Featured
The Abstinent Vampire Attraction
Vampires aside, last year’s block-buster movie, Twilight, has provoked some interesting research. New research from the University of Missouri shows that the reason teenage girls have fallen hard for the Twilight book and film series has to do with its portrayal of a traditional, abstinent romantic relationship. In the series, vampire Edward Cullen doesn’t want [...]
3Dec2009 | Mary Kassian | 11 comments | Continued
The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women
Forbes recently published their list of The World’s 100 Most Powerful Women. Reading through the Forbes list, and the reflections of nine of these “powerful” women, made me think about how very differently things work in the economy of God. For the Christian, “power” has an entirely different meaning.
28Aug2009 | Mary Kassian | 3 comments | Continued
The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness
In the sixties, when Betty Friedan diagnosed her fellow wives and daughters as the victims of “the problem with no name,” American women reported themselves happier, on average, than did men. Today, that statistic has reversed. Male happiness has inched up, while female happiness has declined…. Feminism pumped its best medicine into woman’s veins, but somehow, it merely exacerbated the disease.
27May2009 | Mary Kassian | 2 comments | Continued
A Parable of Restoration
After a lengthy, intensive restoration project, one of the greatest masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance has been restored to its original splendor and returned to its home at the world-renowned Uffizi Gallery in Florence. The Madonna del Cardellino was painted by Raphael in 1505 for the wedding of his friend, a wealthy Florentine merchant. It [...]
22May2009 | Mary Kassian | 2 comments | Continued
Exposed !
She’s a sexy, assertive, self-assured woman, and she’s perfected the subtle art of attracting men. She knows how to flirt with her eyes, seductively tilt her head, and position her body in a provocative way… Who is this woman? You might be surprised to learn that the description (with a few minor fashion updates) comes from the pages of Isaiah. And it may surprise you even more to learn that her behavior was so reprehensible to God, that he punished her and her like-minded girlfriends.
29Apr2009 | Mary Kassian | 4 comments | Continued
I Am Woman
“I am strong! I am invincible! I am WOMAN!” I remember striding down the school hallway with a couple of girlfriends, belting out the words of Helen Reddy’s chart-topping song. We were perched on the verge of womanhood. And we were confident that we would be the first generation to get the meaning of womanhood right.
27Apr2009 | Mary Kassian | 3 comments | Continued
Steel Magnolia
I love the phrase “Steel Magnolia” because to me it speaks to the essence of womanhood. The image melds beauty with perseverance, softness with backbone, delicacy with durability, sweetness with stamina. It reminds me of what the first man exclaimed when he saw the first woman.
7Apr2009 | Mary Kassian | 14 comments | Continued
Re-imagining God in the Shack
Betty Friedan, the main force behind modern day feminism, predicted that the question of the eighties would be: “Is God HE?” The Christa sculpture was the liberal church’s response to the question. And although Evangelical Christians have been much slower to consider female gendered God imagery, the recent phenomenon of the multi-million best-seller, “The Shack,” indicates that Evangelicals, too, are succumbing to the feminist pressure to image God in feminine ways.
6Apr2009 | Mary Kassian | 48 comments | Continued
Work it Out, Girl!
On his recently-released CD Storiez, Christian rapper shai linne encourages women to work out their womanhood in a radical, counter-cultural way. In Work it Out,” the Philadelphia-born artist contrasts the Bible’s vision of the Gospel-transformed woman with the sexualized, narcissistic and radically individualistic woman of pop culture.
4Apr2009 | Mary Kassian | 2 comments | Continued
Gab, Blab and Gossip
I once saw an advertisement that enticed people to buy cell phones so they could engage in more “gab, blab, and gossip.” Are you a talker? Do you enjoy gabbing, blabbing, and gossiping? There’s nothing wrong with enjoying good conversation, but the Bible warns that excess speech is often accompanied by sin. “Where words are many, sin is not absent…” (Prov. 10:19, NIV)
5Nov2008 | Mary Kassian | 1 comment | Continued
Cool Down your Hot Head
Control Anger before it Burns you (Part One)
All of us get angry from time to time. The Bible has valuable instruction about how to manage this volatile emotion. This is the first of two articles outlining what the Apostle Paul taught his friends in Ephesus about anger.
“For the anger of man does not [...]
Curing Your Ill Will
It’s game time. The coach is starting his favorite players. For what seems like the hundredth time this season, your child is warming the bench. You sit in the stands with the other parents and dutifully clap and cheer – but inside, you harbor the malicious hope that your child’s teammates will play poorly, that [...]
5May2008 | Mary Kassian | 0 comments | Continued
Curse of the Good Girl
The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment
Authentic Beauty
Girls Gone Skank
Thrill of the Chaste
Re-imagining God in the Shack
