They needed to make themselves more appealing to young visitors. 

Your wife's spiritual and emotional condition either will enhance or be a detriment to your ministry. Make sure your wife is healthy and feels loved and appreciated by understanding what she needs from you.

Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone. --Colossians 4:5-6

By forsaking the broad worldly way, believers have chosen a narrow path (Matt. 7:13). However, we're not wandering blindly on it. The Holy Spirit is our guide. He directs our steps toward new opportunities and offers discernment so we can make wise decisions that keep us on course for God's will.

In a recent post, I described generosity as An Irrational Financial Act, going on to explain why it's actually essential for anyone who wants to experience simple, meaningful financial success.

Now that we have completed the first year of church planting and I can look back with perspective one of the hardest years of my life, I hurt for those who are going through the first year without this understanding. I wish I would have had someone to come alongside me and tell me these truths and challenge me to live them out. I pray that this would be of some benefit to a new or future church planter's wife: unaware of the part she will play, oblivious to the enemy's schemes, perhaps lonely and without a mentor or close friend.

"A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver" (Proverbs 25:11).

Sometimes I feel like life is kind of a big waiting game. We're waiting to graduate. We're waiting for a boyfriend. We're waiting to get a job and a paycheck. We're waiting to get married. And most of the time we have no idea when our particular situation will hit that moment when things change from "wait" to "go".

[Pē'tûr] - a rock or stone. The Greek form of the Aramaic surname, Cephas. Peter was the brother of Andrew and the son of Jona, or Johanan (Matt. 4:18; John 1:40; 1 Cor. 1:12).

Summer is quickly approaching and that means the dreaded swimsuit shopping adventure. Let's just face it. Swimsuits are not modest, period. Nothing about them is. But if you're going to the beeaaaach (sung to the tune of "rolling in the deep") this summer, keep these Secret Keeper Girl tips in mind.