An Inconvenient Christianity

Today is the 11th of November. It is the day that the United States of America pauses to reflect on and give honour to the countess multitude of men and women who have served in the Armed Forces to protect our freedoms and defend our borders. I join with our nation and offer my own heartfelt thanks to our very own Watchers of the Wall, Defenders of this Realm of Men, and Protectors from all threats, both foreign and domestic. May God bless and keep you all...and your families. But as I thought about the brave men and women who have served and currently serve our country, I couldn't help but remember that we as Christians are in an army of our own. We are in a spiritual army. And just like the veterans that we honour today, we don't just fight the enemy for ourselves. We fight the enemy for those who cannot. Never has the need for intercession on the behalf of fellow believers and non-believers alike been such a burden on my heart. In fact, before I can even begin to reprove...

Yesterday, both my Twitter and FaceBook timelines were filled with calls to boycott the Starbucks corporation. It seems that evangelical pastors were outraged by the fact that Starbucks redesigned the coffee cup that they use for the holidays. It no longer contains drawing of Santa Claus, snowflakes and reindeer. Now, it's just a red cup. One pastor (who will remain nameless) interpreted the change to mean that Starbucks hates Jesus and is declaring war on Christmas. First of all, what? How on earth did he make that leap? The Christmas themed scenes that were removed had nothing to do with Jesus. They were snowflakes and snowmen and Santa Claus. How does removing non-religious symbols of winter equate to "hating" Jesus? It is not as though Starbucks has ever made coffee cups that reflect the Nativity Scene or the journeys of the three wise men. Never in Starbucks history has there been a coffee cup that depicts the angel appearing to Mary and telling her that she is w...

I am about to share something deeply personal...albeit in this VERY public forum. While I normally shy away from very personal revelations, I think this one is necessary to bring out this point. All my life, I have struggled with my weight. It has been my dirty little secret. I have dieted and exercised. I even went through a battle with an eating disorder all in an effort to lose weight. I simply cannot stand the sight of myself when I am heavy. That has been quite problematic for me because I have been heavy most of my life. Translation: I have spent most of my life unable to stand the sight of myself in the mirror. So I avoid them...and pictures. Especially pictures. Since the death of my father, I have acquired a lot of weight. And the pounds that came brought friends. They won't leave, either. They seem to like just hanging out on my 5'7" frame. These recent acquaintances of mine have made me quite reluctant to look into mirrors or to pose for pictures. I just don...