a blog by Candice Gage
Today is February 14 -- the day history tells us St. Valentine was martyred. It also marks 51 days since retail stores were stocked with heart-shaped boxes of chocolate, shiny red balloons, innumerable stuffed animals, and enough Hallmark cards to provide kitschy reading material for even the longest winter. Of course, since St. Valentine is… Continue reading St. Valentine and the Tyranny of Aphrodite
“Stop. Right now. Remake your life from the inside out.” (17) The line was advice a friend had given Shauna Niequist, advice she turns into an invitation, offered over and over throughout the pages of Present Over Perfect. And for my part, I accepted, again and again as I made my way slowly through the… Continue reading Book Review: Niequist’s “Present Over Perfect”
"Everybody lies." My nineteen-year-old eyes widened as I listened, speechless. How could my fiancé excuse his dishonesty like that? How could he think that way? He was a Christian. We read the Bible together. I trusted him. How could he lie to me? In the aftermath of my teenage betrayal, I was baptized into adulthood… Continue reading Who Can You Trust?
Love is a tree that shimmers verdant light on those who rest in its green shade. It is safety and rest. Love is the home we always long for, even when we sit in our living rooms, feet propped up on the coffee table. Sometimes, love finds us. We open our closet doors one morning… Continue reading Love is a Tree in Winter
Earlier this week, I reached mentally for the source of a passage I’d recently read on the importance of example. I could not remember where the bit of writing came from, but tonight I stumbled across it in a seminary class forum. Of course, the passage came from Bonhoeffer. The church is the church only… Continue reading Bonhoeffer and the Under-Estimated Human Example
