refugees

ARTICLES

1| The Toast (may it rest in peace) knocks it out of the park with their list “How to Tell If You Are In A J.R.R. Tolkien Book.”

“You’ve come into possession of a magical object of world-imperiling demonic power, which you use primarily to avoid awkward small talk with your neighbors.”

2| I love the Marvel movies for their humor, but especially because they manage to make movies with humor AND serious investigations of trauma via the characters of Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes, and Tony Stark. Check out “I Can’t Trust My Own Mind”: How the Marvel Cinematic Universe Engages with Trauma if you also find this interesting!

3| Barack Obama and Justin Trudeau are the CUTEST BFFS on the planet.

4| Hilary Clinton recognized the closing of The Toast with this amazing piece about women’s spaces and AHHHH I already supported her, but this solidifies it.

VIDEOS

1| This is such a beautiful story of a Syrian family moving to the

I was going to write a blog post about the nauseous horror I feel every time I go on Facebook and see Christians praising Republican leaders for refusing to allow Syrian refugees into our country. I was going to talk about how of course some terrorists will take advantage of the situation, but how….I cannot fathom why that would keep us from helping people in need.

I say “I was going…” because I found a blog post that said everything I wanted to say. Consider taking the time to read Klinton Silvey’s blog post “Something Christian Millennials ‘Don’t Get.'” And if you won’t take the time, here are a few passages that especially resonated with what I wanted to say.

I was raised in a small-town Baptist church. I was taken there Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday nights. I don’t care how much you like to goof off, if you spend that much time in a church, you’re going to pick up on major themes whether you want to or not.

One of those major themes is that we should be courageous. Another is that we should love our neighbors as ourselves. Another is that life is eternal.

These themes are all over the Bible. “Be strong and courageous,” God told Joshua. “Perhaps you are here for such a time as this,” Esther’s uncle said. “Do not fear those who can kill the body,” Jesus said.

Courage, love, and eternity. Those are the hallmarks of my Christian upbringing too. We are free to love courageously because our hope is not in this world – we are eternal beings, and death is just a doorway into the next phase of our existence. Continue reading →