Encourage, Equip, Empower

Each month our very own amazing writers from South Texas publish a series of blog posts written with you in mind. Our desire is to encourage, equip, and empower you through stories, experiences, and insights from our writers and from God’s Word.

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  • Press In

    The word “prayer” tends to evoke images of demure bowed heads in a silent cathedral except for the low reverent hum of an organ thrumming out “Amazing Grace” in the background.  I think that’s why so many people find it a hard concept to grasp.  “How do I talk to God?”  Sometimes, in church circles,…

  • Hannah Prays

    Are you a woman of prayer? This may seem like a loaded question, but this is something I’ve been asking myself lately. I used to keep a prayer journal with me and write in it every night before bed. I would pour my heart, soul and sometimes tears into those pages. After writing out my…

  • A Father’s Love

    Do you think it’s true that most women end up marrying men that share their father’s traits? Well, in my case I believe it. Both my father and husband are funny, always going back and forth with the “dad jokes”. They are both loving and affectionate. I’ve seen my father give a hug and kiss…

  • When Your New Season Isn’t What You Hoped For

    We received a text message:

    “Can you guys meet for a quick Zoom call?” 

    We had our suspicions about what they needed to tell us, and they were confirmed a few minutes later over video chat. Our team leaders had accepted a new position and would be transitioning out of their current role, which meant we would be expected to step up and take on new leadership responsibilities. It was going to be a new experience, a new transition, a new team dynamic.

    A few months later, as we were clumsily navigating our new role, I had the thought,

    “I didn’t ask for this.”

    I was wrestling with all the new things that had been thrust upon us, and feeling very overwhelmed and vulnerable. We hadn’t asked for this new role, and to be honest, I didn’t want it. I had my list of really good reasons why we weren’t the people for this job, why we were unqualified, why it was unfair and unrealistic. 

    Sometimes the new seasons we step into aren’t ones we hoped for.

    So what do we do when we find ourselves in a new season, wondering how we got there and whether or not the Lord made a mistake or missed a detail because we just can’t seem to make sense of it all? How do we respond to coming change when the change that’s coming isn’t what we wanted or hoped for?

    —–

    This year, my oldest daughter will graduate from high school. As cross-cultural workers, not only will we be sending her off to college, but we will be leaving her on another continent while we return to the field. We will watch her say goodbye to her home here in Southeast Asia, knowing it’s very unlikely she will ever live here again. We’ll fly to America a party of five, and return to Asia a party of four. The grief of it all feels like too much.

    I know this new season is necessary and right, but if I’m being totally honest, I don’t want to go through it. And just like the Zoom call with our teammates that brought on unexpected change in our jobs and roles, I am wrestling with the tension that comes from wanting to believe that God is good when the new season we’re forced into doesn’t feel good.

    —–

    After a year of resisting our new leadership position, trying to convince the Lord He got it wrong, I found myself in a worship service singing, “You are worthy of it all.” As those words slipped easily off my lips, the Spirit asked me, 

    “Am I also worthy of your weakness?”

    I realized that my resistance to the new season I found myself in wasn’t so much about the job title or role or responsibility, it was about the weakness I felt in it. The vulnerability of doing what we feel unqualified for, incapable of, or unprepared for often causes us to resist the new thing rather than embracing our weakness and seeing it as an opportunity for God’s strength to be made perfect in us. 

    “Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” -2 Cor. 12:9a

    We talk about giving our best to the Lord, which He is absolutely worthy of, but He doesn’t just ask for our best. He asks for ALL of us— our worst, our brokenness, our flaws, our insecurities, our weaknesses. When I neglect to surrender my struggles and only offer my strengths, I carry a weight of shame that keeps me from walking in His freedom in the new seasons and opportunities He brings me.

    New seasons that are unwanted or unexpected are going to highlight our weaknesses, and perhaps that’s exactly why the Lord allows them. The discomfort of living out of our weakness calls us to humility and surrender, and there we find a divine strength that we cannot embody lest we embrace our weakness— not a strength we must or conjure up in the face of difficulty, but the very power of Christ at work in us.

    “That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” -2 Cor. 12:10

    It’s been three years since that Zoom call, and while the road has not been easy, I can see how the Lord used that unexpected new season to do a formational work in my heart and life. Once I stopped fighting it, surrendered my weakness, and embraced the new thing God wanted to do, He has delighted me with His presence and strength in beautiful ways.

    The thought of the new season to come for our family this year still puts a lump in my throat, but I am clinging to the hope that when I feel utterly weak and the path ahead feels impossible to traverse, I have a faithful friend who is familiar with the Way of Weakness, and who will be with me and impart to me His strength every step of the way.

    He isn’t leading us into these challenging new seasons because we are strong enough for them, but because HE is.

    Embracing our weakness in the seasons we didn’t ask for or want takes an audacious faith that chooses to believe God’s grace truly is all we need. Perhaps you find yourself looking at some undesired changes ahead in 2025. Maybe you’re already in the midst of a new season you are struggling to accept. When we choose to surrender our worries and weaknesses to Christ, we are making space for the unfailing strength of our Savior to uphold us and empower us to walk forward with faith into the unknowns ahead. Faithfully carry those weaknesses, doubts, concerns, griefs, and worries to the Lord in prayer and let His mighty presence renew you and remind you that even when things don’t feel good, He is still good.

    Author, Heather F.

  • New Year, Same Me

    Photo by Matheus Bertelli on Pexels.com

    As I’ve gotten older, New Year’s Eve has become less and less about getting dolled up and going out and more and more about whose house we’ll hang out at while we play games and guess whose kid will pass out first. The truth is, I’m not much of a fan of New Year’s. Between the disappointment in broken resolutions and it taking the entire month of January for me to remember not to write “2024,” I am a big believer in the “new year, same me” revolution. It’s simpler, it’s more realistic, and honestly, it’s more in line with what I read in my Bible.

    Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a fresh start. I’m here for goal-setting, gym memberships, and that vague feeling of optimism that a new year brings. But let’s be real: the odds of sticking to a resolution for 365 days are about the same as my 8-year-old not calling me “bruh” for a whole day. Not happening. That’s why I love what the Bible says about “newness.” It doesn’t make us wait until January 1st to experience it. God’s mercies are new every morning. Every. Single. Day.

    So, if you’re like me and you’ve already broken your resolution by the 3rd of January (or maybe you’ve just made 47 new ones by now), take heart because you’re not alone and you are not a failure. God’s mercies are there, fresh as a morning cup of coffee every day. And that, my friends, is the ultimate fresh start.

    Every year, we all go a little crazy with the idea that this year will be different. We’ve got a list of resolutions: lose weight, stop procrastinating, read more, be more patient, learn a new language, start a podcast—whatever. The “fresh start” energy is real; we feel like superheroes for about 72 hours. But by the time the excitement of the New Year’s confetti has settled, reality starts to creep in. The gym? Packed with newbies who are now fighting for the last parking spot. The diet? The leftover cookies from Christmas are calling your name in the kitchen. The “new me” thing? Well, the “same me” seems to be showing up again. And guess what? That’s actually okay.

    The idea of the “new year, new me” can be inspiring—until you realize you’re not as “new” as you thought. But here’s where we get to flip the script a little bit. The Bible doesn’t give us the luxury of a clean slate only once a year. God’s mercies are fresh every morning, not just on January 1st. And that’s not just a poetic saying; that’s a promise. No matter how many times we fall short, God is there to pick us up again. Every day is a new opportunity to walk in His grace.

    The Daily Reset

    Let’s be honest: life is messy. Our plans don’t always work out, our resolutions get buried under piles of laundry, and our good intentions often crumble when the coffee kicks in. But the beauty of God’s mercies is that they don’t expire. Lamentations 3:22-23 reminds us: “The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”

    So, if you ate the entire bag of chips yesterday (guilty), or you snapped at your kid when you had to ask them 6 times to put on their shoes this morning (also guilty), guess what? God’s mercies are still fresh for you today. It’s like having a daily reset button that we can press over and over, no matter how many times we mess up.

    This doesn’t mean we should give ourselves a free pass to be lazy or live without purpose. It doesn’t mean there’s no value in making goals or working hard to become better versions of ourselves. But it does mean that when we fail—and we will fail—there’s grace. The same grace that gives us a fresh start at the beginning of the year is available every single morning.

    You might be thinking, “Okay, that sounds nice and all, but what if I really want to try and do better this year?” I get it. We all want to improve. I’m right there with you. But let me remind you that the “new year, new me” vibe that society sells us is very much performance-based. It’s about the doing—the self-discipline, the grinding, the hustling. It puts pressure on us to be flawless, to show up perfect, and to be the best version of ourselves. And if we’re being honest, that pressure is exhausting.

    But God offers us something different: grace. Instead of trying to “be better” on our own, He calls us to rest in Him and rely on His strength. God’s mercy is not something we have to earn or achieve—it’s a gift. When we fall short, God’s grace is there to pick us up. We don’t have to wait until next New Year’s Eve to start over; we get another shot every morning we wake up. This is another chance to move closer to the person God has made us to be.

    I’m not saying you shouldn’t strive to be better in the new year. You can still make resolutions! But maybe, just maybe, we should stop making them about our own ability to do it all perfectly. Perhaps this year, instead of trying to be “the new me,” we focus on letting God shape us day by day. Maybe we resolve to accept His mercies every morning, to extend grace to ourselves when we fall short, and to trust that God’s work in us is happening, even when we don’t see instant results.

    This year, let’s make the “same me” revolution one rooted in God’s never-ending love and grace. While the world may offer us a “new year, new you,” God’s Word gives us something far better: new mercies every morning.

    So, whether you’ve stuck to your New Year’s resolution or have come up with a new one every single day, it doesn’t matter. God is still there, faithfully offering fresh grace to meet you where you are. And that’s the kind of fresh start that lasts.

    Happy New Year, friends. Same you, but with new mercies, every day. Isn’t that just the best kind of start?

    This idea of new mercies every morning is an invitation to live with audacious faith—the kind of faith that says, “I may not be perfect, but I trust that God’s grace is bigger than my failures.” Audacious faith is the confidence to step into each day knowing that, no matter how many times we fall short, God’s love and mercy are unshakable. It’s about trusting that God is at work in us, even when we can’t see the immediate results. When we embrace the fact that our “newness” doesn’t depend on us, but on His unfailing grace, we’re free to take bold steps, make mistakes, and keep getting back up. Living with audacious faith means we can look at our “same me” confidently, knowing God is making all things new—one grace-filled morning at a time.

    Author, Tracie Tevault

  • Audacious Faith

    When I first heard this year’s theme, I’ll admit, I had to do some research.  Audacious is not a word we hear often in everyday conversation.  My good friend, MaKenzie V., is brilliant with languages and had already done some of this research before I ever started.  She was gracious enough to share the following with me:

    Audacious is an adjective meaning “intrepidly daring, adventurous, and recklessly bold.”  Some synonyms include bold, brazen, cheeky, cocky, impertinent, sassy, and nervy.  Alternately, antonyms for Audacious include careful, cautious, guarded, prudent, safe, and wary.

    Now that we know what Audacious means, what is faith?  I didn’t go to the dictionary for this one.  Hebrews 11 tells us that (1) “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.” Later in verse 3 the writer continues to explain that “by faith we understand that the entire universe was formed by God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.”(NLT)

    Hebrews 11 is often called the “faith chapter” because it is a long list of heroes of the faith from the Old Testament.  The author of Hebrews drew on their stories to demonstrate to the Jewish believers in Rome that living by faith is deemed as an act of righteousness by God.  Just the very act of believing that God can and will come through for us is viewed as righteousness by Him.

    I am often guilty of seeking to demonstrate my righteousness to God which inevitably ends with me comparing my righteousness to that of others.  It’s a silly thought to compare righteousness with someone else when it is something that cannot be seen by me.  Only God can see our hearts and lives in their entirety.  So, what should I really be doing?  According to Hebrews 11, I should have faith in God and act on that faith.  

    Having Audacious Faith is not about running straight ahead with our eyes closed into the unknown.  It is about knowing that the God who made the promise is the God who will keep it.  It is about praying the prayer of faith and believing that God can and will heal.  It is about holding on to the hand of the Father while you walk through what feels like an unending storm.  It is about daring to heal from a past hurt and trusting God to help you open your heart again.  Audacious Faith will also carry you through when things don’t go as you planned.

    Faith is bold and daring but it is not unwise.  It is reckless in a way that has you calling on the resources of Heaven rather than what you have at your disposal on earth.  Audacious Faith will keep you trusting God for a healing when doctors tell you there is no hope.  Audacious Faith will keep you growing and learning when this world tells you that it’s too late.  Audacious Faith tells you to keep going when all you can do is make it from one day to the next.  Audacious Faith will keep you running back to the Father when this world says you’re a fool for believing; when things seem like they haven’t changed.

    Jesus told Thomas “Blessed are they who have believed and have not seen.” (John 20:29)  It is even more challenging to believe when we pray and we don’t see the answer we expected or it takes longer than we expected to arrive.  It is daring and bold to have faith at the bedside of a sick loved one and it is bolder still to have faith at the graveside.

    “She will be known for the boldness of her faith.” This line is emblazoned across the National Women’s Ministries webpage.  In 2025, I want to challenge myself, and you, to be known by the boldness of our faith.  This is not about what others think of us but instead what our lives can cause others to think about Jesus.  I want others to see that when things are going well this year, I will thank Him and when things are not going well, I will trust Him.  The theme verse for this year is Matthew 19:26, “With men this thing is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  It is audacious of us to believe even when it is impossible with the strength of this world.  It is audacious of us to have faith when we are not enjoying the season where we are walking.  The writer in Hebrews 11 reminds us that all we see in creation was made from what we cannot see.  This is the evidence of what we hope for.  This is Audacious Faith.

    This year I choose not to make resolutions but instead to commit to living with Audacious Faith every day.  I will pray with faith for signs and wonders and I will pray just as fervently for peace, patience, and greater faith than ever before.

  • Drop Your Blanket

    I know some ladies who live for the Holidays. You know the ones who plan out their home decor with themes and color schemes. Every spot in the house must match the appropriate holiday and colors. If this is you, awesome. I’ll give you my number.

    I, however am not one of those women. I am not a decorator, especially when it comes to the holidays. I might strategically place a knick knack here or there, but I don’t really plan these things out. I mean, we almost didn’t even have a Christmas tree this year.

    It was 9 days until Christmas, when we finally put up our tree. We decided to do a small one because we just moved a few months ago and we still have things in boxes, and like I said, “9 days until Christmas” doesn’t seem like a lot of time to decorate a big tree and enjoy it.

    But we got it done. It looks so pretty and now that Christmas is over, I feel as though I can relax a little. Oh except, now I need to come up with my New Year’s resolutions.

    Oh dear, where to begin…well I do know one resolution that I didn’t really keep the way that I had hoped- spending more time with Jesus.

    It seemed like such an easy goal, but the truth is I’ve struggled. It’s easy when I can just pull him out of a box when I need something, or I realize I haven’t spoken to him in a while. I need to make sure I check him off my list. The only thing is he should be more than just a check mark.

    One of our favorite traditions is watching A Charlie Brown Christmas while decorating the tree. My husband and I started this tradition the first year we were married and continued it with our young daughter.

    But this time around when we were decorating the tree, I wasn’t really paying attention to the movie. I’m not even sure I saw but a few scenes. However, I did make sure to have my whole family put down the Christmas lights and the ornaments as we listened and watched Linus’ speech about what Christmas is all about.

    He quotes Luke 2:10-12

    And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

    9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

    10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

    11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

    12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

    The reason I wanted to watch this scene was because I saw on a reel that while Linus is quoting this powerful scripture, he drops his blanket as he’s saying, “fear not.”

    If you’re familiar with his character, he and his blanket do everything together. He’s not one to let go of it lightly. You see, for Linus, his blanket is his security.

    The imagery of him dropping his blanket and not picking it up until he’s finished quoting the Christmas Story is a beautiful reminder that Jesus is our Prince of Peace. For a split second, we can see that Linus couldn’t care less about his blanket, because he knows the importance of the story.

    My family and I went through a lot of hurt this last year. There was so much uncertainty, and healing from past relationships. There were days when it wouldn’t bother me and days when it would tear me up inside. Just when I thought I was over a situation, something would trigger the hurt and pain all over again.

    Many times, we go through difficult trials in our lives, and we hold on to that hurt, shame, loneliness, or anger instead of holding onto our Savior.

    I would find myself holding on to these things. It was as if I was walking alone, when I didn’t have to. The reality is, Jesus doesn’t sit in a box, waiting for us to open it and pull him out. No, he’s always right there.

    The angels, shepherds and wise men, made a choice to worship Jesus. In fact, we can learn that it took the wise men close to 2 years to even find him. This must have taken a lot of preparation and dedication to pull off. They obviously had to leave their homes, families and put their trust in the Lord.

    It took them 2 years to find Jesus, when I have the privilege of knowing him every day. Then why am I allowing myself to continue in this pattern? I’m not spiritually growing, while my hurt and anger continue to grow. I was ready to drop my blanket.

    As I was reading Luke 2, I began to realize that Jesus was born in the middle of a filthy stable so that he could save a dying and broken world. He was born in a mess to clean up a mess, and I was a mess. If I’m honest with myself, I still am. But I’m learning to let go of things of the past, and to lean on him more.  

    When it comes time to put the decorations away, I don’t want to add Jesus to the box. I want him to be the front and center of my life.

    So, this coming year don’t make Jesus a check mark or a seasonal ornament. Keep him out of the box and make the choice to drop your blanket and worship him daily. 

    Melinda Brown is a mother, co-pastor, entrepreneur, and now she can add author to her ever growing list of gifts. She and her husband, Jason, pastor Columbus Community Church in South East Texas and now, Melinda has agreed to come on board as one of our newest authors on the STXWM Blog Team. Her heart is to share the love of Jesus through her writing and to tell the world of the healing and comfort that can be found in a relationship with the Lord.

  • Christmas Cookies & Holiday Hearts

    Photo by Jonathan Meyer on Pexels.com

    I come from a family of singers. None of us are professionals, although my dad and my brother might have been able to make a living in front of a microphone, but we have the innate ability to connect almost any word or phrase to a song or make one up on the spot. Growing up any occasion was the perfect occasion to sing. Loudly.


    My life was a near-constant narration through song. My parents would bust through my door in the morning with a rousing chorus of “Wake up wake up! You little sleepy head. Get your little buns into gear!” Trying to get all five of us out the door sounded like a cacophony of shoes stomping and jackets zipping and a sing song reminder to “Lock the doors and turn the lights
    down low.” Bedtime never disappointed either. Many nights, my dad would sing, “Goodnight, sweetheart, now it’s time to go,” and then he would say, “To bed, silly head!” And kiss and tickle me until I was too exhausted to protest.


    If our everyday life was surrounded by song, holidays were like the Olympics! My mom would play Brenda Lee Christmas classics in the kitchen and the tunes and lyrics would infectiously fill every room and mind until we were all singing some variation of a Christmas song. When I was a little kid, my brother was particularly excited about “Jingle Bells Batman Smells Robin Laid an Egg,” much to the chagrin of my parents.

    I don’t know if she made it up or when it began to be sung in our home, but my favorite song came from my mom. It was about Christmas cookies and holiday hearts and a little child begging mommy to make more. All five of us would sing it together in varying keys and abilities while we made our family’s version of Christmas cookies: Ritz crackers stuck together with
    peanut butter then dipped in melted chocolate and lovingly drowned in sprinkles.


    “Christmas cookies and holiday hearts, that’s the way a holiday starts.” My mom would diligently melt bricks of chocolate while my dad laid out yards of wax paper to hold our mountains of cookies.” Mommy, mommy make a little more all the children say.” My sister and I would glue crackers together with peanut butter while my brother dipped them in chocolate. “Mommy
    mommy make a little more. Soon its Christmas day. Hey!” We would spill sprinkles and drizzle chocolate and crunch on cookies until the table overflowed. “Goody goody yum yum. Goody goody yum yum. Goody goody yum yum YUM!”

    We would sing and make cookies for what felt like entire days and I worried there would be a peanut butter shortage! My sister’s cookies always looked the most beautiful because she was so creative and patient. Mine would crack under the pressure of too much peanut butter and an unhealthy amount of sprinkles while my brother would eat more than he made. Our parents would sneak kisses between making cookies, and we would beg to hear their stories of Christmas past.


    As a mother now myself I can appreciate the love and intentionality my own parents put into creating such sweet moments. Did they know they were creating core memories? Did they know that Ritz crackers, peanut butter, and chocolate would create a legacy of love and laughter? Probably not, but they did know that time spent together in love has everlasting effects. When we operate in love, we are conduits for God’s love to enter the world and transform not only those around us, but ourselves as well. 1 John 4:16 says, “God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God.” Verse 19 continues with, “We love because He first loved us.”

    The Christmas season can be full of wonder, awe, and joy. It can also be full of fear, sorrow, and grief. As sisters in Christ let us choose love. Live, abide, dwell in love, and allow it to change you from the inside out. Then take that love and sow it. Sow it into your spouse, your kids, or your extended family. Sow it into the grouchy coworker, the overworked retail employee,
    and the underpaid food service worker. Sow love without thinking about what you get in return.


    How do you sow love? Well, it could be Christmas cookies and holiday hearts, but Paul shares a more holistic view in his letter to the church in Corinth.

    “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” 1Corinthians 13:4-7


    My first Christmas while serving abroad was in a country with less than a 3% population of professing Christians. We had been there six months and I was struggling with deep culture shock, immense homesickness, and infertility. A family we worked with invited us over to their home for dinner a few days before Christmas, and when we arrived, they had purchased
    everything to make my family’s Christmas cookies. I wept in graciousness and joy, and together, we shared in the tradition of making cookies, telling stories, and singing songs. A simple tradition sowed in love decades before reaped precious benefits years later not only for myself but for those that chose to love and bring a bit of home to me.


    Fast forward to this year. Christmas music is playing, my husband is laying out wax paper for chocolate-dipped cookies, and my toddlers are eagerly smearing peanut butter onto Ritz crackers while I teach them a song about children begging their mommy for Christmas cookies and holiday hearts. More sprinkles are spilled than used, a batch (or two) of chocolate has been
    burned, and there are a few tears shed at those who are no longer with us. Sorrow and joy can simultaneously fill a space. This season of Christmas, abide in love and allow King Jesus to sow and reap through your surrendered heart. And maybe lift your voice to a song or two as well.


    Lord, I pray that we can lay aside all that the world says is important and worship you. Let us adore you in the mundane and the exciting. I pray for all the women reading this today and ask that you would meet us all where we are and lovingly take our hands and lead us along side you. Give us your eyes for the world around us, Your heart for our neighbors, and a peace
    everlasting. In King Jesus’ name. Amen.

    MaKenzie V. is a global worker who has faithfully been serving the unreached in the Arab World while growing her family. Almost every moment of the day is spent chasing Jesus and her toddlers- usually with a cup of hot tea or coffee in hand. She enjoys learning languages, deep belly laughs, and connecting with others where God has them.

About STX Women

We are the Women’s Ministries branch of the South Texas Assemblies of God.

Women across South Texas desire a community where we celebrate each other and share each other’s burdens.

Together, we walk out our God-given purpose in our family, church, and community!

Our passion and love for Christ unite us to reach the lost at home and across the world. 

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