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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Asking Better Questions of Your Bible
HANNAH HAGARTY | GUEST In the life of a believer, “What should I read today?” is a common question when it comes to Scripture. Often, we answer that question based on feelings. What do we feel like reading? What do we feel applies to the situation we are walking through? Feelings are real, necessary, and Scripture addresses them, but there is a better way to begin. Because, inevitably, the day will come when we don’t feel like reading. If feelings are the motivating metric, we won’t. A better approach to reading and studying Scripture is to begin with Spirit-led understanding by asking good questions of the text. Many Christians have been taught that the first question in response to reading Scripture is, “what does this mean to me?” But when application comes before understanding, we risk trading Scripture’s richness for whatever feels relevant at the moment. Asking Questions Whether we are children learning about our world or an adult learning a new skill, the means of understanding come through the same route: asking questions. This is why Bible study books often include a few questions at the end of each chapter. It is not enough just to read the Bible; we need to meditate or think about the text in order to absorb it. Questions bring us to this beneficial, deeper reflection....
The Daily Deaths We Die
ELLEN DYKAS | CONTRIBUTOR I died again this week. I walked through the gospel truth that, “We who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.” (2 Cor. 4:11–12). Yet, death never has the last word for the believer! Mysteriously and beautifully, the deaths and resurrections we experience day after day manifest the reality of our risen Savior’s presence in our lives (2 Cor. 4:7–10). A friend and I had unspoken expectations, stressors which were unknown to the other, and a common enemy eager to accuse, divide, and distract. These realities co-mingled until we mutually felt hurt, disappointed, and a little bit defensive. Guarded and frustrated (me), disheartened and unsettled (her), we managed our way through lunch with others present, hugged, said goodbye, and that was it. Except it wasn’t. I stewed, mused on the offense, couldn’t shake the distressing feelings which emerge when relationships go south. Thoughts tumbled in my mind and I rehearsed what happened, rehearsing how I felt wronged....
Don’t Settle
KIM BARNES | CONTRIBUTOR My mother has lived in her home for nearly fifty years. After my husband and I moved in a few years ago, we quickly noticed things that were neglected, broken, or in disrepair. On the surface, the home looked fine. It wasn’t at all dilapidated. A visitor would have thought it was a perfectly fine house. But if you looked a little deeper there were problems. Problems my mom didn’t even notice and things she’d just learned to live with or adapt to. Don’t we all do that? We let little things slide until they become normal. Eventually, we stop noticing them altogether. We tolerate dysfunction because fixing it is expensive, difficult, or inconvenient. We become content with “good enough.” Sometimes our marriages become like an old house we’ve lived in for a long time. There are conversations we avoid, habits we accept, and areas of neglect we simply learn to live with. Yet God’s Word calls us to more. Just as He is transforming us "from one degree of glory to another" (2 Cor. 3:18), He intends our marriages to keep growing as well...
The Spirit Gives Life
BARBARANNE KELLY | CONTRIBUTOR Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. — 2 Corinthians 3:17–18 As the preacher of Ecclesiastes tells us, “there is nothing new under the sun.” And when it comes to false teachers and their attempts to subvert the Gospel of Jesus Christ, all the old heresies are new again, even if their methods of delivery differ. In recent years, ancient arguments against the authenticity of the books of the New Testament (especially Paul’s writings) have been given new life through YouTube, Reddit, Substack, and podcasts, feeding the deconstruction of the faith of many who were raised in the church. After all, if you’re going to undermine an essential doctrine of the faith, you must first undermine the Scriptures on which that doctrine is based. Once the doctrine of Scripture falls, other essentials such as the reality and existence of Hell, God’s sovereign election, and any argument for obedience to God and holy living fall soon after like a trail of doctrinal dominoes. Are you among the many Christian parents child is deconstructing his or her faith? Have you listened in shock as a precious loved one has repeated the fabrications of the enemy? Do you find yourself speechless because no reasoning from Scripture holds sway with them since they no longer believe that God’s Word can be trusted?...
When You Need a Vacation From Vacation
KENDRA KAMMER|GUEST Summer is here, as my school-aged kids will eagerly tell you. With their excitement comes a nostalgia for the freedom of summer. Popsicles, parades, and beach days with just a little sunburn. Picnics, lemonade on the porch, and family vacations. This summer my excitement is not unwarranted: our family is going to take a dream vacation! This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip, the ultimate heaven-on-earth experience! Or is it? Because I broke my ankle and I wonder how I’ll hobble around on our vacation. Then our flight got cancelled, and that led to five hours of phone calls with the airlines. And let’s be honest, how well can I expect us all to get along as we tour the sights? When my expectations of glory on earth are dashed, it’s as though God is tapping my shoulder and saying, “Are you placing your hopes on this? I’m sitting right here!” And this has been the attitude adjustment I so desperately needed. This is an incredibly busy time for me, and I expect it is for you, too. Our family responsibilities ramp up with extra concerts, sports banquets, and the like, while church and ministry responsibilities gear up with the changing season as well. We feel exhausted, needy, and maybe even burned out. It’s time for us to find a way to rest…but how?...
The Aroma of Christ in the Mundane
BROOKE URISH | GUEST As I walked past our guest room–turned–laundry-folding area, my stomach sank. How could there be so much laundry to fold? I pushed it out of my mind to focus on a more pressing need—my young kids need lunch. Once in the kitchen, the sinking feeling returned at the sight of a sink full of dishes. Didn’t I just do these this morning? My six-year-old asks me to play baseball out back for what feels like the hundredth time, and I snap—“I can’t play right now, stop asking me!” Immediately, I regret my tone and recognize that he deserves an apology. As a mom to three young children, this is a snapshot of a typical day. I often feel insufficient for the task at hand. I can’t seem to stay on top of laundry, dishes, school tasks, cooking, etc., so I label myself a “bad homemaker.” However, it’s times like this when the Lord brings to mind the encouraging words a wise woman once shared with me: “Brooke, God is pleased with what you do in your home, even when you mess it up.” The Aroma of Christ Is this really true? When I turned to Scripture looking for a roadmap or a checklist, God gave me something else entirely. He gave me an identity. In 2 Corinthians 2:15 Paul says: “For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing.” I am the aroma of Christ to God? What does that mean?...
