Discernment is often a battlefield—we throw grenades of insults, snide remarks, and sarcastic comments. When dealing with true false teachers, we should separate ourselves. But what about a fellow believer who perhaps misspoke or is still learning how to teach and share about their faith?

We’re exhorted to seek solitude, journal towards holiness, go on nature walks to connect with God, and take extended periods of silence to listen and clear our minds. Do all these practices and more, they say, to grow closer to God and be holy. Dear reader, do all these checklist items miss the theological and even practical mark that the Bible lays out for us?

Discipleship doesn’t only take place in quiet rooms with books, Bibles, and coffee—it also takes place in the bustling homes of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

We often struggle in our relationships with believers we disagree with. What if it’s because we’re hanging on so tightly to our disagreements that we are unwilling to find a peaceful place to stand together? How do we learn to stand on the peaceful grounds of the gospel together despite our differences?

I often bristle at corrections from fellow believers who point out point out my faults, failures, or sins. My natural tendency (and probably yours too) is to be defensive. However, this doesn’t need to be our only reaction. God’s Word shows us another way.

Just as the Old Testament saints and the Early Church had to watch closely for false teachers among them, so we still do today. We can’t rely on our pastors, mentors, teachers, or favorite bloggers to tell us who is false and who isn’t. We need to be equipped to discern for ourselves. Here’s how.

Though I haven’t done anything physically that might rend a person’s heart-strings, what if I’ve spoken words that have? Do I ever give heart-string rending counsel? To bind up a broken heart, we often give counsel that sounds good but is devoid of the gospel. How do we change that?

About 15-25% of recognized pregnancies will end in a miscarriage. If you don’t already know someone who has miscarried, chances are you will meet someone. To those who have not experienced a miscarriage, you can feel helpless watching those you love experience one. How do we help? How do we encourage them in this unique pain?

We know the call of Titus 2—to teach the younger women “to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, [and] kind.” But how do we do that? How do we do this in a caring way? How do we become mentors like the ones who have discipled us?

My ideal of discipleship involved weekly meetings, formal Bible studies, answers to hard questions, and in-depth counseling. But this wasn’t what God provided at the time. Rather, God provided me with something much less intentional, but no less formative—a family who showed us hospitality.

Dear Seasoned Woman, the truth is I actually don’t know it all. I can gain some knowledge through Bible study and reading solid books, but there is a special kind of wisdom that comes with experience that I can never fake.