Here at Tirzah, we get asked to do movie/book/music reviews from time to time. When I agreed to review the movie “Found & Lifted”, the only thing I knew about it was the context of God redeeming a woman who found herself divorced. This is a topic that can be controversial in the church and has people standing on different parts of this issue. We do not encourage divorce, except for Biblical reasons. This movie has definite grounds for divorce.
Read MoreHeartbreak hurts terribly. I never realized how much a broken heart would hurt until it happened to me. Before that, I thought it was simply a figure of speech, but if you’ve been through heartbreak, you know it really hurts your heart physically and emotionally. Through this season of heartbreak, I have felt what seems like an unbearable amount of pain, but through this pain, I have been able to see the beauty of His purposes and plans for my life and how God is shaping me.
Read MoreI was a bunhead back in the day and loved every minute of it. I especially loved a good waltz turn! I have danced but never been dancing. There is a difference. When you dance you stand alone, but dancing, you are in another’s arms. It’s uncommon to find a girl waiting on God’s best when it comes to the guy she could spend the rest of her life with. It’s more normal to find a chick who dates around and lost her virginity four guys ago. That’s not me; I am waiting for God’s ultimate best. I’m not settling for a good time; I’m waiting for a man after God’s own heart.
Read MoreSong of Solomon is correctly read as a book about the romantic love a husband and a wife have toward each other in marriage. However, being that the Bible is the book about Jesus (Luke 24:44-45), I want to read this verse in a Christocentric way. When we do so, we find that it is a beautifully redemptive one.
Read MoreSometimes people say stupid things when we are hurting. Not because they want to hurt us, but because they are uncomfortable with our pain and don’t know what to say— especially when they have never been in our situation. This is often true of singleness.
Read MoreA few times a year I, Alycia, get offers to review books for different companies. I am selective about which ones I choose & Fight for Us was a book I couldn’t refuse.
Read MoreNavigating the world of dating can be tricky. While the Bible mentions marriage and the relationship between a woman and a man, there’s not really anything directly related to dating. Unsurprisingly, the people of the Old and New Testaments weren’t exactly playing mini-golf and sending memes to the opposite sex for long periods before getting married.
Read MoreLately, I have had some great questions about how to be friends with people of the opposite sex. This is such a tough issue for people to navigate. It has become even more interesting as we explore the world of sexuality and how people tend to struggle with their gender or their sexual attraction in this current day.
Read MoreI had just reached school, my workplace. As I walked to my room, I watched the parents say goodbye to their dear children and leave. It was the start of the school year and some of the children were a little unsettled and looked worried. I saw the expressions of the parents-they looked as if they were bursting with love for their little ones.
Read MoreAs I approach my third wedding anniversary, I’m aware of just how much I didn’t know about marriage when I first got a ring on my finger. I thought that I was the kind of person who was more interested in having a good marriage instead of planning a good wedding, so I focused on reading as many books about marriage as possible and listening to all the advice I could find beforehand.
Read MoreSince we’ve been on the topic of gender for the last few weeks, I thought it would be great to shift gears to everyone’s favorite topic - sexuality. In the 21st century, sexuality is our new identity. Why?
Read MoreI started this book review with Romans 12:2 because I believe that God allows us to choose what we intake and He also gives us discernment. I was asked to review “Everybody Fights, So why Not Get Better at It?” By Kim and Penn Holderness.
Read MoreLet me begin by saying, I was single for twenty years. (Which doesn't sound like that much time, but a lot of life happened in those twenty years.) I was a self-described “strong and independent woman.” Singleness was amazing, though it was hard some days (I’m downplaying how often I cried in my car), but it was fulfilling to know I was focusing my time on serving God. Honestly, I expected there would be a much longer process between being single, and being in a relationship. Perhaps a couple of months of, “hmm, I could adjust to the idea of not being single anymore.” or something. Fireworks? A giant sign?
Read MoreI went into marriage with a lot of romantic, but vague, ideas about what a marriage would be like. A few years in, I’ve since found that marriage is very different from what I imagined. I’ve learned a lot, but one thing I was surprised to discover is that my marriage has been teaching me new things about my relationship with Christ.
Read MoreHow can we love better? Loving others is work. Love is fun. Love is rewarding. Love is sacrifice. Still, what does love actually look like?
Read More“Having children is like a walk in the park. Jurassic Park, to be precise.”
Before I had kids, this was a quote that I laughed at but didn’t really understand. Now, it’s something that I laugh at because it can feel so true. It doesn’t matter how many of your friends or family have kids before you and offer their advice and experiences to assist you on your own journey, there is truly nothing that can prepare you for what lies ahead. Much like the crew that John Hammond assembled in the first of this movie franchise - not a single one of them knew enough about dinosaurs despite all the books they’d read and bones they’d assessed to face them in real-time.
When I was a freshman in high school, my friend in the youth group made a bet with me that I would be married by the time I turned 25. While the bet was made partly in jest, the lingering idea that I could be married made me hopeful. So I followed Jesus closely throughout high school and college, avoiding the many temptations that encompass the college party scene, assuming the Lord would honor the bet by granting me a godly husband by 25. In my mind, I thought that I had to wait for a few months then God would lead a godly man that looked like Jess Mariano straight to my doorstep.
Read MoreYou’ve heard the warning. Beware of the guy who wants you for your body. Watch for the one who leads you closer to the Lord. Run from the one who looks at you with lust. Well, I have a new warning for you.
Read More