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For Those Weary in Discernment
By Vanessa Rasanen I am tired. And while a lot of that could be blamed on pregnancy exhaustion and restless sleep, some of it has to do with discernment. Discernment is tiring. How wonderful would it be if we could trust anything with the “Jesus” label on it? How awesomely simple would it be if we could determine Truth based on how we feel? Yet, it’s not that easy. As I’ve grown in my understanding of scripture and Lutheran doctrine, I’ve found myself becoming more wary when approaching the Christian writing of others, whether in blog posts, books, or even simple tweets. A red flag automatically raises when words initiate…
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A Two Pronged Approach to Modesty
By Amanda Markel I’m going to admit to something that may not be popular in Christian circles…I no longer use the word “modesty” when talking to my daughters. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the idea of modesty…it even appears several times in the New Testament. But modesty is another one of those words that our modern culture has twisted to mean something other than what the Bible expresses, and like many other things in American Evangelicalism, I want to stay as far away from it as possible. First of all, there is a tendency when we emphasize modesty, for Christian women to act in a less than Christlike manner toward…
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Christian Fiction
by Amanda Markel Reading is a great use of time…except when it isn’t. I have enjoyed reading for as long as I can remember, and I’ve tried to pass that on to my children. There are many books from my childhood which hold a special place in my heart; treasure that I’ve looked forward to sharing with my children. There are also books from my pre-teen years, that looking back, make me cringe to think that I read them. Lest you think I was reading something worldly and inappropriate when I was still in junior high school, let me reassure you—I wasn’t. I was reading something much more insidious—Christian fiction.…
