Women Growth

In times of not knowing, Sheila Walsh offers a lifeline of hope. With great compassion born of experience and hardship, Walsh comes alongside the hurting, fearful, and exhausted to remind us that we serve a God who is so much greater than our momentary troubles, no matter how insurmountable they feel. She doesn't offer a quick fix. She offers a God fix. Sharing from her own painful struggles and digging deep into biblical stories of rescue, hope, and miracles, she gives you the strength to keep going, to keep holding on to God in a world turned upside down.

Being the wife of a pastor or an elder is a joy - and a challenge. These devotional meditations encourage and equip wives of church leaders by pointing them to the word of God for refreshment and counsel. Whether you are new to being a pastor's or elder's wife or have been in that role for decades, the truths in this book will speak to you amid the complexities of ministry life and testify that the Lord is unfailingly good.

Waiting is a vital part of our stories, and what we do with our times of waiting matter. Life isn't about navigating around seasons of waiting. It is learning to embrace them. In Now Waiting, Sarah will explain how you can remain confident in the goodness of God when your season of waiting leaves you feeling discouraged, frustrated, and left out of God's plan; embrace seasons of waiting as a time to thrive, not just to endure; and find hope in the promises of God for today and tomorrow, even when things aren't going the way you planned.

As Christian girls, it's hard to hold on to a sense of who we are in Christ in a world that is constantly telling us who we should be. But our worth isn't defined by society. It's defined by our loving God, who made us and calls us his redeemed daughters. God has a good plan for our beauty, femininity, relationships, and identity and wants to help us thrive in his freeing design. That's what Kristen Clark and Bethany Beal have been sharing in their popular books, videos, podcast, and blog. Now they offer this 60-day devotional to help you find your entire identity in Christ.

Author Elizabeth Laing Thompson walks alongside listeners as she tackles the difficulties that stymie our faith, stifle our prayers, and stunt our relationship with God. When God Says No will help you to discover hope when life feels hopeless, good in what feels bad, and new dreams when old ones have died.

Body shaming. Marriage shaming. Single shaming. Mom shaming. Lifestyle shaming. Religious shaming. It seems no matter which direction we turn, women can’t shake the shame that is constantly piled on top of us. Author and podcaster Jasmine L. Holmes knows this struggle all too well. Though shame has been a constant companion (and even a snare) throughout her life, God has broken the chains of shame in Jasmine’s life through the power of the gospel.

Modern Christians are steeped in a language so distorted that it has become a stumbling block to the religion, says internationally renowned Bible scholar Marcus J. Borg. Borg argues that Christianity';s important words, and the sacred texts and stories in which those words are embedded, have been narrowed by a modern framework for the faith that emphasizes sin, forgiveness, Jesus dying for our sins, and the afterlife. Here, Borg employs the "historical-metaphorical" method for understanding Christian language that can restore for us thesewords of power and transformation.

In the summer of 2013, family and friends watched helplessly as author Sarah E. Ball spiraled into the darkest season of her life. A passionate woman of God, wife, mom of five, and popular blogger, Sarah nevertheless found herself abruptly taken captive by a severe anxiety and panic disorder that left her bedridden for months. Those around her were shocked at her fast derailment because she had always been a very strong, dependable woman. With time and perseverance, her determination and faith in God led her out of anxiety.

In Over It, Kelsey Taylor Grimm doesn't show her best and hide the rest. Through the transparent telling of her own story, from an extensive, sexually and emotionally abusive relationship, to her ascension in the music industry, she invites you into her living room to talk through the ridiculous expectations of who you're supposed to be, and encourages the reader to embrace the beautiful realities of who you already are.

Living life at a sprint might be leaving you nature blind. If you’re feeling stressed, disconnected from God, and disenchanted with life, this book will help you find solace for your scattered soul. Through storytelling, practical application, and reflective questions, Laurie Kehler invites you on a journey of discovery.

With honesty and humor, Kathi Lipp and Cheri Gregory will help you take a breather and find reassurance as you face the bullies of perfectionism, performancism, people-pleasing, and procrastination. Self-assessments and personal stories will guide you from panic to peace as you learn to pick battles worthy of your time and energy; embrace the freedom of a carefully considered "no"; recognize your strengths and weaknesses in the quest for balance; use authenticity as a weapon to battle bullies; and release yourself from the endless pressure of pleasing others.

Most days you wouldn't trade what you have for the world. You love your husband and your kids, and you are grateful to God for your life. But there are days when you feel as though life is rolling over you in waves, and you are just going through the motions. You find yourself aching for something more, something that is calling to depths of who you are, maybe for something you can't even name.

Grammy-winning gospel singer, television star, and radio host Erica Campbell speaks to women of all shapes and sizes, demonstrating that true beauty is found not in external appearances, but in celebrating the person God made you to be.

God is bigger than your current story. Bigger than fear or shame or that voice in your head that whispers that you are not enough, too broken, or too flawed. Join him in a closer relationship - one rooted in truth and unshakeable. In this daily devotional, Christine Caine encourages you to find confidence to live as the person God created you to be.

Let's be honest: the life you're leading isn't the one you've always dreamt of. And maybe the person you've become isn't who you imagined you'd be. Sure, you can work longer, love harder, and eat better. You can scrub the surface of your life until it gleams. But that won't address the fact that you've somehow lost sight of who you really are. Working from the core message of Ephesians 1:11, Jo Saxton implores women to reject mistaken identities. Relying on personal stories from her own life, she identifies key scenarios where identities develop that are not true to God's vision, demonstrating the importance of knowing one's name, embracing the gifts you've been given, confronting body issues, managing seasons of depression and grief, and letting go of perfectionism.

We are in the midst of a paradigm shift in the church. Not since the Reformation five centuries ago have so many Christians come together to ask whether the church is in sync with their deepest beliefs and commitments. These believers range from evangelicals to mainline Protestants to Catholics, and the person who best represents them is author and pastor Brian McLaren. In this much anticipated book, McLaren examines ten questions facing today's church - questions about how to articulate the faith itself, the nature of its authority, who God is....

Many women are not enjoying an abundant, full, and satisfying life because they are still imprisoned by the pain of the past. It's time to get free and live free! Bishop TD Jakes shares words of encouragement that will heal your soul and liberate your heart. Maybe you have experienced trauma, abuse, destructive relationships, betrayal, pain from poor decisions, unforgiveness, guilt, or shame. Even though you may have already received God's forgiveness, it's time for you to start walking in the healing and wholeness He has made available to you.

On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama. She was not trying to start a movement. She was simply tired of the social injustice. Yet her simple act of courage started a chain of events that forever shaped the landscape of American race relations. Now, decades after her quiet defiance inspired the modern civil rights movement, Mrs. Parks' own words tell of her courageous life, her passion for freedom and equality, and her strong faith.

World-renowned Jesus scholar Marcus J. Borg shows how we can live passionately as Christians in today's world by practicing the vital elements of Christian faith. For the millions of people who have turned away from many traditional beliefs about God, Jesus, and the Bible, but still long for a relevant, nourishing faith, Borg shows why the Christian life can remain a transforming relationship with God. Emphasizing the critical role of daily practice in living the Christian life, he explores how prayer, worship, Sabbath, pilgrimage, and more can be experienced as authentically life-giving practices.

Christy Nockels knows firsthand how easily our desire to serve God - even when using the gifts he has given us - can overshadow our delight in simply being with him. When God called her to lay down her ministry for a season, Christy was forced to confront how her sense of purpose and worth had become tangled up in her work. God then lovingly invited her to discover true rest in his presence as she learned to live as the Beloved.