Cindi McMenamin

Here are seven ways to take your prayers for others to the next level and, in the process, discover how exciting and adventuresome prayer can really be.

When it comes to the women of the Bible, there are many we can learn from in terms of their faith, obedience, and heart for God.

Scripture praises the faith of Abraham's wife, Sarah—who believed God’s promise that she would bear a child in her old age—and of Rahab, the prostitute who hid the Israelite spies because she believed their God was one who saves (Hebrews 11:11, 31). We also learn of Hannah, who poured out her heart to God in spite of her bitter circumstances (1 Samuel 1-2:11), and Mary, the mother of Jesus, who surrendered to a difficult assignment and stayed faithful (Luke 1:26-2:35).

But there are also many stories throughout the Old and New Testaments that show us what not to do, how not to live and who not to be like.

Here are 10 women of the Bible who—for a season or for their entire lives—are examples of who not to imitate:

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By depending on God—and not solely on others—we can not only alleviate the stress in our lives, but we can become encouragers who model to others how to handle stress in their lives as well.

Have you noticed yourself becoming angrier lately? 

Absurd politics, senseless killings, and everyday injustices might be causing you to become a more angry person than you’ve been in the past. 

I didn’t used to be an angry person, and I rarely got upset. But lately, I’m finding my fuse is shorter. Whether it’s a lack of patience in general or a weariness of seeing evil played out every day in the news, I’m realizing I need to stay in the Word and bring my heart to God daily so that anger doesn’t turn to unrighteousness. 

Scripture never commands us not to be angry, which implies that God knows certain things will not sit right with us. But Scripture has a lot to say about our response and how to keep that anger fuse from igniting a fire. 

Here are seven scriptures to read and reflect on when you find yourself angry.

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Life can feel overwhelming, noisy, and nonstop. Between work, family, responsibilities, church commitments, volunteering, giving, serving, and trying to be there for everyone else, it’s easy to feel spiritually exhausted. We want to keep pouring into others, but eventually, we realize the truth: we can’t pour from an empty cup.

Battle Burnout with the Bible: A Faith-Filled Resource for Spiritual Fatigue is designed to help you slow down, breathe, and reconnect with God when your soul feels tired. This resource reminds you that burnout is not a sign of weak faith. Even faithful people in Scripture experienced exhaustion and moments where they felt like giving up.

Inside this PDF, you’ll discover biblical encouragement for embracing God’s call when burnout hits, lessons from Bible characters who struggled with weariness, and practical ways to stay spiritually fed when you feel emotionally empty. You’ll also find a Bible reading plan for seasons of spiritual tiredness, reflection questions to help you process what’s really going on in your heart, and a simple 5-day prayer journal for the days when you feel too worn out to even know what to say to God.

This resource is here to help you rest without guilt, pray without pressure, and remember that God meets you with grace in your exhaustion. Whether you’re burned out from serving, overwhelmed by life, or simply feeling spiritually dry, these pages will guide you back to the One who restores your soul.

⬇️ Download this PDF today and bookmark it for the days when burnout hits because at some point, it happens to all of us, and we all need a faithful reminder that God’s strength is still available when ours runs out.

Are you feeling lost, hopeless, without direction? Maybe you just aren’t sure how to talk to God anymore or if He’ll even listen.

Life can be disappointing and feel hopeless at times, especially if you don’t know where to turn for answers, comfort, or a reason to start looking up.

The writers of Scripture felt lost at times too. And when they did, they poured out their hearts to God in prayers that were recorded as a means of teaching us to pray. Within their songs—and in other portions of Scripture instructing believers how to live—we can see principles and promises to guide us when we feel we’ve lost our way.

1 John 5:14-15 tells us: “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him” (NASB). That’s a promise that God will not only hear, but heed our requests when we ask in faith and according to His will. One way to know for certain we are praying according to God’s will is to pray Scripture—God’s own words given to instruct us how to pray.

Here are seven prayers, based on the life-giving words of Scripture, for when you feel lost in life:

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After 30 years of ministering to women who have been in and out of difficult relationships, I’ve compiled a list of warning signs they wish they’d acted upon in time to save themselves from a heartbreaking marriage and divorce.

While some claimed they had no indication of the type of man they were marrying, others saw red flags but didn’t feel strongly enough to break things off because “We were already engaged and planning a wedding” or “I’d already invested so much time in the relationship” or even, “I would have rather been with someone who didn’t treat me well than have no one at all.”

Dating is all about getting to know a person, and if that person isn’t meeting your level of expectation early-on, it may be time to let the relationship go and start over with someone much better suited for you. It’s also empowering, as a man or a woman, to be able to say “We are not better together, so in this case, you and I are better off apart.”

Whether you’re just starting out or have been dating for years, here are 10 red flags that should prompt you to examine the health of your relationship.

While gratitude is thanking God for what He’s done, praise and worship is adoring Him for Who He is. Here are seven reasons worship is essential to the Christian life.

Life can feel overwhelming, noisy, and nonstop. Between work, family, responsibilities, church commitments, volunteering, giving, serving, and trying to be there for everyone else, it’s easy to feel spiritually exhausted. We want to keep pouring into others, but eventually, we realize the truth: we can’t pour from an empty cup.

Battle Burnout with the Bible: A Faith-Filled Resource for Spiritual Fatigue is designed to help you slow down, breathe, and reconnect with God when your soul feels tired. This resource reminds you that burnout is not a sign of weak faith. Even faithful people in Scripture experienced exhaustion and moments where they felt like giving up.

Inside this PDF, you’ll discover biblical encouragement for embracing God’s call when burnout hits, lessons from Bible characters who struggled with weariness, and practical ways to stay spiritually fed when you feel emotionally empty. You’ll also find a Bible reading plan for seasons of spiritual tiredness, reflection questions to help you process what’s really going on in your heart, and a simple 5-day prayer journal for the days when you feel too worn out to even know what to say to God.

This resource is here to help you rest without guilt, pray without pressure, and remember that God meets you with grace in your exhaustion. Whether you’re burned out from serving, overwhelmed by life, or simply feeling spiritually dry, these pages will guide you back to the One who restores your soul.

⬇️ Download this PDF today and bookmark it for the days when burnout hits because at some point, it happens to all of us, and we all need a faithful reminder that God’s strength is still available when ours runs out.

Difficult people are everywhere—in your neighborhood, at your workplace, at your children’s school, and, inevitably, in your church. And while it’s natural to want to avoid those who can be difficult, you can impact their heart, bring joy to yours, and possibly even improve the overall atmosphere at your church when you choose to love the difficulty right out of them. 

I believe Satan works overtime to divide the unity in our churches. Why would the enemy of your soul and Christ’s church care if you are at odds with unbelievers? He wants to target your relationships with believers in order to destroy unity among God’s people because Jesus said the world would know His followers by their love for one another—which really means each other. 

Paul told the early Christians to make his “joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.” He then told them to “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves” (Philippians 2:2 NASB). Therein lies the formula for unity in our churches today, as well. And if you and I follow those instructions as best we can, we can keep Satan at bay instead of letting him gain a victory every time he incites you and me to dislike or just feel frustrated with difficult people to where we don’t want to be around them anymore. 

Don’t give in. Don’t fall for the schemes of the enemy who constantly tries to sow dissension among believers. And don’t succumb to the temptation to be carnal or self-serving when it comes to getting along with others. To bring glory to God, joy to your heart, and more unity to your local fellowship, here are seven ways to love the difficult people in your church.

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The Bible speaks of the dangers of putting ourselves and our preferences over others, and even though we might believe we’ve got a good spiritual reason for liking or disliking a certain form of worship, God’s Word gives us reasons not to condemn something that is ultimately for Him. Here are four dangers of condemning worship styles we don’t like.

Burnout is not an indication of your lack of faith or spiritual perseverance. Rather, it’s an overdue invitation—or command—to fully embrace God’s call to rest.

Somewhere along the way, we started living like machines instead of masterpieces. This eye-opening message will call you back to who you really are in God’s image.

You have a God who can meet your emotional needs because He knows you intimately and invites you to pour out your heart before Him.