By Mariah Secrest I dont think that the television show Friends is meant to evoke deep emotion or dredge up tears from the unknown deep within. Yet as I flipped on the show last night, looking for a quick distraction from work while I ate dinner, I was surprisingly caught off guard by the symbolism … Continue reading Against All Hope: Happily ever after
By Lauren Deville I used to get kicked out of Bible studies (or at least pulled aside for a private talking-to) on a semi-regular basis, and I was rather self-righteously proud of it, because I thought it evidence of the fact that I thought about what I believed, and I challenged others (particularly other Christians) … Continue reading The End of Faith: Does religious tolerance make any sense?
By Jody Matheson No one has ever confused me for a fashionista. Mostly because I don’t know what a fashionista is. On the other hand, I thought I knew what the Armor of God was. I had studied it, and even spoke on it in ministry and gospel outreach meetings. At one time, I tried … Continue reading Book Review: Dressed to Kill
By Jeff Goins, Editor Continued from Finding Calcutta After climbing over a waist-high, cement barricade that read “DEATH” in spray paint, navigating through some overgrown vines and shrubbery, and stumbling down a worn path that would have sent you head-first into the river if you took just one wrong step, we came upon an abode … Continue reading Finding Calcutta: My first brush with the poor, Pt. 2
By Stephanie Fisk From Mexico: “Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach … Continue reading The Classroom of Life: Lessons from the field
By Kari Miller Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply from the heart. -1 Peter 1:22 We all long to be known. I mean really known. We long to invite someone else into the vulnerable place where our heart … Continue reading Intimacy Becomes Reality: Thoughts on God from Uganda
By Tom Davis Each Sunday, millions of Christians in America gather to worship the God who commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves. We belt out praises to the God who tells us that pure and undefiled religion is caring for widows and orphans in their distress. We kneel in pious prayer before the … Continue reading Why Do Christians Suck?
By Lauren Deville When I opened my acceptance package to Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, a bunch of confetti saguaros, suns, and chili peppers fell all over my floor. I just got an interview at Bastyr in Seattle too, but of all things, I think the confetti might have sold me on Tempe. I watched … Continue reading Some Confetti for My Overblown Idealism
By Lorie Newman Our son, Ian, is spending his summer in Swaziland, Africa. Last Saturday we made the long drive to the Adventures In Missions headquarters near Atlanta to leave him at training camp. I have been so excited for Ian as he has sent out support letters, collected mission supplies, and packed two suitcases … Continue reading Letting Go of Your Children: Off to the mission field
By Ruth Wilkinson So, about a month ago, my friend E., who is a short brown woman with a taste for rudely worded, black T-shirts, went into the bank. She approached the teller and asked to open an account, producing a government check she wanted to start having direct deposited. The teller asked whether she … Continue reading Blessing Is A Two-Way Street