Formats Archives: Aside

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I Want to Go To Jail: Guest Post by Natasha Robinson

Today’s guest post is from my friend and fellow Redbud Natasha Robinson, a former marine, current seminary student, and all around incredible human being who is passionate about Jesus and people. Natasha has committed to doing David Platt’s Radical Experiment for the year, and has invited us to tag along for the ride. Enjoy! Thanks […]

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Friday Favorites: Hip-Hop, Hamartia, and Heroic Grandmas

My friend and fellow Redbud Connie Jakab is a dynamo, approximately five feet of raw, passionate energy that she channels toward combating poverty, creating “culture rebels,” and choreographing some great hip-hop shows. If you follow me on Facebook you’ve probably read (and liked!) her stuff. But just in case you’ve missed out on the awesomeness […]

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The Princess (Syndrome) Must Die: On Poisoning Schoolgirls’ Bodies and Minds

This article makes me so mad I could spit. For the third time in two weeks, the Taliban has been accused of poisoning little girls, spraying down their schoolrooms with toxic chemicals to discourage the education of women. This time, 160 girls were admitted to the hospital after experiencing headaches, dizziness and vomiting. As horrible […]

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Controversy, Bible Bullets, and Godly Conversation (repost)

Quick: what’s your opinion on gender roles? The debt ceiling? Gay marriage? Politics? War? Predestination? Before you blurt it out–stop. Just stop. Think for a moment about the words that are about to leave your mouth. Are they kind? Thoughtful? Honoring to God? Think about the person who is asking you the question; their background, […]

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Pharisees, Forbidden Fruit, and Failing the Litmus Test of Faith

I find Eve’s conversation with the serpent fascinating. Horrifying, but fascinating. So many human doubts and insecurities summed up in a few devastating sentences. Today it was Genesis 3:4 that caught my attention. The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must […]

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Hustler’s Explicit Image of S.E. Cupp is Virtual Rape

It takes a lot to piss me off. But Larry Flynt has managed. Pundit-phobe that I am, I had never heard of S.E. Cupp until I was confronted with a picture of the pretty young conservative commentator with a penis in her mouth. Apparently Hustler magazine created the cleverly photoshopped image and published it with […]

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Walk With Me: Lessons Learned While Stranded in O’Hare Airport

Right now I’m sitting on a bed at the La Quinta O’Hare, foot propped up on a puffy white pillow, a small trash bag filled with ice from the vending area draped over my swollen, sprained ankle. It all started last night as I was (attempting to) catch my 10 p.m. flight home from a […]

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“You Are More Than…” Best Mother’s Day Sermon EVER!

Edited to add: Due to popular demand, I’ve put together a short read about Mother’s Day for women who need a little solace, and pastors who need a little help. Check it out here, or by clicking on the cover to the right. Mother’s Day sermons are notoriously awful. Sentimental tripe that leaves some women […]

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The Proverbs 31 Woman, Theology, and Me, Part 3

In Part 1, I talked about my early understandings (and misunderstandings) of the Proverbs 31 Woman. In Part 2, I shared some of the things I have learned about the theology underlying Proverbs 31. And in Part 3, I’m going to make my point (I promise). First of all, to wrap up my previous posts, I think […]

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The Proverbs 31 Woman, Theology, and Me, Part 2

In Part 1 of this post, I talked about my early thoughts about the Proverbs 31 Woman: from my childhood perception of her as a wise, kind instructor that I should emulate, to the law-ridden measuring stick of Christian womanhood that I could never live up to (and was regularly hit over the head with). […]

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The Proverbs 31 Woman, Theology, and Me, Part 1

It’s going to be a busy week around here, so I’ll be reposting a three-part series I wrote last summer, on my old blog. Enjoy! I’ve had an ambiguous relationship with the Proverbs 31 Woman over the years. When I was a baby, my Auntie Lynn gave me a plaque that hung in my room […]

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Happy Mother’s Day to EVERYONE!

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast, and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!” – God, Isaiah 49:15 Here’s to a God who loves us even better than a mommy, weeds and all!  

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Tylenol Christianity: Offering Hope and Healing, Instead of Easy Answers and Trite Advice

Sometimes, I feel like the church has a hard time lingering in places of pain. Abuse. Homosexuality. Bullying. Singleness. Disability. Abortion. Illness.  Addiction. Grief. We tend to skim right over these topics, offering quick, carefully-crafted statements about our stance on the issue. It winds up feeling more like a presidential candidate’s stump speech than a […]

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Friday Favorites, 5/11/2012

A collection of some of my favorite reads of the week: “In Which I’m No Angry Feminist” by Sarah Bessey. This post made me cry. When it comes to advocating for women, I’d say there are three primary motivators–intellectual integrity,  justice, and empathy. My swollen, weeping mommy-heart squeezes into the folding chair next to Sarah […]

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We Are the Pharisees

Pharisees get a bad rap. I know, I know–there’s that whole “brood of vipers,” “conspiring to kill Jesus” thing. Not their brightest moments. But did you know that several of Jesus’ followers, and many, many members of the early church, were Pharisees? At the crucifixion, all but one of Jesus’ male disciples ran off–it was […]

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