Category: Culture
What is Healthy Faith vs. Spiritual Bypassing?
Events in the world have been hard. And, when things get hard, our faith gets tested. So, what does healthy faith look like when it feels like the world is falling apart?…
Continue readingWords Can Hurt: 8 Ways We Wound Others
2020 will be known for many things. But it won’t be remembered as the Year of Thoughtful Words. Careful and kind communication seem rare these days. In the culture, media, and the church,…
Continue readingSnapping Turtles
I hope you had a refreshing weekend. I did, though I found myself spending a lot of time thinking about Chelydra serpentina, the common snapping turtle, which is found throughout the ponds…
Continue readingThe Potential Perils of Self (ie)-Esteem
The hunt for self-esteem is everywhere. Advice on how to achieve it can be found in parenting articles, business coaching, and the self-help section of every bookstore. According to the Harvard Business Review: Self-esteem…
Continue readingAdvent: A Hopeful Story
What’s on your Christmas wish list this year? Is there one item in particular that you’re hoping to receive? (Rule out the fact that, as an adult, you could probably acquire this…
Continue readingA Dozen Pre-Thanksgiving Hacks (2020 Edition)
A Dozen Pre-Thanksgiving Hacks (2020 Edition) 1) Make everyone stay at the table for a full hour. Set a timer. No one leaves. No one. And not a bit of dessert or a…
Continue readingPut Not Your Trust in Princes
When injustice assaultsagainwhen image-bearers dieagainwhen grieving mothers mournagainwhen communities lamentagainwhen eyes are closedagainwhen backs are turnedagainwhen right takes a hitagainwhen business as usual returnsagainwhen accountability is questionedagainwhen narratives are twistedagainwhen anger risesagainwhen…
Continue readingStepping Away From Un-Christian Politics
Stepping Away From Un-Christian Politics If you’re on social media or are watching the news for more than twelve seconds, you’re sure to spot some sort of rant about a political figure.…
Continue readingFaith in Turmoil and Tumult
Over the last few months, we all have seen the memes about 2020. My favorite: “If 2020 were a piñata” superimposed over a picture of a huge paper wasp nest. I love…
Continue readingInternet Outrage, Public Shaming, and the Modern-Day Pharisee Phenomenon
New York Times writer Tim Kreider coined the term, “Outrage Porn,” to describe what he sees as our culture’s insatiable search for things to be offended by. Based on hundreds of comments and…
Continue reading