This article makes me so mad I could spit. For the third time in two weeks, the Taliban has been accused of poisoning little girls, spraying down their schoolrooms with toxic chemicals to discourage the education of women. This time, 160 girls were admitted to the hospital after experiencing headaches, dizziness and vomiting. As horrible […]
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Hustler’s Explicit Image of S.E. Cupp is Virtual Rape
It takes a lot to piss me off. But Larry Flynt has managed. Pundit-phobe that I am, I had never heard of S.E. Cupp until I was confronted with a picture of the pretty young conservative commentator with a penis in her mouth. Apparently Hustler magazine created the cleverly photoshopped image and published it with […]
Tylenol Christianity: Offering Hope and Healing, Instead of Easy Answers and Trite Advice
Sometimes, I feel like the church has a hard time lingering in places of pain. Abuse. Homosexuality. Bullying. Singleness. Disability. Abortion. Illness. Addiction. Grief. We tend to skim right over these topics, offering quick, carefully-crafted statements about our stance on the issue. It winds up feeling more like a presidential candidate’s stump speech than a […]
Oppressors, Activists, and Spiritual Stinginess: St. Paul’s Guide to Praying Better Prayers
“And I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ.” -Philemon 1:6 I was reading Philemon this weekend, and many things stood out to me. Paul’s tone with Philemon, acknowledging Philemon’s friendship, fidelity, and good […]
Boyfriends, Bad Ideas, and the Bella-Katniss Continuum: Jenny’s Message on Identity in Christ
I was SO blessed to be able to speak at my beloved Mission Covenant Church last Sunday! The topic was how cohabitation hurts women and children, but we focused on the why–WHY do women get involved in relationships they know are bad for themselves and their children, or stay in abusive, dysfunctional relationships that bear […]
Patriarchy, Pop Culture, and Pornography, Part 2
(Continued from Part 1) What it comes down to is that in many ways, society ascribes value to women based on how attractive they are to men. (This is only exacerbated by women’s idolatrous tendency to base their identity on who they are in relationship with others, rather than on who they are in Christ. […]
Patriarchy, Pop Culture, and Pornography, Part 1
Several years ago, I read “The DaVinci Code” to see what all the fuss was about. It was nothing special—a fast-paced novel with interesting, if inaccurate, historical details woven in—but one line still stands out to me. The leading lady recalls a conversation she had with her grandfather as a child, about the film “The […]
More Statistics on Child Abuse, Or, Why Single Moms Should Probably Stay That Way
(I know, I know–another inflammatory title. But if you’re not feeling a bit inflamed by the end of this post, I don’t know what’s wrong with you.) Wading through statistics makes me cranky. My inner journalist, latent as she may be, pitches a fit when she hears people making making vague allusions to “research,” or […]
Are Women More Physically Abusive than Men? Why Mommies Hit Their Babies.
Okay, yes, inflammatory title. But I read something last night that made my stomach knot up into a ball Contrary to public perception, research shows that the most likely physical abuser of a young child will be that child’s mother, not a male in the household, although the mother’s plight often is complicated by her […]
Simulcasting, Shacking Up, and Very Bad Blogging
I will be the first to admit that I have been a Very Bad Blogger lately. I gave myself permission to put my online presence aside for Lent, but by the time Easter rolled around, I had other things to tackle before I flung myself back into the blogosphere. Like–well–Easter. And kidney stone comebacks. And […]
Toxic Christianity: When Our Public Face Poisons Faith
If there’s one thing that leaves me completely aghast, it’s Christians hurting one another and using religion to justify their behavior, or citing it as the reason that they didn’t step in to defend the hurting, vulnerable party. It’s the child who is abused on the mission field or in the church, but no one […]
Video About Domestic Abuse and the Church: What ABUSERS Need From Their Church
Melody Harrison Hanson wrote a beautiful, brave post on her blog today about her experience growing up with a father who “was in ministry and was a generous, gracious, loving, God-fearing man,” but who was also abusive. In fact, he wrote a book about it: “Strongest in the Broken Places: A Story of Spiritual Recovery.” […]
The Girl Who Cried Wolf, and Other Myths
You can’t go online lately without hearing about hearing about Herman Cain and the allegations of sexual harassment haunting his campaign. Those posts inevitably make me wince—not the articles themselves, but the comments crowded beneath them like protestors punching hand-scrawled signs in the air, screaming at the “other side.” Now, before you get all riled […]
Do Christian Novels Romanticize Abuse?
I’ve been tired lately. Mind-and-heart tired. So tired that yesterday, I decided the most productive thing I could do was give my brain needed a much-needed vacation. I wasn’t in the mood for a movie, so I grabbed my Nook Color and plunged face-first into what my mom would affectionately call a “ninny novel”–one of […]
Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault: Yes, It IS the Church’s Business
We’re having our first AVA (Advocates for Victims of Abuse) training event in the Lake Superior District today, and I’m reposting part of the domestic violence post I wrote a month ago, explaining why I got involved, and why I believe the church needs to join the fight against one of the most widespread and […]
Author, speaker, and mommy of four, living on coffee and lots of grace. Pastor at Darrow Road Wesleyan Church. Student at North Park Theological Seminary. Passionate about justice, mercy, and the "one anothers."
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- Faking It: Why You Should Stop Treating Your Husband Like a Toddler, and ACTUALLY Respect Him.
- Asking for a Friday FAVOR! What Do You Think Belongs In a Book About Mutual Marriages?
- I am never sure what to say…
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When you’re having a sleepless night of the soul
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Who do you hate? And is it right for you to be angry?
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Wives, Submission, and Slavery, Oh My! A Sermon on the Household Codes
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When you’re not good enough, and it’s okay.
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dan ohlerking: great thoughts. working on a message for our team ...
- Mary, Martha and Lazarus of Bethany | Marg Mowczko: […] [9] Jenny Rae Armstrong has written a be...
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Teresa Castillo: I was so blessed to find this article. Only today ...
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Jeannie, RN: You really muddy the water when you add your unedu...
