Tim Sweetman is a 21-year-old writer, blogger, and student who lives near Washington D.C. Tim has been writing since 2005, mainly on his blog, TimSweetman.com, as well as in a number of magazines across the country. He currently attends Boyce College in Louisville, Kentucky.
"If I were just a little smaller, shorter, skinnier, prettier . . . then my dad would love me!" These were the lies that captured my heart and held me in their grip for over fifteen years when one moment of rejection shattered my little girl heart and made me question just about everything, including the certainty of God's love for me.
As I was praying about how to write this post, I stumbled on the story of Abram doing some serious peacemaking. Rather than being like me (who tends to choose the best for myself—claiming the soft bed over the hard floor; choosing the corner piece of cake with gobs and gobs of frosting), Abram gave Lot first dibs in something that had much higher stakes. What was he thinking?
I want to be seen. Noticed. Celebrated. That caused a whole lot of angst when I first came to Revive Our Hearts as an eager college graduate, expecting to travel the country, meet and eat with famous people. My expectations were dead wrong, and I hated every minute of the job that I did have. But seven years later, I was given another shot at serving with the right heart attitude.
Have you ever thought about what it means to be a young woman? I'm not talking about a young woman the way the world defines it, but the way God does. After all, He created women, so He should know!
As we strive to live for God, we need to be aware of some of the biblical womanhood counterfeits, frauds, and fakes. I should know, because I've been all three at one time or another in my life.
During summer break, college—and college debt—are probably the last things on your minds. But I think it's that important that you start to think about it now. That's why I asked Wilson Green the following questions . . .
The fact that so many of you took last week's Style Quiz by Nancy Leigh DeMoss—and did so with such thoughtfulness—tickles me pink. If I really were your teacher, I'd give you all extra credit points and send you out for recess. But before hitting the playground, though, I'd ask you to grade your quiz and let me know how you did.
You must be missing school terribly. I mean, no textbooks, no homework,
no pop quizzes . . . what an absolute drag. Lucky for you, it's Paula to
the rescue with a summertime pop quiz! Not just any pop quiz, mind you,
but a style quiz . . .
I wasn't surprised to read that not all of you were interested in our recent challenge to write your dad a tribute. Some pain runs too deep.
If you can relate, I challenge you this Father's Day season not to write your dad a tribute, but to choose to forgive him. Not for your dad's sake, but for your own.
Have you ever had an authority figure in your life majorly flub it? I'd dare say . . . yes. Because no matter how great your dad is, he's human, a sinner, and imperfect. But the good news for you is that you have a Father and Husband who always does what's best for you . . .
Father's Day is just around the corner, and I have the perfect gift idea for you! Watch this short video to hear all the details of how you can bless your dad, help yourself, be featured on this blog, AND win a free book—all at the same time!
Over the years, guys' words have played a huge role in worming their way into my thoughts and affections. They've caused my heart to race in the moment and made me feel desired and loved. But now, I recognize that they weren't written and said in the language of love, but in the counterfeit language of lust.
If you're like me, you just got inundated with high school graduation party invites. It seems everyone is getting their high school diplomas in the next few weeks. Many of these students will go on to pursue a college degree. But I wonder, how many of these graduates will pursue and get . . . wisdom?
I was a pretty "funny" girl in high school. You know what made me funny? I'd pretend that I was in love with the most unpopular guys in school. My friends thought it was hilarious.
Are your parents saying no when everyone else's parents are saying yes? If so, I know how you feel. It's hard stuff. Your parents will answer to God for the way they parented. But you will answer to God, too, for how you responded to your parents' decisions. It's a big deal to Him!
Those yellow rain boots used to be my most prized possession of fashion. They were that one thing that came to mind when I asked myself, "Is there anything I own that I wouldn't be able to give up if God asked me to?" I held on to them as if they were mine, but deep down (or not so deep) I knew who they really belonged to. So I let them go. Not literally though . . .
When I lifted the bathroom blinds the other morning, it nearly took my breath away—this delicate, flowering tree of purple God-glory reaching up, up, up. Yesterday, the tree's Creator whispered two things to me . . .
To this day, my sister and I would probably both tell you that the Cabbage Patch Kid with the brown eyes was ours (not the Cabbage Patch Kid with the blue eyes!). That one was a constant source of angst between us.
We’re still here at the church packing up, but wanted to fill you in on how the Pure Freedom event went tonight. I’ll let Dannah Gresh and Erin Davis do that.
Since you’re there, and we’re here (Brighton, Michigan) . . . and we wish you were here, we decided to let you play along. You can watch a short clip of Erin’s gameshow here, and then take a stab at the questions to see if you’re smarter than your hormones!
It doesn’t get much more behind the scenes than this! Crash with Dannah Gresh, Erin Davis, and Stephanie Peters (national worship leader), as they tell you about their day in Cadillac, Michigan.
"He first saw her at one of my Pure Freedom purity retreats for teen guys and girls. I guess you could say it was love at first sight. Before he met her, he loved her. And he made plans to win her heart. But Stephanie’s heart had been wooed by her Savior long before Wes stepped onto the scene . . ."
Turns out Erin Hendricks, the Adrian, Michigan, Pure Freedom Program Coordinator, is a former Miss Michigan! She was totally humble about it; in fact, we never would’ve known if her coworker hadn’t told us. Hear her surprising, cool story here.
Feeling up for an adventure? For the next three days, I'd like to take you with me as I travel with Dannah Gresh, Erin Davis, and their team for the Pure Freedom Tour.
While some people are deathly afraid of spiders and others of public speaking, I'm terrified to share the good news of Jesus Christ with people who don't yet know Him. Can you relate?
Recently, someone asked me to share some tips with her on how to make her dream of becoming a published author come true. I thought I'd share my response to her with you, because I figured you just might want to write a book, too! And even if you don't, I know you have other dreams—big dreams!—for your future.
Maybe church seems boring and irrelevant. Maybe church is a lonely place. Maybe you find yourself always giving, but rarely receiving. I admit, I'm not the most enthusiastic churchgoer. I go because I'm supposed to. But I want so much more than going out of duty . . .
I'd like to propose a toast. Grab a can of Pepsi, some hot chocolate, your Nalgene bottle—any beverage nearby will do—and let's drink to . . . the best Valentine's Day yet!
Honestly, I have a hard time with today's resolution. I'd much rather "force a fairy tale"—insist on one—than relinquish my dreams of what I think will bring me happiness. But God won't let me alone about it.
Yes, I have a preoccupation with mirrors. And yet, it's so much deeper than that. Really, I have an eye problem that's connected to a heart problem. Without even thinking, I find myself glancing out of the corner of my eye to see who's watching me.
Surely You, the God with scars, won't be surprised when I tell You that life's not fair, and people wound, and I often feel more afraid than deeply loved.
I got some new clothes, gorgeous curls, and—of all things—fake eyelashes! We filmed for hours, but it was over all too soon. The next morning, I felt a bit like Cinderella must have felt when her coach turned back into a pumpkin and her gown returned to rags. Glamorous Paula was normal Paula once again (sigh).
Are you anxious about anything today? If so, watch this short video to learn how focusing on Jesus will beat your anxiety and keep you in perfect peace!
Do you find yourself regularly giving in to impure thoughts? Dig in to Matthew 5:27–30 to discover how and why to get hardcore about turning from sin and turning to God.
You can't talk yourself out of loving something or someone. But you can find someone or something even more lovely and beautiful and delicious to feast on!
Have you ever seen White Christmas? The family I live with watches this 1954 film every year while they put up their Christmas tree. Last night, I probably should've gotten off the couch to help them string lights and hang ornaments, but I was too preoccupied watching Judy's (actress Vera-Ellen) beautiful dancing . . .
King David, the "man after God's own heart," ended up having sex with another man's wife, tried to cover his tracks, and then had her husband killed. And do you know how the tragic tale begins?
The preacher asked if we would give our "sack lunch" to Jesus. Right away, I knew my "sack lunch" was my favorite dress--the maxi dress that pooled at my feet and made me feel tall, slender, and beautiful . . .
I was trapped in a perpetual cycle of neediness, disappointment, and pain. That's why, at the age of twenty-six, I prayed a crazy prayer. If I'd have known how God would answer, I don't think I would've had the guts to pray it!
This Sunday marks the tenth anniversary of 9-11. Not that it's something we're all looking forward to. Still, I wanted to take advantage of the anniversary to share an incredible story about a young teenager, Vanessa, who made a difference in the days after 9-11.
How do you know if you should date that guy? Take that class? Join that team? This acronym I learned a while ago might help—ESPPP. Each letter represents a specific key to unlocking the will of God.
Did you work a summer job this year? Are you looking for one now? I know this probably isn't what you had in mind, but did you know that GOD is looking for workers? Well . . . worshipers, actually!
As Christians, God's powerful presence lives in us, and we're powerhouses! So why does it seem like most of the time . . . the "electricity's" gone out?
I relate a whole lot to Peter. On his own, he was a fearsome mess. Matthew 26 shows him so knock-knee scared he's cussing and lying through his teeth saying he never even knew this Jesus-dude. And yet just weeks later, 3,000 souls are saved after he preaches one power-packed sermon. What caused this dramatic difference in Peter?
My friend recently sent me an email admitting some of her struggles with beauty. She asked if I'd ever struggled too (uh . . . yeah!). I thought I'd share her questions and my answers with you in the hopes that it will encourage you and remind you of who and what your beautiful body is for!
You've been reading our testimonies all this week . . . now we'd love to hear yours. Here are a few tips to think about as you tell others what God has done in your life.
Don't you love those "before" and "after" pictures of women who have just had a makeover? The "before" picture is an ugly mug shot; the "after" picture is gorgeous enough for a model's portfolio! Today, I'd like to show you my "before Jesus" and "after Jesus" pictures, because He has truly changed everything about me.
I used to think being a good Christian meant acting like one, striving to be one. I'm slowly learning that it's letting the very-alive Spirit of God take over every part of me and do what's natural for Him (and absolutely unnatural for me!).
I've known something for a while now that has had me really scared, and it's this: I'm terrified of sharing the Gospel with unbelievers. So terrified that I've started telling God "No, I won't—I can't—tell them about You."
I realized I had a problem. My experience didn't line up with this promised peace and rest. I had only known the hard, heavy burden of Christianity. I found myself asking a question I never imagined I would ask, "Do I really even know Jesus? Am I truly a Christ-follower?"
Recently, I read through the Song of Solomon. It tells the red-hot, passionate love story of a king and his new bride—not exactly what you expected to read in the Bible, I'm guessing. What surprised me most was that this lovesick bride urgently warns her girlfriends over and over not to arouse or awaken love until it so desires (until it's time). Why would she want them to be so careful when she had found such an incredible gift? I wondered.
Why on earth do I hang on to my money (make that His money) so tightly when God makes such grand promises about how He'll provide everything I need when I give cheerfully and generously to others?
Jesus knows the pain of temptation
more acutely than you or I ever will, precisely because He never gave into it—He was tempted long and often, but . . . always
without sin.
What makes Jesus' birth stand apart from all others isn't the humble
stable in Bethlehem, Israel, where He was born or the smelly animals that
witnessed His entry into the world, though those were certainly some unique circumstances!
What made His birth different than every other was that . . . "His birth did
not mark His origin, but only His appearance as a man on the stage of time."
If you're not feelin' God's love, the answer isn't to make Him prove it apart from His sacrifice on the cross,
but to pour over those momentswhen
He "put skin" to His love and bled and sufferedfor you in your place.
Probably
my favorite question ever to ask married people is, "How did you get together?"
I would be content to just sit and listen to their stories for days, months,
even years! Someday,
you and I will have a story, too. Really! It will either be a story of regret
("Here's how I took control in order to secure what I thought I wanted"), or a
story of awe, joy, and triumph ("Look at what God did . . . all on His own,
without my help!")
Last week I decided to sit
down and write out the reasons why I don't pursue guys and why I don't think
other young women should, either. I loved reading your comments and want to
give you more reasons to wait for a guy
to pursue you. So, here goes.
Recently, I was encouraging a friend not toinitiate Facebook chats with a guy who is interested in getting to
know her, but to wait to respond to his lead. My advice sounded so strange,
even to my own ears. So I decided to sit down and actually write out the
reasons why I don't pursue men and why I don't think any other woman should. Are
you ready for them?
Just over a week ago, I left snowy Michigan for the even
more snowy Colorado mountains. After investing in the warmest hat and gloves I
could find (made of some new thermal technology that reflects your body heat
back to you) and borrowing a pair of ski goggles, I signed up for my first ski
lesson.
Does Scripture memory sound
like "just another thing to do" on an already overwhelming to-do list? What if
you learned it was one of the greatest
weapons you have to battle discouragement and depression in your life?
Would that interest you a bit more?
Yes, God wants me to know the concepts about Him that He has given us in
His Word. But He wants me to take each of those truths and allow Him to be
that to me in my personal experience.
At that moment, in the midst of swirling emotions, I
couldn't have imagined what lay on the other side of the move for me. What
seemed like a death to my desires was actually the beginning of a beautiful new
season of life!
I don't know what God's telling you to do. Whatever it is, please obey Him. Trust that
He'll provide more than enough for you in His time—even if He's saying no right
now.
Do you like to walk? To pray? Does your prayer life feel stymied? If you answered "yes!" to any of these questions, you'll enjoy this really practical conversation.
Are you acting like the owner or the tenant of your house today? Are you letting the Holy Spirit make you over, or are you resisting His transformational touches?
While it’s been a whole decade since I flung my graduation cap in the air with glee and moved on to bigger and better things, I was reminded recently—with regret—that the consequences of my sin stick around and impact others negatively long after I’m gone.
For a long time now, I’ve wanted to sit down and write out things that are true of my Lover. Not just so I can brag on Him to others, but so when I’m feeling unloved and unpursued by other men, I can remind myself that I have the love of Someone who’s infinitely better!
I look forward to my birthday the way most girls look forward to their wedding day. I count down the days . . . all year long. Call me psycho, OCD, or just plain weird, but on the eleventh of each month, I think with delight, “I’m __ years and ___ months old today!”
The drama continues. Only this time, Eve isn't the main character—you are. Sin is still seductive. The stakes are still high. The consequences are still devastating. The choice is yours. Will you listen to God's voice?
Even as I sang about how great and beautiful my God was, I was filled with insecurity and jealousy. This midwestern girl was doing everything she could to compete with the California beauties for the attention of her Christian brothers.
In our fluid society, I realize that you may have to choose a new church several times in your life. What sorts of things should you look for when you're "church shopping"?
Whether or not you're currently disheartened with your church leadership, at some point in your life you'll be tempted to criticize their decisions. When that time comes, this letter from Nancy should help.
God is still a worker of miracles! He can—and wants—to change your heart and reconcile your relationship so that you actually love the parents you currently want to wish off the face of this planet.
I remember the day she told me that in her teen years God was her best friend. I was glad I was sitting down when she told me that, because I could've fallen over backward from surprise.
“With every head up, and every eye open, would you stand and say or shout, ‘Jesus Christ is Lord’ if you have just been going through the motions but want to receive His gift of eternal life? People might be shocked, but someday, somehow, the truth must come out!”
Did you know that it wasn’t until the early 1900s that America mandated that you go to school through high school? (You’re convinced you were born at the wrong time, aren’t you?!) For the first time ever, teens were consumers instead of contributors. And since then, expectations for teens have continued to diminish drastically . . .
Hey, Chicas! Erin asked me to tackle some of your questions since I’m an “NBM” like you (a “Never Been Married”). Some of you are asking questions like, “Is college okay?” “Is having a job at all okay?”
What do you think? Does God really care what we as women wear? I mean,
I know He’s passionate about our holiness, but does that seriously have
implications on our wardrobe?
"If I could pray one thing for tweens, it would be that at their age, they can grasp how much Jesus loves them. If they really can grasp that and have that God-confidence . . . man, it will be life-changing!"
Every morning, Maryann wakes up and thanks God for the cross. It’s the centerpiece of her life. Maryann was raised in a Christian family. However, in high school she got absorbed into the drug and party culture, and found out she was pregnant at the age of 17. She had an abortion, which she kept a secret for 15 years, before specifically confessing her sin.
One of my friends recently told me that she’s going to have fun while she’s in high school (“Life’s already hard enough, why would I add to the pressure?”), and then she’ll follow God.
Are you stressed out trying to control your job, your grades, your friendships, your family, your future, your current needs, your past regrets? I have good news for you today.
Who or what is competing with God for first place in your life? Dr.
David Powlison’s questions will help you find the answer—if you’re
brave and committed enough to probe the depths of your heart for the
answers.
I’ll be honest with you—I failed in prioritizing time with Jesus the first few days of this month. And I struggled intensely with guilt as a result. For some reason, while I was so tuned in to the importance of prioritizing time with Him first thing in the morning (after all, that was the focus of this blog this month!), my body just would not cooperate. I was utterly and emotionally spent. I would wake up, and my first thoughts were, “I can’t wait until I can go to bed again!”
Okay—you’re getting into the Word (which is a huge accomplishment!), but how do you ensure that you don’t walk away from that book without it getting into you?
