Mullings and Musings

•  "The Dyslexic Prayer: Weary in Not-well Doing" (Do you struggle with perfectionism like I do... and get frustrated with yourself that you never meet your own, self-imposed, expectations?)

"...there are more than a few times I have felt weary in not-well doing. Dishes are piling up and it is way past bedtime. Sunday morning finds angry children and exhausted coffee-tumbler-toting parents hunkered down in a minivan. Months of raising support see only tiny increments of percentage movement. Prayers seemingly go unanswered after late nights of whispers and tears. Who has not felt weary in not-well doing?"

• "Teens and Porn: 10 Stats You Need to Know" (Sad... scary... and real.)

"Researchers said this sample of students had 'a considerable amount of exposure' to Internet pornography, and they were particularly concerned about the degree of exposure to deviant sexual activity. If participants in this study are 'typical of young people,' researchers commented, 'exposure to pornography on the Internet can be described as a normative experience, and more study of its impact is clearly warranted.' ”

• "Jesus has AIDS" (Shocking title... inflammatory, maybe - but very good points.)

"The statement that Jesus has AIDS startles some of you because you know it not to be true. Jesus, after all, is the exalted son of the living God. He has defeated death in the garden tomb, and defeated it finally. Jesus isn’t weak or dying or infected; he’s triumphant and resurrected.

Yes.

Yes, but..."

• "Once Again: More giving, Fewer gifts" (Just love this...)

"Seems like every Christmas we scale back a little more, a little more... I don't have any 5-step plan for helping your kids to make that transition, but I do know that being somewhat disconnected from commercialism, media, and peer pressure makes a big difference. Okay, that's putting it mildly. We've not had TV for going on 8 years. And the kids are home schooled, so they just don't pick up on the consumerist fascination with all the newest ipads, ipods, and iphones. (And seriously, doesn't that stuff give you the creeps just a little bit??? Every new gadget is preceded by the word "I" - surreptitiously disguised in lower-case - so we don't notice our culture's overinflated, self-infatuated, indulgent obsession with SELF. Hey, I'm as obsessed with myself as the next girl..but sure don't want a series of "I" gizmos to remind me all the time!)"