Women Spiritual Growth

The role of women in positions of worship and church leadership is one of the most divisive and inconclusive biblical debates. Two Views on Women in Ministry furnishes you with a clear and thorough presentation of the two primary exegetical arguments so you can better understand each one's strengths, weaknesses, and complexities. This revised edition brings the exchange of ideas and perspectives into the traditional Counterpoints format. Each author states his or her case and is then critiqued by the other contributors.

Holly Cramer's past choices have finally caught up to her, but she never expected them to endanger her baby. Though Holly's stumbled through most of her adult life as a party girl, she longs to live a more stable life for her daughter. Then police show up to question her about the whereabouts of Creed Kershaw, Lily's father. She has kept his identity a secret from friends and family - she never even told him about the pregnancy. Now he's a person of interest in a drug-related murder case.

Life is an incredible journey with ups and downs. We soar, struggle, scale, and stumble, and often stand at the edge of cliffs, afraid to step into the unknown, unsure of where we will land. But instead of running away, we are called by God to stand firm, muster up what faith we can, and take a step. Because we were made to move mountains. In this inspiring book, Kristen Welch calls you to step out in faith and climb the mountain in front of you - not because you are good enough or adequate or able, but because God makes a way where there is no way.

Every pastor's wife is a faithful servant and leader in her own right. She has great influence on her church, her community, her family, and her husband, and she finds joy in seeing God move in the lives of others. Yet she also faces unique challenges that too often go unnoticed and unaddressed.

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.

If technology is the new addiction, then multitasking is the new marching order. With our never-ending to-do lists and jam-packed schedules, it's no wonder we're distracted. But this isn't the way it has to be. Special education teacher, New York Times best-selling author, and mother Rachel Macy Stafford says enough is enough. Tired of losing track of what matters most in life, Rachel began practicing simple strategies that enabled her to momentarily let go of largely meaningless distractions and engage in meaningful soul-to-soul connections.

Your best days are ahead of you, not behind you. It may not always seem like it, look like it, or feel like it - but it’s true. Bible teacher, best-selling author, and activist Christine Caine wants to see you step into a life that is greater than you could ever hope, think, or imagine - even when things are hard. In How Did I Get Here?, Christine invites us to press on - past our fears, past our mistakes, past our insecurities, past our comfort zones, past whatever is holding us back - to reach for more of Jesus.

From accidentally starting a small business instead of using her college degree, to embarrassing herself onstage in front of thousands, to wasting time worrying about what others think or say, Jordan Lee Dooley knows exactly how that feels - and she’s learned some important lessons about living a purposeful life along the way.

In this Audio Bible Study, Twelve Women of the Bible, Lysa TerKuerst, Elisa Morgan, Jeanne Stevens, and others look at the spiritual lessons learned from 12 biblical women and their implications in life today.

In Courageously Expecting, author Jenny Albers meets you in this difficult season as someone who has also experienced the worst and cautiously hoped for the best. She invites you on a thirty-day journey through the complicated and often contradictory emotions that accompany pregnancy after a loss.

How do we find contentment in God when we feel so hidden? Sara Hagerty unfolds the truths found in the biblical story of Mary of Bethany to discover the scandalous love of God and explore the spiritual richness of being hidden in him. Every heart longs to be seen and understood. Yet most of our lives is unwitnessed. We spend our days working, driving, parenting. We sometimes spend whole seasons feeling unnoticed and unappreciated. In Unseen, Sara Hagerty suggests that this is exactly what God intended. He is the only one who truly knows us.

How can you live as a confident woman of faith? Strong, a 90-day devotional by Lisa Bevere, will inspire you to grow deeper in your relationship with God, strengthen your time studying his word, and experience the joy of living in harmony with God, others, and yourself. Lisa Bevere will help you find your strength, not from trying harder or doing more but through a deep and devoted relationship with God and from knowing and following him.

Best-selling author and Bible teacher Sheila Walsh unpacks the deepest longings of a woman's heart and encourages listeners to discover God's relentless pursuit of them through those very longings. We vowed we'd never repeat the same mistakes - yet we find ourselves right where we started. What is it that keeps drawing us back into the same old traps? The fact is our longings are built from the blueprint of our needs - for protection, for love, for God - and those needs aren't going anywhere.

Plain and simple, life doesn’t always turn out the way we imagined. Yet, we can respond in God-glorifying ways even when circumstances fall short of our desired hopes and expectations. With practical and biblical counsel from the scriptures, we have the tools we need to put away sinful responses and be women who smile at the future.

With an understanding voice that will speak into your own circumstances, Kristen Strong walks beside you along the less traveled but more satisfying third way - the back road way - to belonging: remaining in Christ and relaxing into the unique role God has for you. Along the way, you will learn simple, doable actions that not only will help you feel and know that you belong but will welcome others in as well.

If you want positive results from prayer, you first need to pray! But so many people who say they believe in the power of prayer actually pray very little...or not at all. It's time to get serious about prayer. Autumn Miles says that we must stop being prayer wimps and instead be transformed into "prayer gangsters" - people who are passionate about their faith and loyalty to God.

Imagine what your life would be like without worry. Women worry a lot. We worry about our children, our friends, our careers, our families, our spouses - the list could go on and on. Yes, we want to be content and trust God with our worries, but it’s a struggle to let go and free ourselves from the burden of anxiety. If you’re tired of worrying about all the what-ifs in your life and want to experience the calm and contentment promised in Scripture, Calm My Anxious Heart is what you’ve been looking for.

These days, society tells women they can buy self-care in a store or cross it off a to-do list. In this forty-day devotional, Tiffany Bluhm invites women into a deeper, more meaningful understanding of self-care that includes faith, rest, joy, lament, collaboration, and empowerment. Bluhm shows how self-care is critical to women's spiritual growth and empowerment to make a difference in the world.

Podcaster and bestselling author of The Year of Living Happy Alli Worthington knows all about the ways a woman can be hard on herself. She shares her own fear struggles with humor and honesty—real strategies, biblical truths, and woman-to-woman encouragement for coping with life's big fears and little everyday worries.

Author Michelle Van Loon weaves together personal stories and keen insights on the biblical themes of pilgrimage and exile. She will help you embrace your own pilgrim identity and reorient your heart toward the God who leads you home. Engaging and thoughtful, enhanced with practical suggestions, prayers, and questions, Born to Wander will teach how to trust God even when you don’t understand what’s happening around you and follow him even when it hurts. Embrace the purpose behind the wandering and discover the freedom and safety of resting in God alone.