Encourage-[en-kur-ij] to inspire with courage, spirit, or confidence.
The enCourage Blog is weekly dose of encouragement in a world that is often filled with bad news. We offer life-giving entries each Monday and Thursday written by gifted women from across our denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). You can subscribe below to have them delivered to your inbox. With hundreds of blog pieces, you can search on a variety of topics in the search bar above to read and share with friends. Christina Fox, a gifted author, serves as our enCourage General Editor. If you are interested in submitting a piece, you can contact her at cfox@pcanet.org.
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Gospel Friendship: A Conduit to the Father
STEPHANIE FORMENTI | CONTRIBUTOR I was a young mom to three children under the age of 5. We had recently navigated an international move far from my family and friends and absolutely everything was new. I couldn’t speak the language, I couldn’t drive, we didn’t have a backyard, and the food was really different. I was struggling. In my struggle, my husband and I committed to praying and asking the Lord to bring an English-speaking friend into my life. In His kindness, about two months later, a woman from the UK moved to our Brazilian city with her family and we met at church. Mary (name changed) was a little farther along in life and ministry than I was, loved Jesus, and had a warm and welcoming presence. So, when she suggested we meet up for coffee, I jumped at the chance. Over time, we started meeting regularly and those get-togethers became a lifeline for me. Speaking English was a welcome retreat after navigating daily life in Portuguese. Having an hour to sit in a cafe was a sweet respite from the busyness of caring for three young children. And this newfound mentor was fun and insightful. But more than anything else, these regular meetings became an important part of the growth and sanctification the Lord was already doing in this season of challenge because of my friend’s willingness to do three important things:...
Watered Women of the Word
MARIA CURREY | CONTRIBUTOR When the skies begin to rumble and dark clouds tumble, folks in the South know they should either take cover or get ready to jump in big puddles! There is nothing quite like God’s glory roaring from thunderclouds. Deluges from the sky bring beautifully abundant garden beds filled with new life exploding with color. As rainwater replenishes gardens, we see the whole garden grow and each drop of rain is needed to bring forth the harvest. So it is with the Body of Christ. As we drink in Christ’s living water, it soaks into our hearts and replenishes us with His soul quenching love. Drop by Drop Over the course of a fruitful season in the Word, I had the privilege to watch one woman water the seeds of faith in two precious beloveds, drop by drop of kindness, care, attentiveness, and love. They both came to our weekly Bible study, having been uprooted from what they knew before. One, a recent immigrant from a country overrun by economic turmoil, she and her family came to find a more sustainable life. Another, a single mother, raised in rich spiritual soil, nonetheless experienced heartache and hardship along her path. Both were nurtured under the inviting shepherd-hearted leadership of a woman who understands what it means to provide a constant overflow of encouragement, lovingkindness, accountability, and reinforcement to remain deeply rooted to the taproot of Jesus love. Their hearts reflect connections which are constantly renewed while walking a relationally driven and Word-based lifeline together....
Why Connection Matters in Women’s Ministry
ELIZABETH TURNAGE | CONTRIBUTOR “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10) When I began leading a women’s ministry at my church at the ripe old age of 31, I had no intention of doing so. Pregnant with my third child in four years and slightly panicked, I had asked the pastor’s wife to lead a short series for mothers of young children. She agreed on the condition that I would help her. When she was called to other duties, and the young moms wanted to continue, I became the leader by default. Seven years later, I published my first Bible study and began walking alongside women in difficult stories as a coach. My ministry, Living Story, was officially born. Five years into this writing, teaching, and coaching ministry, I found myself burned out and lonely. Raised to be an independent woman by a single mother who had to fight her way through a male-dominated business world, I began to realize such independence had no place in ministry. I sensed the truth that “two are better than one” and a “threefold cord is not easily broken” (Eccles. 4:9-12)...
Is Your Yes or No on Autopilot?
LISA UPDIKE | GUEST According to conversations with kids, most families have a “no” parent and a “yes” parent, and the kids know which one to go to when they want something. I think most people tend to be an auto pilot “yes” or “no.” I suppose we could leave it at that. Some of us are quicker to jump in, some are better at healthy boundaries, and that’s that. But I’m not so sure this status quo is where we ought to live. In fact, the more I think about it, the more convinced I am that God would call us to something better. Problematic Yes A default of saying “yes” can be a beautiful thing. You have a heart ready to serve. People know they can count on you. You see the needs and you know how to fill them. You lay down your life for others. What a blessing! Not only that, but Yes Girl is popular! She is known. She is a go-getter. And therein lies the issue. People-pleasing is a lousy reason to be the Yes Girl. We must examine our hearts (sigh...that heart examination is ever-present). Who are we seeking to please? Ourselves, others, or Jesus? By rushing in with our “yes” we might be robbing others of an opportunity to serve. We may be robbing our families of our time. And worst of all, we may be tempted to find our identity in being the one who does it all, or enjoy the thankfulness of others a little too much, or find satisfaction in playing the overworked martyr. We may rely on our busyness to fill a void. This is a problematic “yes.”...
Encouragement for the Anxious and Depressed
CHRISTINE GORDON | CONTRIBUTOR The days are getting shorter. That bright light that peeked out from under my shades with hopeful energy in the early mornings has begun to wane. And night creeps up closer to dinner time. Some people barely notice the change. Their anticipation of pumpkin lattes and sweater weather is a welcome shift from the heat of summer. But some can’t help but notice. Because as the days go by their energy level seems to slowly drain out of some unknown orifice until it reaches a dangerously low point. Symptoms such as these may be attributed to what mental health professionals call Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD. I’d never heard of SAD but was painfully aware of my sudden desire to sleep fourteen hours a day as the month of November came around every year. When I was awake, I’d sit and stare out the window, unable to concentrate, wondering when I could get back in bed. When I read a description in my 20s, I finally understood there were others who dreaded the fall for the same reason I did. Suffering and Mental Health Maybe SAD isn’t part of your life, or that of someone you love. But it’s probable that some form of anxiety or depression is. Approximately 19 percent of Americans have some type of anxiety disorder. Eighteen percent will be diagnosed with depression in their lifetime. That means at least one out of every five people you interact with every day is battling something you probably can’t see...
Taking Time Off Takes Humility and Faith
ELLEN DYKAS | CONTRIBUTOR Those who live alongside me as friends and co-laborers in the gospel have most likely heard me say, “I’ve got my share of issues, but workaholism isn’t one of them!” Am I busy? Yes! Do I seem to always be ‘on the go’? Probably. Do I sometimes pridefully struggle with saying yes when the wiser answer would be no? Check. However, I’m grateful that, generally speaking, I enjoy time off and don’t live enslaved to my ministry position. However, a while ago, I reached a point when I needed to detach altogether from my key ministry leadership role at my church. A convergence of circumstances challenged my commitment to truly rest. The convergence of needs, conflicting opinions, and ministry roles My paid vocational path has been a rich one for the past nineteen years at Harvest USA. It’s been a profound privilege to journey with hurting wives and women bound up in sexual sin, along with teaching church leaders how to engage in this kind of ministry. It’s also been intense to be invited into the delicate and painful circumstances of others and to come face to face with the darkness of habituated patterns of sin. This is my day job that I get paid for. However, my local church family is, well, my family in Christ, and so I seek to invest in the spiritual maturity, encouragement, and care of my brothers and sisters. I’m also consistently grateful for being on the receiving end of such precious gifts in the household of faith. My key place of service since 2022 has been in our church’s “Sister Care Ministry,” which provides companionship and care for women in crisis. Here’s what converged and confronted me with my limitations....
