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Mary and Martha: What We Misunderstand as Women
The Mary and Martha paradigm precipitated a landslide of books that subtly or not so subtly shamed women who worry about everything they need to get done. I don’t know about you, but I know that whenever I think of Martha, I get the impression Jesus disapproved. I can’t help but identify with Martha sometimes because, well, I get busy. Even my prayer times consist of lists. And part of me wants to tell Mary to get off her tush and help Martha out. Then my 21st-century mentality rises to the surface and thinks, Why aren’t the men helping out? My basic issue with the current Mary and Martha paradigm…
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The Melancholy Prophets: A Study in Extremes
Of all the redemptive gifts, the prophets are the hardest to live with. They can be hard on both themselves and others. In my experience, most people have three giftings that look like two primary and one less prominent. For me, I operate mostly in the mercy and exhorter giftings. But I have enough prophet in me to get me into trouble regularly. And of my children, I have at least two who fall into this category as a primary gifting. And believe me, they can be a challenge to raise. The difficulty in locating your redemptive gifts is that wounding can really mask who you truly are. I thought…
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Finding Your Self and Why it Matters
In the religious stream in which I grew up, finding your self was synonymous with narcissism. Whenever so and so mentioned that their friend or relative was embarking on a quest to find themselves, the adults would snicker. Then they would throw out the Bible verse that says, he who would find himself must first lose himself. That is not quite the way the original reads. I grew up thinking that having a self must be a bad thing indeed. Jesus would not approve. Now my theology has changed rather drastically. That I even have a self is a miracle. In fact, I am pretty sure that it is the greatest…
Healing Through Art & Words
