Whitney Woollard has served in ministry alongside her husband Neal for over seven years. She is most passionate about equipping others to read and study God’s Word well, resulting in maturing affections for Christ and a growing understanding of his gospel message. She enjoys drinking coffee, reading theology, talking about Jesus, being outside, going on runs, and spending time with family. Neal and Whitney currently live in Portland, OR where they love serving and supporting the local church.
resently, I’m tempted to believe that God is holding out on me. My plan was to postpone this article until I could speak about my unbelief in the past tense. We Christians love to share our struggles when we are looking at them in the rearview mirror with a “lesson” in our back pockets. There…
After two years of focused theological study I realized my soul needed a good story. It’s not that I don’t love reading theology, but during this season I wanted something different to stir my heart. I knew any old story wouldn’t work; no, it was time for a fairy tale.
Lately my self-talk has been more subtle than usual, but no less harmful. During an ongoing season of being stretched in about every imaginable way, I’ve caught myself offhandedly thinking, “Don’t you wish you chose an easier path?” Or, “Why can’t you just have a normal, more comfortable life?”
Doing your Bible study like a “good little Christian” will never draw you near to God. The truth is, there aren’t enough Bible studies in the world to atone for your sin. The only work that can make you acceptable before the Father is the work of His Son Jesus.
There is great power when a believer comes alongside a sister in her unbelief and speaks the truth in love…Christians–we need this! Despite our individualistic instincts we need the community of faith speaking truth and grace into our hearts when we can’t speak it ourselves.
Pain has a way of shrinking perspective. We become so obsessed with feeling better that we lose sight of the bigger picture. But the gospel tells us pain is not the final word for those in Christ–resurrection is! God didn’t create humans for sickness and death.
As surprising as this may sound, God wants you to complain…but he wants you to do it well.
I’ll never forget the first time I performed a Christian fast as a new believer. I was on a mission trip in England and the leader called our team to fast together. Although I was a stranger to any sort of spiritual discipline, I was no stranger to going without food for a period of time. I was recently saved from a worldly lifestyle where I invested much time in my looks.
Meet Whitney 2.0. She’s the updated version of me that finally has it all together. She’s the one that never misses her devotional time. The one that actually prays for people every time she says she’s going to. The one that is hopelessly devoted to her husband and acts in humble submission 100% of the time. The one that always loves serving the church and discipling others. The one that never misses a workout and only craves fruit and vegetables. The one that would rather clean her house than sit on the couch and zone out. What a woman, huh?