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Friday, 18 May 2012

  • Writers, Worries, and Woes: Three Challenges Every Writer Faces

    By Roderick Evans

    Oh, to be a writer! Sounds like such a noble profession. This profession definitely has to be exciting, expressive, and creative. Or is it? Though the writing profession can be all of these things, it does come with certain worries and woes which are commonly experienced by writing professionals.

    1. Deadlines – Professional and personal deadlines can be the bane of the writer’s existence. Most writers have experienced the torment of having a deadline over the head while a blank screen, page, and notebook is before the eyes. A deadline means that there is work, but it also comes with learning the art of controlled creativity. You have to produce your ‘finest’ within a certain time.

    2. Debts     – Some view a writing career as a ticket to financial security. While the plain truth is that even established writers are not made wealthy from their endeavors. They live like other ‘working’ individuals. Writers, frequently, suffer indignities and hardships for choosing to pursue their goals. Debts are a part of life, while work can sometimes be infrequent for writers. This is one of the major worries of a writer. More Here...

Thursday, 17 May 2012

  • Religion and Relationship: Knowing God versus Knowing About God

    “Christianity isn’t a religion—it’s a relationship.” Would you agree with this statement? Specifically, it’s a relationship with Jesus Christ. This idea is supposed to be the characteristic that distinguishes Christianity from every other religion in the world.

    But at times it still seems like a mere religion.

    Hebrews 11:6 says God is “a rewarder of those who earnestly seek Him.” Without going into detail, the last few years of my life have been filled with tragedy and disappointment, especially the last six months. There have been times when I felt close to God, like He was the Abba Father (Rom. 8:15) and friend (John 15:15) He said He was. I was sure He was telling me what to do, and I went and did it. But everything either didn’t improve or it worsened. When I needed God most, He let me down or seemed far away. More Here...

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  • A Terrible Mother’s Day Message

    By Sharon at SheWorships

    Sunday was my first Mother’s Day as a mother, and I was really looking forward to it! Ike had planned all sorts of fun things throughout the day, and I couldn’t wait to celebrate the coming arrival of our little boy. I woke up, got ready for church, picked out a pretty spring dress that accentuates my growing baby bump (!), and stepped outside into the gorgeous, sunny day.

    We drove to church and I strolled into the sanctuary expecting your typical Mother’s Day message. You know, something about how awesome mothers are. Instead, I sat down to an interview with journalist Nicholas Kristof, and it was the worst Mother’s Day message I’ve ever heard.

    It was also one of the most important.

    I say the message was terrible because it was. In case you’re unfamiliar with Kristof, he is the author of Half the Sky, which documents the plight of women all across the world. Kristof has witnessed first-hand some of the worst human rights abuses against women, and he has now staked much of his career on advocating for women. More Here...

Wednesday, 16 May 2012

  • Responding to Creation

    Below are the notes from my Spark talk at Luminous:

    There is a literary term, ekphrasis, which is made up of the Greek words ek and phrasis, which are literally translated “out” and “to speak” respectively. When combined, they form the verb ekphrazien, which means to speak out, or proclaim.

    In literature, ekphrasis poetry is writing in response to art.

    Beyond literature, we know this conceptually in our own lives.

    It’s why musicians are compelled to make music after hearing a great song, a writer picks up their pen after reading an epic tale and a painter picks up their brush after witnessing beauty. More Here...

  • Revelife Featured Music: Future of Forestry “Protection”

  • This is My Beloved Son: Hebrews 1:1-3 and Luke 9:28-35

    The Book of Hebrews is the epitome of the Old Testament focused through Gospel lens. Nowhere does this Gospel message come into sharper focus than in these opening three verses of the epistle.

    Christ, Christ, CHRIST
    A couple of years back I taught a Bible study on Hebrews and was especially struck during this prolonged look at that wonderful book with how central Christ is in our salvation. And how that all-importance of Christ in our lives actually crowds out and rids me of cherished notions I used to hold on to as Christian.

    Yes, I know that Christian readers might right now just skip over that sentence about Christ being central, as if I was stating the obvious. "    Yea, I know all that. And...?" But I am not stating the obvious. I am pointing out the overlooked. I mean that the utter, crucial centrality of Christ in our lives is something that is really neglected today: Many Christians are quite clear on what Christ did on the Cross. They have certainly heard enough sermons. And they are reasonably clear on how Christ will come for His own and take them to Heaven. More Here...

Tuesday, 15 May 2012

  • Praying My Mental Illness Away Didn't Work

    Mercy Ministries is a six-month residential treatment center that treats young women with “life controlling issues” such as self harm, eating disorders, victims of abuse, drug abuse, alcoholism, suicidal tendencies. They are a multi-national, popular, charismatic, Christianity based, residential treatment center that I’d like to see shut down.

    I was 20 when I stayed at Mercy Ministries America for four months in 2008 to deal with issues that had been affecting me for years -- eating disorders, PTSD, dissociative disorders and severe chemical depression. By the time I made it to Mercy I had been in a dozen or more psychiatric wards and all I wanted was to feel better. To feel ground under my feet. I was greeted with something far from that. It was much more then just throwing me out the door. What they did to me was very wrong.

    Going into Mercy I was basically promised the world. I was promised freedom from my illnesses if I would just obey them and in turn obey God. If I did as they said I would be free. And that's all I wanted was to feel better. If you told me that walking across country would make me better, I would have done it. I was weak, I was vulnerable, I was very sick. I knew going into Mercy that it was a "tough" program. But I was convinced that's what I needed. More Here...

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  • More Thoughts on the Effeminate Church

    Douglas Wilson has posted a response to those (like myself) who took issue with his "Eleven Signs That Your Church Is Effeminate."

    I've talked enough on this subject, so I'll mention just one thought: Wilson sidesteps the issues his original article brought up.  He defends himself and complementarian thought in general terms, saying that a church is "truly feminine" (a good thing) when you have "a worship service led throughout by men."  But he doesn't address that he took a list of nongendered things such as certain chord changes and articles of clerical clothing and made them out to be complementarian gender roles.  He may have done it in jest--I never doubted that--but humor reveals what you think to be true.

    What do you think about Wilson's response?  Do you feel that calling the church "effeminate" is a negative thing?  Why or why not?

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