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

discovering joy

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

Sisters in Worship: Elizabeth and Mary

1/25/2020

0 Comments

 
Elizabeth and Mary. The relationship between these two women in the Bible has always fascinated me, because I see in it the very ingredients that bond women together. Come with me for a moment and see these two women in Scripture, not just as characters in a story, but as real women whose stories are so much closer to our own than we realize...
Picture

Read More
0 Comments

Your Gentleness Has Made Me Great

10/3/2019

2 Comments

 
Your gentleness has made me great. 
​
- Psalm 18:35b
Recently, my husband and I have been scouring through our marriage "garden" for weeds. Our marriage is fantastic; we've never argued and any disagreement has developed as an illuminating discussion, not a clash of wills. However, as we've read through Vertical Marriage by Dave and Ann Wilson, we've discovered a few weeds in our garden. They're not full-grown--we were barely aware of them--but we recognize their potential to take over our carefully-cultivated fruitfulness.

​In the course of that weeding process, I have become intensely aware of my own selfishness.

Read More
2 Comments

A Prayer to Use My Gifts Well

7/4/2015

1 Comment

 
Picture
Do you have a dream? Do you have a strong desire that has not yet been fulfilled? Do you have a God-given gift--a talent, an opportunity--that you desire to use well?


This week, as I have been contemplating my unfulfilled dreams, I had a conversation with myself. I hope it will bless you as you seek to use your gifts and dreams wisely. 


(Oh yeah, and if you're a graduate, this is especially applicable for you!)

Read More
1 Comment

LIfe is All About Relationships

2/10/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
I have been learning recently that life is all about relationships. That’s the purpose of life, the task of life, and the point on which judgment will be based.

First, life is about my relationship with Christ.

When I say this, I don’t mean that I need to simply believe in Jesus Christ, though it is important. The Bible reports that the demons believe in Jesus Christ (James 2:19). Does that mean that they are saved? No.   

Read More
0 Comments

It's Not Your Job to Change Them

1/6/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Having written about how to confront someone lovingly, I feel it is important to add a postscript to the discussion, and that is: It is not our job to change the other person. It's simply our job to communicate with the other person. Change is up to God.

Over and over, I see people (particularly women) reinterpret the idea of lovingly confronting someone into subtly manipulating someone to change. Let me explain how this works, and why it can be a relationship-killer.


Read More
0 Comments

Living In The Present

12/16/2014

2 Comments

 
Picture
A story tells how an old woman gave a young man a ball of string. If he pulled the string, she told him, he could fast-forward his life. 

At first, he pulled the string just a little, to skip chores he disliked and get to the "good parts" of his life. But as he grew older, he began to skip larger and larger portions of his life, seeking for the next exciting thing. 

When he reached the end of his life, he was filled with regret for all the moments that he had skimmed over in his search for something better.

Read More
2 Comments

How to Keep Physical Boundaries

12/5/2014

1 Comment

 
Picture
In the last post, "Why Physical Boundaries Matter," I explained why those physical boundaries should be an important part of a woman's relationship with a man. Now we get to the nitty-gritty: Why do so many good intentions regarding physical boundaries fail? I believe it is because we make three main mistakes when setting those boundaries.

Boundaries must be specific.

"I think it would be sweet to save my first kiss for when I get married," a young woman once told me. "But I don't know what will happen."

Read More
1 Comment

Why Physical Boundaries Matter

12/2/2014

1 Comment

 
Picture
There are three good reasons why physical boundaries matter in a relationship, and three reasons why many peoples' attempts to keep physical boundaries don't work.

Physical boundaries offer a gift to you and your spouse.

How many girls marry their first boyfriend? I don't have an exact statistic, but I don't need it in order to tell you what you already know. The number is very, very small.

Read More
1 Comment

Invest in your Siblings

11/14/2014

2 Comments

 
Picture
"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.


Read More
2 Comments

Small Services, Great Blessings

11/11/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
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.


Read More
0 Comments
<<Previous

      Join the community!

    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

    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
  • Books
  • Wallpapers
  • About
  • Videos
  • Contact