Romans: Why Do We Do What We Don’t Want To Do?

We’ve all experienced that sinking feeling when you’ve messed up yet again and did the thing you told God you wouldn’t do anymore. You know you shouldn’t have, and for a while, you did so good, but then a hard day or something triggers you and the flesh wins out. And in that moment, the enemy will tell you that you’re the only one like that; like everyone else has it figured out but you’re the only one constantly struggling. Yet, here we have Apostle Paul saying, “For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” So, if a man like that struggled with this too, where do we find the hope? Let’s study that this week.

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I'm Not Who I Want To Be

For as long as I can remember, insecurity has been a part of my life. As a child, I had a skin disease called vitiligo, which causes loss of color that appears in patches. Fortunately, these blotches have become far less noticeable as I’ve grown up in the desert sun, but during junior high, I was incredibly insecure about my pale skin. I had ultra-white patches on the eyelids which made it look like I was constantly wearing eyeshadow and I always had to wear twice as much sunscreen as everyone else and constantly take breaks during my soccer games to reapply. Until wearing make-up became acceptable and age-appropriate, I would hate seeing myself in the mirror.

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Float To Faith

I lean my head back, spread out my arms and legs and allow the water to softly suspend me on the surface. I’m not swimming, forcing forward motion, or treading water, barely keeping my head above water. I’m floating: free to rest, be still and simply be. I welcome the weightlessness and wonder why I don’t float more often. Floating, in the water and out in the world, both takes faith and renews my faith. And I’m beginning to believe faith is a float.

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You Can Do Hard Things

At least a couple of days each week, I feel nervous as I drive to work. This has been an issue since I graduated from college. In the past year, I’ve switched careers from being a middle school teacher to being a behavior tech working with kids who have autism. While some of my worries are a little different now, I’m still concerned that some random, unpredictable event will happen, and I won’t know how to handle it in the moment.

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Social Injustice in the Fashion Industry

It’s easy to forget that everything we wear is made by living, breathing, human beings. I grew up believing that my garments were made by some mass factory machine, blissfully forgetting about the hearts and hands that contributed to each item in my closet. How often do we look at our labels and ask, “Who made my clothes?”

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