Celebrating Saint Lucia’s Day

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December 10, 2018 By Jennifer Leave a Comment

We enjoy celebrating holidays from around the world.

St. Lucia’s Day is a lovely celebration for children.

St. Lucia Day History

The celebration of St. Lucia comes from stories that were told by monks who first brought Christianity to Sweden.

December 13th was also the Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, in the old “Julian” calendar and a pagan festival of lights in Sweden was turned into St. Lucia’s Day.

St. Lucia’s Day is celebrated by a girl dressing in a white dress with red sash and a wreath with candles on her head. Small children use electric candles, but from about 12 years old, real candles are often used. The crown is traditionally made of lingonberry branches which are evergreen and symbolise new life in winter.

A national Lucia is chosen in Sweden every year. Lucias visit hospitals and homes for the elderly, singing a song about St. Lucia and handing out Pepparkakor, ginger biscuits.

Boys might dress up as Stjärngossar (star boys) and small girls might be attendant Tärnor (like Lucia but without the candles).

A popular food eaten at St. Lucia’s day are Lussekatts, buns flavored with saffron and dotted with raisins which are eaten for breakfast.

St. Lucia Crafts and Activities

A fun recipe for St. Lucia Cookies

Catholic Icing paper dolls

Making Learning Fun printables

Felt crowns from JoyFilled Family

Lots of activities from The Kennedy Adventures

Paper crowns and star hats from Kiddley

Another paper crown from Sweet Paul

Swedish holiday books from What Do We Do All Day

Arthur episode about St. Lucia on PBS Kids

St. Lucia Books

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Celebrating Martinmas

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November 11, 2018 By Jennifer Leave a Comment

St. Martin is the patron saint of beggars, drunkards, and the poor.

His feast day falls during the wine harvest in Europe, he is also the patron saint of wine growers and innkeepers.

In the agricultural calendar it marks the beginning of the natural winter, but in the economic calendar it is seen as the end of autumn. Because it comes before the penitential season of Advent, it is seen as a mini “carnivale,” with feasting and bonfires.

St. Martin’s Feast is much like the American Thanksgiving – a celebration of the earth’s bounty.

Tradition says that if it snows on the feast of St. Martin, November 11, then St. Martin came on a white horse and there will be snow on Christmas day. However, if it doesn’t snow on this day, then St. Martin came on a dark horse and it will not snow on Christmas.

Children often dress up and go around with lanterns as beggars for sweets. Sound like Halloween?

How to Celebrate Martinmas

Make a Lantern

I love these examples of homemade lanterns:

St. Martin’s Bags

Ġewż, Lewż, Qastan, Tin
Kemm inħobbu lil San Martin.

Walnuts, Almonds, Chestnuts, Figs
I very much love Saint Martin.

Give to the Poor

Donating clothing to the poor is in remembrance of St. Martin cutting his cloak in half for the beggar during a snowstorm.

Pray for Military

St. Martin was a Roman soldier and November 11th is Armistice Day and Veterans Day.

Bonfires

Foods

Martinmas is the end of fall harvest, so breads and cakes are common.

Pretzels, croissants, and horseshoe-shaped almond sweets represent St. Martin’s white horse.

Goose is often eaten in Germany.

The legend goes that whilst trying to avoid being ordained bishop, St Martin hid in a goose pen only to be betrayed by the squawking of the geese. Around Europe, many people still celebrate Martinmas with roast goose dinners.

Beef is popular in Ireland and the UK.

Rhymes

If the wind is in the south-west on St Martin’s Day (11th), it will stay there right through to Candlemas in February, thus ensuring a mild and snow-free winter.

“Wind north-west at Martinmas, severe winter to come.”
“If ducks do slide at Martinmas
At Christmas they will swim;
If ducks do swim at Martinmas
At Christmas they will slide”
“Thunder in November means winter will be late in coming and going”
“If the geese at Martin’s Day stand on ice, they will walk in mud at Christmas.”
Ice before Martinmas,
Enough to bear a duck.
The rest of winter,
Is sure to be but muck!”

É dia de São Martinho;
comem-se castanhas, prova-se o vinho.
It is St. Martin’s Day,
we’ll eat chestnuts, we’ll taste the wine.

A cada cerdo le llega su San Martín.
Every pig gets its St Martin. The phrase is used to indicate that wrongdoers eventually get their comeuppance.

Martinmas celebrations begin at the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of this eleventh day of the eleventh month (11:11 am on November 11).

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The Summer that God Slammed Doors

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September 7, 2017 By Jennifer 18 Comments

2005.

That crazy whirlwind of a summer.

It actually began with Aaron’s deployment being canceled upon the sudden passing of his father. That was the catalyst to change my life forever and always.

Since there was no position available for Aaron at his current base, they pushed up his PCS. I had to quit my job teaching college English and prepare to move from Georgia to Texas immediately.

The day the movers arrived, I discovered I was pregnant with Victoria.

When we arrived in Texas in late June, I could not find any position in education anywhere in the city of San Antonio. Because I wasn’t fluent in Spanish.

As fall approached, we realized we had to make some hard, quick decisions.

We couldn’t afford to place Elizabeth in day care or private school if I couldn’t work. Her October birthday held her back from beginning kindergarten at the public school.

I knew I would have Victoria in the spring and it would interfere with work if I found a job.

I’d like to say we prayed through this, but we didn’t really discuss our decisions with God. He did do a great job of slamming all doors so we would listen, though.

We decided I would stay home for a year or two and keep Elizabeth home with me and teach her. The plan was that she would eventually attend school after the primary grades. Then we could all go back to “normal.”

Aaron’s family thought we were crazy. Both his parents, both his sisters, and one brother-in-law were all public school teachers. They didn’t like the idea of homeschooling at all.

We submitted to having Liz tested by one of their teacher friends. Liz tested very high on everything, over third grade in reading at only age five.

They were satisfied.

As I taught Liz at home that first year of homeschooling, I realized she was getting smarter, more independent, and more creative. The gap between her and other school children her age was widening instead of narrowing. I knew it would be much more difficult for her to reintegrate into a school environment.

I realize that all those changes that summer, while at the time totally stressing us out, were molding us into the family God wanted us to be. He knew best what we needed and where we needed to be and what we should be doing. Over the years, we have learned that we cannot rely on others – family or friends – but that only leaning on God for our guidance brings us success.

My husband and I grew up in a time when the only homeschool families we knew were rather strange, and we certainly didn’t want that stigma. I didn’t grow up in a Christian home so the Über fundamentalist homeschoolers I met didn’t appeal to me. Many homeschoolers I met those first few years helped me to set goals of what I didn’t want for my family. It was a whole new world, and I felt really prepared on the academic side since I had teacher training and a love for learning. But I was not prepared for the homemaking and parenting shift of being home all day, every day with two – and then three! – little girls. I fought God and my husband tooth and nail for my selfish needs. It was a difficult time for our family while God changed our hearts. It was a tough journey experimenting with curriculum choices, co-ops, and homeschool groups and finally gaining confidence in my teaching abilities and God’s direction for our homeschool.

What began as a one-year experiment simply because I was home with two, then three, young daughters turned into a never-look-back lifestyle. It’s been over ten years, and now we have four little lambs and have homeschooled in four states, plus Germany!

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We Stopped Going to Church

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May 10, 2017 By Jennifer 130 Comments

We haven’t gone to church in a long time.

We don’t have a lot of choices for English-speaking churches in Germany.

There’s the base chapel, which is pretty vanilla since they have to cater to a broad audience and abide by military rules. There are a few charismatic churches that just don’t appeal to us. There are a few very conservative churches that are just legalistic and cliquish.

I don’t want a rock and roll, laser show kind of church and it’s unfortunate that so many rely on these churchtainment distractions to get people through the doors.

We had attended a small general Lutheran congregation for the past year or so. Service begins at 8:30 in the morning. Do you realize how hard it is to get everyone up, eat breakfast, get dressed, and out the door to drive 20+ minutes to church by 8:30 AM? We did it though. We went to bed early on Saturday nights in order to get up early for church.

We probably won’t attempt to go back to a church until July or later. We’re moving back to the States this summer and I don’t have great hopes of finding a church where we’ll fit in.

Before writing this, I researched “Why Should I Attend Church“? Many of the answers were interesting and even shocking to me. I expect the typical “Because the Bible says so” answer, but “Because you’re single and may meet someone” takes the cake.

I expect more.

I won’t lose my salvation. I still love Jesus.

I realize many will think I’m selfish for not dragging my family to church. I do feel selfish. We missed Easter.

After many years of trying to discover God in church, I’ve just had enough. I need a break. I need a break from Christians.

I can worship God – in the forest, at the beach, in a museum, while reading, while cleaning, while cooking, during meals, at the movies. I am amazed by His creation and by people’s creativity, love, and kindness.

I don’t like church.

I’m a leader. I’m a teacher. I’m a counselor. It’s hard for me to just sit back and be lectured to, read to, talked at…It’s especially hard for me to keep my mouth shut when the pastor, teacher, deacon, elder, leader, board member expresses false doctrine. It’s exhausting holding it all in because it doesn’t matter anyway.

As an introvert, I don’t like fellowship time, potlucks, events, programs, meetings, VBS, AWANA, or Wednesday night service. I shouldn’t have to apologize for my personal preferences.

I think too many churches and church leaders allow and perpetuate abuse – of women, children, people of color, others on the fringe of society and the evangelical system.

It’s very unpopular to love Jesus and not attend church.

But I think faith is a private thing between me and God. I don’t have to explain my reasons to anyone.

We stopped going to church for a variety of reasons:

New leadership. The pastor moved away to another calling. The interim pastor and his wife were less than welcoming. They are micromanagers. They are exclusionists.

Sinful behavior. My young son’s teenage Sunday school teacher was in a sexual relationship with his girlfriend and this was apparently well-known and accepted by his and her parents, the homeschool community, and other church members. I was glad when he and his family moved away so I didn’t have to confront anyone.

Sunday school. Sunday school wasn’t about Scripture or Christian living. It often took 30 minutes or more to corral people from the coffee and cookies into the three classrooms. There was no curricula. My three daughters’ teacher led inappropriate discussions about astrology and pop culture. The adult class often derailed into discussions better suited to the Discovery Channel or a New Age seminar.

I miss the organ music. I miss singing hymns. I miss the Eucharist. I miss the stained glass window behind the altar.

What we do instead of church:

Read the Bible

I read the Bible with my son and middle daughters most mornings and we have a little discussion about the passage. I write Scripture every day from monthly guides.

Evening Devotions

We read selections from Psalms, the Old Testament, and the New Testament, with writings from church fathers every evening with the Pray Now app.

Church History

We have lots of books about church history. We love biographies about missionaries, martyrs, church fathers, and other important people impacted by their faith. We usually coincide our readings to our chronological history studies.

Act Out Our Faith

We look for opportunities to act out our faith. We practice kindness, empathy, and love. We learn about our fallen world. We pray. The church isn’t a building. We are the church.

Experience Creation

We enjoy God’s creation on nature walks. We are fascinated by the creative plants, insects, and animals that God made just for our use and enjoyment.

Church should be more about discipleship and less about programs and opportunities to socialize.

We as a family came to the decision to take a break from church after many weeks of prayer. I am not encouraging anyone to leave church.

We will seek a new fellowship after we settle into our new home. I seldom enjoy church, but I want my children to have that experience growing up that I never had.

I no longer use the word Christian or evangelical. Those words just mean hate these days.

If you feel led to pray for me, be careful that you are not cursing me nor my decision in your heart. Maybe look at yourself and your church and ask why people like me don’t feel welcome. You may not agree but you should not judge what you don’t understand. You don’t know my history. You don’t know the long and difficult road it took for me. You do not not know the blood-like drops of sweat as I prayed over this difficult decision. Do not take Scripture out of context. Do not spew your hate and call it loving admonition.

If you still feel led to pray, then pray this:

Pray for church leaders that they may be more including and welcoming. That they not be vanilla and safe but speak boldly the Truth and social justice.

Pray for pastors, Sunday school teachers, elders, deacons, lay leaders, ushers, music directors, worship leaders, pastoral counselors…and whatever other titles of a church leader I may have missed. Pray that they have discernment. Pray they preach and teach Biblical Truth. Pray they are not swayed by the world. Pray they are not tempted by money, fame, media, or other people.

Pray for church fellowships to be loving, kind, welcoming, and careful with their words to newcomers and seasoned parishioners.

Pray for the parents who are raising children in this fallen world, trying desperately to navigate these tumultuous waters of postmodernism, sexual and gender revolutions, social media, integrity issues, and political scandals.

Pray for the children who are growing up in this 50 Shades of Grey kind of world, confusing sex and social media likes for Love and Truth. Pray they find godly role models to guide them to Truth and they become world-changers for His Kingdom.

Pray for the people of color and indigenous people who are excluded from white evangelical church.

You might also want to read my statement of faith post.

A Quiet Exodus: Why Black Worshipers Are Leaving White Evangelical Churches

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Beauty and Makeup Unit Study

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December 1, 2016 By Jennifer Leave a Comment

I have three daughters.

In this complicated world we live in, I feel like I’m constantly doing battle to balance the forces of good and evil in how I raise them to love themselves.

Sure, we could go to the extreme of looking like we live in an episode of Little House on the Prairie and that might be easier sometimes. But it’s not me.

My girls are naturally kind and modest. They are beautiful on the inside and outside. They have good genes.

But I want them to learn about good skincare. I want them to learn how and when to apply makeup well.

I teach my kids that our skin is a powerful filtering organ and if it’s upset, then we have to heal ourselves from the inside – with food and rest.

I want my daughters to know that there’s so much more than makeup and clothes and a pretty face.

I wish I had had better education as a teen when it came to a beauty routine. I educated myself with Glamour and Redbook magazines, which left a lot of questions unanswered, and even though they were a bit tamer in the ’80s than the magazines are now, they were hyper-sexualized. I learned styling techniques but not much about heart beauty.

This unit study teaches about inner beauty, skincare, and makeup application. It includes fun and simple recipes to make at home for cleansing and moisturizing. Also, some resources for best colors to wear for different skin tones, hair, and eye colors.

beauty-and-makeup-unit-study

Download my FREE Beauty and Makeup Unit Study NOW.

Here’s our favorite resources.

Great books about powerful ladies:

Our favorite movies about strong girls:

More recipes and natural living ideas:

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Reformation Unit Study

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October 27, 2016 By Jennifer 6 Comments

I wish we had the time and resources to travel all over Europe to study the Protestant Reformation.

We’ve traveled to Prague to view the statue of Jan Huß.

Jan Huß was a Czech priest, philosopher, early Christian reformer and Master at Charles University in Prague. After John Wycliffe, the theorist of ecclesiastical Reformation, Hus is considered the first Church reformer, as he lived before Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli.

Hus was a key predecessor to Protestantism, and his teachings had a strong influence on the states of Western Europe, most immediately in the approval of a reformist Bohemian religious denomination, and, more than a century later, on Martin Luther himself. He was burned at the stake for heresy against the doctrines of the Catholic Church, including those on ecclesiology, the Eucharist, and other theological topics.

After Huß was executed in 1415, the followers of his religious teachings (known as Hußites) rebelled against their Roman Catholic rulers and defeated five consecutive papal crusades between 1420 and 1431, in what became known as the Hußite Wars. A century later, as many as 90% of inhabitants of the Czech lands were Hußites.

This was almost 100 years before Martin Luther nailed his 95 These to the church door.

We really love the humongous statue to Martin Luther and other Protestant Reformers in Worms, Germany.

Most of us are familiar with Martin Luther and his 95 Theses.

Luther focused on the doctrine of justification by faith alone.

Martin Luther’s story is fascinating, involving legal tangles with the Catholic church and government authorities, excommunication, kidnapping, hiding away in a castle where he translated the Bible, then he married an ex-nun. They had six children. He wrote and taught and composed hymns until his death.

It is legend that Luther said the words: “Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen.”

What Luther really said:
“Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason – I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other – my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen.”

The monument is quite massive.

Luther stands in the center and the four seated on the base are Girolamo Savonarola, Peter Waldo, John Wycliffe, and Jan Hus.

The two men standing on either side in front are Frederick III, Elector of Saxony and Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse.

The two standing in the back are Johannes Reuchlin and Philipp Melanchthon.

Three seated women on the sides and back center represent the first German cities to adopt Protestantism: Augsburg, Speyer, and Magdeburg.

This map of the monument shows more info and where everyone is.

Where I’d like to go:

The city of Wittenberg, Germany, has a 500-year anniversary celebration of the 95 Theses!

There’s a John Calvin Museum in Geneva, Switzerland. But Switzerland is sooo expensive to eat and stay.

We’ve been reading lots.

I love these series: Christian Biographies for Young Readers by Simonetta Carr and Historical Biblical Fiction by Louise A. Vernon.

Bible Translation Recommendations:

Reformation Recommendations:

Videos:

Other Resources:

Reformation Day activity list from Blessed Beyond a Doubt
Reformation Unit Study from Talking Mom2Mom
Reformation notebooking from Proverbial Homemaker
Homeschool Helper Online Reformation Day Unit Study
Reformation Unit Study and Lapbook from I Choose Joy
Homeschool Giveaways activity list
Homeschool Share Reformation Unit and Notebooking Pages
Reformation Day Party Ideas from Intoxicated on Life
Triumphant Learning Reformation Day Ideas
Resource List from Curriculum Choice
Reformation Coloring Book
Women of the Reformation series
Fun activities from Reformation Lady

Check out all the celebrations in Germany for Reformation 500!

The Reformation is a fascinating time in history and helped to usher in the Renaissance!

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Summer Bible Studies

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July 26, 2016 By Jennifer 6 Comments

I always get super excited for Lent and Advent because it’s SO EASY to study the Bible with a plethora of choices during those times of the year.

It’s often difficult to find good Bible studies during the summer months when schedules so often go out the window.

The kids took a break from their Bible workbooks for the summer.

Summer is for slowing down and enjoying the outdoors, re-evaluating our homeschool and family priorities, having lazy late suppers and staying up late with the sunshine.

Churches often put Sunday school on hold since so many people are traveling and attendance is down and it saves on costs of materials.

But that doesn’t mean we don’t read or study any Bible at all.

Our summer Bible studies:

Each morning, the younger three kids read a chapter or section in Sword Fighting, What the Bible is All About, and Window on the World. These are their choices.

My middle girls are continuing with the History Lives series, reading Courage and Conviction.

I’ve been writing through scripture with FREE monthly plans from Sweet Blessings.

My teen and I finished I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist and now we read a section of Manual of Christian Doctrine each day.

Every evening, we use the Pray Now app and read scripture, writings of church fathers, and a section from The Book of Concord.

We also have a basket with lots of resources on missionaries, martyrs, prayer, memorization, and different Bibles.

Bible studies I’m considering:

Several options from these blogs:

Time Warp Wife

Good Morning Girls

She Reads Truth

Other fun Bible studies we’ve done in our homeschool:

Grapevine Bible Studies

Apologia What We Believe series

We’re not into Bible journaling or Bible coloring books. I feel that these activities take away from reading, studying, and learning scripture.

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Statement of Faith

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April 6, 2015 By Jennifer 5 Comments

I recently was asked for my statement of faith.

In a homeschool Facebook group.

I laughed.

Did they really want me to go there?

Most of the others in the group just replied benignly with “non-denominational.”

Really?!

I’m not sure that answers much of anything at all.

I don’t want to know what kind of church people go to. That tells me very little other than how far they wish to drive on Sunday mornings. That they prefer a vanilla service to anything convicting. That they probably like the contemporary Jesus-is-my-boyfriend rock and roll concerts with lasers, screens, and a sick beat rather than hymns and organs.

To each her own.

And linking to a church website with a watered-down creed tells me what that church’s leadership puts out there for the world to see so no one gets offended, but it doesn’t reveal anyone’s real heart decisions.

That they care about numbers more than social justice.

There are only 357,000,000+ hits of the search “statement of faith” on Google.

I’ve never understood the denominational wars.

What is a statement of faith or belief?

Let’s look at definitions.

Faith:
1. confidence or trust in a person or thing
2. belief that is not based on proof
3. belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion
4. belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.
5. a system of religious belief
6. the obligation of loyalty or fidelity to a person, promise, engagement,etc.
7. the observance of this obligation; fidelity to one’s promise, oath, allegiance, etc.
Belief:
1. an opinion or conviction
2. confidence in the truth or existence of something not immediately susceptible to rigorous proof
3. confidence; faith; trust
4. a religious tenet or tenets; religious creed or faith
So, the conversation about statements of faith irritated me.

It opens up a platform for exclusion.

My story of faith is so much more complicated than most people’s.

I didn’t grow up in church. My first tastes of church were tainted by abuse. I wasn’t allowed to ask questions or learn.

We’ve attended several denominations in different communities since we move around so frequently with the military. Some churches, we loved the pastor; others we loved the congregation or music. Too many church denominations compromise on really big, important issues in lieu of numbers.

There’s not one denomination that I can say I prefer over others, but there are certainly some I wouldn’t ever attend for various reasons.

I cannot stand the intolerance and legalism of “Christian” bloggers.

I don’t want to be a Christian Blogger.

When the blog and social media platform doesn’t align with someone’s personal conversation, then there’s a problem with integrity.

Too many bloggers only show the pretty plastered-on smile on their blog and public social media while spewing hatred on their personal feeds.

What is their real platform? Does having a blog give anyone the right to spew hatred anywhere? Especially if they claim to be a Christian…

But you know what? Christ forgives even if Christian bloggers get their hate on.

Often, I just scroll on by. Commenting on hate doesn’t usually help anyone and just furthers an argument. It doesn’t change anything. There’s no convincing them when they’re all righteous.

But lately, some bloggers have really overstepped on their personal and professional social media. Friends, peers, and brands are watching. Followers are reading. Jesus knows.

Why does the Christian blogging world have to be so competitive and hateful? There is room for all.

According to some Christian bloggers, divorce is not forgiven. One even goes so far as to say: being a successful blogger has some correlation to marital separation. Sucks to be me and a number of people I know who were unfortunate enough to have made a mistake (or two) and imagine ourselves forgiven and washed in the blood of the Lamb. Sometimes, there are no right choices. What if there’s abuse or infidelity? What if he just leaves? I know several bloggers who are courageously writing about their stories of abuse in the patriarchal fundamentalist church movement. I am so proud of them for teaching and helping others.

A blogger on a site I used to write for asked for affirmation to not attend her sister’s wedding…to another woman. I get it: the fear and distaste many Christians have for the gay community and their civil rights. But if I have a family member or friend getting married, I would attend to show my love to her rather than boycott the event and create further strife. Isn’t it more about relationship and being a peacemaker? I am commanded to love my neighbor. What would Jesus say?

Another Christian blogger states that those on the fringe of Christianity (specifically Mormons, Adventists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Catholics) are not people with whom real Christians (Protestants?) should ever fraternize. She essentially calls for a BLOGGER HOLOCAUST and I wonder if there’s a WASP BLOGGER KKK out there and if she’s a card-carryin’ member. Maybe she reads a different Bible than I do? Because the Jesus I know hung out and ate with sinners and the fringes of society on a regular basis. I wonder if she’s seen the movie Footloose? I read and love many bloggers of all faiths, denominations, and backgrounds. They all have something to offer and teach. We should be educated in apologetics. Too many “Christians” are so scared and uneducated in Bible history or doctrine that they are legalistic. Not everyone is the enemy. I love learning and being curious.

Another Christian blogger complains about Christians on her social media feeds who share from celebrities’ pages who are openly gay and supportive of questionable organizations that don’t agree with her ultra-conservative worldview. Instead of scrolling by, unfollowing, or clicking “I don’t want to see this,” in the top righthand corner of the status, she had to publicly denounce the character and personal life choices of anyone sharing anything from any sites with vulgar language or questionable ideals. Some pages are crass and others are just funny. I am absolutely one of those! I prefer the honesty of those sites to the fake and watered-down posts of others. I am seldom shocked. They are truth speakers and the truth is uncomfortable.

Some bloggers accept any and every sponsor that comes their way, no matter if it’s a good fit for their family or readers or perhaps even doesn’t align with their self-proclaimed worldview. It was free or made them a dime or acquired them a few pageviews, so that post is going up for all the world to see while they sell their souls to improve their network and analytics. Good for them. And I hope they claim all that on their taxes? I struggle with maintaining integrity in this area. I have overstretched with reviews before and sometimes it’s so hard to say no. I’m limiting reviews and giveaways more and more.

Many Christian bloggers just want to fit in and feel better and bigger by keeping others out… all the while quoting Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyer and other prosperity preachers. And out-of-context scripture references are my favorite. Post a random Bible verse! Stab where it hurts. They recommend popular authors that twist scripture and weave in weird beliefs. They claim mom gospel or adoption gospel is the only or best way to heaven. They are holier than thou. Too many readers don’t know how to discern truth and just love these books with dangerous ideologies. Just because it’s published by a conservative or even proclaimed Christian publisher, doesn’t mean it’s good or right.

It’s the cleverest bullies who disguise their hatefulness and ostracism with Bible verses.

Some bloggers nonchalantly remark (braggy) that they only make $xx on this affiliate program or with that sponsor and it is hardly worth their time while some of us would be thrilled to only make that, ever, on anything! Some of us aren’t rich or successful in the blogging world – by any standards. I’m excited to get each and every penny. With integrity. I don’t post what I earn or don’t earn. Most of the time if I use #ad on a post, I never actually make money. Often, no one clicks the link or makes a purchase. Sometimes, I just want to share a product we use and love.

Some bloggers even steal intellectual property and claim it as their own. I guess celebrity bloggers don’t have to abide by any rules. They crop watermarks off images or copy/paste text or hotlink images on their own sites and social media.

I see Facebook pages and groups where bloggers delete any comments that disagree with their thoughts. If they share something controversial, they should expect some flak from it, ya know? Instead of spouting that their view is the only view, perhaps they could invite intelligent, respectful debate and learn from others? I welcome other views. I learn so much. But they want only shiny happy comments. Some people are just mean, but I leave comments on my blog and social media for others to see. Why are we scared of honest debate and curiosity?

These wolves in sheep’s clothing hide behind their keyboards while their personal testimonies fall apart.

They have smoking keyboards and razor tongues.

Too many people look to Christian bloggers as leaders but I don’t see enough leadership material there.

That worries me.

Most days, I would rather not be considered a Christian blogger because I don’t want to be associated with so many of these bloggers.

So, to answer the question of my statement of faith, I replied with the Apostles’ Creed. And then I left that group. I didn’t want to align myself with them in any way. I don’t write for other blogs anymore either.

I would rather err on the side of love.

What more do I need to say?

What is your statement of faith? How do you answer that?

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Learning to Balance

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July 7, 2014 By Jennifer 3 Comments

God speaks to me in themes. In the books I read, in the music I hear, in conversations with people – Christian and not.

The theme for this season is about balance and love.

I’ve been forced to slow down these last few months with no mobile phone or Internet. For a girl who was previously plugged in 24/7, when that came to a grinding halt, it was rather a shock. I developed anxiety that I was supposed to be doing something.

God whispered to me to be still.

As I overcame my anxiety and quieted my spirit, I noticed my babies more. I sang songs to them at night. We prayed together. We did art. We played and read books. We laughed and the entire mood of the household started to change over a period of a few days. I observed my family. I was intentional and present.

I can preach and teach to my children, but they are swayed more by actions than words.