Category Christian Women

Author Q&A: The Whole Life: 52 Weeks of Biblical Self-Care

By Tuesday, July 27, 2021 Anxiety, Book Reviews, Christian Women, Counseling, Emotions, Maternal Soul Care, Pastoral Counseling, Pastors, Paternal Soul Care, Self-care, Soul Care, Spiritual Growth Permalink

Today's guest post is an author interview with Counselors and Co-Authors, Eliza Huie and Esther Smith about their new book, The Whole Life: 52 Weeks of Biblical Self-Care. Eliza Huie, MA, LCPC, is the Director of Counseling at McLean Bible Church in Vienna, VA and the Dean of Biblical Counseling at Metro Baltimore Seminary. She is the author of Raising Teens in a Hyper-Sexualized World and Raising Kids in a Screen-Saturated World and is the coauthor of The Whole Life. Esther Smith, MA, is a biblical counselor at Life Counseling Center Ministries and is a licensed clinical professional counselor in the state of Maryland. ...

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Joy Matters

By Monday, December 10, 2018 Christian Women, Counseling, Emotions, Family, Feelings, Joy, Life in general, Marriage, Mommy Stuff, Parenting, Perseverance, Relationships, Soul Care, Spiritual Growth, Uncategorized, Women, Worship Permalink
joy matters

Can you remember a time when something happened that instantly stole your joy? If joy was a scale, what number are you today? 1-10? One being not even on your radar and 10—your cup runneth over with joy.Answer this question. “I’d be full of joy all the time if only ____.” Friends, do you know your joy matters to God? Do you know the Bible has a lot to say about joy? For those of you who are in Christ, do you know that Jesus was inspired and motivated by your future joy?Joy reflects Who you know and what you ...

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Teens Aren’t Terrible: Enjoying Relationship with Your Kids Through the Teen Years

By Sunday, August 12, 2018 Christian Women, Communication, Counseling, Discipleship, Family, Kids, Marriage, Parenting, Pastoral Counseling, Pastors, Teens Permalink

Today's guest post is written by Pamela Fahs. Pamela lives in Ellicott City, Maryland, with her husband of 22 years, Thomas, and their four children. “In another lifetime,” Pamela trained and worked as a child clinical psychotherapist specializing in sexual abuse of very young children, but since 2001 she has enjoyed being a homeschooling mom to Cameron (who is now in college), Riley, Ava, and Quinn. She enjoys serving the Lord with Thomas by directing a local homeschooling tutorial, a homeschooling theatre ministry, and Vacation Bible School at Columbia Presbyterian Church. But her favorite things include hanging out with her ...

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3 Ways Pastors Can Help Women and Families Experiencing Postpartum Depression

By Tuesday, April 10, 2018 Anxiety, Baby blues, Christian Women, Counseling, Depression, Family, Maternal Mental Health, Maternal Soul Care, Ministry, Mommy Stuff, Pastoral Counseling, Pastors, Paternal Soul Care, Perinatal Mood Disorders, Postpartum Anxiety, Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Panic Disorder, Postpartum Support, PTSD, Reproductive Psychiatry, Soul Care, Women Permalink
Postpartum Depression

This post originally appeared on Careleader.org March 2018. As a pastor of a congregation with young families you may have small groups, a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) ministry, Awana, and more. Your church may also be blessed to have a meals ministry to help individuals and families after a surgery or birth of a child. Your church is probably well equipped with support ministries for families to help disciple their children and to provide encouragement and teaching for parents. But how equipped are you to minister to families experiencing postpartum depression or postpartum anxiety? Did you know that 1 in 5 women will experience maternal ...

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Worship: An Antidote to Anxiety

By Thursday, February 1, 2018 Anxiety, Christian Women, Control, Counseling, Soul Care, Spiritual Growth, Women, Worship Permalink

I don’t know about you, but when I’m struggling with feelings of anxiety or fear, worship is the last thing on my mind. Anxiety is something God’s people have struggled with for a long time with God’s Word on the topics of fear, worry and anxiety going back nearly as far as fear itself. One way that God draws our wandering hearts back to himself is through the gift of musical worship. Sometimes, when I feel too anxious, fearful or worried to read my Bible or find the words to pray, listening to God’s life-giving, truth-speaking, peace-giving Word that stands ...

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Alive in Him: How Being Embraced by the Love of Christ Changes Everything [Book Review]

By Friday, October 6, 2017 Bible Study, Book Reviews, Christian Women, Ephesians, Small Groups, Soul Care, Spiritual Growth Permalink

How does God show His extravagant love for His people? What impact and implications does this love demonstrated through His Son’s death and resurrection have on the life of the redeemed soul? What does it look like to go from the walking dead to the walking dead made alive in Him? These are the in-depth questions Gloria Furman dives into as she takes the reader through the book of Ephesians in her book, Alive in Him: How Being Embraced by the Love of Christ Changes Everything. As she states in her intro, “studying Ephesians and its contents is not about making ...

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After Abortion Care: Why Churches Need to Care for the Post-Abortive Woman

By Sunday, April 23, 2017 Abortion, Addictions, Anorexia, Anxiety, Baby blues, Christian Women, Control, Counseling, Depression, Eating Disorders, Identity, Kids, Maternal Mental Health, Maternal Soul Care, Mommy Stuff, Perinatal Mood Disorders, Postpartum Anxiety, Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Panic Disorder, Postpartum Support, PTSD, Reproductive Psychiatry, Self harm, Self Image, Sex, Sex Education, Sexuality, Soul Care, Suicide, Teens, Uncategorized, Women Permalink

1 in 4 pregnancies end in an abortion decision, a statistic that is no different whether you look inside or outside the church. Whatever the reason a woman has for having an abortion, the mental, physical, spiritual and emotional strains of the decision can result in repercussions for years to come. Whether it be triggers that remind her of the event or physical and emotional struggles that eventually come to light, the local church can (and should) be a place of safety where women receive grace and loving care to help them work through their struggle. In this fifth and final post ...

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When Your Wife Has Postpartum Anxiety and Depression: One Husband’s Story

By Monday, April 3, 2017 Anxiety, Baby blues, Christian Women, Communication, Control, Counseling, Depression, Identity, Kids, Marriage, Maternal Mental Health, Maternal Soul Care, Mommy Stuff, Parenting, Paternal Soul Care, Perinatal Mood Disorders, Postpartum Anxiety, Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Panic Disorder, Postpartum Support, Reproductive Psychiatry, Soul Care, Suicide, Teens, Women Permalink

As this series on maternal mental health continues, today we hear the testimony of one husband as he journeyed with his wife through her postpartum depression and anxiety after their first child. It is our hope that you will find strength and encouragement in Christ through the telling of Sarah and Kurt’s story. Read Part 1 of this post here. All names have been changed to respect the family’s privacy. What symptoms did you observe in Sarah? The symptoms Sarah demonstrated included: irritability, tiredness, anxiety, panic and anger. For me, it was important to learn to see past these negative emotions. In other ...

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Hope in the Valley: One Mother’s Story of Postpartum Depression and Anxiety

By Wednesday, March 22, 2017 Anxiety, Baby blues, Christian Women, Counseling, Depression, Identity, Kids, Marriage, Maternal Mental Health, Maternal Soul Care, Mommy Stuff, Parenting, Perinatal Mood Disorders, Postpartum Anxiety, Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Panic Disorder, Postpartum Support, Reproductive Psychiatry, Self Image, Soul Care, Suicide, Women Permalink

A “Warrior Mom” is a woman who has survived a perinatal mood or anxiety disorder who is working hard to take care of her baby while also fighting her own struggle. As part of my blog series on maternal mental health I thought I would ask one amazing warrior mom to share what her experience was like with Postpartum Depression and Anxiety. As each person’s struggle and road to recovery with a perinatal mood and anxiety disorder is different, it is both our hope that you will find strength and encouragement in Christ through the telling of Sarah’s story. All ...

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Yes, Christian Women Struggle with Postpartum Disorders Too

By Monday, March 6, 2017 Anxiety, Baby blues, Christian Women, Control, Counseling, Depression, Identity, Kids, Maternal Mental Health, Maternal Soul Care, Mommy Stuff, Parenting, Perinatal Mood Disorders, Postpartum Anxiety, Postpartum Depression, Postpartum Panic Disorder, Postpartum Support, Reproductive Psychiatry, Self harm, Self Image, Soul Care, Suicide, Teens, Women Permalink

You are reading the second post in a series on Maternal Mental Health. Read part 1 here. Why am I feeling so angry? How come everything my husband and children do make me so irritated? It’s not like me to scream at my loved ones. Why am I not totally in love with my new baby? I feel so overwhelmed with taking care of my baby, trying to stay on top of laundry and struggling with insomnia. What’s wrong with me? I feel so alone. What am I supposed to do? A Christian woman shouldn’t have these thoughts, right? Have you ever ...

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