by Amber Riggs | Sep 1, 2023 | Faith and Culture
Eight rose bushes lined the driveway of the first home my husband and I purchased. I immediately made it my mission to get my hands dirty caring for them. These roses, however, required more work than I expected. When our first daughter was born, I chose caring for...
by Bethany LaShell | Sep 1, 2023 | Faith and Culture
I’ve always wanted to go on a cruise—just to see what it was like. I love to explore new places, and I love being on the water, so it seems like a natural segue, right? I thought maybe I’d get to go on a cruise for my 40th birthday. Nope. Didn’t even get a card. Then...
by Judy Allen | Sep 1, 2023 | Faith and Culture
People are leaving the church by the millions. Why? Two articles in The Atlantic, “The Misunderstood Reason Millions of Americans Stopped Going to Church” and “The Religion of Workism Is Making Americans Miserable,” among others, offer a reason to consider. They...
by Sharla Fritz | Sep 1, 2023 | Faith and Culture
“Let the favor of the Lord rest upon us. Oh Lord, establish the work of our hands.” My voice mingled with the voices of other writers as we sang this Porter’s Gate song at a writers’ retreat. The soulful melody spoke the fervent prayer of our hearts, “Lord, establish...
by Stephanie Reeves | Aug 1, 2023 | Faith and Culture
I’m a lover of books and movies. We read a lot and watch a lot in my household. Years ago, when Christian parents were denouncing the Harry Potter books and The Hunger Games series (the article I reference in my blog about this topic can no longer be found), I felt...
by Dorena Williamson | Aug 1, 2023 | Faith and Culture
“Culture care is an act of generosity to our neighbors and culture. Culture Care is to see our world not as a battle zone in which we’re all vying for limited resources, but to see the world of abundant possibilities and promise. It’s ‘practicing resurrection ‘...
by CarleneByron | Aug 1, 2023 | Faith and Culture
The high-school slumber parties of the early 1970s were staggeringly boring by 21st century standards. There was no TikTok to scroll or SnapChat for sending cruel messages that would disappear from view before the targeted classmate could call her mother to intervene....
by Judy Allen | Aug 1, 2023 | Faith and Culture
Years ago, my mental image of culture was of a monolithic structure of values, behaviors, and events that were largely counter to my Christian beliefs. My understanding of culture has grown from a reductionistic imagining of two conflicting cultures—Christianity and...
by Amy Rasmussen | Aug 1, 2023 | Faith and Culture
I’m exhausted. Watching Ben Shapiro recently set fire to Barbie, Ken, and a pink convertible invoked a new level of tired. The 43-minute protest of the Barbie movie causes many concerns, not just over his meltdown, humanly speaking, but about a culture in which...
by Rebecca Detrick | Aug 1, 2023 | Faith and Culture
Culture Creators As a high-school and middle-school teacher, I begin my class each year with an explanation of classroom routines and procedures, of goal-setting strategies, but also (I hope) with encouragement for my students to take ownership of their place in the...
by Carolyn Miller | Aug 1, 2023 | Faith and Culture
And God said, “Let there be an extended surface in the midst of the waters and let it divide between the waters and the waters” (Genesis 1:6, my combo of versions version). Never have I felt the lives and beliefs of others affect my daily thoughts and feelings more...
by Melissa Brownback | Aug 1, 2023 | Faith and Culture
In early July of this year, Kate C. Bowler—author and Duke Divinity School professor—added a post to her Instagram feed titled, “A Blessing for When Faith Breaks Your Heart.” I felt those words in my soul. For many of us, our culture’s public reckoning with the...
by Melie Williams | Aug 1, 2023 | Faith and Culture
Culture. Say this word to Christians and it’s bound to bring up a bunch of ideas of things like compromise, losing religion, and other fear-based beliefs. And that’s not completely unfounded. A lot of what happens in so-called modern culture is a bit of a travesty to...
by Stephanie Reeves | Jul 1, 2023 | Relationship
My husband and I have had a disagreement for our entire 30+-year relationship. It’s over the pronunciation of the word “coupon.” He says, “kyoopon,” and I say, “koopon.” Maybe it can be attributed to the fact that we’re from diverse parts of the United States, but in...
