The story of Brock Turner has rape culture on everyone’s minds this week–but that story is just one of many, reminding us that sexual assault is a chronic, destructive reality for women in this country. We can’t stop talking about it once this latest instance cycles out of the trending newsfeed. I’m so grateful to my friend and colleague Robyn Bles for bravely sharing her story. “What were you thinking running in that bad neighborhood?” The police officer asked me. I blinked. What... Read more
Such a heartbreaking story. Such a gifted young man, with a promising future. Sadly, he was brought down by a loose woman who drank too much and didn’t know how to keep herself from getting raped while she was unconscious. It’s a shame. Such a shame. You could read the article in the Washington Post that everyone’s talking about this morning, but I’ll save you the trouble. That’s pretty much the gist of it right there. As if you couldn’t... Read more
I know nothing about boxing. Except that it’s a dang sight more artful and athletic than that UFC business that is all the rage these days. Still, I feel a certain kinship with Muhammad Ali. He was a Kentuckian. Furthermore, he was a Kentuckian who wound up living in Phoenix. Not for nothing, but Kentuckians living in Arizona is a pretty small club. And since I feel profoundly connected to both of those little points on the map, I kind of feel... Read more
I thought we’d be done talking about the gorilla by now. Clearly, we are still talking about the gorilla. Last weekend, a young child got into a wild animal enclosure at the Cincinnati zoo. The gorilla picked the child up and began carrying him around like a Cabbage Patch doll, much to the horror of his parents and other onlookers. While he was not seriously injured, zoo officials decided that the only way to ensure the child’s safety was to... Read more
We are not theme park people. We are National Park people. We are beach people. We are long-roadtrip-to-visit-friends people. We are mountain people. But we are not Mouse people, Princess people, or long line people. So it’s a mystery to me, why I was recently overcome with the overwhelming urge to take my kids to Disneyland. I think I felt some magic window closing… I know that older kids can still get excited, and still have a great time. But... Read more
Guest post: by Rev. Russ Boyd I’m a parent of a kindergartner in the Fort Worth school district (and of three kids who are headed for our local elementary school in the coming years). I’m also a pastor who primarily works with middle and high school youth in a Fort Worth congregation. So there are many reasons I have a keen interest in the controversy surrounding my school district’s guidelines related to transgender students. I have lived in Fort Worth for nearly nine... Read more
Guest Post: by Tiffany Flaming I have $10 in my pocket. It might as well be $1,000,000. I have that much of a clue as to what to do with it. It doesn’t seem like a lot of money but it is heavy with meaning and generosity I’ve had a rough, well, let’s say year and a few months. I’ve been quiet over here because I am more of an internal processor when life goes south and in many ways... Read more
1 O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger. 3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; 4 what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals[a] that you care for them? 5 Yet... Read more
Airport people watching is one of my favorite activities. In general, airports make me anxious. The crowds; the frenetic sense of urgency as people rush around; the smell of other people’s (way too much) perfume or cologne; the bottled water that costs $800; business bros talking loudly into ear pieces so that we will know they are Very Important; constant reminders to guard your stuff, people, terrorists are everywhere!; the thousand ways my day and trip could be derailed by a... Read more
Guest post: My friend and colleague Rev. Laura Ann Phillips shares a good word from the Festival of Homiletics, happening in Atlanta this week. It feels like I have been “going” non-stop since October 2014, and if I’m completely honest, it’s exhausting. I’ve been reading articles about gluten intolerance and insulin resistance wondering if that’s what is wrong with me. Maybe what I’m eating is making me tired? I’ve been trying to figure out how to get more protein in... Read more
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