On a hot August day in 2012, I was taking my usual monthly trip to Walgreens to pick up my birth control prescription. As I pulled out my wallet to cover the co-pay, I was pleasantly surprised when the pharmacist informed me that I didn’t owe anything. It was the first month that the contraceptive mandate included in the Affordable Care Act Read More
Christianity
Coexist or Contradict?
While stopped at a red light on my way home one day I noticed that the two cars immediately in front of me had the same “Coexist” bumper sticker. You’ve probably seen one like it. Each of the letters of is a symbol representing a major religious or spiritual ideology. For example, the “C” is a crescent moon symbolizing Islam, and the “X” is a Star Read More
A Pro-Faith, Pro-Choice Response to Rev. Rob Schenck’s Anti-Abortion, Anti-Gun Agenda
Rev. Rob Schenck, an evangelical pastor known for his extreme anti-abortion activism, has recently had a change of heart on the topic of gun ownership. He is speaking out about the rise of gun ownership among his white male evangelical peers in the United States. His piece “Should Christians Own Guns?” is the cover story in the May issue of Read More
Silent Night, Holy Night: Reflections on Mother and Child
Advent is a season of expectation, hope, and preparation for the miracle of God’s entry into our world as a vulnerable infant. But do we pause often enough to ponder the birth itself? The nativity stories found in our sacred texts tell us little about it, though what we know is Mary was a relatively young woman, she was pregnant at an unexpected Read More
Relaxation as a Spiritual Discipline
I have a productivity obsession. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it an addiction, though in describing to a friend how euphoric it feels to check off a bunch of to-dos, he said, “You kind of sound like a junkie.” He may be right. Up until a year ago I didn’t think I had a problem. When I heard experts talk about self-care and meditation and “me” Read More
Have I Lost My Faith?
Someone asked me out of the blue if I'd lost my faith in Jesus. Context is key to making some sense of this, but the circumstances of this conversation are too bizarre and complicated for me to recount. I could choose to take this opportunity to give an after the fact, impassioned reply to the inquiry, but I would just be acting out of Read More
Power, Abuse, and the Duggars: Part Two
You can read my first post "Power, Abuse, and the Duggars" here. After watching the Duggar daughters' interview with Megyn Kelly, there's no doubt in my mind that they got media training from the same people as their parents. Their messaging points were nearly identical: Josh made bad decisions. But they weren't that bad because many other Read More
One Good Thing I Learned in Church: Embrace
As a contributor to Talking Taboo: American Women Get Frank about Faith, I had the opportunity to guest post for Erin Lane, co-editor of the anthology, in answering the question: what's one good thing you learned in church? Growing up I never got to be the new kid in class. For some this might sound ideal, but for me it was stifling. I went to Read More