Where God's Word Meets Our Mess
As a former anorexic who’s struggled to accept her body and maintain her health, the main thing I want you to know if you turned back to your eating disorder is that grace and forgiveness are available to you. It’s not too late to find freedom again. You can return to what's right and true, and your brothers and sisters in Christ can help lead you there—if you're willing.
Last month, I appeared as a guest on Unpolished Faith, a podcast hosted by Madi Franquiz. Our conversation centered on shining the light of Christ in secular work environments. This topic is near and dear to my heart because I've had jobs in worldly workplaces (and they were challenging!). But I hope our conversation will encourage you to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and share His love in difficult places. I really appreciate Madi for having me on her podcast. You can listen to the episode here!
A couple years ago, I noticed a trend in the Christian book market. All of a sudden, it felt like there were lots of books about church hurt. I’m thankful I haven’t had any traumatizing experiences at church, but I did begin to wonder if church hurt is more common than I thought. Church hurt definitely is a real thing, and that's why I wrote this post.
I’m not going to sugarcoat it: Being ghosted is hard. The rejection combined with the lack of closure makes it a very unfun experience. It definitely happens on dating apps, but yours truly can attest that (unfortunately) it also happens beyond the dating apps. No matter how you were ghosted, though, I want you to know you can get through it. In last week’s post, I shared two radical truths to help you process the experience and move forward. Here are a few more radical truths you should also keep in mind.
I know James isn’t the right guy for me (or even a good guy in general), but it’s been super hard to get over him and what he’s done to me. Perhaps you, too, have been ghosted and can’t seem to move on. I completely understand your struggle, and I have five hope-filled truths to share with you during this post-ghost season that might surprise you.
You probably aren’t surprised that this post is about freedom because the 4th of July (i.e., Independence Day) is coming up soon. But my answer to the question “Does true freedom actually exist?” might surprise you. Truth be told, there are lots of things we don’t have freedom from—at least not here and now.
“Thank God” and “The Good Ones” are a couple songs by Gabby Barrett that I really like. However, I’m not a fan of “I Hope.” The song’s lyrics—and Gabby’s tone while she sings them—reek of bitterness and contempt. Ironically, “I Hope” isn’t very hopeful at all.
Let’s say you meet a guy who professes to follow Jesus. He seems to have some great qualities, so when he asks you out, you say yes. You go out with him a few times, and you enjoy getting to know him. But you notice something about him that isn’t so great, and you wonder if perhaps he’s not as ready to date as you thought he was. Is it one of these five things?
In last week’s post, I talked about a very brief side gig I had a few years ago that drained me. I wasn’t drained by the people I worked with or the organization I worked for; I was simply drained by having a part-time job in addition to having a full-time job. After about six months, I quit because I couldn’t handle having a side gig anymore—but I learned a valuable lesson from the experience. Whether you’re hoping to find a side gig or not, I think it’ll be helpful.
Tizzie's Tidbits of Truth 