My Favorite Things Archives - Page 3 of 8

Friday Findings: Evangelicals and Honey Bees, Dating is Dead, and Checklists

Happy Friday, although my Friday is more like “Meh Friday.” My family was struck with the stomach flu on Wednesday night. My husband and I awoke to 2:30 a.m. toddler barf. By the next day, all of us were feeling miserable. Ugh. But, today, I’m on the mend, just still not feeling %100.

I did, however, find some great reads this week that I can’t wait to share. Without further ado…My Friday Findings:

More on the Gay Debate. A piece from Relevant Magazine, that covers both sides of the argument. A fast, but thorough read.

The Disappearance of Bees…and Evangelicals. My husband directed me to this post from Jamal Jivangee’s blog. After reading his amazing post relating Christians to honey bees (it’s soooo good), I found myself reading another after another. Jamal is a member of an organic church, as am I and he has an entire section of his blog dedicated to organic church, if you’re interested.

A fresh voice on Christian dating. I discovered Cory Copeland’s blog, Mad to Love, a few weeks ago and subscribed right away. Cory writes about many issues within the church (right now he’s running a series on, what else, the gay debate) but what I love about him is his fresh, honest, and funny approach on dating and relationships. Check out this post, called “Is Dating Dead?” for example. Great stuff.

God Doesn’t Use Checklists. This is a great post on how we judge ourselves and others, but what we really need is grace. Kristin, the author, writes: “I’m trying to make sense of the tangled mess that’s created when my relationship with God gets all confused with my relationship with Christians.”

Stalk me, why dontcha? Did you hear that the Internet phenom, Pinterest, just raised $120 million and received a $1.5 billion valuation? Yes, $1.5 billion! Some people foresee Pinterest surpassing Facebook. I highly doubt that, but I understand the prediction because I am a self-professed Pin-aholic. I love pinning. There, is said it and if you find yourself on Pinterest too, why not stalk me? We can be pinning friends. Oh, and if you’d really like a sneak peek into my life, find me on Instagram too, as @modernreject!

Mend Mark Giveaway Winner. And lastly, the winner of the Mend Mark t-shirt giveaway is Wendy Ramirez. Congrats Wendy!

So, what did you discover this week? Read anything amazing, challenging, funny, or lame? Share away!

Fab Freebie GIVEAWAY: Mend Mark

A few weeks ago, on Friday Findings, I shared with you a cool Christian clothing company called Mend Mark, whose purpose is to create products “that serve as visual reminders of the life and death of Jesus, the greatest lover in history.”

Well, the rad guys at Mend Mark contacted me and offered to give me some free swag, sorta as a thank-you for sharing the love. But instead, I asked if they would be willing to up the ante and offer a giveaway to you, my awesome rejects. They said “Yes!” So today, is giveaway day.

Here’s the suh-weeeeeet prize graciously being offered by Mend Mark:

One lucky winner will win one of the newest Mend Mark T-shirts, the Follower shirt. Behold her awesomeness…. Continue reading Fab Freebie GIVEAWAY: Mend Mark

Friday Findings: Jesus with Blue Eyes, Feminists, and Your Heart

Friday, sweet Friday. I had a lot of fun blogging this week. I mean, it’s always fun, but it seemed like I had many more meaningful interactions with you all, whether in emails, on Facebook, or via Twitter.

It is always so encouraging to feel like I know some of you, without having met you in real life. It makes blogging so worth it.

I also happened upon some good reads and a few other interesting tidbits this week. Here’s my Friday Findings…

Don’t Invite Jesus into Your Heart. I listed this phrase on my Top 10 Christian Phrases I Never Want to Hear Again post, which was syndicated on Churchleaders.com, where a few readers ~~attacked~~ politely disagreed with me for adding that one. Well, lo and behold a pastor wrote about the same thing, only much more in depth, and I love it!

Feminists Make Bad Christian Wives. The lovely Nikki Weatherford, blogger, wife, and mom extraordinaire, wrote a great post called 10 Reasons Why I’d Make a Terrible Feminist. I’m not gonna lie…I wish I had written this.

Social Media and Evangelism? When you think of evangelizing, is social media one of the last things that comes to your mind? It is for me, but Peter Guirguis started the relevant, challenging, and practical site called Not Ashamed of the Gospel which exists to encourage believers to reach people with the Gospel via social media. I think it’s a brilliant idea.

Jesus Has Blue Eyes. One of the most beautiful, compelling, convicting, and inspiring things I’ve read in a long time. I don’t want to give anything away. Just go read it!

All Kinds of Awesome. The other night, I seriously lost 20 minutes of my life on Buzz Feed, perusing lists like this one and this one. I was laughing out loud, tears were streaming down my face, and it was pure awesomeness.

Measuring Yourself. And it wouldn’t be a true Friday Findings if I didn’t mention something from Frank Viola. His post The Peril of Measuring Yourself Against Others is a pitch perfect commentary on the dangers of comparison, stats, and rankings, and the need for true discipleship. If you are a blogger especially, read this.

I’m Getting Ads. Okay? First, a bit of MR housekeeping…If you ever signed up to receive posts directly to your inbox, only to find you never received a single one, I apologize. I suck. Well, technology sucks sometimes. Anyhoo, it’s fixed, along with some other buggy things that were bogging down this here blog. Also, I wanted to ask you all if you would be terribly offended or run away if I started running ads on Modern Reject?

Because, I think it’s time. I used to feel conflicted about the issue, like Christian bloggers shouldn’t make a penny for writing. They should just be all pious and poor and stuff. But after reading a post from Micheal Hyatt about monetizing your blog without selling your soul, I changed my mind and have decided that ads aren’t immoral. So, hopefully you won’t mind once those precious little money-makers pop up in the next week or so.

Alright Rejects, what have you got to share with the rest of us? Something funny, shocking, weird, touching, none of the above? Let’s hear it!

Friday Findings: Death of Conversation, Gen X-ers, and Criticism

Friday is upon us which means it is also Friday Findings–the day I share with you, all of the exciting, revelatory, mind-blowing (or so-so) stuff I found and/or read this week.

Let’s start it off…

The Art of Conversation is Dying. I’ve long worried about the phenomena of the death of real conversation, ever since my anti-Facebook anti-Twitter days. But then I became a blogger. The New York times raises the issue in The Flight from Conversation, asking whether we are trading genuine conversation for nothing more than connection.

Gen X-ers Unite. I guess I am a Gen X-er, although I’ve never thought of myself as one. I found this interesting article which asks whether the workplace is being reshaped, much in part thanks to Gen X-ers, who see the world differently than generations past.

Stunning Pictures…of Kids. You may have seen some of these photos floating around the Internet. I had, but I hadn’t seen the whole collection of photos by father Jason Lee, who decided to take some of the most original and visually striking (not to mention funny) pictures of his two daughters.

Praying Isn’t Exactly What We Think. My wonderful friend Josh E. Merritt has a blog called Daily Leaps. Josh is without a doubt one of the wisest and most beautiful writers I know…and he’s only 22. He wrote a post about being fully immersed in prayer and how what we tend to think is acceptable prayer, is not all that God is after. I was personally convicted by this piece and hope you enjoy it too.

Get Over Being Criticized. Rachel Held Evans wrote a great post on 10 Tips for Dealing with Online Criticism. Man, I appreciated this post. Rachel gives such wise, grace-filled, yet practical advice. Especially if you’re a blogger, read this one!

20 Something Christians…This is For You. Frank Viola has a one-question survey in his blog just for 20 something Christians. It is a powerful and interesting question. The comments alone are worth reading. If you’re in your 20’s check it out.

Kiss My Facebook Page. If you have a crush on Modern Reject, which I assume you do, ’cause why wouldn’t you…if you have yet to do so, how about planting a big old “Like” on my Facebook page right now? You know you want to and I’ll be ever so thankful.

Okay, where did you find yourself this week? Read anything convicting? Discover something you just have to share? Go on, blow my mind with your awesomeness.

Friday Findings: Tired of God, Quitting Blogging, and Choosing Sides

This week was a mixed bag for me–full of highs and a few lows. But God proved once again that He is faithful and stuff. You know, like we know He is, but tend to forget when things get ever so slightly uncomfortable. All that to say, I’m glad the week is almost over, but I’m looking forward to the next.

So here’s what I read and loved this week:

Tired of…God. Matthew Paul Turner wrote a post a few days ago that made me sigh deeply and nod my head in agreement. He’s tired of talking about God and not for the reasons you might suspect. I can empathize with him and have often felt the exact same way.

Blogging Sucks…Sometimes. This week was one of those weeks when I really question why I do this whole blogging thing. I joked on Facebook that I was leaving Modern Reject to start a DIY blog, which created quite a flurry of responses from you all. I was told I could never leave this blog. Ever. So thank you, but to serve as encouragement, Jason Boyett’s post over at ChurchLeaders.com about why Christian blogging ain’t so fun was just what I needed. If you have a blog, I think you will really relate to this post.

Christian Right or the Christian Left? Have you ever felt like you don’t fit in on either side of the Christian right or the Christian left? I have. I’m a bi-racial, homeschooling, tattooed, recycling, organic church leading, wife and mom of 3. Neither the left nor the right knows what to do with me. And let’s not even get started on my theology, which is just as varying and contradictory to both sides.

Well, Frank Viola wrote a post this week called 20 Reasons Why the Christian Right & the Christian Left Won’t Adopt Me. It is one of the best things I have read in a long time. I love this piece and I think Viola so succinctly captures what it is to belong to neither side, but rather to belong to the Family of God.

Porn, Raquel Welch, and the Power of Our Sexual Imagination. This was an interesting post in response to an interview the sex bombshell Raquel Welch recently gave, wherein she criticized porn for preventing people from forming their own ideas about sex and what’s erotic. Here’s a snippet: “Perhaps because women are considered less sexual, less visually stimulated, and less given to indulge our lusts, our sexual desires are not so heavily manipulated. However, we are not free to imagine what is beautiful about ourselves.”

Praying…or Not. Lastly, one of my favorite bloggers, Sammy Adebiyi wrote a great post called Why I Don’t Believe in Prayer. Sound intriguing? It is and it’s gooood. Turns out, according to him, I don’t believe in prayer either.

So there’s my faves from this week. A lot of good reads. What did you find this week that you’d like to share? Any good blog posts? Your own blog post? Another discovery? Let’s hear it…

Friday Findings: A Big Surprise, Forget the Church, and the Bible Gets Cooler

What a week it has been. After feeling a bit out of sorts last week, I’m back to feeling like my old self. Whatever that means. I also found and enjoyed some pretty spiffy stuff on the web this week that I can’t wait to share in today’s Friday Findings.

So here we go…

Holy wow! Bananas! A Huge Surprise! I discovered on Tuesday, much to my amazement and surprise, that yours truly found her way onto Church Relevance’s Top 200 Church Blogs of 2012 list. I have to say, I was shocked. Still am, in fact, and feel convinced that someone made some type of clerical error. I’m secretly waiting for an email informing me of their mistake, but until that day comes, I’ll enjoy the honor.

In this bizarro twist of fate, Modern Reject landed at #118 on the list (You can check out the full list here). So many of the blogs I love, adore, admire, and stalk are on this list. Which also means I owe you a huge THANK YOU! Thank you for reading. Thank you for subscribing (you do subscribe, right?). Thank you for commenting. Thank you for being a part of this community and encouraging me every single day. You rule and I’m grateful.

The Mark of Love. This week, my hubster introduced me to a super cool Christian clothing company called Mend Mark. I have to say, I usually find Christian paraphernalia to be so cheesy or lame…but not this stuff. I’d actually wear these clothes. The company describes their products “as visual reminders of the life and death of Jesus, the greatest lover in history.” How sweet is that?

Forget the Church? Did you happen to see the recent cover of Newsweek with the provocative title “Forget the Church: Follow Jesus,” with an article by Andrew Sullivan? Well, I took the bait, picked up the magazine and started reading. Then, I started cussing because I found it to be such a pile of drivel. {Sigh}. My husband told me to put the magazine down. I relented.

Suffice to say, I was bothered by it, but then I read Frank Viola’s response to the article. He nails it, in my opinion, as he astutely and effectively addresses the glaringly obvious errors in Sullivan’s thinking. Viola’s piece is called Christianity in Crisis (also the title of the original article) and is worth reading even if you happened to miss the Newsweek piece.

The Bible Gets Even Cooler. You may remember a few months back I did an interview with the uber-talented and creative Jim LePage, whose designs turn the books of the Bible into works of art. Well, now Jim and Troy DeShano are collaborating, along with several other illustrators, on a new effort called the Old and New Project.

I cannot begin to tell you how stunning, visually rich, and masterful these new pieces are. One of the designers in the collaboration is Jon Ashcroft, who actually designed Modern Reject (and ain’t she purdy?) Check out one of his Old and New Project pieces here. All pieces in the project are available to purchase, so you can display them in your home. Go on…put some slick Jesus art on your walls and call it a day.

There you have it– a full week of awesomeness. So what made your awesome list this week? Please tell. I’m dying to know!

Friday Findings: Trayvon, the Atheist, and Self-Promotion

Happy Friday. I was so looking forward to this weekend because I have lots of fun things planned–a lecture on mid-century homes with a dear friend, time with out-of-town-friends, brunch at one of my fave restaurants, and some good ol’ R&R.

But, before I slip away for the weekend, here’s some of my favorite picks from the week:

What Was He Thinking? Dads are funny and they parent very differently from moms. As my husband always says, “Good thing kids have moms and not just dads, or they’d be dead.” This blog is perhaps living proof of that sentiment: What Was Daddy Thinking. It is a collection of pictures of little children and infants in precarious and questionable situations, thanks to…you guessed it, their dads.

Protection for the Atheist. I read an interesting post from Daylight Atheism a few days ago called Creating a Safe Harbor for Nonbelievers, which discusses where the nonbeliever can go for support once they have quit believing in God. It was an interesting and eye-opening read.

Trayvon and Justice. I’ve been following the Trayvon Martin tragedy, like so many Americans. I had for a brief moment considered writing a post on the issue, but decided against it. My view is unpopular and it was not something I did not want to tackle here on Modern Reject. However, this post from the Wall Street Journal by Juan Williams is exactly what I would have liked to have written on the issue, although I doubt I could have said it as eloquently and intelligently as Williams.

Self-Promotion is a Good Thing. Donald Miller wrote a great piece on why self-promotion is neither arrogant nor unholy. I have struggled with “promoting” myself and this blog, at times. It feels unnatural, but the points he makes are excellent ones and very encouraging.

A Big Box of Fun. Have you ever heard of Birch Box? It is a fantasy item for product and make-up junkies like me. Basically, you spend $11 a month and they send you a box of fun goodies. I’m in. There is also a similar product for moms called Bluum. And don’t worry guys, I didn’t forget about you. Men have the awesomely titled Manpacks, filled with things like razors, socks, and cologne.

There’s my round-up of Friday Findings. I hope you enjoy.

Now what made your list for the week? Anything worth sharing? And got any plans for the weekend? I’d love to hear!

Friday Findings: Divorce, Movies, and Leaving the Church

I could hardly wait for Friday to get here this week because I found so many great things to share here for Friday Findings. So let’s not dilly dally (does that expression make me sound like a grandma?).

Churches say funny things. I love funny church signs. There are entire websites dedicated to funny church signs. But this week, I ran across this post from Pastors.com that lists 44 Funny Church Bulletin Bloopers. I was laughing out loud. I found #12, #22, and #25 especially hilarious.

Divorce and Children. On a more serious note, Alece Ronzino of Grit and Glory fame wrote a post last week on a Deeper Story about divorce. More specifically, she wrote about children and divorce and the question so many people ask her following her own divorce. It is honest, powerful, and convicting.

More Happiness. Yesterday, I shared a post here on MR asking whether or not God alone should make us happy. Well, once again the man who inspired my post, Dennis Prager, is tackling the question of happiness. He asks who the truly happy people are in life and how got to be so happy. It’s a great article.

Movie Geek-dom. If you love movies, then you might have noticed that many considered 2011 to be one of the worst years for movies in perhaps a decade. Yeah, it was that abysmal. But never fear because 2012, is proving to be perhaps one of the best years for movies since 1999. That’s right, there is a cornucopia of amazing films set to be released this year. Here’s a list of 50 of the most anticipated movies of 201. I cannot wait!

Leaving the Church. This week Rachel Held Evans wrote a post called 15 Reasons I Left the Church. She was surprised by the reaction and amount of comments that followed, both in support and in disagreement. I found myself sympathizing with her 15 reasons. I guess, I too, have technically “left the church.” Although, for vastly different reasons than Rachel. However, I found the post to be a great conversation starter.

Staying in the Church. Rachel’s 15 reasons for leaving the church, spurred on herself and others, to write about why they have actually stayed within the church. One such post, was from a commenter on Rachel’s blog named Jessica that wrote her own response. It is beautiful, powerful, beyond lovely, and inspiring. It is, I imagine, how so many of us feel as we press on in our churches, uncertain if this is what God would have us do. Read the whole thing, but stay for the last paragraph. It is some of the most poignant words regarding the church I have ever read.

And there you have it. A week full of goodness. So what about you? What did you read, discover, geek out over? Share away!

Friday Findings: Gym Teachers, March Madness, and a New Human Species

Somehow this week, I managed to take care of 3 other people, exercise insane amounts, including some rather painful P90X workouts that technically should be banned in the U.S. for unlawful bodily injury, and write the most posts in one week I have written since having a baby 6 months ago. Go me!

Whew. I’m exhausted, as well I should be.

But it doesn’t stop there. Oh no. And why should it when there are so many interesting, funny, inspiring things to partake of on the Interwebz.

Here’s what got me smiling this week…

I Bet that Gym Teacher Couldn’t Spell “Synecdoche” to Save Her Life from Alice Bradley’s blog Finslippy. I’ve mentioned Ms. Bradley on MR before. She happens to be one of my favorite writers, period. Right now, she’s running a little blog series on childhood teachers. {sigh} She is funnier than me on my funniest days and what’s better than reminiscing about childhood teachers?

Beyond Evangelical from Frank Viola. I mentioned this important series by Frank Viola a few weeks ago, and this is the last installment in the 7 part blog series, but also provides links to the other posts in the series. I think Viola’s definition and assessment of what it means to be “beyond evangelical” is revelatory and not to be ignored.

Cheap art. No seriously. I have always dreamed of having a house filled with beautiful artwork–paintings hanging from wall to wall–a regular art gallery right in my living room. But alas, I grew up and realized that art is crazy expensive, unless you want to hang Justin Bieber posters from Hot Topic (which might not be too bad, ’cause I mean, it is the Biebs).

But a while ago, I discovered 20×200, which is an ongoing and rotating collection of artwork by talented artists that you can actually afford. Just a warning, if you click through, be prepared to lose an hour. Here is a painting by one of my favorite artists, Jennifer Sanchez.

March Madness is oh so good. I love March Madness. I am generally not a sports girl, but something about college basketball gets me geeked out. Yet, I assume most people don’t care and that is why I’m sharing this post from Mashable: 10 March Madness Brackets that Have Nothing to do with Basketball. Way cool list. Enjoy.

New Human Found. And lastly, speaking of geeky, I have a weird love affair with anthropology, archeology, and ancient cultures. My husband has had to endure far too many documentaries on Machu Pichu and the Aztecs. Well, scientists in China recently discovered the skeletal remains of what appears to be a “new human species.” Say what? I find these discoveries fascinating and I am always intrigued to see how God will reveal His consistency in design through them. Read the article and tell me what you think. A new human?

Well, looks like I was all over the place this week. What about you? Are you a March Madness fan? Any great discoveries you’d care to share? Lay it on me! I’d love to hear.

Friday Findings: Church Diversity, Food Porn, and Shaving

Friday, sweet Friday. Thank you for being here once again. I have to admit, my findings this week are a rather eclectic and odd assortment. Hope you don’t mind and don’t judge me.

First up…

Diversity in the Church. Over at Q blog, I read a great interview with Dave Gibbons, who is “the founding pastor of New Song Church, a multigenerational, multicultural, and multisite church in inner city L.A“. I am personally passionate about the subject of church diversity and found it to be an inspiring read.

Food blogs galore. This week, I have been preoccupied with fodie blogs, clicking through link after link, to discover hundreds of mouth-watering, deliecious recipes. Why? Well, I’m finally tackling the extra baby weight that kiddo #3 planted on me. Which means I am desperately missing my old friends chocolate, high fructose corn-syrup, and caffeine. {sigh} Pray for me. But here’s a few of the food blogs Ive been trolling, er um, stalking…

Skinny Taste– tons of gluten free, low-fat options here (I’m a no gluten girl). My fave right now.

All Day Long I Dream About Food– great blog name and great easy and yummy recipes.

The Girl Who Ate Everything–More just food porn than food I can actually eat, but still so tempting.

Lastly, my husband introduced me to a magical, hilarious, original site called Dollar Shave Club. Before you make any snap judgements, watch the video. It is beyond funny.

So there’s my week. A big mish-mash of nothing. Hope you loved every single second of it. Now, please share what sites (or people if that’s your thing)you’ve been stalking this week!