I have a new post up at Christianity Today on why there’s a difference between critics and haters. As I have written (and illustrated) earlier, sometimes, when you review a book that most people loved less-than-positively, the responses are more or less like this: There’s often the assumption that the critic is like that critic in the Disney/Pixar movie Ratatouille, who seems to get pleasure from ripping apart other people’s efforts. As I wrote in the piece: At its best,... Read more
When I heard the verdict returned on the George Zimmerman trial, I thought immediately of the subtle reference to the case made by Marilynne Robinson at the Festival of Faith and Writing at Calvin College last year. The topic of her wide-ranging talk (some listeners went so far as to call it ‘rambling,’ but I didn’t consider it so) was fear. She said that fear is stimulating and addictive, and that American culture is increasingly addicted to it. We fear... Read more
I’m delighted to be introducing a new Friday series on this-here blog: DUCKFACE v. CLASSIC BEAUTY We here are tired of these duckface (often self-) portraits we see on Facebook and Twitter and where ever young women and girls intoxicated with their own sexiness (and possibly something else, too) make once might have been called a hideous ‘moue’ at the camera. So without further ado, I’m delighted to bring you the first installment: Botticelli’s Venus and Venus’ Duckface: Is there... Read more
As much as I believe that learning to cook and bake well can be more fun and more rewarding than you might have expected, I am a big fan of outsourcing some of those responsibilities. I love buying bread from good bakeries, the kind of bread that actually gets hard after a day or two. But for one thing: that kind of bread is often pretty expensive. And for another: good bakeries don’t exist everywhere. And there aren’t any here.... Read more
One of my favorite comments from yesterday’s post: Amen, sister. I think these are even more annoying than those “Just checking to see if you will even read this…if you are reading it, comment and then copy this exactly and paste as your status update. 95% of you will ignore this. Just trying to see who my real friends are.” Sniff. Sob. Poor me! Note how even Jesus looks sort of sad, like, “Please show me that you love me... Read more
I teamed up with my dad to illustrate seven ways to go wrong on social media. (And I have done probably all of these things, just so we’re clear, here. I point the finger at myself.) Please note that almost any of these can have a right and proper place, but these are the most common ones I’ve heard people complain about. So it’s all about balance. Feel free to complain about how much your neck is hurting, but limit... Read more
A few days ago, my son and I were looking at a book about space, and came across a picture of the Milky Way. Son: Wow. So many stars. Me: Did you know that there are about as many neurons in your brain as stars in the Milky Way? Son: Wow. I must have a LOT of morons in my brain. Mom, why are you laughing? What I loved about his reaction is that even though he has no clue... Read more
You might not believe me, but this is our FULL GROWN CAT. He’s tiny, and he weighs almost nothing, even though he eats like a DOG. He is inept at hunting, because he just runs and jumps at birds without bothering to hide himself, but that’s fine with me, because the birds here are exceptional in their beauty, and it would make me sad if he was slaughtering them. And he is just about the sweetest little cat you could... Read more
I’m not a flag-waving American. I don’t think that my country is the ‘greatest country in the world,’ and I cringe at phrases like “God Bless the USA,” simply because if I’m going to ask God’s blessing on people, it seems a pretty small vision of God’s kingdom to ask that blessing only upon the land that happened to issue my passport. Still, I’ll admit to being pretty fond of my blue and gold US passport, and even to having... Read more
The first time I went to the hospital to learn more about maternal health services in Malawi, I’d been assigned to the family planning clinic, and was helping the nurse-midwife move supplies into the clinic to prepare for the steady, hours-long stream of women who came through the doors for contraception. I sat at the little desk with the nurse, greeting the women as they came in and jotting their information into the record book. Name? Village? Religion? Number of... Read more
Rachel Marie Stone
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In