Just Between Us Magazine

Weekly Magazine | Ministering to the Women In Your Life

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 10:02:32 GMT

Dear Friends,

Have you ever wondered whether the small ways you show up for others really matter?

Whether it is a conversation over coffee, a prayer offered before bed, a thoughtful question, or an encouraging word spoken at just the right time, these ordinary acts of care can become something far greater when God uses them in another woman’s life.

This week’s issue is about ministering to the women God has placed in our lives. Sometimes that ministry looks like gathering a few women around a table and opening God’s Word. Sometimes it means intentionally investing in someone who is younger in her faith. And sometimes it is as simple—and as meaningful—as coming alongside a sister who needs prayer, support, encouragement, or practical help.

You do not need a platform, a formal title, or all the right answers to make a difference. God can use your faithful presence, your willingness to listen, and your desire to point another woman toward Jesus. As you pour into others, you may also discover that God uses those relationships to strengthen, encourage, and shape you.

In the articles ahead, you will find practical ideas for building community, discipling the next generation, and becoming the kind of sister who helps another woman stand strong. Our prayer is that these stories remind you of Jill Briscoe’s words: ministry happens between your own two feet. It begins right where God has placed you, with the women already within reach.

Encouraging you in God’s truth,

S.I.S.T.E.R. | Jo Buck
Construction workers use the term “sistering” to reinforce a weak beam by securing a stronger one directly alongside it. What would it look like to do that for each other? Jo Buck offers a practical, Scripture-rooted framework for showing up as the sisters God calls us to be, from earnest prayer to reflecting Christ’s love in tangible ways.

Help Wanted: Disciple the Next Generation of Women | Shannon Morton
Discipleship can feel intimidating, especially when we wonder whether we know enough or have what it takes to guide someone else. But what if the most important qualification is not expertise, but a faithful willingness to invest in the women God has already placed around us?

Coffee, Community, and a Cord of Three Strands | Kathy Dye
What can God do with a newspaper ad, a borrowed television, and a few women gathered around a coffee shop table? Kathy Dye shares how one simple step of obedience grew into a community where women studied Scripture, carried one another through hardship, and discovered the strength of lasting friendship. Her story reminds us that ministry often begins before we feel fully prepared—and sometimes reaches the woman listening quietly from the other side of the room.

Also:

Encounter the living Jesus throughout all of Scripture. Brought to you by the Passion movement, The Jesus Bible spotlights Jesus Christ as the central pillar throughout the entire Old and New Testament and shows you how to faithfully follow him as you participate in his grand story. Hundreds of articles identify references to Jesus throughout Scripture, helping you see how the full biblical narrative points back to him.

S.I.S.T.E.R.

Five Ways to Be the Sister Another Woman Needs

By Jo Buck

I love watching home renovation shows. One of the construction terms that I find most fascinating is the word “sistering.” In construction, it refers to the process of reinforcing weakened or damaged lumber (like a floor joist or roof rafter) by securing a new, stronger piece directly alongside it.

I don’t know who came up with the term “sistering,” but I can see why they did. That “coming alongside to reinforce” idea is exactly how woman support each other as sisters. Or, at least, how we should. I must admit there have been many times in my own life that I should have been this support to others but was not. First Thessalonians 5:11 tells us to “build each other up”—to attach ourselves to those around us who are weakened to make them stronger. So, what might it look like for us to “sister” each other?

S — Support in prayer.

The first (and perhaps the greatest) way we can come alongside another woman is to earnestly and specifically pray for her. Verses like James 5:16—“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”—speak to the power that is available when we lift each other up in prayer. And Paul in Col. 1:9 knows the importance of prayer for each other: “since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you.”

We have both the joy and the responsibility of bringing other women before the Lord. Knowing someone is praying can make all the difference when we feel like we are journeying through life’s struggles alone. What a privilege it is to go to battle in prayer for our sister. When was the last time you asked a sister, “How can I pray for you?”

I — Imitate Jesus.

In 1 Cor. 11:1, Paul says to the church, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” Earlier, in Chapter 10, Paul had reminded the believers to think about how they live: “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble” (1 Cor. 10:31–32). Are we living our own lives in such a way as to point other women to Jesus?

This, of course, means that we have to do life side by side; women can’t follow us from a distance. Titus 2 encourages us, especially older women, to be examples for the younger women so they know how to live a life that is pleasing to God. What an opportunity we have as women to walk alongside other women and encourage them in their own faith journey by learning from ours.

Coffee, Community, and a Cord of Three Strands

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 06:00:56 GMT

By Kathy Dye

I had no idea what I was doing.

I had a friend, a newspaper ad, and a borrowed TV with a VHS player. What I didn’t have was a meeting place, a guaranteed audience, or any real certainty that anyone would show up. But I was convinced that God wanted me to gather women around His Word, and sometimes that’s enough to get started.

My husband had just become the pastor of a young church in a new town. I had always been passionate about women’s ministry, but this time, something felt different. My friend Karen and I began praying and talking about starting a Bible study, not just for the women already in the pews, but for anyone in the community who might be searching. Anyone who might need a safe place to ask hard questions.

So, we did something a little unconventional. We placed an ad in the local newspaper.

We still didn’t know where we’d meet.

S.I.S.T.E.R.

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 06:00:49 GMT

By Jo Buck

Encouraging the Women in Your Life

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 06:00:48 GMT

By Ashley Thomas

Recently I sat around the table of my closest friends—my people. These women have been with me through many of life’s ups and downs, and most recently through the journey of becoming a mama.

I am weeks away from meeting my family’s newest addition, a baby girl. As I sat around the table with my friends, I shared my fears about becoming a mom to two, and what it will be like to raise a girl. I felt seen, heard, and lovingly placed in our Father’s hands.

I am grateful for my friends because they are strong and they are vulnerable. They share the good moments, but they invite me to walk with them through the hard times too.

As you think about the women in your life and how best to support them in the season they are in consider these truths.

Help Wanted: Disciple the Next Generation of Women

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 06:00:45 GMT

By Shannon Morton

Have you ever considered that you are in the spiritual lineage of one of the 12 apostles? These men walked with Jesus, listened to His teaching, and asked Him questions. They absorbed the faith as He intentionally invested in them. So, it’s no surprise that they took Jesus at His word and diligently pursued His command to make disciples. They passed on their faith to the next generation and so on and so on until today. You and I are members of the body of Christ because other believers have been faithful for generations to pass on the faith. We have a beautiful spiritual heritage, like links in a chain. And now it’s our turn. Will we be faithful to the clear command from Jesus to make disciples?

Intentionality is Key

When you walk into someone’s home, you can always tell if something is baking in the oven. There is a distinct and delicious smell that welcomes you. Through the oven door, you can see the bubbling of the batter, anticipating when it will be ready to eat. What makes this scenario exciting is that a combination of ingredients was intentionally assembled to create something good to eat. We all know (and maybe have eaten) something that was haphazardly prepared. It’s not the result that was intended. Similarly, there is a thought circulating today that discipleship will just happen when we spend time together. It’s suggested this is the way Jesus taught His disciples. But a closer look at Scripture shows that Jesus was much more intentional than haphazard.

Who Comes to Mind?

Just Between Us magazine — Thu, 03 Sep 2026 16:00:30 GMT

Dear Friend,

As summer gives way to a new season, many women around us are stepping into something new.

Perhaps it is a teacher preparing to welcome a new class, a mother sending her child off to school or college, a friend beginning a new job, or a ministry leader preparing for a busy fall. Maybe someone you love is facing a transition that feels both ex…

Weekly Magazine | When Parenting Changes

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 10:02:09 GMT

Dear Friends,

Parenting changes so gradually that we don’t always notice it happening.

One day, our children need help tying their shoes, finishing homework, or finding the courage to walk into a new classroom. Then, almost before we’re ready, they are making decisions of their own, building careers and families, and creating lives that no longer revolve around ours.

That shift can bring a mixture of emotions. We may feel proud of who they are becoming and grateful for the life God has given them, while also missing the closeness and daily purpose that once shaped so much of our lives. We may wonder when to speak, when to stay quiet, how to remain connected, and what our role is now.

This week’s issue offers encouragement for that unfamiliar place. These articles remind us that loving adult children well does not mean stepping away completely, nor does it mean holding on too tightly. It means learning a different kind of love—one that listens, respects, supports, and trusts God with what we can no longer control.

Your influence still matters. Your prayers still matter. And God is still at work in your family, even as your connection begins to look different.

May these articles help you navigate this season with wisdom, humility, and hope.

Share this issue with a someon

Encouraging you in God’s truth,

Empty Nest Not Emptiness | Patti Hutton
When the house grows quieter, the change can stir both gratitude and grief. Patti Hutton offers a look at the empty-nest transition and the surprising ways God can renew a mother’s purpose when one chapter of family life comes to a close.

Adult Children—Now What? | Catherine Hickem, L.C.S.W.
Adult children still need their parents—but not in the same way they once did. Catherine Hickem invites parents to consider how listening, respect, and healthy communication can help a lifelong bond become stronger rather than strained.

Be F.A.I.R. to Your Grown Up Kids | Bill Farrel
What does it look like to remain supportive without becoming over-involved? Through a practical framework, Bill Farrel shows how parents can offer wisdom, encouragement, and refuge while honoring their grown children’s independence.

Also:

Empty Nest Not Emptiness

You can trust God in this time of transition.

By Patti Hutton

The year I turned 50, everything seemed to change at once. Our oldest son graduated from college and got married, our second son and only daughter headed off to college, and our youngest son found new independence with getting his driver’s license.

I was genuinely happy and proud of our children, excited for all that was ahead for them, but my mom-heart ached. How could this chapter be over so soon? Their lives were brimming with hope and anticipation for the future, while mine felt quiet and empty, longing for the past. Raising them was one of my greatest joys, and now it seemed nobody needed me anymore.

I found myself a little lost, asking the Lord, “What’s next for my life?” His gentle response: “Do you trust Me? I’m not done with you yet.”

Empty Nest Not Emptiness

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 06:01:39 GMT

By Patti Hutton

I found myself a little lost, asking the Lord, “What’s next for my life?” His gentle response: “Do you trust Me? I’m not done with you yet.”

Adult Children — Now What?

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 06:01:32 GMT

By Catherine Hickem, L.C.S.W.

Many parents of adult children think their job is over once the kids leave for college, move out on their own, or head off to the military. They believe they are getting their life back after all those years and are relieved a new chapter is beginning.

I appreciate the empty nest; Neil and I have enjoyed it for the last six years. Our children came home during the summer and the holidays while they were in college. Now they are moving on in their careers and time with them has changed. With the change of their life status came the awareness of the responsibility that Neil and I had to adapt the way we parented our children. Yes, they are adults and we had to change the way we parented them because of the different stage of life they were entering.

Changing the way we parent does not come naturally to us. We have to be intentional and focused in order to facilitate a smooth transition in a time that is often filled with challenge, strain, and fear. This season of life is one of the most vulnerable in the life of your adult child; failure to appreciate its significance will lead to division, hurt, and frustration for everyone.

Be F.A.I.R. to Your Grown Up Kids

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 06:01:24 GMT

By Bill Farrel

It was 4:30 in the morning and we were exhausted. Pam had been in labor for 24 hours but wasn’t progressing, while our firstborn’s heart rate was interrupted with every contraction. The pain and intensity of labor made it impossible for either of us to admit our fear until the doctor called for an emergency Caesarean section.

Terrible thoughts of what might be wrong ran laps in my mind. Much to my relief, my son’s umbilical cord was merely bunched up next to his head. There was no major damage, but he was born very blue. My first thought was, “We just gave birth to a Smurf!” During the life-giving ordeal, I felt helpless and useful at the same time. Helpless to stop my wife’s painful labor, yet useful in encouraging her through the process. Helpless to ease my son’s predicament, yet useful in holding him afterward. Little did I know this was a preview of how I would feel trying to be an adult parent to adult children.

Like many of you, I had little experience to draw on. I read books and asked other parents. They shared plenty of advice for raising young kids, but said little about my role when my kids grew up. In fact, it seemed everybody was guessing. Like them, I am now trying to figure out how to be the parent I want to be with kids who are no longer kids.

Weekly Magazine | Packing Backpacks and Trusting God

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 10:01:10 GMT

Dear Friends,

There is something about the beginning of a new school year that can make a mother’s heart stretch in two directions at once.

We are excited to watch our children grow, learn, and step into new opportunities. At the same time, we know we cannot follow them into every classroom, friendship, conversation, or decision. We can pack the lunch, offer the reminder, set the boundary, and send the text—but we cannot control everything that waits beyond the front door.

Isn’t that one of the hardest parts of loving them?

The good news is that our children never go anywhere God is not already present. He sees what we cannot see. He understands what they may not know how to tell us. And He loves them even more deeply than we do.

That is why prayer matters so much. Prayer is not simply what we turn to when our own efforts fall short. It is how we place the children we love into the faithful hands of the One who knows exactly what they need.

In this week’s issue, Lysa TerKeurst gives us seven Scripture-rooted prayers to pray over our children. You’ll also find simple ways to make God’s Word part of your family’s daily rhythm, and practical encouragement for parenting in a digital world that is always competing for our attention.

Whether you are walking a little one to the bus stop, helping a teenager navigate new pressures, or praying for a grown child from a distance, we pray these articles remind you that you do not carry this season alone. God goes before your children—and He walks beside you, too.

Encouraging you in God’s truth,

Seven Scriptural Prayers to Pray For Your Kids | Lysa TerKeurst
When you are unsure what to pray for your child, Scripture gives you language. Lysa offers seven focused prayers for healing, courage, wisdom, character, and spiritual protection—words you can return to long after the first day of school.

A School Year Blessing | Lisa Maples
A packed school day leaves little room for elaborate routines. Lisa Maples offers a simple blessing for morning, afternoon, and evening, showing how ordinary transitions can become opportunities to return to God’s Word.

Raising Kids in a Digital World | Dr. Sylvia Hart Frejd
Technology keeps changing, but the need for thoughtful, connected parenting does not. Dr. Frejd brings research-informed guidance to screen time, social media, and the example parents set through their own device habits.

Also:

Seven Scriptural Prayers to Pray For Your Kids

Trusting God With the Children You Love Most.

By Lysa TerKeurst

There was something I came to realize pretty early in my journey as a mom that I needed to guard against: Sometimes I wanted to be completely in charge of my kids’ lives … more than even God.

I wanted to write their stories.

I wanted to set the course for their futures.

I wanted to determine what was best for them.

I wanted to prevent them from ever being hurt.

I wanted to be their provider and protector.

Can you relate on any level? I think most moms can. We love these people God has entrusted to us more than we ever knew possible. And whether your kids are still in diapers or grown adults like mine are now … they are ours. To love. To lead.

And we want to make it all good.

But then things happen—so far beyond our control we eventually have to face the reality that we aren’t God. And we can’t operate as if we are.

What Do We Do With the Gap?

So, what do we do with that gap where our mom capabilities end and trusting God begins? It’s especially hard in seasons of uncertainty where everything feels scary. Every decision feels risky. And scary and risky are two words we moms don’t want as part of our kids’ lives.

How do we deepen our trust in God? How do we make peace with the limits of what we can and cannot protect our children from? What do we do with the risky and scary feelings that can make a mom lose sleep at best—and feel crazed with fear at worst?

We must fill that gap with the only thing that bridges the space between our limitations and our trust in God: prayer.

A School Year Blessing

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 10:01:09 GMT

By Lisa Maples

When the school year approaches, the new beginning can create excitement, feel heavy, or fall somewhere in between. The school day starts with eating breakfast, brushing teeth, then exiting with bookbags and lunchboxes, but something can be left out: training our minds to think about God’s Word.

Meditating on words from the Bible blesses us according to Ps. 1:1–2. The first word in the book of Psalms is “Blessed,” referring to those who delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on His law day and night. As a mom and teacher, I can attest to the blessing of reading the Bible and praying over my children as well as for our family, our needs, and the needs of others. I can guarantee that something will attempt to rob us of our joy, so it must be growing properly at home. We can develop in how to replace the lies that attack us with the truth found in God’s Word.

If I plan time to meditate and pray, then I am blessed “like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither” (Ps. 1:3). Every time I read His Word, it sends nourishment to my body and mind. 2 Peter 3:18 reminds us that the goal is “to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” The path to growth requires planting ourselves in God’s truth and His wisdom.

Raising Kids in a Digital World

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 06:00:56 GMT

By Dr. Sylvia Hart Frejd

“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” ~ Deuteronomy 6:4-9

My kids are all grown now, but I have a granddaughter on the way, and it makes me realize this is a very challenging time to be raising children. As a parent, in a digital world today you are writing the rules for a guidebook that’s never been written. How much screen time is too much? How much should kids use and share on social media? The only guidebook you have is your own knowledge of the digital world, and since it’s always changing you’ll always be adapting your rules.

Scripture tells us that we are to have face-to-face conversations with our children, talking about God on the road, and around the house. In order to have these conversations we all have to look up from our screens and turn our faces to each other. A parent’s job is to point their children again and again to the greatest commandment: to love God with all we are.

Seven Scriptural Prayers to Pray For Your Kids

Tue, 25 Aug 2026 06:00:55 GMT

By Lysa TerKeurst

There was something I came to realize pretty early in my journey as a mom that I needed to guard against: Sometimes I wanted to be completely in charge of my kids’ lives … more than even God.

I wanted to write their stories.

I wanted to set the course for their futures.

I wanted to determine what was best for them.

I wanted to prevent them from ever being hurt.

I wanted to be their provider and protector.

And we want to make it all good.

But then things happen — so far beyond our control we eventually have to face the reality that we aren’t God. And we can’t operate as if we are.

What Do We Do With the Gap?

Your generosity put biblical encouragement within reach.

Just Between Us magazine — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 14:31:12 GMT

JBU fiscal year-end ended July 31st and our hearts are filled with gratitude—first and foremost to God. He has faithfully provided for Just Between Us, guided this ministry through a season of change, and opened new ways for women to encounter His truth and experience His hope.

We are also deeply thankful for you. Through your prayers, generosity, and faithful partnership, God has helped JBU continue meeting women in the realities of everyday life. Because you chose to invest in this ministry, women received biblical encouragement in seasons of loneliness, caregiving, uncertainty, changing relationships, and spiritual growth. They were reminded that they are seen, loved, and never alone—and that Christ is present and faithful in every season.

Every magazine issue read, every article shared, every prayer offered, and every woman encouraged is evidence of God’s gracious provision. The numbers in this report represent far more than digital encounters. Each one points to an opportunity for God’s Word to reach a heart, renew hope, strengthen faith, or offer the encouragement a woman needed that day.

Thank you for allowing God to work through your generosity. Your partnership helps make this ministry possible, and we do not take your trust or support for granted.

Together, by God’s grace, we are encouraging and equipping women for a life of faith—one story, one prayer, and one encounter with God’s truth at a time.

To God Be All the Glory!

With grateful hearts,

Team JBU

P.S. We prayerfully steward every gift to help reach women with the truth and hope of Christ. If you’d like to be part of what God is doing through JBU, we would be honored by your support.

Partner With Us

Weekly Magazine | The Benefits of Serving

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 10:01:17 GMT

Dear Friends,

If you are like us, there are times when the last thing you want to do is serve. Sometimes people are ungrateful. Sometimes, you feel like one more obligation in your already busy schedule might be too much.

Besides that, this world tells us to put ourselves first. But Jesus offers a different invitation. In reading Sandy Mayle’s article below, we can be the hem of His garment, brushing close to the ground and available to anyone who reaches out.

That image she provided stopped us in our tracks this week. Not the spotlight, not the center stage, just… the hem. Overlooked, and yet the very place where healing flowed. This issue, we’re exploring what it really means to serve with a willing heart: how it sabotages selfishness, deepens worship, and draws us back into rhythm with the One we follow.

Encouraging you in God’s truth,

The Hem of His Garment | Sandy Mayle
What if serving isn't about what you bring to the table, but about being close enough to Jesus that His touch flows through you? Sandy Mayle uses Oswald Chambers' beautiful word picture of the hem of Christ's garment to reframe everything we think we know about what it means to serve.

Having a Servant's Heart in a Self-Love World | Erinn Karpovck
Life moves fast, and the pull to focus inward is constant. Erinn Karpovck explores how choosing to serve — really serve — breaks the cycle of selfishness, puts love on display, and transforms not just the people around us, but our own hearts.

Marrying Service and Solitude | Jean Fleming
Serving without stillness leads to exhaustion. Solitude without action leads to isolation. Jean Fleming explores how Jesus modeled a life in rhythm—work and rest, action and prayer—and what it looks like to let that rhythm shape our own.

Also:

The Hem of His Garment

What It Means to Be Available to the Needy.

By Sandy Mayle

My relationship with hems is problematic. Yes, those little folded edges sewn at the bottom of skirts or dresses. Oh, the arguments my sisters and I used to have with our mom, an accomplished seamstress, when she hemmed our clothing. Back then, miniskirts may have been in vogue… but not at our house!

Over the years, though, I grew to rely on Mom’s tailoring expertise. After her passing, I often pictured her laughing from heaven at my bumbling attempts with needle and thread—just to reattach a button. Hems? I do resort on rare occasion to hem tape (no sewing required). Outside of that, I just don’t do hems.

The Hem of His Garment

Oswald Chambers wrote about hems in his book So Send I You, which was compiled from lectures he gave at his missionary training college. Chamber’s words include us, as we carry out Christ’s mandate to “go and make disciples” (Matt. 28:19).

“When Our Lord is the Master of a disciple,” Chambers wrote, “no matter where he [or she] goes, His touch comes through [them] all the time. She only ‘touched the hem of His garment.’ The missionary is, as it were, the hem of His garment, and virtue goes out through the garment’s hem to the needy one who touched.”

Chambers is referring to the gospel story of the woman who suffered with chronic bleeding for twelve years (Mark 5:25–34). Despite seeing many doctors, suffering much, and spending all she had, she only got worse. But she heard about Jesus’s healing power and made her way through the crowd to come up behind Him and touch just the hem of His garment. And when she did, she was healed.

Marrying Service and Solitude

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 06:01:13 GMT

By Jean Fleming

Throughout the ages, Christians have struggled to discern the proper balance between the cloistered existence and the life of reckless, zealous ministry; between bustling service and sacred hush; between Walden and whirlwind. We contend with the Mary and Martha inside us. (Mary sat at Jesus’ feet listening to what He said while her sister, Martha, was busy with the preparations for visitors in their home (see Luke 10:38-42).

To set aside everyday concerns and gaze uninterrupted at the Lord seems utopian and escapist. But the continual giving of ourselves in service for Christ brings a sobering awareness of our frail humanity and limited store. We become caught in the Mary-Martha dilemma, weighing the active life with the contemplative life.

To Work and To Wait

True service for Christ, however, occurs only when Mary and Martha marry – when neither isolation nor compulsion characterizes our lives. Bernard of Clairvaux wrote, “Action and contemplation are very close companions; they live together in one house on equal terms; Martha is Mary’s sister.” William Barclay also referred to a kind of coexistence: “The more one reads of the lives and works of great men, the more one sees that they have a twin capacity – the capacity to work and the capacity to wait.”

The Christian life should have a rhythm – doing and resting, speaking and listening, giving and receiving. The life of Jesus illustrates that perfect balance. This busy Man (in perfect harmony with His Father, Himself, and His purpose on earth), who completed to the fullest the work given to Him, withdrew for prayer – again and again. The scriptures indicate that Jesus worked at getting alone, just as He worked at serving and teaching.

From the beginning of His ministry to the end of His ministry, Jesus’ life was interlaced with periods of solitude. In these quiet times alone, He enjoyed a deep, abiding fellowship with His Father. Psalm 16:11 records David’s expression of the exultant delight of this kind of communion with God: “You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence; with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.”

The Hem of His Garment

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 06:01:04 GMT

By Sandy Mayle

The Hem of His Garment

Having a Servant’s Heart in a Self-Love World

Erinn Karpovck — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 06:01:03 GMT

By Erinn Karpovck

I tap my fingers against the steering wheel in an impatient rhythm. The red stoplight glows, taunting me, reminding me that I’m stuck in place. One glance at my GPS tells me I really should’ve left earlier, but here I am, practically clawing my steering wheel as I wait to turn into the drive-thru to get my morning coffee.

Once I accomplish my caffeine mission, I have a list of to-dos. Rush to work, get the laundry done, pay the bills, call the friend, email the colleague, and then begin again. Life moves quickly, and sometimes I feel like I’m running on a hamster wheel.

All the while, I’m wondering if I should be doing more to keep up. I’m not sure that’s even physically possible, but life can feel like a race. At one point, I thought I’d be running forever, until I decided it was time to pull over, stretch my legs, and focus on something (or rather someone) else.

When I lifted my eyes from the proverbial finish line of the race of life, I found beautiful scenery along the path, and many ways to serve within my community, family, church, and friendships.

When I made this shift to have a servant’s heart, I found that the benefits are endless.

Weekly Magazine | The Voices We Let In

Tue, 11 Aug 2026 10:02:21 GMT

Dear Friends,

Have you ever noticed that some of life’s greatest battles are fought in places no one else can see? Not in our circumstances, relationships, or daily challenges, but in our minds.

Every day, voices compete for our attention. Some speak fear, doubt, comparison, and discouragement, while others remind us of God’s faithfulness, His promises, and His unfailing love. The voices we listen to shape how we think, live, respond, and grow in our faith.

Our inspiration this week is Philippians 4:8:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

As women, we carry so much in our minds each day—responsibilities, relationships, worries, expectations, and endless to-do lists. Sometimes, it can be so easy to miss the quiet conversations happening within our own hearts. Yet the thoughts we dwell on profoundly shape how we see ourselves, our circumstances, and even God.

The good news is that we are not powerless in this struggle. Through God’s Word and the work of His Spirit, God helps us recognize the lies that leave us feeling inadequate, overwhelmed, or discouraged and replace them with truth. When His voice becomes the one we listen to above all others, we find renewed strength, deeper faith, and peace that steadies us in every season.

As you read this issue, we pray you are reminded that you are deeply loved by God and never alone in your mind battles. May you quiet the voices that bring fear and doubt and embrace the truth that brings freedom and hope. May you find fresh confidence in Christ, renewed joy for the journey, and the assurance that when your thoughts are anchored in Him, your heart can rest secure because His is the only voice that matters.

Encouraging you in God’s truth,

Awakening to Christ's Presence Around You | T.K. Vasquez
In a culture that rarely stops scrolling, T.K. Vasquez invites us to look up, slow down, and rediscover Christ’s presence in our everyday lives. Christ is present, right here, right now, and creation itself is always calling us back to Him.

Would Jesus Read the News? | Katherine O'Neill
When the headlines feel relentless and a friend swears off the news for good, Katherine O'Neill asks a deeper question: Is it what we consume that harms us, or what we do with it? A fresh look at Philippians 4:8 and the words of Jesus in Mark 7 opens up a freeing answer.

Think About What You're Thinking About | Jenna Dexter
Your thoughts are shaping your life, whether you're paying attention to them or not. Through the story of gymnast Simone Biles and the truth of Scripture, Jenna Dexter shows us how to recognize the lies holding us back and choose the mind God always intended for us.

Also:

Awakening to Christ’s Presence Around You

How Slowing Down Reveals Christ All Around Us.

By T.K. Vasquez

On a warm September morning, the first curve of the sun had risen over the world’s rim. I sat on my patio, chai latte in hand, watching as the trees’ silhouettes were backlit by crimson and the birds, one by one, began to sing. The sounds were manifold: leaves whispering, rabbits darting across the lawn, an owl saying goodnight—what I didn’t hear was the moth-frenzy of screen-tapping, the ding of notifications, or the chatter of social media.

This isn’t the modern-day morning norm, nor was it always normal for me. I used to begin my day with a shot of news—dark events, conspiracies, and fearmongering—and a check of my socials, but after witnessing the glory of dawn, it was hard to return to the noise.

And we all know the noise.

Once we plug in, we don’t unplug until our heads hit the pillow. Every crack of free time, every second when our thoughts wander, we grab our always-on devices and numb out.