4th-Week-of-the-Month Blog Break!

So…it’s time to take a break. February wasn’t a long month, I know. It went by fast. It is crazy how just a couple days makes a month seem so much shorter. But still…

I’m tired. I wish I had something really witty to say (which I don’t usually anyway, so that’s not too huge of a disappointment for you, I know). One thing I do want to say, though, is this: Koalas can sleep while hanging out in trees. Now that’s talent.

So I’m going to let others’ writings challenge you tonight. There are some good pieces here. I got re-inspired just reading them again. Please read!

So, in no particular order, here are the articles/blog posts/etc that deeply spoke to me this month.

1. In which you are loved and you are free I just discovered Sarah Bessey. Now, I’m still not sure where I land on the whole church gender roles debate. Still, this piece gives voice to the thoughts I’ve wrestled with for years being a woman in the church, where I have often felt silenced–as if I had no voice other than making babies or being married. And however you feel about the gender debates–this is wrong. Women are inherently beautiful, inherently worthy. Women have a voice and should use it (whether you agree it’s in the pulpit or not). Women should embrace their callings and their passions–whether it is mothering or a career or writing or any number of different things. God is pleased when we follow Him. A beautiful post that brought tears to my eyes.

2. Stop Your Identity Crisis Before It Starts So I know I talk a lot on this blog about identity issues. Here’s a great piece about identity. “It’s not easy to reject the mold of expectations society would place us in. It’s not easy to reorient our self-worth by breaking from the norm of society’s expectations and turning instead to Christ and His view of us.” Just read it. Good advice and insight.

3. Viewpoint: Down with romantic love It was Valentine’s Day this month, if you noticed. I’ve written several stirring pieces about love/singleness here and here. And then I read this article, which completely challenged me in so many ways. We have such a warped view of romantic love in our society nowadays. Please just read this article. It really makes you think. “There is a spiritual dimension to this romantic addiction too. The philosopher Simon May has proposed that while many have given up on God in the West, we still long for the unconditional love that God used to offer. But godless, we seek instead unconditional love from our fellow humans. We make them gods, and of course they fail us. And then love turns to hate. It’s a desire that, because of the excess, destroys love. People kill the thing they love, lamented an observant Oscar Wilde.”

4. Want To Be Taken Seriously? Become A Better Writer The writer of this article makes a valid point that people have truly lost the talent of writing. With all our blogging laziness, texting language, and lack of education in writing, etc…It all makes sense. But writing truly is so important. One of the most important things a child will ever learn is to read and to write, to articulate their thoughts in a succinct way. (And of course, if you’re creative, to then express oneself with all the colors of language). My dream is to be able to teach writing someday…

5. Why I’m quitting Facebook So you probably don’t know this, but I’m off of Facebook and Twitter until the end of March. This has actually been really hard to do. Yet I’ve been off for two weeks and have already realized things about myself and life and everything that social media was distracting me from. Wow. I think it’s really beneficial to take a step back from social media sometimes. I enjoyed this article a lot (although I don’t think I’ll be quitting Facebook permanently).

6. Jesus, Justin Bieber, and Bubba Watson This is an interview with pastor Judah Smith–who knows Justin Bieber, I guess. I didn’t know anything about him until this interview, but it was such a great article. I wish we had more pastors like this. He just seems to know how to love broken people. “Letting people work through the beauty of Jesus and the love of Jesus and the grace of God is a risk … no matter what our emphasis is in terms of discipleship, people are going to struggle. They’re going to mess up. They’re going to sin. There’s going to be carnage. And that’s the beauty of the Gospel to me.”

7. Baby and Dolls: A Father’s Response This is a great piece on the whole evagelical storm surrounding Sesame Street and a video of Little Bear holding a doll. Sound ridiculous? It is. But sometimes Christians tend to be a little up tight about these kinds of things. This post is a great response to the controversy (which shouldn’t really be a controversy at all). Sigh. Posts like this give me hope that yes, there are Christian men out there really thinking about things.

8. A New Hope for Westboro Baptist A member of Westboro Baptist Church has left the church with her sister. It’s a story that fills me with hope. God moves in even the most deceived of places. I am praying for Megan and her sister as they embark on a crazy, scary adventure of searching for God outside an oppressive, cultish environment. After my friend’s death, who was slipping into a cult, I have deepest sympathy for the victims of tyranny, legalism, and control masked in the name of God. Yet it is more easy to slip into than one thinks. Another good article on this is found here: Damsel, Arise: A Westboro Scion Leaves Her Church.

9. Why Creative People Need to Be Eccentric I LOVE this article! It’s so funny to hear about creatives and their strange quirks. I am a creative person myself. I used to write my fiction stories with candles lit, making the atmosphere somber and strange. Haha. I actually don’t do much of that anymore…but maybe I should go back to it. I’ve learned to be able to command creativity when I need it–which is a must needed skill. But we all have our eccentric quirks. What are yours?

10. ….

What are articles/blog posts/etc that inspired you this month? Please tell. :)

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