the unexpected good
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a blog for Christian women about

discovering joy

in the challenges of singleness,
marriage, motherhood, chronic illness,
​and every day faith

The Heart of Ministry (repost from Incorruptible Beauty Newsletter)

11/25/2014

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This post has been adapted from an article by Yaasha Moriah that first appeared in the newsletter Incorruptible Beauty. Click here to learn more.

“I had my abortion yesterday.”

Hearing these words over the phone from a woman I had counseled just a week earlier, I felt as if my body had deflated. I had seen the statistics, I had done the research, I had personally heard the stories straight from the lips of post-abortive women. I knew what this woman’s future could look like. And for her child…there was no future. I immediately wondered: What could I have done to spare both mother and child from the painful consequences of abortion?

Somehow when I had become a counselor at the local crisis pregnancy center, I had never thought much about this aspect of ministry. In order to offer hope and healing, I had to be ready to bear another woman’s burden and to pray for her as earnestly as I would pray for a dear friend.


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Thankful for Scars

11/25/2014

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This year, I am thankful for scars.

I have already shared how my chronic illness has done something beautiful in me that could have been done through nothing but pain. 

But the theme of thankfulness for difficult things is really not original to me. It was first sung by one who carried the theme much more powerfully than I ever could.


His story is one of scars--and healing.

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Evangelism: Pray With Others

11/21/2014

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Recently, my church has been making evangelism a priority, by hosting an Evangelism Seminar and by continuing discussions about evangelism in our home groups. Although we all agree on the importance of evangelism, everyone admits that witnessing is often something awkward, uncomfortable, or even nerve-wracking. So how do we best go about sharing our faith with others?

To be clear, evangelism is not my spiritual gifting. That said, as I learn, I would like to share what I find to be effective. Today's idea is simply this: Pray with people.


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Lessons Learned Through Pain

11/15/2014

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My illness was one of the best gifts God ever gave to me.

Of course, I didn't see it that way at first, nor for a long time. Even if you consider yourself fairly healthy, take a moment to review my journey with me. I'd be willing to bet that what I have gone through is not so different from a number of things that you have experienced. And what I have learned--maybe they're things that you are learning too, in your own way.


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Invest in your Siblings

11/14/2014

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"Do you know who is going to be most sad when Yaasha marries someday?"

When my mother asked this of my father, I sat up straighter in the back seat of the car and tried to pretend that I wasn't listening with all my might.

"Who?" Daddy asked. Yes, who? My mind echoed.

"Asher. Those two are always doing something together, and he seems to really enjoy the time she spends with him, and to listen when she talks to him."

A wiggle of pure delight danced in my chest. My brother Asher is almost 11 years my junior. So while I'm in my mid-20s, he's in his mid-teens. That age gap is often a huge hurdle for siblings. For my brother and I, it's just another reason to spend more time getting to know each other.


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Small Services, Great Blessings

11/11/2014

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Sometimes we're afraid to serve someone because we think that what we have to offer is too little. I cannot count the numerous times when I have done nothing simply because I felt that, if I was going to bless someone, I had to do so when I could offer a lot of time or commitment. So I failed to reach out to others in Christ-like love because I felt inadequate.

And I missed so many opportunities.


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Serving Each Other: A Message to Both Single and Married Women

11/7/2014

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Single women and married women tend to move in different circles. The married women want to chat about their husbands and their babies with each other, and the single women form their own cliques around hobbies, school, ministries, or the single lifestyle itself.

I think that’s wrong. 

Just. Plain. Wrong.


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The Company of Pain

11/4/2014

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Recently, my brother ended up in the hospital with a ruptured appendix. Normal life was forsaken, as my family members rotated as caregivers over the week and a half that he was there. My brother battled pain that forced him to the edge of his emotions, and the boy who used to do parkour in the backyard could barely walk down the hallway. 

It would have been very easy to be overcome by our situation, and to focus only on our exhaustion and my brother's care. 

But something remarkable happened: We became more keenly aware of the pain of others.

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    Meet Yaasha

    None of my life has gone the way it was "supposed to go," but I don't love my life any less because of the hardships and new directions. I see so much unexpected good in it, and I want others to see the good in theirs.

    Learn more about me here.


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