A couple of years back when I visited Appa, he took me to his room and opened a draw, as if to show me a treasure. There in neat piles were all the letters, cards and paper clippings I had posted to him over the years. My eyes clouded with tears. That day I saw the soft tender part of my tall, dark, handsome and strong father.
Read MoreIn preparation of our July Tirzah in the Word, I wanted to challenge us to focus on a couple of topics to pray over this week. As you know, I, Alycia, highly enjoy our times of prayer and fasting as a global community. I have seen so many answered prayers over the years and so have many of you women from all over!
Read MoreJust as this woman saw her daughter restored to wholeness, dare to believe that God cares for you and will help you - because He is love and loves us - when You need Him.
Read MoreHere 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 MoreIt is the story of one woman’s redemption. The story of a youth moved from home to home until a church found her a family. Continuing the story of a drug addicted woman. My heart was stirred reading about an unplanned pregnancy. Everything about Cristina’s story is a miracle - one continual long miracle.
Read MoreOur enemy isn’t a weapon. It’s not even a broken, sinful man who committed a horrendous crime. It is a devil who laughs in the face of this incident. He rejoices to see the lives of innocent victims lost. As Christians, our response is “to overcome evil with good”. We cannot change what happens, but we can create acts of love from our Heavenly Father while here on earth.
Read MoreAt its simplest level, being a daughter means belonging to a family - a girl or woman in relation to her parents. However, connotatively, being a daughter means not only belonging to someone, either by nature or adoption but being accepted. Beloved, not for what you’ve done, but simply for who you are.
Read MoreKindness cannot be overrated. It is the shield that softens the blows of life. It makes dark nights bearable, it is a company in times of tears, it builds up when words have been torn down, and can even make friends of enemies.
Read MoreAs we pray, God will meet us where we are at and show us His grace and goodness. He will give us a heart for others, show us His heart for us, and heal us of the emotional consequences of doubting his goodness.
Read MoreI am BECOMING who God always intended me to be. At thirty years of age, I’ve done a lot but there is more to be done. There are some people who may not agree with my book. However, I have chosen to be real, authentic, and honest of my journey. This is more than my journey.
Read MoreWhile waiting for your breakthrough, when you know you cannot make progress by yourself when you desperately need God to change things around you; what do you do in the meantime? We often find ourselves complaining and murmuring, fixing our eyes on the situation instead of God’s faithfulness.
Read MoreA few years ago, I jumped on a plane, settled in, got comfortable, enjoyed the inflight snack and savoured the time to read whatever good book was in my hands at the time. Then came the announcement from the flight-crew, “We’re approaching Destination X and will soon begin our descent. Please return to your seats, fasten your seatbelts…’
Read MoreI attend Malone University, a private Christian school in Canton, OH. The community comprises of students and faculty of various backgrounds. I’ve met students from different religious backgrounds and some who are non-religious, of different ethnic backgrounds, and so on. As a Christian school, Malone is affiliated with Evangelical Friends Church. Their community guidelines adhere to the church’s guidelines. Faculty members are expected to follow the guidelines more than students. One of the guidelines is that sex must be intimate between a man and a woman– same-sex relationships aren’t allowed. As you can imagine many people would be irked by this, and this is exactly what happened six months ago on October 11th. Malone’s president announced in an email that one of the female science professors is having a relationship with another woman and intends to get married this summer. When she approached the leadership she hoped for a compromise. Instead, she was asked to resign. Many students and alumni shared their grievances on Facebook and Instagram showing their support for the professor; most of whom were members of the LBGTQ+ community and supporters.
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 would be very afraid. But after being swallowed by the fish, Jonah repents in prayer and is expelled by the large whale. He gives his message of doom and destruction - and to his surprise, the Ninevites repent in sackcloth and ashes (3:5-9). God relents the disaster he said he would bring upon them, and this makes Jonah extremely upset.
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 MoreIn three out of the four gospels - Matthew, Mark, and Luke - we read about Jesus sending the disciples onto a boat into the Sea of Galilee, only for an unforeseen storm to head their way. Despite Jesus being near them, fear overpowered the disciples to the point they believed they would die. (Luke 8:24)
Read MoreIt is in the in-between space where God wants to meet me. It’s the space where He wants to build something new in me, the space He wants to reveal a new truth about His nature to me. And while we journey through the unexpected circumstances in life, we can hinge our expectations on Him.
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