Formats Archives: Aside

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“Courageous” or Controlling? Leadership vs. Dominance in Christian Homes

On Friday, September 30th, “Courageous” will be released in theaters throughout the United States. On Saturday, Oct. 1, I will be meeting with a group of women and men to tackle the epidemic of domestic violence in Christian homes. I can’t help but feel it’s ironic, and honestly, I’m a little dubious about the movie. “Courageous,” a movie […]

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Are Disabilities a Result of Sin? Special Needs, Fallen Nature, and Mommy-Grief

I recently discovered Amy Julia Becker, whose new book, “A Good and Perfect Gift”, is described as “a spiritual memoir that chronicles Amy Julia Becker’s journey through her daughter Penny’s first years of life. Top of her class at Princeton, Amy Julia Becker always imagined that her children would turn out just like her. So when her […]

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Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream

I hate it when inspiration fizzles. Yesterday, I had a brilliant (if I do say so myself) blog post about the cost of discipleship burning burning a hole in my psyche, but couldn’t find the time to type it out. Today, I tried to write it up, but it just. Wasn’t. Happening. I HATE it […]

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Is It Controversial That I’m Not Down With Killing People?

Less than an hour ago, Georgia executed Troy Davis, even though 7 out of the 9 eyewitnesses recanted or changed their testimony regarding his guilt. Amnesty International, which has been protesting the case vehemently, was so overwhelmed with traffic that their site went down. The petition they posted on Facebook was unsignable as well–I know, I […]

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Why Christians Lie

This morning, as I was continuing my purge of my tiny office, I came across a dusty magazine that someone had passed on to me a couple years back. I was about to toss it in the trash can, when I noticed a prominent Christian leader’s name on the cover, beneath a headline that peaked […]

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Controversy, Bible Bullets, and Godly Conversations

Quick: what’s your opinion on gender roles? The debt ceiling? Gay marriage? Michelle Bachmann? 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 […]

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Famine, God’s Glory, and a Bigger Prayer

“Why can we trust God, no matter what happens?” I’m reading The God of Promise and the Life of Faith by Scott J. Hafemann for my biblical theology class, and that question is the title of one of his chapters. (The next couple chapters are “Why does God wait so long to make things right?” […]

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Don Miller’s New and Improved Love Story

Since I posted about Don Miller’s “How to Write a Great Love Story” a couple days ago, I thought I should mention that he has taken the posts down. Here’s his explanation of why he removed them, and an apology to anyone his words might have hurt. THAT is a great love story–conversation and careful […]

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Don Miller, Love Stories, and Why I Married Aaron

About a week ago, Don Miller wrote two posts entitled “How to Live a Great Love Story.” Part One is for the ladies, Part Two is for the guys. Some people loved them, some people hated them, and I think almost everyone was surprised to hear these startlingly traditional narratives coming out of Don Miller’s mouth.  I thought his […]

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

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 until I left for college. It was beautiful, with a puffy, padded frame covered in peach calico and rimmed with lace. Inside, my name and […]

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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, […]

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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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What is Idolatry?

From one of my textbooks, “The God of Promise and the Life of Faith” by Scott J. Hafemann: “…In other words, idolatry is the futile way of thinking that results from mankind’s failure to honor the One who has revealed himself through creation ‘as God.’ To honor something ‘as God’ is to recognize it as […]

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Getting Schooled: It’s NOT All About Us

Figuring out how to balance going back to school with a job and 4 kids has not been easy. Sometimes I’m tempted to whine, about the expense, the time it takes, and whether or not furthering my education will actually improve my prospects. But then I see videos like this, and remember what a privilege it […]

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Making Church Safe for Victims of Domestic Violence

A couple months ago, I wrote an article for The Covenant Companion about AVA (Advocates for Victims of Abuse), and the epidemic of domestic violence within the church. Writing this article broke my heart, and made me determined to do something about making churches a safe place for people who are or have been victims […]

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