Find the gold in someone, anyone can find dirt..
Day 5 from the #UnashamedList Series. Written especially for youth or young adults navigating sexual integrity, porn addiction, identity, etc. Series intro here.
These posts are crazy vulnerable. This one was extra hard to write.
Remember when I said I gave it away to the first guy I kissed? (ugh). We weren’t even dating. It was just a friend who happened to be very cute, and a bit older, and anyway..
(ps, I 100% dispute the size of that “forever alone” quadrant
Day 4 from the #UnashamedList Series. Written especially for youth or young adults navigating sexual integrity, porn addiction, identity, etc. Series intro here.
It’s a simple equation: If I get experience with kissing, hooking-up, sex, then i’ll get better at it for when it counts.
Sounds logical, right? If you practice piano, you get better. If you fall off a bike, but keep getting up, you’re a champ.
Somehow, hooking-up is different, but you may not find out until you find “The One.” Continue reading “10 Life & Sex Lessons Mom Never Told Me: #4- Smashing & Hook-Ups: Practice DOES NOT Make Perfect”
This is Day 3 from the #UnashamedList Series. Special series written especially for youth or young adults navigating issues like sexual integrity, porn addiction, identity, etc. Series intro here.
Money isn’t the purpose of life.
I know media and music clips imply otherwise, but aren’t we made for more than amassing wealth?
Continue reading “10 Life & Sex Lessons Mom Never Told Me: #3- Money & Bling Aint No Thang”
This is Day 2 from the #UnashamedList Series. Written especially for youth and young adults navigating issues like sexual integrity, porn addiction, identity .. Series intro here.
Who doesn’t want to be loved? Who never wanted to be desired? I’ve been married 15 years and still want to be wanted by my husband.
In Middle/High School crushing and flirting can consume much free time (even long after).
Is he looking at me..? What did she say..?
You can be so self conscious. I got picked on for my hair, being new (we moved a lot), not having the right shoes–people can make fun of anything. I didn’t wear tanks until I was almost done with High School. Continue reading “10 Life & Sex Lessons Mom Never Told Me: #2- More to Life than Sex & Filters”
This is Day 1 from the #UnashamedList Series. For the intro/what’s Jas getting into now?, start here.
Porn is crazy addictive. Yes, some may feel revulsion, but others glimpse a few seconds and get hooked. I know.
I’m not the only one. A Porn Kills Love/ Fight the New Drug Movement is happening in the US.
So how did porn meet me?
Continue reading “10 Life & Sex Lessons Mom Never Told Me: #1- Porn is Crazy Addictive”
That’s me on my 17th birthday. Woo, virginity blown the year before (with the first guy I kissed–in the same setting–ugh), vowed “never again” till marriage (yikes), sexualized more than a decade prior, porn addicted–didn’t realize it was addiction or problem…
Houston, you still with me?
Continue reading “#UnashamedList of 10 Life & Sex Lessons Mom Never Told Me [Series Starts Here]”
The new Voltron (Netflix) blows my mind. I never saw the original (ahem, Thunder Cats), but 30 years later with my own kids, I’ve been longing for cartoons with solid stories and, uh, steady volume. We even blocked a few “kids” channels since so much was like junk food.
But Voltron-Legendary Defender has been a revelation. Rich story lines, deep and diverse characters, 23 glorious minutes of adventure and self-reflection.
One day my little had a meltdown about biking to school. We were running late so my eldest had to bike ahead. I hated separating and spontaneously called out, “What would Voltron do?!”
That got me thinking, so here’s my top 9 Voltron – Legendary Defender Life Hacks for a little fun and encouragement.
Continue reading “WWVD? 9 Beautiful Life Hacks from Voltron, Legendary Defender”
Imagine a city so loaded with gold and gems they become standard building materials. Add other precious metals and stones to the mix and just marvel. It’d be palatial, decadent, … God-like?
Hmmm.
“Streets of gold” is a phrase probably rooted in a bible passage on heaven: “… The great street of the city was of gold, as pure as transparent glass…” (Revelation 21:21)
But I don’t care if it’s true or not. The real question for me is: What good is all that Gold??
Continue reading “God Wouldn’t Fly First-Class: 3 Surprising Reasons the Streets are Gold in Heaven”
God-glimpses aren’t confined to churches, prayer or fasting. Sometimes (many times?) they can happen in the natural, every-day moments.
I biked with three of my littles one unnaturally warm winter day. The youngest sitting behind me piped up: “Look, look!”
Continue reading “Shine & Shadow: How to Stay in the Light without Throwing Shade”
It’s Christmas time, and while skies darken, lights get brighter and more numerous. The year is closing fast.
This week my children’s school did a “Herdertjestocht,” (“Sheperd’s trail”) throughout the neighborhood, where live-action posts were setup and the kids performed different parts of the Christmas story in the night. Continue reading “Humble Rebels: 5 Ways to Have a Mary & Joseph Spirit this Christmas”
When school starts you hear stories of new teachers, tasks, and ways kids get others to laugh. Sometimes kids talk about new challenges like having “strict” teachers.
One story went like this:
Teacher A asked a question to class. Student B asked for it to be repeated. Teacher A makes example of Student B for not listening.
What do you think? Is it possible for a religion claiming inspiration from a humble, foot-washing, dying-on-behalf-of-“haters”- God, to have followers preaching hate, exclusion, and oppression?
Sadly, it’s possible. Continue reading “Love, Law & Christianized Hate: One Bible Verse to Flip the Script”
Who never experienced “busy”? Does this sound like you: Agenda is full, head is full, the to-do lists had babies (or, the list is so massive it never makes it out of the mind), and when someone asks “How’s it going?” your go-to is, “Ok, fine, busy. You know.”
Is it just me?
Continue reading “Busting Busy: 6 Tips to Declutter Your Agenda and Start Catching Your Dreams”
The gospel can be cut so many ways. “Good news” for a woman begging is different than for a rich Westerner, or trafficked boy. But concepts like unconditional love and freedom keep me busy.
I’ve heard many Christians stress about people needing to “convert” or “be saved” to avoid hell. Was it similar thinking that sparked the convert-or-die theology of the Crusades?
Is it so simple? We were enjoying an outdoor wedding and it was like heaven touched down– the weather, the people, music, everything was amazing. So much freedom and fun, especially for the kids. We stayed all night long.
When a speaker shared about the Adam/Eve story, full heart and humor, I got hit:
If Eve was made for/from Adam so he wouldn’t be lonely, maybe God made all of us for the same reason? [-click to tweet-]
God, lonely? Ridiculous! Blasphemous!
Ok, but here’s a question: did you ever experience a great place, delicious food, or sick beat and not want to share it with someone?
