What makes a good friend? Harry Nilsson liked his best friend so much he wrote a song about him.

“People let me tell you ’bout him he’s so much fun.”

Fun. Is that the mark of a good and godly friend? There’s a new trend on Pinterest among today’s youth. Perfectly posed pictures of “friends” laughing and seemingly having a fantastic time are pinned to the walls of countless teen girls. These photos teach them to believe the main mark of a good friend is how fun they are. Friendship envy has always been a problem among women but I think these pictures create an even deeper desire to have the “perfect” friendship. Adult women aren’t immune to the deception either. Many times, pictures of this sort cause us to focus on the surface qualities of a friend. Do they make us laugh? Do they dress well? Do we have the same interests?…

“Well actually, we’re waiting until our wedding night.”

“Are you serious?!” My coworker looked at me in shock and confusion. I was ready for this sort of response, having spent most of my life living as a woman of the world rather than a woman of the Word. “I know it seems crazy. I used to think it was but then I became a Christian.” “So, you weren’t always a Christian?” I continued the conversation, sharing how I lived a life of utter promiscuity until God saved me.

Ruth or Gomer?

Like my coworker, I previously believed I could never live a life of purity. It’s a bizarre thought to the mind which has yet to be renewed by Christ. Back then, I could have been named among Gomer and the adulterous woman. (Hosea 1:2-3; John 8:3-11) I was a slave to sin who lacked the desire for freedom. My body and heart were not places of purity, but rather, tools to get what I wanted; to feel loved—even for just a moment.…

I’ve never been a “birth story” kinda gal. Only a couple times have I found myself reading one. In fact, birth stories made me anxious. They caused me to fear the discomfort and pain that accompany ushering a child into the world.

Then, as I walked through loss after loss, birth stories reminded me of delivering the three babies I desperately longed to meet but never got to. They made me long for a different story than the one God had ordained for my life—one where babies don’t die in utero and mamas don’t have to live with an ache so deep. So I began to avoid birth stories in an effort to keep my mind fixed on Jesus and content with the lot he had given me.

Honestly, I find it weird that I’m sitting on my couch, staring at my computer and writing this today. But as I ponder what took place just a few weeks ago, I’m left in awe of God.…

This article originally was published on Whole Magazine.

In the quiet of night and the darkness of dusk, it calls out for you. It lures you in with its whispers as it begs to be pondered. The saying is true that “sin crouches at the door,” offering sweet lies but seeking to devour you (Genesis 4:7).

I don’t know your reason for tuning in. Maybe it’s curiosity. Maybe it promises satisfaction to your sexual appetite. It could be a way to find out what men seem to desire in a woman. Whatever your reason is, it’s not a good one. There are no good or logical reasons to watch porn. Anything seemingly pleasing it offers you is permeated with deceit.

Don’t be deceived, it will indeed take you down and destroy you.

Porn Will Kill Your Conscience

Did you know, every time we look at sex on a screen, our conscience dims a bit more?…

Clearly, I’m not the first person to address the viral article “Men Prefer Debt-Free Virgins Without Tattoos.” And I won’t be the last, I’m sure. My purpose in writing this article is not to top any of the other rebuttals or to fully break down the ridiculous statements Mrs Alexander has made. I could write many words exposing how she has elevated marriage to be the highest goal for a woman, completely disregarding single women. I could spend a whole blog post on her comment about the need for our husbands to explain the Bible to us, as if women don’t have the capacity to understand deep theology. And I could thoroughly address her twisted view of complementarianism, her legalism and how she darkens the beauty of the gospel with it.

But I want to focus in on something I’ve found missing in the conversation: Godly men aren’t looking for tattoo-less, debt-free virgins.…

When I was 23, I was working a part time job, when one day on my break a fire inside my heart was kindled. I wanted to encourage my friends and fellow church ladies. I was well aware that each of us were walking different roads, and many of the women on my text list were much wiser, but I knew we all could benefit from reading scripture. Thus, I began my search for nuggets of truth in my quiet time to send off to be refined by God in the hearts of whomever he chose. To me, it was nothing more than sharing my heart with the women who were dearest to me.

One day, a friend wrote back, “Brittany, have you ever thought about becoming a writer?” I thought to myself, “Ha! I’m terrible at writing!”

Flash forward a couple years. I was studying Romans, and my heart burned to share the amazing things God was showing me.…