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Comfort in Private Confession
By Vanessa Rasanen That drive to church might have been the hardest I had ever made — and I’ve made plenty of white-knuckled, stress-filled, holy-moly-please-be-quiet-or-I’m-going-to-lose-it Sunday morning drives with my four littles. That particular weekday afternoon, though, I was headed to our near-empty church to meet with my pastor in the sanctuary for private confession and absolution. While I’ve often encouraged friends to seek this out for themselves, and I have openly confessed this pastoral service to be a blessed gift, truth is I was downright scared to do it myself. I had actually been considering making it a regular practice. After all, there’s no reason you need to have…
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The Images in My Mind
By Anonymous (Editor’s note– because of the incredibly personal and sensitive nature of this post, I’m going to be watching comments closely. Please be loving with our sister.) Pornography harms women. It devalues them and transforms them into tools for man’s desire and lust. It strips women of their dignity and teaches men to manipulate, control, and then throw away, rather than love, protect, and care for them. This is all true, but this only scratches the surface of the harm pornography inflicts upon women. We seem to be blind to those women who bear the pain and scars — not from being offended by the material or from enduring…
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On the Loss no one wants to discuss
Editor’s note. Because of the very sensitive nature of this post, comments will be watched carefully. Please remember your compassion before commenting. By Anonymous I am a mother but I have no child. I don’t tell people about my loss and I don’t know if I ever really will. When I think about my baby my feelings are deeply sorrowful and guilty. And ashamed. You see, I had an abortion. I am a mother with no child because my child is dead… and I bear the guilt for it. I’ve repented and been absolved. I’ve grown up more and gotten married. And yet I’ve never gotten over or moved…
