Speaking Engagement: Wild Goose Festival

May 1, 2013 by 5 Comments
wildgoose

  A few months ago, I sent in an application to be a speaker at the Wild Goose Festival. I didn't tell anyone about it. At all. Not my husband, not my friends, not my family - no one. I had very little expectation that I would be invited, so I didn't want to get myself too amped up about this, and telling people about things like this tends to get me amped up. So I was crazy shocked and excited a few weeks ago when I got an email from the good people at Wild Goose confirming that I was going accepted as one of the speakers for the event! I told my friend Leigh Kramer yesterday that I will put "spoke with Gennon Melton" on 100% of my resumes for the rest of my life. Anyway, I would love, love, love to see you there. You can get tickets here. And really, even if you don't care … [Read more...]

Filed Under: speaking, The Christian Guide to Atheists, Wild Goose

Prayer Under the Magnolia

April 30, 2013 by 1 Comment
Magnolia

"Let's pray." +++ The previous two days in Chicago had been very full. As soon as Rich and I landed in Chicago, we made a beeline for Lou Malnati's for some traditional Chicago deep dish pizza. We sound checked and ate a late supper and met some of the other presenters for the conference. The next day we sang and listened and took notes. At the end of the day, we ate waffles that would have made Leslie Knope proud while we talked about our presentation the next day. We had listened to one speaker after another present powerful ideas, backed with history and important quotes and lots of professional experience. To say that I was intimidated would be a bit of an understatement. I was flat scared. But we knew that we were there to tell our story, so we figured out how we wanted to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Sacred Friendship Gathering

Discussing Faith Over Seafood by Sarah Moon

April 27, 2013 by 12 Comments
Mixed Up Faith

  When I started this series, I hoped that Sarah would contribute, because I know that she is involved in a number of interfaith relationships, including the one that she has with her fiancé. Any time our faith moves in a completely new direction, we can encounter these differences and I'm thankful that she is talking about how she and Abe are navigating the process of coming into marriage with two different faith traditions. If you’d like to contribute, check out the details here. +++++++++++++ When I first met my fiancé, Abraham, I was a fundamentalist who had recently realized (with trepidation) that I believed in evolution, had just become a feminist, and was considering leaving the Baptist church that I grew up in. When my fiancé, Abraham, first met me, he was … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Mixed Up Faith

Repost: Love as the Boundary

April 26, 2013 by 4 Comments
Don't_lean_on_the_railing_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1204336 (2)

I'm currently sitting in a hotel room in Chicago, getting ready for two days filled with stories about love and friendship. Part of that will be Rich and me sharing our own story about how we discovered deep, intimate friendship through music, and also through the direct sharing of said music. I am honored to have the opportunity to talk about how my friendship with Rich has changed my life. In honor of the Sacred Friendship Gathering, I want to repost this piece I wrote a year ago about friendship and how, rather than pointing to specific rules about how we're to interact, Rich and I choose love as the boundary. +++++++++++++++ At the Good Women Project, Anne Wilson wrote a piece entitled Boundaries: No One Is Above An Affair. To close the piece, she wrote the following: Love … [Read more...]

Filed Under: friends, Sacred Friendship Gathering

The Christian Guide to Atheists: Atheists Want To Remove God From Society

April 24, 2013 by 13 Comments
The Christian Guide to Atheists

  Myth: Atheists want to remove God from society A 9/11 cross. A prayer banner in a public school. The Ten Commandments from a courtroom. A town square nativity. Non-believers have fought for the removal of these Christian icons, and they have consistently won those battles. And when a Christian identifies with a particular symbol, it can feel like faith itself is under attack. It can seem as though atheists want to remove God from society. As with many of the posts in this series, there is a small grain of truth in this, and as we’ve seen before, that can make the whole thing seem true. This is another area where empathy will help us to navigate the truth. Imagine that you’re entering your child’s public school. You support the school through your taxes. Your … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Christian Guide to Atheists

Hanging My Clock

April 23, 2013 by 37 Comments
Signature

My husband bought me that clock a year ago. He bought it because I was pitching my first book proposal to an agent and as a stalwart supporter of my writing, he wanted to encourage me. So I sent off this idea to the agent who I most wanted to represent me. That proposal was rejected. So my hilarious clock sat on my dresser. And I took the constructive criticism that the agent so graciously offered me and went back to the drawing board. I rewrote and reworked and came up with something that was way better, thanks largely to help from Ed Cyzewski. It was something that I loved. And I submitted to the agent again. That proposal was rejected, too. And the clock got buried under out of season clothes and children's school papers. I cried on the phone with my friend … [Read more...]

Filed Under: writing

Stuff I’ve Been Reading

April 21, 2013 by 2 Comments
Stuff I've Been Reading graphic

  We've finally made it to Sunday in a week that was not one of the best we've seen in a while. These are the times when I'm extra grateful for the love I have in my life. It's a gift. I loved this reflection from Jen Luitwieler about the runners in the Boston Marathon. So good. I miss talking with Knox McCoy every week about The Walking Dead. But when he writes pieces that combine parenting and Saved By The Bell and LOST and Christianity, I remember why I like him outside of the podcast. Two friends announced book deals this week. Both Dianna Anderson and Addie Zierman have book deals. I am so happy for both of them and cannot wait to see what they have to say. These are smart women. I got to share a beer with Sonny about five minutes after we met. Clearly this is why … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Stuff I've Been Reading

I Wonder What They Think by Brenna D’Ambrosio

April 19, 2013 by 5 Comments
Mixed Up Faith

I had the pleasure of meeting Brenna last September at STORY. I'm grateful that she's sharing today about her lovely extended family who practice a different faith tradition from her own. If you’d like to contribute, check out the details here. +++++++++++ I grew up with a small, Evangelical family. With just a few cousins, we weren’t close knit.  The closest we ever got to an interfaith relationship was a Catholic uncle here and a “backslider” there. Looking back it is almost laughable. It was something that I didn’t give a lot of thought to – we were all Christians. ****** The first time I met his extended family, my cheeks burned hot as I said hello, hoping that my shirt was not offensive. Was it cut too low? Did I insult? Embarrass? He was looking down at the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Mixed Up Faith

What “Best Friend” Means To Me

April 18, 2013 by 13 Comments
trophy

Recently, Sarah Bessey wrote about her circles of friendship. I loved this post because in an age where we "friend" people who we might not recognize if we passed them on the street, it's good to have ways to explain what we mean when we talk about our friends. I don't have nearly the well-thought out categories that Sarah shares, but I do have people who I consider to be "best friends." I have my husband Jason, my friend Tina, and my friend Rich. They are all my best friend. Jason is my best friend because he shows me that honesty is worth pursuing even when it's hard. He makes me laugh better than anyone else. He is the first person to support me when I want to pursue my dreams. Tina is my best friend because she knows all of the words to Flood by They Might Be Giants. She … [Read more...]

Filed Under: friends, Sacred Friendship Gathering

The Christian Guide to Atheists: Atheists Think Christians are Stupid

April 17, 2013 by 16 Comments
The Christian Guide to Atheists

  Myth: Atheists think Christians are stupid Of all of the misconceptions about atheists out there, this was the one that was probably the most damaging to my relationship with my husband. A full year after he told me that he deconverted, I still believed that this was true. It made me hesitant to talk to him about any of my questions about his deconversion and caused me to be closed off when speaking about matters of faith. Admitting that I worried that he thought I was stupid was definitely one of the more difficult things I had to do following his deconversion. For many Christians, this is an area where there is concern. No one wants to be thought of as stupid so if you believe that someone considers you to be stupid by virtue of your faith, it is easy to want to avoid … [Read more...]

Filed Under: The Christian Guide to Atheists
«Older Posts
Newer Posts»