Character
Wise vs. Wild Contrast #12: Authenticity
Mr. Facing-both-ways. His name says it all. This allegorical character in John Bunyan’s classic book, Pilgrim’s Progress, was two faced. One face pointed toward the Celestial City, and the other pointed toward the City of Destruction. Scripture talks about people who have a double heart, and are double-minded, double-tongued, and double faced.
3Nov2009 | Mary Kassian | 0 comments | Continued
King of the Castle
“King of the Castle” is a silly, childish game, but unfortunately, it’s a game that’s played in the lives of most adults – albeit on a much more sophisticated level. In the grown-up game there are no physical hills… But still, people fight with one another for superiority. Everyone wants to be “King of the Castle.” Emotionally and psychologically we knock one another down so that we can claim the high place as our own.
21May2009 | Mary Kassian | 0 comments | Continued
Is Meek for the Weak?
Is the meek person a human mouse infected with a sense of his or her own inferiority? Last month, psychotherapist Mary Jaksch gave blog subscribers some advice on “How to Ditch Meekness and Walk Tall.”… Nowadays, “meekness” carries the stigma of cowardly acquiescence. But the meekness of the Bible – the meekness manifested by God and given to the saints – is a strong, active, volitional, courageous attitude.
12May2009 | Mary Kassian | 0 comments | Continued
Single & Fully Feminine
Of the seven qualities Paul urges Titus to have older women teach to younger women, only two are explicitly directed at married women and one to mothers. That leaves at least four for all women, married or single. The following are some ways in which God has given me the grace to apply the Titus 2 virtues in my life and genuinely enjoy my femininity as a single woman.
30Apr2009 | Carolyn McCulley | 2 comments | Continued
One in Christ
It never ceases to amaze me that the assault on the biblical pattern for gender comes from both sides. It is constantly necessary to fight the battle on both fronts and to strive for balance between the two extremes. The following article by Charles Swindoll seeks to do this. It was originally published in the April edition of his Insight for Living “Insight’s” Magazine (Canada).
28Apr2009 | Mary Kassian | 0 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
Only What is Helpful for Building
His mother was not home, but the young boy wanted to draw, so he got out the bottles of ink himself. His sister agreed to pose for him. In his eagerness and excitement, the young artist made an inky mess of his hands, clothes, table and floor. Just as he was finishing his work, his mother returned, and for a moment, stood in the door and silently took the scene in. Then, instead of scolding him, she picked up the portrait and declared, “What a beautiful picture of your sister!” and kissed him.
7Nov2008 | Mary Kassian | 1 comment | Continued
Tipping the Scales in Your Favor
One of Norman Rockwell’s Saturday Evening Post paintings shows an elderly woman buying a large Thanksgiving turkey. The butcher is standing behind the counter, weighing the turkey on his scale. Both the butcher and the customer on the other side are eyeing the scale with pleased expressions on their faces. At first glance, it appears like a regular transaction. But upon closer examination, we discover the reason for their self-satisfaction.
6Nov2008 | Mary Kassian | 0 comments | Continued
How Does Your Garden Grow?
When I was young, grown-ups often greeted me with the sing-songy question: “Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow?” Since my name is Mary, they used this line (taken from a famous nursery rhyme) instead of the traditional “How are you?” I must admit it mildly irritated me. They no doubt thought they were being clever and cute, but I didn’t like being called “contrary.” And I didn’t really understand the meaning of the rhyme.
4Nov2008 | Mary Kassian | 0 comments | Continued
Does Your Speech Make the Grade?
Take a moment to evaluate your speech habits. How good are they? If a grade of 100% represents perfection, what grade would you give yourself? If you don’t swear, and aren’t given to gossip or outbursts of anger, you might confidently give yourself 80% or perhaps even 90%. Compared to the people around you, your speech might deserve a pretty high mark. But what if you graded your speech according to God’s standards? Take this 20-Question Test to see what kind of mark you’d get…
2Nov2008 | Mary Kassian | 2 comments | Continued
Cool Down Your Hot Head (Part 2)
In the Rocky Mountains, hunters occasionally find pairs of interlocked deer horns. When the horns of fighting deer get jammed together and the animals cannot separate them, they die. Anger can cause us to lock horns with others. And the consequences can be just as disastrous. Paul knew that in order to properly manage their lives and relationships, the believers in Ephesus needed to recognize a few things about anger. This is the second of two articles outlining his advice.
29Oct2008 | Mary Kassian | 0 comments | 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 [...]
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The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment
Authentic Beauty
Girls Gone Skank
Thrill of the Chaste
Re-imagining God in the Shack
