Archive: Author: JRedmerskiTacu

Honoring God in Everything We Do – Transforming Daily Tasks into Worship

Posted on by JRedmerskiTacu

Have you ever heard someone say, “We should honor God in everything we do”? Did the comment discourage or even offend you? Maybe you came back with questions like: “How am I supposed to do that working in a hotel cleaning toilets six days a week?” Or, you said something along the lines: “There’s no way that anybody, even the most devout Christian, can honor God in everything they do.” I’ve said these things myself, not even really that long ago.

Then, I proceeded to think of all the ways, circumstances, and situations a person might be in that would not allow them to stop and honor God because, let’s face it, we have lives to live, right? When we’re knee-deep in debt and forced to work two jobs just to pay the bills, we don’t have time to spend worshiping God, reading the Bible, going to church, and all that stuff. When we’re living in this world—because we’re a part of it and we have no choice…

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Faith & Good Works – A Dangerous Misunderstanding

Posted on by JRedmerskiTacu

In my later Protestant days (because in the earlier days, I just wore the Baptist badge and really had no idea what it meant to be a Christian), I thought that “good works” meant you go out and do all the good things, the Christian things: feed and clothe the poor, house the homeless, etc. Like many Protestants I knew, I was led to believe that salvation could be achieved by simply (keep in mind that word “simply”) declaring my love for and belief in Jesus Christ, Who died on the cross for the sins of the world and rose three days later. That was it. Simple as that. I heard from this pastor, that online Protestant influencer, and other high-profile televangelists that it was that simple. I learned all about how Catholics and Orthodox Christians have it wrong because they believe that, in addition to faith in Christ, those good works I mentioned were also necessary for salvation.

The Protestant argument is typically, “So, Christ’s blood shed on the cross isn’t enough?” Well, yes, it’s enough, but it’s still not that simple...

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What Is Your Purpose? – Discovering and Using Your God-Given Talents

Posted on by JRedmerskiTacu

As a Christian, you will eventually ask yourself one or more of three questions:

  1. What is my purpose in God’s plan, and how do I find it?
  2. I think I know my purpose, but how do I start working toward it?
  3. Nothing seems to be changing; how do I know if I’m on the right track?

Today, I want to answer these questions to help you:

  • recognize the skills and talents God blessed you with to use for your purpose
  • find out what your skills and talents might be if you don’t already know
  • explore ways you can put your abilities into action
  • discern whether you’re on God’s track or your own
  • and make sure you don’t lose yourself in your purpose and diminish your relationship with God

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When We Were Pretty – Seeing Ourselves As God Does

Posted on by JRedmerskiTacu

Growing up, I can’t recall when I was ever content with how I looked. I didn’t like myself as a teenager and thought I was ugly because guys weren’t much interested in me. I had features that weren’t considered attractive in the 80s and 90s: freckles, a plethora of pimples and blackheads, and paper-white skin that wouldn’t tan—I never wore shorts or a bathing suit. Then, in my twenties, I looked back on photos of myself in my teens, and I thought, “How could I have not loved myself because I’d do anything to look like that now.”

This thought became repetitive throughout my life. Even in my twenties, with that realization, while looking back on my teens, I was still never happy with myself. I remember one ex-boyfriend told people he thought I had ugly feet, and I was self-conscious about my feet throughout young adulthood—I never wore flip-flips or open-toed anything. I was also in an abusive relationship with a man who often told me I was ugly, among much more vulgar words and phrases he used to describe me that I will not repeat here…

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Understanding God – A Mandatory Ingredient for Faith

Posted on by JRedmerskiTacu

“How can I attain complete knowledge and understanding of God so that I can believe in Him?”

You can’t. But you can learn more than enough to strengthen your belief in Him.

If you’re anything like I used to be and you have a hard time understanding God, then this message is for you. Hopefully. It took me a long time to understand certain aspects of God that should’ve been easier than they were, so my explanation might be just as confusing as all the articles I’d read on my quest for clarity…

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Success Murdered My Muse | God Revived Her – Chasing Validation & Losing Yourself

Posted on by JRedmerskiTacu

Before I ever hit a bestseller list, before I ever landed an agent, signed a contract, or saw my books in stores, I was simply a writer who loved writing. I wrote because I had to; because it was part of me. I wrote because it made me happy; it made me feel alive. In the early days, no one read anything I’d written because I didn’t show anyone. That was the beauty of it—I wrote for myself and not for anyone else. But later, a demon crawled inside my ear and whispered sweet stories about validation and recognition. It told me I wanted more, needed more, and I believed it…

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Toxic Feminism & the Roles Of Women – How Feminism Redefined Femininity

Posted on by JRedmerskiTacu

If you read last week’s article, “Christian Imposter Syndrome,” I briefly discussed women’s roles in God’s eyes, society, and as wives and homemakers, and I had to leave you hanging. You don’t have to wait any longer because I will talk about it today.

If I recall, last week I left off with, “For many, it’s unconventional for a Christian woman to be outspoken or to have an opinion separate from her husband; it’s not godly or feminine for a Christian woman to do anything outside of caring for her children and her household. But that’s not true.”

Of course, not all Christians believe this about women. Most know that although women were primarily created to be mothers, caregivers, and helpmates to their husbands, they were also designed to minister to other women and the youth. Many were never meant to bear children but to bear witness instead. Their purpose and role are no less important and vital in advancing God’s kingdom than any man’s…

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Christian Imposter Syndrome – When Feeling Inadequate & Unqualified

Posted on by JRedmerskiTacu

For so long, I believed I had to be as knowledgeable as the Christian authors whose books I’d read or as well-versed in the Bible as the pastors whose sermons I’d listened to. I thought that if I wanted to write a book or start a YouTube channel about my personal experiences with God and prayer and church and faith, I had to know all the right Bible passages to quote on a whim, all the character stories in the Bible whose lives fit that of my own experiences. I thought I had to know the answers to all the most challenging questions that unbelievers typically ask (“If God created the universe, then who created God?” and “How do you explain dinosaurs?”). I felt like I had to instantly believe all the same things that other Christians believe without questions, doubts, differing opinions, or interpretations.

But that’s not true…

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Growing Older or Growing Up? – It’s In Our Nature To Rebel

Posted on by JRedmerskiTacu

It’s in our nature to rebel.

The first act of rebellion is the most famous in history: Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Because of the first sin, every person ever born or will ever be born into this world will do so with a rebellious, sinful heart.

…defy the rules. If we don’t like a rule or if it contradicts, conflicts, or condemns the way we think or live, we either refuse to follow it or twist it to fit the mold of our lives. Even Christians, especially of many Protestant denominations, twist the Bible to suit their beliefs.

…go against our mothers & fathers. Like defying rules, rebellious children and teenagers go against their parents because they don’t get their way. They disregard the wisdom of their parents, the knowledge and know-how gained through personal life experiences; they want what they want and don’t care about consequences or reason. As adults, we are no different. Except that, sometimes, we are far worse than children…

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How Society Enslaves Us – Believing the Enemy’s Lies

Posted on by JRedmerskiTacu

We’ve been lied to all our lives.

Society makes us believe we never have enough. We want a nicer car, the newest cell phone, the most extravagant wedding dress, the biggest house, and the best of everything. Society makes us believe that what we already have is dated and has lost appeal, so we constantly replace perfectly good things—even people!

Society makes us envy and admire everyone around us and makes us dissatisfied with ourselves. We put on so much makeup we might as well be wearing masks; we get plastic surgery and lip fillers; we permanently disfigure our bodies with tattoos, elaborate piercings, and even gender surgery.

Society makes us obsess over people we cannot be with, people we cannot be, things we cannot have, and lifestyles we cannot live…

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