Without a doubt, my favorite Christmas Album of All Time. In this week of Advent, where we reflect on “peace” let this album calm your spirit. Sarah McLachlan Wintersong Even if you only listen to the video above, you will walk away more peaceful than …
Mark 1 John the Baptizer The good news of Jesus Christ—the Message!—begins here, following to the letter the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Watch closely: I’m sending my preacher ahead of you; He’ll make the road smooth for you. Thunder in the desert! Prepare for …
The Washington Post just published an article that the Kentucky church that banned Interracial couples has reversed its decision.
A friend and member of my church, Curtiss DeYoung, is interviewed in the article he is a professor of reconciliation at Bethel University, and has done a lot of scholarship around the issues of race in the church.
*Note* This series comes from an integrative theology paper that I wrote on the intersection of the doctrine of sin and identity development in young adolescent girls. I started this series so long ago, but I realized that there was more to this series that …
I posted this article from the Huffington Post on my facebook wall the other day. A church in Kentucky has voted to say that everyone is welcome to come to their church, but interracial couples cannot become members. One thing that jumped out at me …
Today is World AIDS Day.
My experience with HIV and AIDS is mostly through TV. Watching The Real World: San Francisco, and seeing Pedro’s life made a big difference in my understanding of the disease. So did Philadelphia.
More recently I picked up the graphic novel Pedro & Me – Judd Winick up and wes reminded of how powerful watching Pedro’s life on MTV was in my High School days.
But I was an adult, well out of college before I personally knew someone who was open about their HIV infection. I had picked a friend up from his house, he was sitting in the front seat of my car, we were heading to church, when he told me. I think that I was cool when I heard it, but when I got home that night I sent multiple text messages to my best friend to help me process the fact that I now had a personal connection to the HIV virus. This wasn’t a disease that was limited to the East and West Coast of the United States, or characters on TV shows, or desperately poor people in Africa, this was a disease that was impacting my life, he was my friend and he was sitting in my car.
HIV is still a problem in Minnesota
The following are some key statistics and talking points on HIV in Minnesota.
- In 2010, 331 new cases of HIV were reported in Minnesota.
- The Minnesota AIDS Project, the leading source for HIV information and services in Minnesota, believes that these data underscore its view that HIV prevention and education is at a critical point if we are to stop the increase in new cases.
- A new case of HIV disease is reported in Minnesota nearly every day.
- To date, 9,493 cases of HIV disease have been reported in Minnesota since 1982.
- As of December 31, 2010, 6,814 people are known to be living with the HIV virus in Minnesota.
- In the past year, 86% of new HIV cases were reported in the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
- 22% of new HIV cases of adult and adolescent in Minnesota are among African Americans, who represent just over three percent of the state’s population.
- Since 2001, there has been a steady increase in new cases occurring within the population of young gay and bisexual men (under the age of 24). In 2010, they represented 20% of newly reported cases.
So today, I’m making a donation to the Minnesota AIDS project. And I’m going to check out the ONEcampaign “Beginning of the End of AIDS” on youtube when I get home tonight.
This was the most helpful description of Advent I’ve ever found. The last few seconds are an ad for an online Advent calendar Busted Halo. I was skeptical of Busted Halo’s Calendar at first. Each day there is a video clip or a quote from …
How pretty is this pillow? My sister’s boyfriend’s sister (got that?) has an Etsy page with some beautiful and adorable things. Her miniature Moose and Bison are in a race with this pillow for my favorites. Etsy is a great place to find gifts for …
I’m participating in the Post A Week 2011 Photo Challenge. Each week we are given a prompt. This week’s prompt is “Family.” I’ve never smiled more while writing a post. I’ve also never been closer to weeping while writing a post.
This is my “newest” family. My husband’s father’s side of the family. We were married in July and Richard’s family came to celebrate with us from Barbados, Jamaica, Canada, Florida, and Baltimore. I married into a great family. My grandfather-in-law in the orange shirt front left, and his wife, my grandmother-in-law in the turquoise outfit, were so inspirational. 
This is my second “newest” family. The men and women of the house that I’ve lived in for the last 6 years, until I got married. These friends have become siblings, I’ve been a bridesmaid and a grooms-maid for two of my housemates. They’ve sat with me while I cried, laughed at stupid movies late at night, prayed with me and fed me. 
Ok, this family has been with me since birth. This is my mom’s side of the family. My Grandmother couldn’t make it, and one of my cousins was about to have a family, but this is the family that I’ve hula’d with, made up cheers with, went to camp with, swam across lakes with and sauna’d with. 
This family too has been with me since birth, but was significantly smaller that year. I was the first born grandchild on my dad’s side of the family, and almost thirty-one years later my grandpa still calls me “numero uno.” I’m almost certain that this is the only Spanish this 100% Swedish American man knows. My Grandmother danced to Justin Timberlake “I’m Bringing Sexy Back” at my wedding. 
Over the Thanksgiving weekend I spent quite a bit of time drawing and painting. I haven’t done much of either lately and it felt so good to do. Drawing is so much like play for me, and painting feels like meditation and rest. Here’s one …