Life Changers 10/31/15

October 31, 2015

My friend Kim says, “Not every story has a fairy tale ending.” For those following my journey with friends battling cancer here in Taiwan, I am sorry to announce that Rick died on October 23 at 13:46, Taiwan time. I send my sincerest condolences to all of Rick’s loved ones. I did not know him, but the circumstances surrounding his dying brought me a tremendous gift of friendship with Kim and her beautiful community, and for that I am grateful. Thank you for all who have sent me messages of support and love – please know they are much appreciated by me and Kim.

Now, on to some Life-Changing links for this week:

#RaisingChildrenUnFundamentalist continue to generate conversation and discussion. At one point, I asked Ben Irwin if he would just write the series for me because he’s just hitting it out of the park with his follow-up posts to my blogs. Check out this one, 3 alternatives to saying the sinner’s prayer with your kids.

Enchant your kids with the goodness of God’s world.

Staying on the subject of fundamentalism, this observation from Richard Beck is sound. Fundamentalists are not self-aware. Emotional Intelligence and Sola Scriptura:

What is interesting to me in this phenomenon is not that we are all engaging in hermeneutics, acts of interpretation. That is a given. What is interesting to me is how self-awareness, or the lack thereof, is implicated in all this.

Basically, fundamentalism–denying that you are engaged in hermeneutics–betrays a shocking lack of self-awareness, an inability to notice the way your mind and emotions are working in the background and beneath the surface.

There are Christians who believe women should always be subservient to men, and there are Christians who think polyamory is a valid option. David Gushee says it’s chaos out there in Christian moral pluralism. What are your thoughts on this? I am chewing on my own…

It’s chaos out there. The spectrum of moral views among Christians on just about every subject spans from one extreme to another. And that’s within a faith community that supposedly shares a common Lord, common sacred text and much common tradition. Now just add in adherents to every other religion and no religion at all and try to have a conversation. What a country!

I loved this beautiful piece: I’m Made In the Image of God and So Are You:

So what if “being made in the image of God” means more than a way to prove humans were the pinnacle of creation? What if it means being in communion with the broken and battered Christ on the cross? What if that means being made in the image of a doubting leader about to be betrayed? Or in the image of a helpless child fighting for life?

Dr. Daniel Kirk has been engaging the gay affirming conversation on his blog. His work was instrumental in my own thinking on the subject so I am following his continual engagement carefully. Gentiles? Really?

There was a way of life that included every kind of law, including the moral law of the Decalogue, that Gentiles did not have to adhere to. The identity of the people of God, when it included the Gentiles, transformed what faithful, righteous, holy living looked like.

A gem of a meme with wisdom from Saint Anne.

Kathy Khang shares vulnerably about her visit to the doctor to evaluate depression medication. We need to keep talking openly about these conversations. It helps. It brings visibility. It de-stigmatizes. Thank you Kathy. The Vitamin L Diary: Words We Are Afraid To Speak

So on this particularly dreary October afternoon my doctor waits for me to answer honestly, to say to myself and to her what I’ve been afraid to even think about.

“I’m afraid the depression is getting worse.”

Lastly, this is one for my creative friends. There is a gap between what we want to create and what we’re creating right now. May this encourage you.