My husband and I have a dream and a vision. Something we’ve prayed about, dreamed about, and talked about for hours on end. We were moving forward in the initial steps of this God-given dream with support from the right people, which included confirmations all along the way that God was about to fulfill what He placed in our hearts.
Read MoreSometimes, faith in God seems so amazingly complicated. Have you ever paused for a moment and wondered if you were really leading a Christian life? I have and, even worse, there have been times after these kinds of pauses when I wasn’t so sure my belief was strong enough.
Read MoreAs a society, we are always promoting our best for ourselves. However, these self-centered statements like “being my best self,” “being the best version of me,” or “ I am living my best life” can end up hurting ourselves and others. This happens when we interpret these phrases with the idea that we do it by ourselves, which is not a sustainable way to live. When I see these “best” phrases, there are two ways they potentially affect people's lives.
Read MoreBefore you can even think about 2020, you have to get your head around what 2019 has meant to you.
Read MoreWe checked our analytics and rounded up our 10 most-read articles of the year (can you sense a theme?!):
Read MoreI always have mixed feelings when I look back over my photo collection from the past decade. Facebook always seems to be able to pick out and share some good times that are memorable moments to remember. I love to reminisce over all the wonderful changes that have taken place in my life and I feel blessed to see how far I have come. On the other hand, I have to admit, I also feel a twinge of sadness.
Read MoreThe holidays are a time of joy, family, celebrating, Hallmark movies, and Christmas magic. But it can also be a time that tries my patience like no other. Holiday traffic, crowded shopping malls, long lines at the post office, trying to find a parking spot at the grocery store, crazy family drama - the list goes on and on. Pretty soon, I’m exhausted and cranky, snapping at the checkout girl or stressing about a gift I still need to get. I can turn into quite the Scrooge if I’m not careful.
Read MoreHe sat at a family-sized table alone, pouring all of his attention into the study Bible opened before him. I imagined that the baked potato sitting at his side grew colder by the second and wondered if it felt neglected by his lack of interest in it. I sat enjoying my own meal and as I watched his fixed attention on the wrinkled pages before him, my curiosity only grew. The questions became a pile in my head and before I knew it my two legs were bee-lining me to the lonely man. It was only as I stood before him that I realized I had no plan.
Read MoreI hadn’t expected to be able to sit down with her and talk. But the longer we sat there at the table, the more of her life story she poured out. I realized I’d judged her too harshly and not asked the right questions. I fiercely wished that I had checked up on her in the past to make sure she was okay after seeing signs of depression.
Read More“Comparison is the thief of joy” - I tell myself this often, and while there is truth to that statement, there’s also value in looking back to other, harder times in our lives and comparing the past to today’s victories. When I compare my life to where I was 5 years ago, I rejoice at what God has done for me.
Read MoreIf you see me at work in the month of December, you will find me wearing a Christmas sweater and listening to Christmas music in my office. But let's be honest, I have been listening to Christmas music since October. Yes, I am one of those people. I love the way Christmas, and everything that goes with it, makes me feel better.
Read MoreI have so many friends who are hurting right now. I also know of many more — thanks to social media — people who I feel like I know in real life. It’s hard to know what to do or say when people I love go through hard things, and I never want to be insensitive to what they’re going through. Here are a few ways you can support someone who is hurting this holiday season:
Read MoreGet out of your own head! It’s time to stop giving these thoughts so much credit. Start thinking God’s thoughts and you will be free from the bondage of negative thoughts. Look to His word - the unwavering, unchanging truth - before you listen to anyone or anything else. Write it on your heart and recite it to yourself often. Most of all, ask the Lord to renew your mind.
Read MoreSo often, we can’t see past the space right around us. We can get caught up in trying to see past the fog and figure out a way out of it. But maybe God just wants us to be in the fog for a little bit. Because it’s in that space that faith becomes a real thing...not just something we talk about.
Read MoreThis time of year always grips me with stress and fear. Not necessarily due to the busyness of the holiday season (although that is certainly there) but because of all the unknowns looming in the year ahead. As disciples of Jesus, however, we are called to allow tomorrow to inform the decisions of today, but return to the urgent business of the living present, in the moment. In other words, we are wise about the future but we do not live there.
Read MoreMy name is Alycia Marie. You may remember me. Once upon a time I was associate editor of Tirzah Magazine. One day, God told me to start a home for teenage mothers. Mind you, I was 26 years old and perfectly content on my career path to be an executive director of a pregnancy center one day. Then, I met a girl. She was young, African American, pregnant, running around the streets of Milwaukee with no one to care for her. There was nowhere stable for her. I had moved to Wisconsin from Kentucky, where I had worked for a home for teenage mothers. In the midst of this young girl’s crisis, I discovered a need. One God had given me a solution for. That was the moment I found one of the callings God placed on my life.
Read MoreI’m a nanny. It’s a job which has provided me more than a few life lessons. Today, especially. I brought the four-year-old home from preschool, and reminded her of the chores she had to complete before eating lunch. I made lunch and returned to her. She failed to complete her tasks and instead chose to sit and fiddle with a toy. Usually, I don’t have any profound thoughts or nanny-wisdom. But as I watched her, I knew what I needed to say to her. I walked over and sat in front of her.
Read MorePropriety is not a word most of us know or use today. It means “characterized by appropriateness and stability.” As children of a holy God, this means behaving in a way that is appropriate for Christians and that doesn’t bring shame to the Gospel. But what does that look like practically in the modern world?
PLUS: Will Tirzah be around in 2020? Read this month’s letter from the editor to learn more about Tirzah’s future.
Read MoreYears ago, when my boys were young and impressionable, one of the grandparents had a talk on modesty with them. They’d been upstairs, had all taken their bath before bedtime, and were probably running around naked (I’m rolling my eyes though - they were probably ages 5, 4, and 2). My husband’s dad taught them at that early age that it was good to keep private, what should be kept private. I don’t know why that stuck with all of us so much over the years, but I’m thankful for his lessons on this topic, because it’s something I think about often as a mom of four sons and my perspective comes more from this angle.
Read MoreThere are times though that I’m so focused on His good gifts that before I know it, my soul is out of alignment. Instead of praising Him in the present, I find myself feeling like a frustrated child. I didn’t say it was pretty, but it’s honest. And when this happens, God brings me back to a story He laid on my heart several years ago. A story of a little girl who is promised a special gift from her Good Giver.
Read More
