Dolce Devotions is our family devotional time—it is our effort to teach our children “when we lie down.” We share it with you as an encouragement and picture for one way the bedtime routine might be used for teaching Christ and the gospel to children. May it stir up your own affections for Christ as you seek to love and commend Him within the everyday routines of your life!
The Trinity & God's Love in Creation: A Conversation with Quina Aragon
What Happens When Women Walk in Faith: Book Review
My two young daughters discovered glow sticks a few years ago. Bendable gleaming rods you can wear as bracelets became the craze in our home and an addition to our nighttime routine. My daughters would go to bed with a glow stick around their wrists but would wake up to find the light long gone. In many ways, Lysa TerKeurst’s What Happens When Women Walk in Faith reminds me of those glow sticks.
New Year, New Website, New Features!
Happy New Year!
I’m excited to debut a new website template at Motherhood & Sanctity. The website layout has been simplified to allow for clearer navigation. In addition, updates have been made to every page of the site. Please see below for specific changes or simply explore! In either case, thank you so much for subscribing to and reading Motherhood & Sanctity. I’m excited about the new focus, new features, new series, and new videos coming in 2019. I hope that you will visit often and as always, thanks for sharing!
An Unwanted Child, a Naked Savior, and Atonement
After being slandered, mocked, spat upon, and beaten, Jesus is led to a Roman cross. There, the soldiers strip Him of His clothes and divide His garments among themselves, casting lots for His tunic. The baby of Luke 2 is the Man hanging naked in John 19:23-24. All this, for the sake of our atonement.
A Gospel Centered Advent Devotional for Moms
This year I’m partnering with 24 other women to create a gospel centered Advent Devotional designed specifically for moms and it's available at no cost to you! The devotional is designed to come straight to your email inbox. Each morning between December 1st and Christmas Day, you'll receive a short devotion on how the coming of Christ fulfills a specific longing common to motherhood along with questions for application/reflection. You don't have to remember anything, pay for anything, or print anything. Just visit this LINK to sign up!
Overcoming Envy: A Conversation with Tilly Dillehay
“The warlike nature of our time on earth has to be kept at the forefront of our minds. We’re fighting for truth and beauty with our humble talents--all of us! Knowing what’s at stake, and knowing the unearthly smell of lies (sometimes told beautifully!), we become grateful to see people fighting for our own team… maybe even especially if they’re better warriors than we are! A warrior cheers when a good stroke--a great song, a truthful painting, a masterful piece of writing--is made on the side of truth and beauty. Envy has no place in this scenario, only rejoicing.” - Tilly Dillehay
Let Me Be A Woman: A Discussion on Biblical Femininity
If Scripture is above all the story of God, then it reveals a God who honors and cares for women. The first poem we read in the Bible is an ode to Eve and these lyrics are the only human words recorded pre-Fall. Following the Fall, Scripture’s attention to Eve remains. Consider this: the protoevangelium—the first gospel announcement in Genesis 3:15—describes the promised Savior, not as the Son of God, but as the seed of the woman. That’s incredible—but it’s not isolated. Long before the resurrected Jesus made women His first witnesses, narratives of Old Testament women testified of Christ.
What Does It Mean for a Mom to Have Freedom in Christ?
Is it biblical for a mother to work outside of the home?” The question was pitched at a small-group Bible study where I sat as the only mother working outside of the home. The women around me held strong opinions on the subject and my instinct was to defend myself. I didn’t want to be viewed as “unbiblical,” so I worked hard to justify my employment status. In the end, this question—offered as a “Bible discussion”—felt more like a test I had to pass.
Sadly, this scene is all too common. I’ve been in similar spaces before. Sometimes, I’ve played the part of the defendant, as seen above. Other times, I’ve been the plaintiff. I measure a sister by her position on some matter of secondary importance, and I’m tempted to define her by that one issue. Perhaps you’ve been there.
Journeywomen Podcast: A Conversation on Growing in Godliness
Journeywomen is a podcast hosted by Hunter Beless. Each week, Hunter and a guest explore how believers can "gracefully navigate the seasons and challenges we face on our journeys to glorify God." It's an honor to appear on Episode 61 of her show. I enjoyed chatting with Hunter on the topic of sanctification and hope that you are encouraged by it.
Click HERE to listen and please check out her other great episodes. I especially found the conversations on shame, wisely using technology, praying together, and living on mission, helpful.
Helping Children See Christ in Scripture
Many of us, regardless of our season of motherhood, are hard-pressed for time and energy. Our schedules are filled with homes, husbands, children, churches, jobs, friends, and the constant temptation to stay in-the-know of the hashtags, the trends, and the news. We are busy mothers with full hands. And somehow, amid the juggling of responsibilities, we are to nurture our children in the instruction of the Lord. The call to obey Ephesians 6:4 can feel like a tall order for the frazzled mom. A busy mom with full hands might “minimize” scripture for her children, teaching the Bible the way we teach our fairy tales—with a quick and simple “moral of the story” in view.
Sin Crouches at the Door: Protecting Children from Pornography
I’ve heard it said that in our culture today, it’s not a matter of if your child will encounter pornography, but a matter of when. In other words, the pervasiveness of these toxic images have made porn an almost omnipresent tempter that seeks the attention of everyone, even very small children. In a post-Genesis 3 world where sin is always crouching at the door (Genesis 4:7), God’s grace to my children can include my own prudent and diligent work in guarding and preparing them for the possibility of these “bad pictures.”
Small, Mostly Overlooked, Things
A God After His Own Fame
When sinful men and women seek their own glory, we call it narcissism; when they seek God’s glory, the Bible calls it right. John 7:18 states: “The one who speaks for himself seeks his own glory. But He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.” God’s passion to spread His name is grace, not narcissism.
A Tree Planted by Streams of Water: A Busy Mom's Unhurried Time with God
Motherhood stretches not just our bodies. It stretches our attention and time, filling them with care for others. Our hands are filled with many things. We are busy mothers with full hands and perhaps you have heard it said (or maybe you’ve asked the question yourself): “how can I find time for God's Word when most days I can't even escape to the bathroom unattended?” I hear those words and yet I insist, sister you must treasure the Word of God, even (or perhaps, especially) when our hands are full. Here’s why.
God's Will for My Life in 2018
In every season, the Lord desires my active and ongoing conformity with Christ. In 2018, the Spirit will labor to bring out the fruit of God’s justification in my character and life with others (Galatians 5:22-23). Remembering John 17:17, below are a few ways I hope to cooperate with the Spirit’s work in me this year.
Make Time for God's Word
Do you ever feel that you’re just too busy for the Bible? There’s so much clamouring for your attention, regardless of whatever stage of life you’re at. Let’s not even speak of the constant drip of media and entertainment distractions; it’s almost unbelievable how addictive they are becoming!The reality of this frenzied busyness, which frankly, most of us are caught up in, is that The Bible is in danger of remaining a closed book, even to us Christians!
The Humiliation of Christmas (Or How Christmas Helps Me With Shame)
God Is Glorified in His Judgement: an Advent Devotional (Part 3)
God is glorified in His mercy. He is also glorified in His judgement of sin. In Jerusalem’s captivity, God reveals Himself as a God who keeps His word (Deuteronomy 28:58-68) and displays justice, holiness, and infinite power.But how can God be both merciful and just? Doesn’t His justice nullify His mercy, and vice versa? When we look at Christmas, we have to say “no.”