Rachel Marie Stone's Blog, page 8
November 4, 2013
Unexpected Theological Richness in a Picture Book That Deserves to be Better Known
When I first read Mick Inkpen’s picture book, Nothing, my kids were still too young for it–it’s a bit text-heavy–but I was immediately captivated by it, and have returned to it again and again to read to myself. It is charming and witty, earnest and playful. It is beautifully–beautifully–illustrated. It is also, unexpectedly, a deeply theological […]
October 31, 2013
Guest Post + Book Giveaway: Bearing One Another’s Burdens Doesn’t Mean Living All Of Their Emotions
{I’m delighted to welcome Sarah Cunningham to the blog today. Sarah has a new book out, and her publisher is generously giving away THREE copies of her book, The Well-Balanced World Changer. Read and comment by November 7 for your chance to win.} I learned just about everything you could possibly learn in church growing […]
October 30, 2013
What Do We Mean By “Messy?”
Thanks, everyone who left thoughtful comments on yesterday’s post! I wanted to clarify a few points: #1 Some of you pointed out that “messy” can be a useful term and shouldn’t be lumped in with the careles use of “manic,” “bipolar,” “psychotic,” etc. You’re probably right. ‘Messy’ is in a different category, and we all […]
October 29, 2013
Please Stop Calling Your Relatively Privileged Life “Crazy” and “Messy.”
A few weeks ago, I asked folks on Twitter–and specifically, my colleague Amy Simpson, who has recently published a book on mental illness and the mission of the church: What do you think about the way people use words like “bipolar,” “crazy,” and “manic” when they really mean “moody,” “energetic,” “quirky” and even “fun”? It’s […]
October 28, 2013
Eight Sundays Until Christmas?!
I was particularly sweaty and distracted in church yesterday. So when the priest remarked that next Sunday marks the eighth Sunday before Christmas, I’m afraid I took the news something like this: Here’s to starting off the week in a less preoccupied fashion!
October 25, 2013
Beyond the Rumors of Poisoned and Cursed Halloween Candy…
In 1989, Jack T. Chick published a comic strip gospel tract that claimed to reveal the truth behind Halloween: the panels reveal a group of Satan-worshipers gathering in the weeks before Halloween to “provide our father [the devil] with a number of sacrifices.” They plan to murder some children (“in order to obtain more blood […]
October 24, 2013
October 23, 2013
Why I Still Subscribe To Magazines
Years ago, when I began my OWN subscription to The New Yorker (instead of filching stacks of old copies from my father or grandmother on visits home from college), I resolved that if I could not, in fact, read each issue cover-to-cover, I would at least read one piece per issue that didn’t initially grab […]
October 22, 2013
If You Can’t Drop Everything (+$30,000-60,000) for an MFA in Writing
Interested in doing an MFA in Creative Writing, but not sure you have the time/funds/ability to swing it? Read on. I have a lot of good things to say about this book, The Portable MFA in Creative Writing–and I’ll have more to say about it in future posts. For now I want to tell you […]
October 21, 2013
“So, What’s Your Heart For Social Justice?”
It’s good for a few laughs when you discover #HonestChurchPlantNames and Hipster Church Plant (@hipchurchplant) on Twitter within the space of ten minutes. Happy Friday, folks.
