Today millions of people are wearing (or facebook posting) purple, in support of GLAAD’S “Stand up Against Bullying” effort. More and more folks are getting on the ‘stand up to meanies’ of band wagons these days. Since the evolution of the Trevor Project, more non-profits, celebrities, schools and entire communities are committed to this same message: stop being mean, meanies. And, if you are NOT a meanie, learn how to, you know, say stop. Thing is, gone are the days... Read more
I’m back! A big thanks to all the wonderful guest bloggers who filled this space with fresh insight, wit and wisdom while I was in transition. I’m settling in to my new office and getting to know my new church folks, and learning what God looks like on the prairie. And I want to tell you all about all of that, but there’s another big event this week that’s on my mind and heart, and if it’s not on yours,... Read more
Guest Post by the Rev. Courtney Richards When looking for a concise, well-researched, thoughtfully cultivated, reviewed, evaluated, and measuredly logical source of information, one can do no better than Wikipedia. (One can do far better than Wikipedia.) As a recently connected but quickly enthralled reader of Erin’s work (and drawn to common orbit along a remarkably strong ‘friend of’ force field), I was … beyond ‘flattered,’ really; what’s the word for about six levels past that? … when she asked... Read more
Guest Post by Kent Somers We sportswriters gather around our subject, recording devices held at the end of out-stretched arms, waiting for an explanation, an observation, a quote — anything that will entice people to read the other 700 or so words in our stories. And sometimes this, or something like it, comes. “I’d like to thank God for putting me in position to make that touchdown/tackle/winning shot.” Or maybe, “we have to accept that this loss/injury/disappointment as part of... Read more
Guest Post by the Rev. Brandon Gilvin “The Christian life is a continual process of death and resurrection … When I trip over something I think I know … or God disrupts what I think I know … if I choose to stay in community, then I see God’s grace fill in cracks of all our brokenness.” –Nadia Bolz-Weber “Fiction is the privileged path for the redescription of reality.” –Paul Ricoeur Mark 5:41 She was the second child baptized in... Read more
Guest Post by Kara Foster 1. That I am filled with pride every time you tell me that my daughter looks like my husband or me. When we sat down with our adoption agency, we checked the box that said we were open to a child of any ethnic background. It was not a decision we made without much thought and consideration. I read all kinds of information on being an interracial family and parenting a child of a different... Read more
Guest Post by the Rev. Kory Wilcoxson Every Wednesday morning, I lead a Sermon Talkback at our church. The purpose for the participants is to delve deeper into the previous Sunday’s sermon and ask questions that were raised or share insights gained. The purpose for me is to find out what worked, what didn’t, and what people heard that I didn’t even know I said. Yes, it can be as scary as it sounds. A few weeks ago, I opened... Read more
Guest Post by Sarah Stewart Holland In 2009, I convinced my husband to leave our fancy six-figure lives in Washington, DC, and move back to my hometown of Paducah, KY. Well, convinced is a strong word. I got pregnant and then told him me and the baby were moving to Paducah and he was welcome to join us. A decade before I had loaded up my cherry red Oldsmobile Cutlass and headed away for college convinced I was leaving the... Read more
By Guest Blogger Cristen Wathen The task we must set for ourselves is not to feel secure, but to be able to tolerate insecurity. Erich Fromm Time for a Savasana from life. I’m a counselor. I’m a Christian. I’m an educator. I’m an academic. I’m a researcher. I’m a wife. I’m a friend. I’m an advisor. I’m an advocate. I’m a makeshift yogi. I’m a hiker/camper. I’m a mentor………… I’m really tired. Ha. I am with those of trying to... Read more
How confusing this must seem to small children, I was thinking the other day. To them, it must feel like we are just throwing all of our stuff in a truck, to be driven at some future time by SOMEONE, to SOMEWHERE; and then piling in the car and getting somewhere, eventually, and then maybe finding a place to live and unload our beds and our books and our stuffed dinosaurs when we get there. And then I thought…wait a sec. That... Read more
Irreverin
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In