the unexpected good
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Videos
  • Contact
a blog for Christian women about

discovering joy

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

5 Ways to Minister to a Friend Who Is Depressed

1/16/2015

1 Comment

 
Picture
Note: I intend this as a follow-up to "What Do I Do If I'm Depressed? A Christian Perspective." 

If you have a friend who struggles with depression, either as a temporary phase or as a recurring problem, here are five ways to be a good friend.

Acknowledge her feelings.

Often, we want our friend to just be happy. When she can't be, it's natural to try to "fix" whatever is wrong with her. But, first, we have to realize we can't fix her. Only God can. 

Read More
1 Comment

3 Ways we judge Others

1/9/2015

1 Comment

 
Picture

1. We judge what we perceive to be unethical.

“It’s not right,” I told my mother. “So-and-so runs a puppy mill. She breeds her dogs constantly for more litters, and most of her dogs are so inbred that they have serious genetic deformities.”

“I know that a puppy mill is a very unethical operation,” Mom said. “But think for a moment. That woman is a single mother, in the poorest town of the county. She’s trying to make an income. What else is she going to do? Sell drugs like everyone else in her town?”

Read More
1 Comment

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

11/7/2014

2 Comments

 
Picture
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.


Read More
2 Comments

Recognizing the Family of God--In Strangers

7/22/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
1 John 4:10 
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
After an afternoon of ultimate Frisbee and football, we were on our way to our friends’ house a short drive away. With a van full of friends, we maneuvered around frost-heaves and potholes, trading stories and laughter.

Suddenly, we became aware of a strange sound—a dull fwap, fwap, fwap followed by an ominous grinding. The friend in the front passenger seat leaned out the open window.

“Your wheel is flat,” she announced.

Read More
0 Comments

Christ On the Doorstep

4/29/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
The woman’s world had just fallen apart. Her son, who was deathly allergic to bee stings, had been doing lawn work when he came upon a nest of ground bees. He never even made it to the house for his Epi-pen.

While the woman and her family grieved over his death, the local Jehovah’s Witnesses heard of the tragedy and sent meals to her home, reaching out lovingly with genuine concern.

This shocked the woman. She was Catholic, and her church made no such efforts. Before long, she had joined the Jehovah’s Witnesses and was going door to door with them, sharing her story.

The Message of Compassion
I’m not a Jehovah’s Witness, nor do I ever intend to be, but when I heard this story about a woman in my own community, it resonated deeply with me.


Read More
0 Comments

Befriending the Younger Girls

4/1/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
When I was a young girl, everything that an older girl did (“older” being about 13 and up) was fascinating to me. I wanted to be just like her. I followed her around and constantly demanded attention: “Can I tell you a story? Hey, are you going to the fair on Saturday, like us? Watch me turn a cartwheel!” When she did pay attention to me, I was ecstatic. She liked me! She found me interesting!

I have very fond memories of the “older girls” of my childhood. I still respect and love the woman who played pretend with me and my siblings, the teenager who dressed up dolls for hours with us, and the young lady who enraptured me with tales about race horses and captured stars and evil witches. Those women, in their own small way, changed my life.


Read More
0 Comments

The Ministry of Encouraging Words

2/25/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
When my aunt died unexpectedly, family and friends spoke at her funeral service of the little ways in which her kindness had impacted them, and one of the stories that most stirred me was someone’s recollection of my aunt’s faithfulness in sending cards. 

She didn’t wait for a particular occasion to make someone feel special. People in her community and amongst her loved ones all recognized the hand-painted watercolor cards, with the usual chatty note inside. 

“I was thinking of you the other day, and thought I would send you a note. How are you? What is going on in your life?”  

My aunt’s cards are now treasures in my family, memorials to the woman who spread such light and encouragement to those around her.


Read More
0 Comments
Forward>>

      Never miss a post.

    Subscribe to Email List
    Picture

    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.


    Picture

    Archives

    May 2020
    April 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    May 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013


    Categories

    All
    Adoption
    Bible Verse
    Book Excerpt
    Book Excerpts
    Christian Community
    Chronic Illness
    Courtship
    Dating
    Depression
    Discovering Joy
    Evangelism
    Excellent Relationships
    Faith
    Family Relationships
    Fearless
    Forgiveness
    God And Christianity
    Godly Womanhood
    How We See Ourselves
    Identity
    Incredible Journey
    Joy
    Life Direction
    Marriage
    Ministry
    Miscarriage
    Motherhood
    Our Story
    Overcoming Sin
    Persecution
    Poetry
    Prayer
    Pro-life
    Ready For Him Today
    Relationship With God
    Service To Others
    Singleness
    Spiritual Growth
    Suffering
    Womanhood

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Blog
  • About
  • Videos
  • Contact