by Shannon Popkin | Mar 2, 2023 | Change, Deception, Gender and Sexuality, Humility, Pain, Perfectionism, Podcast 4, Rescue, Salvation, Sin, Teens
As a thirteen-year-old, Jessica innocently stumbled upon the world of pornography. She was lonely, and the porn chat rooms offered love and acceptance. And yet—similar to the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, pornography was not the harmless fruit Jessica...
by Shannon Popkin | Feb 18, 2019 | Love, Mistakes, Pain, Parenting, Problems
This post first appeared on, where I serve as one of the bloggers. I braced myself as I walked in the door. I knew it would be dark, so dark that I’d have to squint to read the faded gray numbers on the price tags. And I knew it would be loud, so loud that I’d have...
by Shannon Popkin | Jul 26, 2016 | Hardship, Pain, Suffering
By Shannon Popkin, Taken from the True Woman blog. Hello, Trouble. We were expecting you. Come right in and make yourself at home. Will you be staying awhile? We thought so. We’ve heard a lot about you. We’ve seen you visit our friends’ homes. To be...
by Shannon Popkin | Jan 17, 2014 | Faith, Fear, Gifts, Humility, Kids' Perspective, Pain, Parenting, seasons, Teens
As a mom, one of the most painful things in life is to see my kids struggle through something that is humiliating. I alternate between wanting to fix my child and eradicate the struggle, and wanting to pummel anyone who would dare to snicker or poke fun at...
by Shannon Popkin | Mar 23, 2013 | Compassion, Pain, Parenting
Once when I was cooking dinner, two-year-old Cade bumped his head on the cupboard, and started to whimper. I was in the middle of adding meat to a pan, so I glanced down to see if he was OK, then looked back to the stove. Lindsay did the same thing, glancing...
by Shannon Popkin | Mar 19, 2013 | Christian Growth, Friendship, Pain, seasons
As a young mom, I was in a small group ladies’ Bible study. One day I shared a concern about my little boy. I was discouraged and fearful about some patterns I saw forming in him, and I just wanted my sisters to pray for me.But these ladies wanted to advise more...