is more than just getting a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks.
Read MoreIf you grew up going to church as a kid during the 90s, it’s likely you acquired at least one bracelet with WWJD printed on it. They popped up suddenly and it seemed like everyone had one. Maybe you wore one to remind you to ask yourself “What Would Jesus Do?” during any situation you might find yourself in.
Read MoreWe have a sandbox at school. My students like to make sand pies, dig to the bottom of the box, make tracks, build sandcastles. Everyday is a completely new adventure when it comes to the sandbox. The other day, I sat down by a tiny human (about three years old) who decided to build a sandcastle. He chose the perfect pail and perfect shovel. Then he sat down to begin his work. He meticulously shoveled sand into the pail until it was full. After a few tugs on the pail, he managed to turn it over into the sandbox to dump the sand out. As he pulled the pail up, I watched the sand topple down in a messy heap. I took a breath, prepared to reassure him that we could try again together. But he looked at me with the proudest smile you’ve ever seen, and giggled.
Read MoreI’ve been reflecting on security a lot. My cat finds security in cozy spots - the space between the toilet and the sink, under the covers of my bed, a box of clothes to donate sitting on my closet floor, or even the back of a kitchen cabinet if I accidentally leave it open. When he’s scared or nervous, he’ll crawl into those places because they make him feel safe.
Read MoreSatisfaction is something that we all strive for in life. We want to be happy, fulfilled, and content. It is easy to feel content when everything is going our way, but how can we find satisfaction and feelings of fulfillment when circumstances are not ideal?
Read MoreLast week I started a new job. As crazy as it might sound now given how the past few months have been, back in January I talked with my boss to let her know that I would be resigning in May because I wanted to switch careers. It was nerve-wracking to be voluntarily searching for a job during a period when so many other people were just focusing on trying to keep their current jobs.
Read MoreThis blog post is inspired by the Orange Curriculum that my 10th grade girls are undergoing at this time. Our most recent series is Finding Rhythm. It made me think about my daily, weekly, monthly, yearly rhythm with God. Besides going to church every Sunday, and midweek on Wednesdays how do I find my rhythm with God? If one is seeking rhythm with God, how does one start?
Read MoreBooks are often most powerful when they introduce us to new people. Reading a life transcribed on a page allows us to hear their thoughts and to see what they saw in a more visceral way than a podcast or film asks of us. Some authors’ lives are very different from our own, while others bear striking similarities.
Read MoreIt started with a hike and my prideful frustrations at the bottom of a mountain. I was miffed. Life was not going the way I wanted and, honestly, hadn’t been for a few months now, and I was going to take a solo hike to exercise my independence. It was the one thing I could control, the one thing I could orchestrate, and with that attitude in mind I started hiking.
Read MoreI’ve always wanted to be the kind of woman who starts her day off by reading the Bible, praying, and drinking coffee. When I see photos on Instagram of girls posting highlighted Bible pages alongside a cozy coffee cup, I always wish that I had that kind of life.
Read MoreFor most of my life, I’ve thought that discussing politics wasn’t a polite thing to do. There’s not a particular reason behind this thought. It’s just something that I’ve absorbed over the years. It may be because I feel, like I’m sure a lot of people do, that talking about politics causes conflicts.
Read MoreWe’re always on the way to someplace or something or someone. Our sights are always set on what’s next. We channel our energy and time into getting through whatever is going on right now so that we can get to that. It’s getting through the Tuesdays and Wednesdays of life to get to the Saturdays and Sundays. But what if God wants us to savor those Tuesdays and Wednesdays, those times of “in between”? What do we miss when we just power through to the “end goal?”
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