Truth: we [Michelle + Somer] rarely feel "qualified" to talk about anxiety. And not just because it seems to be everywhere, but because there seems to be so much disagreement, even among Christians, about where it comes from + how to deal with it. That's why we were so grateful to have Jess Hatton (mental health counselor, seminary grad, mom of three and long-time swHw member) share in class this week, and after some staggering statistics, she addressed the three lies the world tell us about anxiety: LIE # 1: Anxiety is purely a spiritual issue/anxiety is purely a mental/emotional issue. The truth is: it's both. There are real physiological and practical tools (which Jess also shared!) that can help us overcome our emotions, and we also have an enemy who can manipulate our emotions as a form of spiritual warfare. So it's okay to need to get help, and it's definitely okay to pray about your anxiousness too. But you don't have to choose one or the other to be handling it "seriously." Both are needed. LIE # 2: Uncomfortable emotions are bad and should be avoided [...]

When we begin brainstorming how to set godly goals, the typical list of life areas we desire to cover goes something like this: And before we even start getting specific, we've made the most common mistake already... ...because we trick ourselves into believing we are setting godly goals simply by making sure our faith is included. Here's the problem: Faith was never meant to merely be an addition to our lives. Faith should be our foundation. Instead of faith being simply another line item on our list, it should be the underlying motivation for every category that we deem to be goal-worthy. Let's take finances as an example. Here are the most common financial goals: And while there's certainly nothing wrong or evil about anything on the above list, if we attempt to summarize them, every goal listed boils down to wants and wealth. To be clear: Nowhere in the Bible does it say that you're automatically evil if you accumulate money and stuff. But over and over again, Scripture does warn of the danger in pursuing money and stuff. It also offers more direction than merely advice to [...]