Relationship with God
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Objectification: 5 Kinds that Harm our Faith
Objectification, for most of my life, meant little more to me than car ads with beautiful women and calling pretty girls hot tamales. I knew it was bad in a vague sort of way without connecting it to myself. It wasn’t until I saw a therapist years after my divorce from a narcopath that I began to see that I had turned myself into an object. A good object, but still an object. My therapist looked at me dead on and said one of the most significant things anyone has ever said to me. Alice, you are not a tool. It dawned on me then as it still occasionally dawns…
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How to Have an Easy Yoke
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ake my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 Consider how subversive the idea that Jesus offers us an easy yoke. Certainly, this is the first time that such a thing is even suggested, even in the Bible. The Levitical laws don’t strike me as a burden that is light, after all. And religion is filled with duties and obligations that weigh heavy on us. Then came Jesus proclaiming…
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The One Gift God Still Desires
Gift giving is more complicated than simply handing over a nicely wrapped present. In fact, most of our gifts are not actual gifts. They are presents. The difference is that while a gift is unconditional, a present has a motive and often, an expectation. Notice no one ever says come get your free present. Free is a word only associated with gift. I am not slamming the present exchange we do at Christmas. We solidify and honor our family ties with the exchange of presents. We give our children things they need and want, though the fact that Santa Claus keeps a list of who is naughty and nice, ties…
