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Prayers for 2023
Desires and Hopes for the Coming Year As I enter 2023, I hold these prayers with outstretched hands: May we be people who tell truth—even when it’s hard—from a heart of love and compassion. May we stop hiding sin because we are afraid of ruining God’s reputation. May we become people who humbly admit when we are wrong. May we listen with openness to the opinions of others even if we disagree. May we learn to see one another as precious and valuable regardless of our differences. May our disillusionment with religion drive us to find the Real Jesus who was also unimpressed with outward behavior. May we take the…
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When Someone You Love Deconstructs Their Faith
This post is outside of my normal audience. Typically I’m writing to people who are deconstructing, rethinking faith, or trying to reconstruct their faith after religious trauma and spiritual abuse. Today I am writing to the people who love them and are concerned for them. Hello there! Because those of you who will hopefully find this post are probably unfamiliar with me and my story, let me give a quick background. I spent the 90s in a Christian cult with my family. It was a conscious decision my parents made because they truly thought they were doing the best thing. Although they were always a bit skeptical and tried to…
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Brokenness is a Gift
We stopped by the Creation Museum in Kentucky to take in the awesome light display and live nativity. We were on our way down south to visit my brother’s family after Christmas. Thanks to my father’s life time membership complete with guest passes, we have been there multiple times over the last few years while passing through. It’s always a unique experience for me. The Creation Museum brings together an eclectic collection of Christians that kind of makes me cringe. I love the people watching but always come away slightly triggered. It’s a fresh reminder that a powerful Christian bubble exists. One that you can enter, live in blissfully, and die…
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The Awkward Middle Way
When my friend Rachel invited me over to her family’s fall harvest party I had no idea I’d be running into people from my past. Or that there would be an awkward stare down over the bonfire. Although Rachel and I had both grown up under the influence of the same cultic organization, her family had been on the fringe and missed a lot of the craziness I experienced. Still, we had a bunch of mutual friends. Something I unfortunately forgot. I hadn’t seen these people in at least five years and let’s just say a lot had changed. For me that is; they looked exactly the same from their…
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Our Cranky Hearts are Leading Us Home
This is the final part of a three part series. Yesterday I left off with this sentence: “So where do we go from here? How do we find enough faith to seek when we just feel tired, and cranky, and cynical?” That’s exactly where we are going to pick up. Fair warning, this might be a rant! 🙂 Don’t be ashamed of your doubt and questions about God. Or afraid of your cynicism and the snarkiness that simmers just beneath the surface when it comes to organized religion. Or feel guilt because of your depression and/or disillusionment with Christianity. Can I be honest? I am so over American Christianity. I literally…
