Emotions
“I’m Bringing Sexy Back”
Like most millennials (and every other human on Earth), I think about sex. A lot. Not in the “constantly-horny-teenager-going-through-puberty” kind of way; it’s more of a “I-feel-like-a-scientist-because-I’m-so-curious-to-know-what-other-people-think-about-this-basic-human-need” kind of thing. Growing up, society tells us that we’re gross, perverted, and should keep our thoughts to ourselves. I do...
Healthy sex—do we know what it is?
Sex. It is everywhere, and it is a part of all of us. Having it, not having it, wishing we were having it, never having it done correctly, being addicted to it, even being paid for it. We all are classified by how we identify with one, none, or even multiple genders. It seems to pervade every layer of political discussion and color most interactions to some degree. Who we are is somewhat defined ...
Peace
You may have come to this article wondering, “Where can I personally find peace?” If by that you mean “How can I get bad crap to stop happening in my life,” unfortunately, the answer is “Nowhere.” Nobody’s found a pause button for life yet. If you do find it, let us know! We’d like to use it too. But maybe you don’t mean that. Instead you mean, “How can I continue to live my life and still find re...
Jumping Off the Comparison Treadmill
“You’re so slim,” said the athletically-built woman sitting across the table from me at a local lunch spot. I told her how much I weighed. “But you are so tiny,” she persevered. I reminded her that I’m 5’ 8’ and have size 12 feet (don’t judge). “I know, I’m shrinking,” she said. Who was she seeing as she sipped her bowl of soup? It didn’t seem to be me, I thought. By any objective standard, my fr...
Learning Compassion Over Comparison
I stopped comparing myself to others around 2 years ago. It wasn’t a decision I set out to make. It started when I decided to love myself. I never felt comfortable in my own body. I’ve been taught to compare my body to bodies around me, as well as to super model bodies and cartoon bodies, and my body just never lived up to those ideals. I would constantly compare my body to everyone el...
Sex
If you’ve gotten the impression that the God Christians follow doesn’t like sex, or that the Bible is a prudish book, is it a surprise to hear that isn’t true? Is it a shock to hear that God celebrates sex? Many Christians themselves are taken aback by the unembarrassed sensuality found in the book called “Song of Solomon,” which is right in the middle of the Bible. As one lover proclaims to his p...
Hope is How We Cope
Are you an optimist? I know I am. I’ve always been the glass-half-full kind of person. If I had to guess, it’s probably because I consider myself to be pretty lucky. This luck doesn’t just appear out of thin air—I constantly look for new opportunities to put myself out there. While doing this, there isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t tell myself, “Everything is going to be OK.” After hearing t...
Hope
“I hope it doesn’t rain during the picnic tomorrow.” “I hope their marriage works out.” “I hope this new year is a good one.” “I hope she forgives me.” “I hope the last second three-point shot goes in!” You don’t have to go far in life to hear people using the word “hope.” In that sense, hope is an everyday human occurrence. But hope is also a central part of the Christian experience—a virtue t...
Seeing Myself as Never Truly Alone
We live in a lonely world. Some people have even said that despite (and maybe even because of) our global and immediate connectivity online and on our smartphones and tablets, we are experiencing a “loneliness epidemic.” It’s strange, but even as we live in a world where we are bombarded with people at work, in school, on the streets, at the movies, or on social media feeds with hundreds, or thous...
Loneliness breeds loneliness.
I am 13 years old. School ended three hours ago, three hours that I have been sitting in my dad’s office—finishing homework, instant messaging, scrolling the internet, and waiting. Three months in, I should be used to this everyday routine by now. But I’m 13 and I want to go home. Not to the thirty-minutes away from school and work and community, too-small home we are currently renting—no. Home. 2...
Old Friends, New Friends, and the Lonely Spaces In-Between
My family made four cross-country moves before I turned 18. I don’t remember the move from California to Michigan because I was just a toddler. The move from Michigan to Illinois was a mixture of excitement for something new and sadness because I quickly missed my friends of eight years. The next two moves, when I was 11 and 16, turned my already naturally introverted personality into that of a hu...
Finding Your Own Happiness
Relationships are like plane crashes. Let me rephrase that: relationships are like preparing for plane crashes. Still with me? Great! Allow me to explain. If you’ve ever been on a plane, then you have also had to sit through the choreographed safety demonstration that the flight attendants perform with painful smiles. At this point, you may have even memorized it. Personally, I can’t help but focu...