If you cannot answer that question, it’s time to get out there! Find godly people and be open to being vulnerable, and begin living in the community. Ask God for direction if you are lost on where to turn. If you are able to answer this question, praise God! Thank him for the wonderful people in your life and then tell them you are thankful for them, too.
Read MoreWe had just arrived in Chennai, India after hours of travel and transit. I looked around and, in the hustle, and bustle of the airport, I stopped for a moment adjusted my mask, and thanked God that we would soon be meeting our near and dear ones. It was almost lunchtime, so on the way home, I called my father. He sounded so happy to know that we had landed safely and were in Chennai (finally). ! I knew it was his nap time now so I quickly told Appa that I would come to meet him at 3 pm when he woke up.
Read MoreAfter listening to only a couple of episodes of The Elisabeth Elliot Podcast, I was quickly drawn to her humor and abundance of wisdom. One episode in particular, A Peaceful Home, from her series Call to Surrender, led me to read her book The Shaping of a Christian Family.
As a new mom, I was hungry for wisdom and intrigued by the home life she fondly remembers in her podcast. The first couple of chapters tell the coming of age story of her mother Katharine Gillingham and how she met her husband, Elisabeth’s father, Phillip E. Howard Jr. Although interesting, I quickly moved through these chapters on family history to get to the main event, the life she lived as Elisabeth Howard.
Each chapter delves into different areas of her home life that exemplify how a Christian family lives out God’s word on a day to day basis.
Perhaps the entirety of the book could be summed up by John 15:13
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”- John 15:13
This verse seems to be a catalyst for the many ways in which every member of the family carries out his or her duties, spouses' treatment of each other, and children’s attitudes towards their parents and each other as well.
While Elliot appears to be influenced by many people including India missionary Amy Carmichael, along with known authors like Oswald Chambers, it is clear that her greatest influence was that of her parents.
Throughout the book Elliot shares her parents’ reasoning for why they parented her and her five siblings the way they did. Although simple and maybe strict, her parents emphasized the importance of being consistent in the discipline of their children from an early age. As I read the book, I could not help but think about how strict the writer’s parents were. Interestingly, as the book drew to a close, Elliot mentions a time in which an audience member at one of her talks approached her with this very sentiment. It seems that while others may perceive the Howards’ home life as a strict one, the laughter and love found within her home outshines that of the seemingly strict rules Elisabeth and her siblings grew up with.
Do not be misled by the title ‘The Shaping of a Christian Family’ because there is a lot for the unmarried to learn from this book as well. It is not necessary to be a mother or wife to learn the valuable lesson of being on time. Elisabeth Elliot recounts her father’s view that to be late is to steal “an irreplaceable commodity, time.”
Similarly, in a society that takes pride in saying things like “I’m just winging it, life, eyeliner, everything,” doing things in a flippant manner seems to be the norm these days.
Oftentimes, the uncertainty of someone’s lack of responsibility can cause fear or anxiety. Thankfully the author shares about the discipline of diligence she developed in her upbringing. One particular example Elliot depicts is her experience as a college student in which her regimented Monday through Saturday gave her the freedom to enjoy the sabbath. She was free to enjoy her Sundays by resting and even napping while others were catching up on school work.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book especially for women who did not grow up in a Christian home or one in which both parents were believers. The beginning of the book can be a little confusing considering there are pieces of her father’s journals and fragments of her mother’s articles and so the author’s voice can be mistaken for that of her parents. However, the pieces of wisdom found in this book are ones that can be carried and applied to everyday life to create and help readers to cultivate a peaceful home.
As she mentions in the preface and afterword of the book, the story she tells is simply a “description not a prescription” of how this Christian lived. While we may differ in preference, we can, like the Howards, turn to God’s word for guidance on how we can live out our lives.
The question to ask ourselves whether we read this book or not is if we live a life surrendered to God what would our homes look like? Not because Elisabeth Elliot gave her readers insight into her home life in ‘The Shaping of a Christian Family’ but because of who God is in our lives.
Read MoreIt takes great love to heal and die for sinners. But Jesus did it, and He did it because He is love. His love is kind, protective, and hopeful- it has a desired and accomplished end. And that, my sisters, is good news.
Read MoreLike I said I don’t run so here, I am walking through singleness. I wish I could rush past this, but God has me in this season for a reason, and it’s only for a season. Seasons always change. After the winter comes the spring. We sometimes have to face the fire before we get the rain. Walking through singleness means you might face some fires before the rain. But going through the fires makes dancing in the rain with your significant other and every blaze worth it.
Read MoreA 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.
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