Driving to unpopulated areas always left me uneasy. Running out of gas, sudden medical emergencies, and police encounters gone wrong were always on my mind. However, I kept my foot on the pedal and knew that I had to do this. What was I doing trying to meet up with some strange woman anyway? It would have been easier to just spend some time on the Internet and look up everything I needed to do that way.

Then again, I knew that our Internet service provider was watching. One of my fellow nursing assistants was outed against her will as…

Despite all the complaining about sunscreen, finding new swimsuits last-minute, and nearly getting lost, a day at Cass Lake was what we all needed. While I tried to prevent Cara from swimming too deep, Gavin encouraged Lydia to show everyone the strokes she learned during her swimming lessons. Meanwhile, Asher tried to dive and look for fish. I knew he was a strong swimmer, but he still managed to scare me to death when he stayed under for too long.

While everyone else enjoyed themselves, I wondered if Belarus had any lakes or similar natural features that we could swim…

Even when I was younger, the idea of going on a mission trip never sat well with me. Sending unsolicited “help” to various areas of the world just seemed like a recipe for disaster. Even under the best of circumstances, mission trips didn’t seem like they would solve any problems such as corrupt politicians or supply chain kinks. It seemed that little to no consideration went into actually listening to these people and understanding their needs before trying to hit them over the head with the Gospel.

Sometimes, this even goes as far as disregarding a country’s laws and the…

Matthew West released a song called “Modest is Hottest” for his daughters Delaney Ruth West and Luella “Lulu” Jane West. Part of his album All In, West’s lyrics detail how he wants his daughters to be “a little more Amish” and “a little less Kardashian”. In addition to that, West half-jokes about grounding his daughters “until the world stops” for posting videos of themselves in crop tops.

This song has received backlash from both parents and their daughters. Oklahoma pastor Jeremy Coleman parodied the song on TikTok and voiced concerns about West’s song promoting the idea that girls should dress…

Many American Christians, especially those who are older, recoil at the mere mention of socialism or communism. Mention these words and they will instantly think of the poverty that swept across the Soviet Union and still affects Venezuela today. Some of them may even think that these ideologies are antithetical to Christianity in a way that capitalism is not and suggest that all good Americans have thought this way.

Despite what these people may claim, condemning socialism, communism, or any of their derivatives wasn’t always the American way. In fact, during the Gilded Age and into the 1930s, many prominent…

After it got dark and the kids fell asleep, Gavin and I searched around in the middle of the night for the support group we were supposed to meet. Even though I managed to drive calmly, I could feel my heart pounding in my throat. The directions were kind of cryptic and driving at night was completely different from driving during the day. Every once in a while, Gavin reassured me that I was doing things right, but I wasn’t quite sure that was the case.

I pulled off on the side of the road to check the directions again…

If you even asked this question, chances are you’d be laughed at or accused of blasphemy. However, it’s a question that people have been asking since the advent of American industrialism. In a nation that prides itself in its godly principles, it can seem absurdly hypocritical that many Christians can go from listening to sermons about loving the poor one moment only to call them lazy and unintelligent when actually confronted with their needs. This has led many people to say that Jesus was a socialist in order to appeal to the God-guided consciences of the American masses.

Since socialism…

“Bye, Mom!” Lydia and Asher chimed in unison as they left for the school bus with their backpacks and lunch in tow. That meant I just had to take Cara to preschool. Eagerly beaming at me and Gavin, she practically leaped into her car seat and sprang out as I walked her to the classroom. After that, Gavin dropped me off at home and went to his job at Wal-Mart.

Now that everyone was out of the house, I filed through the drafts of unfinished devotions. …