a theology of money

May 12, 2018May 28, 2019Leave a comment

Yes there is freedom in financial peace, but there is even more freedom in trusting God fully whether your bank account is empty or full. Yes there is a benefit to having a retirement fund so that you can serve God freely after you stop working, but there is even more benefit to sacrificially and regularly giving of what you have, whether your gifts are large or small. In the act of open-handedly holding your finances before God, you are invited to a level of trust and intimacy with Him that is so incredibly beautiful.

All Glory Be to Christ

May 8, 2018May 28, 2019Leave a comment

What could be more encouraging than to know that apart from Christ we are literally nothing? The things we are striving for and hustling for will ultimately fade away like a mist and nothing will remain but the eternal Kingdom of God. Praise the Lord!

lies about marriage

May 5, 2018May 28, 2019Leave a comment

The lies of social media make us believe that marriage will fill you with joy and that you will be free from the insecurities, frustrations, and sins that you struggle with now. It's so easy to long for marriage to fill a desire for intimacy or purpose. But let me tell you, if you are longing for marriage to meet a desire for intimacy, you will be disappointed.

repentance (sexual sin pt. 2)

April 28, 2018May 28, 20191 Comment

Last week I wrote a blog on sexual sin. In that post I highlighted the depth of God's grace. Grace that meets us even in our deepest sin. At the same time (and by that I mean while holding on to that understanding of the grace and goodness and mercy of God) we must also actively pursue repentance with every ounce of our being. So what does it meant to repent?

I Asked the Lord

April 25, 2018May 28, 2019Leave a comment

The Lord is good and gracious in everything that He does, including the times when He walks us through seasons of deep suffering. We can see His goodness and grace even in the deep suffering because it leads us to trust Him and know Him more. It serves to shape us more into the image of God. It helps us to see the temporary nature of the world and the lasting satisfaction found in God.

sexual sin

April 21, 2018March 28, 20193 Comments

I know this is a topic that we don't really talk about. It's a topic that I, even though I have been a regular church-goer for all 26 years of my life, didn't hear mentioned in the church even once until a few years ago. It seems that in most churches, sexual sin is considered one of the "darker" or "worse" sins, so we don't talk about it, we keep it in the dark. But I'm going to talk about it here because I believe that Satan works in the darkness.

obedience

April 9, 2018May 28, 2019Leave a comment

I drop a load of heavy grocery bags on the kitchen counter and walk out the front door to grab the last of the bags. I look back over my shoulder at our two-year-old puppy as he tilts his head at me, asking me (in his adorable dog-way) where I'm going. "Sit....... Stayyyyy," I say. These are daily words in the Bowerman household as we try to train Chief, our adorable rescue pup.

be still

April 5, 2018May 28, 2019Leave a comment

My mind has been restless lately. It's felt too busy and too full. Thoughts, worries, fears, frustrations, questions, doubts. They've been bumping around in my head and I'm sensing the need to take a step back.

making a home

March 4, 2018May 28, 2019Leave a comment

Many of you have been asking for updates so I channeled my [nonexistent] video editing skills to make a short documentary of our first few weeks in Denver: featuring the bipolar weather of Colorado (snow and toboggans one day and sunshine and shorts the next!), our exploration of new local food joints, and enjoying the mountains and sunsets of Colorado.

on goodbyes and new beginnings

February 16, 2018May 28, 2019Leave a comment

I'm familiar with the pang of goodbyes and the packing of boxes. Life has been full of change for me, so trust and commitment has always been a little difficult, while change and newness feels natural. But during the last three and half years in Birmingham, the Lord slowly but surely helped me to let my heart put roots down in people and places and it has been the most terrifying but also the most joyous thing in the world.

On community

January 25, 2018May 28, 2019Leave a comment

You know that feeling when something so deeply resonates and you feel this unexplainable sense of rightness? That deep deep conviction that God is real and true and good and faithful. And sometimes you can't even tell if that deep conviction is your own or if it's the faith of the people around you upholding yours. All I can think to describe it is the deep encouragement and sustaining of faith that comes from community. And it is beautiful.

Missions: when God says “don’t go”

January 17, 2018May 28, 20191 Comment

In asking me to stay, God expanded my understanding of missions to be not just going to an overseas country to share the love of Christ, but rather leveraging any opportunity or situation to make disciples and share the gospel where I am.

Regarding the future (when it’s a big blank unknown)

December 21, 2017May 28, 2019Leave a comment

You know that feeling when you literally have no idea how something is going to work out? When you know there's a "next step" that's coming but you have no idea what it is? When the deadline to have things figured out is just a month (or a week) away? When people ask you "what's next" and you can't answer because it feels like there's just this big black empty void of a black hole ahead of you that will swallow you if you get too close?

sing praise.

November 13, 2017January 17, 20221 Comment

It seems that it is more difficult for me to praise God when I don’t have an abundance of good things happening in my life. My mind does not often go to thanksgiving when I don’t see all those little (and big) things to be thankful for.

A Mighty Fortress Is Our God

October 23, 2017May 28, 2019Leave a comment

The songs we sing in worship to God must be explicit in their praise because they are praising a God who deserves to be acknowledged for the ways He has shown grace and love to us. This hymn is a beautiful reminder of the sustaining power and strength of the Lord.