Women Spiritual Growth

Sometimes you simply need to be reminded how loved you really are - that every day, with every breath, you are loved with such precision that every hair, every molecule of you is known, counted, invited, and welcomed. This audio study guide is that reminder. Best-selling author and speaker Lysa TerKeurst will talk you through the Holy Land in order to come closer to Jesus' words, which will help you enter a place of healing and new perspective. Be a part of this biblical learning process of "living loved".

Ten of the Bible's best-known femmes fatales parade across the pages of Bad Girls of the Bible with situations that sound oh-so-familiar. Eve had food issues. Potiphar’s wife and Delilah had man trouble. Lot’s wife and Michal couldn’t let go of the past, Sapphira couldn’t let go of money, and Jezebel couldn’t let go of anything. Yet the woman at the well had her thirst quenched at last, while Rahab and the sinful woman left their sordid histories behind.

Wren Crawford is a social worker who finds herself overwhelmed with the troubles of the world. Her lifelong struggles with anxiety and depression are starting to overcome her. She finds solace in art, spiritual formation, and pastoral care along with traditional therapeutic interventions. But a complicated relationship from her past also threatens to undo her progress.

Women are often told by their communities that being a mother will complete or define them. But many women find themselves depleted and spiritually stagnant amid the everyday demands of being a mom. They long to experience a rich inner life but feel there is rarely enough time, energy, or stillness to connect with God in a meaningful way.

Is it possible to have peace in an uncertain world? To not only expect the unexpected but embrace it? Most of us want to have life under control. But God wants us to anticipate the unexpected with a faith deeply rooted in his goodness. He wants us to know that because he is in control, we don't have to be. In Unexpected, beloved author Christine Caine helps us walk into the life God has for us - unknowns and all. Using dramatic examples from her own journey, Christine offers real-life strategies and biblical inspiration to help us move from fear and worry to hope and trust.

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 her new book, Stasi Eldredge meets listeners in their painful realities and offers an invitation to a joy that is defiant in the face of this broken world. This joy does not Pollyannaish-ly ignore life's heartache; rather, it insists that sorrow and loss do not have the final say. This kind of joy is present to both goodness and grief and interprets them in the light of heaven.

There is a church not too far from us that recently added a $25 million addition to their building. Our local newspaper ran a front-page story not too long ago about a study revealing that one in five people in our city lives in poverty. This is a book about those two numbers. It's a book about faith and fear, wealth and war, poverty, power, safety, terror, Bibles, bombs, and homeland insecurity, It's about what happens when Christians support, animate, and participate in the very things Jesus came to set people free from.

In the wake of her husband's deep betrayal and abandonment, bestselling author Courtney Joseph found herself drowning in fear, shame, and grief—and clinging to a God who seemed to have left, too. Now opening up about this dark season, she shows how to rise up after a heart-crushing struggle, cling to the promises in God's Word, and move forward stronger than before.

Pain and regret can hold us captive. Our past mistakes and trauma tell us to blame others, feel ashamed, or turn to a temporary fix that often becomes a permanent escape. By the time Satan whispers we need to dress it up and call it home, pain is our new normal. Pastor and motivational speaker Real Talk Kim has a message for us: the pain might not be our fault, but the healing is our responsibility. In You Gotta Get Up, Pastor Kim reminds us as only she can that staying stuck requires as much energy as moving forward.

You're strong. You're responsible. You're good. But…as day fades to dusk, you begin to feel the familiar fog of anxiety, the weight and pressure of holding it together and of longing left unmet. Good girls sometimes feel the Christian life means doing hard work with a sweet disposition. We tend to focus only on the things we can handle, our disciplined lives, and our unshakable good moods. But what would happen if we let grace pour out boundless acceptance into our worn-out hearts and undo us?

Perhaps one of the biggest issues all women face is their own insecurity. Beth Moore, one of today's most admired and trusted Christian writers, wants women to be free from the insecurity trap. So Long, Insecurity will strike a chord with women everywhere, as Beth speaks truth into the lives of listeners, showing them how to deal with their innermost fears, rediscover their God-given dignity, and develop a whole new perspective.

Casey Cox’s DNA is all over the crime scene. There’s no use talking to police; they’ve failed her abysmally before. She has to flee before she’s arrested . . . or worse. The truth doesn’t matter anymore. But what is the truth? That’s the question haunting Dylan Roberts, the war-weary veteran hired to find Casey. PTSD has marked him damaged goods, but bringing Casey back can redeem him. Though the crime scene seems to tell the whole story, details of the murder aren’t adding up.

Just as Jane Christmas decides to enter a convent in mid-life to find out whether she is “nun material”, her long-term partner Colin, suddenly springs a marriage proposal on her. Determined not to let her monastic dreams be sidelined, Christmas puts her engagement on hold and embarks on an extraordinary year-long adventure to four convents - one in Canada and three in the UK.

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.

Often the biggest obstacle to living out our faith is our own doubt - about our worth, our abilities, our relationship with God, and situations in our lives. A Confident Heart gives voice to the questions, doubts, struggles, and hopes so many women have. Author Renee Swope shows us how to identify, overcome, and learn from our self-doubts so that we can live confidently in God's assurance, truth, and grace.

We all wish we had more control. When our relationships are strained, when our bodies refuse to cooperate, when the future is uncertain, control promises security and peace. If only I were in charge, we dream. And this illusion seems more attainable than ever. Technology, science, medicine, and the internet all promise us ever-increasing mastery over our world. The problem is, control is a "devil's deal." The more we seek it, the more it betrays us. In place of predictability, it gives us anxiety. In place of certainty, it creates more complexity.

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.

Whether you're making a major decision, dealing with a difficult transition, or facing a fear, 100 Days to Brave will give you courage and confidence to move forward. Annie F. Downs felt her challenges were too difficult, too scary, too much. Then she decided to stop allowing fear to hold her back. It wasn't easy or simple. But it was good. With honesty and relatable humor, this compilation of best-of writings and new pieces from Annie will give you the inspiration to embrace the path and the plan God has for you and experience personal growth.

People unfamiliar with Scripture often assume that women play a small, secondary role in the Bible. But in fact, they were central figures in numerous Biblical tales. It was Queen Esther’s bravery at a vital point in history which saved her entire people. The Bible contains warriors like Jael, judges like Deborah, and prophets like Miriam. The first person to witness Jesus’ resurrection was Mary Magdalene, who promptly became the first Christian evangelist, eager to share the news which would change the world forever.