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Spiritual Abuse and its harmful effects
by Becca Ehrlich Trigger warning: infant loss, spiritual abuse A few years ago, I went on a 3-week retreat to Costa Rica to appear on a TV show called Lost Resort. On the retreat, we had group activities and one-on-one sessions with leaders of the retreat called...
Tears, thorns and the power to recover from failure
by Susan Schneider When the list of high school basketball players who made the varsity team was posted, Michael’s name was not on it. Instead, the promising sophomore was encouraged to join the junior varsity team. The fifteen-year-old went home and cried. He...
You don’t have to be good
by Sarah Carson Lately, I’ve been obsessed with the first few lines of Mary Oliver’s famous poem “Wild Geese”: “You do not have to be good,” the poem begins. You don’t have to walk through the desert on your knees, repenting. All you have to do, Oliver says, is “let...
Practices for my resistance to climate change
by LeeAnn Pomrenke Some of us are not built for giving things up completely “cold turkey.” Establishing more sustainable habits means that they have to be actions I can and will keep doing and be better for the environment. I know that thinking that my small actions...
A Barren mother
Trigger warning: Infertility by Brenda Blackhawk As a modern millennial woman, I spend an average of seven hours a week on my phone, scrolling through social media, reading articles, and playing games. That means that I spend at least 30 minutes each week looking at...
Fear: Opportunity or challenge?
by Emily Carson As a women in her 30s who still sleeps with her closet light on, I am no stranger to fear. Of course, some fears are more rational than others, and my fear of the dark admittedly falls into the irrational category. Is a giant green closet monster...
What an online community taught me about being the church
by Jenna Pulkowski I love stories—books, podcasts, TV series, movies, WebToons, etc. I don’t discriminate if the story captivates me. Five years ago, when one of my friends repeatedly encouraged me to check out the TV show “Outlander” on Netflix, I trusted her...
Surviving the pain of rejection
by Susan Schneider You weren't invited to the party, but all your friends were. Ouch! You got the letter or phone call from a potential employer that began, "Thank you for applying, but…." Ouch again! The church you've always loved tells you that people who identify...
How do I love my body?
by Jenna Pulkowski I hate my body. I know I’m supposed to start this off with talking about how I’ve learned to love my body, and you can too. I know it’s not cool to admit that I hate my body. I also understand that hating my body accomplishes nothing for no one....
God as mother
by Michelle Terry My 3- and 5-year-old sons are playing superheroes again. In the heat of battle against the “bad dudes,” my 3-year-old sustains an injury. Being a superhero is a dangerous line of work. Immediately, he’s tugging at my legging, tears streaming down...