What's your favorite Christmas movie? It might tell a bit more about you then just your taste in holiday films. Dr. James Emery White writes:

A couple of years ago a film crew from our church hit the streets of Charlotte, N.C., to produce a “person on the street” video asking people, “What comes to your mind when you think of the Christmas story?”
Number one answer?

“The movie.”

Yep, the 1983 “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid” tale from 1940s Indiana of a 9-year-old boy’s desire for a Red-Ryder Carbon-Action 200-Shot Range Model Air Rifle BB gun (and, lest we forget, with a compass in the stock).

An intriguing editorial in TIME magazine at around the same time noted how A Christmas Story had become the quintessential American film for Christmas, replacing It’s a Wonderful Life. Titled “Generation X-Mas,” it chronicled how an “upstart film became a holiday icon for the post-boomer set.”

As for George Bailey?

“Not so into him anymore.”...

Great post at Musings of a Hardlining Moderate about schmoopy Contemporary Christian Music:

I’m fond of the criticism that too many worship songs today fit the “Jesus is my boyfriend” genre. It’s no longer a matter of narcissitic, trite lyrics chalked full of superficial reflections with questionable theological implications. As Southpark rightly lampooned, many of our worship songs are now almost completely indistinguishable from any other love song, both in content and tone. They seriously make it sound as if we want to cuddle with Jesus, kiss Jesus, and make love to Jesus. In more gentle terms, N.T. Wright has called them “teenage love songs” about “falling in love with Jesus.” Either way, ChristianMingle.com has proven the point by seamlessly using these songs in their commercials. I find this implicit, widespread conflation of spiritual and sexual in our worship songs to be incredibly creepy. To be clear, I’m not saying that this is wholly without precedent–biblical or otherwise. Look no further than Hosea and his unfortunately-named, promiscuous wife for a vivid illustration of this. Moreover, I agree with Rob Bell that we need to explore the infinitely complex relationship between spirituality and sexuality. I’m not pulling a Sheldon Cooper here. What I’m saying is that our songs need a greater degree of complexity, reflecting the fact that we’re using human relationships as a metaphor."

Just watched an awesome TED talk on the benefits  of playing video games. This post, I dedicate to my brother Joe.

Epic, Liz Lemon eyeroll, right here, for this ridiculousness straight out of Sweden. From The Atlantic:

Is it discriminatory and degrading for toy catalogs to show girls playing with tea sets and boys with Nerf guns? A Swedish regulatory group says yes. The Reklamombudsmannen (RO) has reprimanded Top-Toy, a licensee of Toys"R"Us and one of the largest toy companies in Northern Europe, for its "outdated" advertisements and has pressured it to mend its "narrow-minded" ways. After receiving "training and guidance" from RO equity experts, Top-Toy introduced gender neutrality in its 2012 Christmas catalogue. The catalog shows little boys playing with a Barbie Dream House and girls with guns and gory action figures. As its marketing director explains, "For several years, we have found that the gender debate has grown so strong in the Swedish market that we have had to adjust."

Jon Acuff writes at Stuff Christians Like:

Recently, someone emailed me a photo of this billboard[.]

My first thought was, “Do you know why Jesus misses hearing you say Merry Christmas? Because no one said it to him in the Bible.”

It’s true. When Joseph held the sweet baby Jesus in his arms, he didn’t say, “Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night.”

The wisemen didn’t get down off their awesome camels and say, “Here are some Christmas gifts.”

I read an interesting post by Rod Dreher that got me thinking about Evangelicalism, nature, the Arts and mysticism. He writes:

Thursday was Joscelyne's memorial. It was a beautiful service and I guess a good 200 people came out. I didn't cry and I believe a large part of that is due to the presence of those 200.

My former boss, Nancy, and her husband. My heart leaped at seeing her face. She was my boss when I was 19, working part time mentoring freshmen.

Tamara, one of my oldest friends. We use to make mud pies in my backyard when I was 7.

Carly, my friend of 15 years who I hadn't seen for over one.

I pulled into the driveway, and put the car in park. It was a risk, just showing up like this to see my sister, but I missed her. I pulled out my cell and hit her number on my contact list.

After two attempts and nothing but voicemail, I called her husband, Manny, who was at work.

"Hey Man, she is home, right?"

"Yeah, Li, she is. She doesn't have the car, and it's what, 11? Where else would she be?"

So I did a post about Contemporary Christian Music's (CCM) supposed suckage in the minds and ears of quite a few. It went up, but the views for it didn't. At least that is, until the very cool Matt at The Church of No People kindly retweeted the link.

Quite suddenly, a bunch of peeps in the Twitterverse let me know, in no uncertain terms, that CCM is, if not awesome, at the very least, the opposite of "suckage". At first, I got scared. Really. See, I've found myself cornered by anonymous folks on the Interwebs in the past, trying to converse to no avail. So when I saw all those "@alishadefreitas" comments... I felt a chill.

But I warmed quickly when I actually read through the replies. There was no attack on me, just heartfelt defenses by music lovers. Once the convo got going, I asked two of the Tweeps if they would do an interview via email... and they agreed. Yeah! So please allow me to introduce you to Claire (@claireshegoes) and Ben (@bhrome).

Ladies first, so without further delay, the lovely, bespectacled Claire from Canada:

When I sat in that doctor's office over a year and a half ago, being told I should consider terminating my Zoe because I might have a genetic condition that I may pass on to my daughter, I knew deep in my heart, she was- and is- a gift.

I knew that even if some cold, detached doctor did not, could not, would not see her value, she deserved life.

And when she was born, a beautiful, squiggly girl of seven pounds and seven ounces and a long twenty inches, the precious gift I was blessed to carry for thirty-eight weeks entered the world, full of curiosity, attentiveness and hunger.

Zoe Lyne Hope. Zoe means "life". Abundant life.

The thing is, while I had all the hope in the world for my sweet baby girl, the doctor's advice cut me deeply. Whether she was aware of it or not, she had sent a very clear message. If my daughter should die because she might wind up like me, why should I go on living?

Tough words for me to write, but they were downright terrifying for me to think, believe and finally live. I began to see myself through broken, twisted lens. As my health declined last year, this view quietly took a hold of me, so thoroughly that when I was admitted to the hospital to treat my neurological problems, I felt I was wasting the doctors' and nurses' valuable time. I was squandering our insurance money.

What made me worth helping?

I was on medical leave from work, not bringing in a paycheck.

My FMLA time was up, and my last disability payment from having Zoe had come two months before all this.

In Randian speak, I was a taker, mooching off those who truly count, the makers.

Circles and squares. My thoughts were caught in a seemingly endless loop of boxed in despair and brokenness.

Despite being Unapologetically Episcopalian... well, liking it on Facebook, I've been feeling something like sorrow for the denomination to which my church belongs. It seems every other day there's yet another story about it's decreasing numbers and entire parishes breaking off to become Roman Catholic or join up with other theologically conservative Anglican communities.

And little by little, I've been feeling out of step, too. There was the little devotional that left me at a loss for words. Then there was this post based off of last Sunday's Liturgical Gospel Readings. It was written by David Henson who is currently undergoing training to become a priest. Here's an excerpt:

"Was Jesus a racist?

This might be an uncomfortable question for Christians to ask, but, given this week’s lectionary text, I think it’s one we must ask. And we must ask it unvarnished.

Our immediate response likely is, “Of course not! Jesus couldn’t possibly have been racist!” But Jesus’ exchange with the Syrophoenician woman seems to tell a different story. In it, Jesus calls the woman, who was desperate for a miracle for her child, a dog, a dehumanizing ethnic slur common at the time. No matter what theological tap dance we might create to avoid this uncomfortable truth, eventually, we have to face this stark truth.

Jesus uttered a racial slur.

Part of the difficulty of this passage is that as Christians, we want Jesus to be the simple, easy answer to all our problems and to all of society’s problems. When faced with the complexities of personal and institutional racism, it is much easier to think of Jesus as transcending them all and loving all peoples regardless of skin color or culture of origin.

After all, that’s what our children’s song teaches us. Jesus loves the little children. All the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white. They are precious in his sight.
But what of the little dogs? Does Jesus love them too?

The difficulty of this passage particularly for white Christians is that we want Jesus to be colorblind. We want Jesus to be colorblind because that’s what we want to be or think we should be. But, in truth, at least in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is anything but colorblind. In fact, rather than being part of the solution to racism or ethnic prejudice, Jesus seems to be very much part of the problem, according to this story.

So what does it mean, exactly, that the Son of God, the Incarnation, the Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, utters a racial slur?

Because that is exactly what Jesus does in his exchange with the Syrophoenician woman. When confronted with the gentile pagan in this story, he explains that his message and ministry are for Israelites only, a comment of ethnic exclusion and prejudice that calls to mind a similar refrain – whites only – that reverberated throughout the South not too long ago.

It wouldn’t be fair, Jesus explains, to take the banquet prepared for his people – the children, the humans – and give it to gentiles – the dogs, the less than human."

In my 14 years of Christian school, and lifetime of attending various churches, I've never heard of such an interpretation of Mark 7:24-37. I never even thought of it in such a way. I think there is a real danger in juxataposing 21st Century Western sociological issues onto Scripture.

I'm not the only one feeling alien. I read an unintentionally (?) funny post on HuffPo by Christina Pesoli. She feels so out of sorts with the Roman Catholic Church she wants a major schism.

"For decades I prayed that the Catholic Church would evolve, but not anymore. Now I'm holding out for a schism, instead. We'll be the Social Justice Catholic Church and they can be the Conservative Catholic Church.

We'll take Melinda Gates, Stephen Colbert, all of the Kennedys, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, John Kerry and, yes (because we have a sense of humor), even Joe Biden. Oh, and for edgy vibe, we'll take Jack White. The Conservative Catholics can have Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Paul Ryan and Justice Antonin Scalia.

In the Social Justice Catholic Church, there will be no more of this nonsense over contraception. Once we've put that non-issue to rest, we'll be freed up to tackle other non-issues, too -- like marriage and gender equality.

In the Social Justice Catholic Church, everyone will be treated equally -- men, women, gay or straight. And everyone will be allowed to marry, even priests. And speaking of priests, no one will be disqualified from being one based on gender or sexual orientation. Priest shortage? What priest shortage?

So, what makes the Social Justice Catholic Church different from any other inclusive and reasonable church, like the Unitarian Church, for example? Two thousand years' worth of rituals and a treasure trove of accessories, that's what. We're keeping all of the cool incense burners, water-sprinkler thingies, holy days, saints and sacraments. Oh, and the wine. We're definitely keeping the wine"

Geez, I'm not even Catholic and I'm shaking my head. By the way, I wrote it was perhaps unintentionally funny because what Pesoli is advocating for kind of started happening back in the 1500's. It was called The Reformation. Martin Luther and John Calvin... Ring any bells? At any rate, she might be more at home in the Episcopal Church. No need for some major theological battle. And we've got "cool incense burners, water-sprinkler thingies, holy days, saints and sacraments", too. Oh, and we've got wine.

My thoughts about Pesoli are echoed in advice by Ellen Painter Dollar to Rachel Held Evans. Dollar, also an Episcopalian, advises Evans, an Evangelical who is feeling at odds with those like Mark Driscoll and John Piper, to simply leave for a mainline church.

"While I am sympathetic to those who wish to bring reforms, of feminist and other natures, to the evangelical movement, I also want to remind those who are fed up with how women and their voices are welcomed (or not) in evangelical churches, publications, and conversations that there are many churches (that is, movements, denominations, and congregations) where women and other marginalized groups (such as LGBT Christians) don’t have to fight for respect, equality, and a voice. I think many frustrated evangelicals would be amazed (and breathe some huge sighs of relief) to discover that issues that are hot within their circles are non-issues for many other dedicated Christians. And that Christians of an evangelical bent can find a home alongside those other dedicated Christians, even in communities that don’t define themselves overtly as “evangelical.”

 ...  many American Christians are living a lively faith within vibrant faith communities, without having to argue for full inclusion and respect for all people, and without having to navigate many of the gender-related controversies that occupy evangelicals.

If you are fed up with churches in which all you have to do to be controversial is to be a woman who speaks her mind, I invite you to find a different church.

Contrary to some stereotypes, mainline American churches are not repositories of chilly, rote religion practiced by people more interested in tradition than the movement of the Spirit....

... What could be more radical within a traditional Christian community than welcoming those who are unsure of how far they want to commit to this Christianity thing?

Sometimes I miss the energetic, informal worship and easy Jesus talk of my evangelical college fellowship. But I’ve gladly traded those things for a church where the Jesus talk is a little more subdued, but no less vital, and where the gender (or sexual orientation, for that matter) of those doing the talking matters not at all."

Sounds like Pesoli would REALLY like her church.

Maybe there will be a schism, though. Not a Eastern Orthodox vs. Roman Catholic or Roman Catholic vs. Protestant, but a Traditional vs. Liberal.

Sigh. So much for that whole "we are one in Christ" teaching.

 I don't get very many invites these days, so it's very striking I managed to get three for events all on the same day, May 19th.

Three parties celebrating three very different occasions. But all for beautiful women who are about to experience life-changing events.

Candace has been my friend since before Dawson and Pacey but after the Macarena. We were both transfers to a now-shut down Christian school, new girls in the eleventh grade.

She was-and is- everything I'm not. Tall, thin, charismatic and adventurous. We clicked immediately.

After college, she moved to Miami, preferring the heat and sun to Jersey's cloudy gray. She's traveled the world- London, Port of Spain, Acapulco- with aplomb. So it makes perfect sense that she's taken a job as a flight attendant, stationed in the exotic where billionaires play. She's leaving in a few days.

The second event was to honor- and exhort- Dawn, mother of six,  loving daughter and sister, faithful Christian, domestic abuse survivor, and youth leader. She'll be undergoing a mastectomy this week, and her daughters put together a surprise party.

A cancer diagnosis would probably drive most folks into silence, but it's the opposite for Dawn. She pulled out her camera, and began a video blog of her journey. 

We sat, mouths slightly agape, staring. We were shocked and hurt, K and I. We had just been counseled briefly that the child inside me might be genetically "defective". And then asked flatly, if we would like to consider terminating the pregnancy?

********************************************************

Six weeks ago, K and I left work early to go the hospital where I plan to have Z, named after an early Christian saint and martyr evoked at times when peace is needed.

We sat in the full waiting room with other expectant parents, waiting to be called. After an hour, a doctor assigned to be our genetic counselor came out and said she needed five minutes to review my file. I suppose she hadn't expected the additional medical records I had brought along, results of various tests related to my sensory neuropathy ( for info on this, click here or here). But whenever I go to a new doctor, I tag along a 20 page summary of the litany of tests I've gone through in the past two years. So, I sat back down for another fifteen minutes and waited for "Tina" to return.

This is how the Lausanne Theology Working Group, Africa chapter, defined the prosperity gospel at its consultations in Akropong, Ghana:

“We define prosperity gospel as the teaching that believers have a right to the blessings of health and wealth and that they can obtain these blessings through positive confessions of faith and the "sowing of seeds" through the faithful payments of tithes and offerings.”

...

I've worked with quite a number of men and women over the past ten years, and unfortunately, a few... how shall I put it? Well, I had the dishonor of working for some major b****es. Yes, although those are asterisks, you all know what I mean. Nasty tempered, mean mugging, snotty, back stabbing, lying rhymes-with-witches people. And I say people, because plenty of guys aren't just dogs, no they are b****es.

Now, if I offended some with my use of letters and symbols to clearly communicate a bad word, my apologies. You can stop reading and go pray for me. Then click the tag on the homepage for "Christ the King". Or un-bunch your panties and keep reading. I'd suggest you do both.

Anyway, I was talking to a co-worker this morning about how negatively some people have talked about my transition to natural hair. Me: "Yeah, you should've heard how people were talking to me! One person said 'I'll bring in a hot comb to get THAT fixed for you'". Her: "WHAT? They said that about your hair? They had the nerve to call your hair "THAT" as if there's something wrong with it? With you? Hmph! Well, you're too nice. I would've told that b**** off!" I laughed and went about my day.

What's going on with all the nakey celebrities? Is April National Nude Month? I know it's National Poetry Month, but I'm missing the art in seeing all this celeb skin.

A few weeks ago, neo-soul hippie Erykah Badu bared it all on the streets of Houston for the controversial video for "Window Seat"- controversial because she shot it without bothering to get permits and actually got naked... no pasties or anything. In the video, she walks about a block and a half to the location where President John F. Kennedy was shot, all the while stripping (you can see a number of stunned bystanders, including CHILDREN as she saunters over to the infamous grassy knoll). I've watched the video a few times now (K gave it one viewing before dismissing it as "too weird" for his taste), and I'm still not too sure what the message is. Hmm... rebirth? Letting go of baggage (but didn't she do that already with "Bag Lady")? There's truth if we strip down to the core of history?

I finally found a little complaint-laden blog I wrote in 2006 and posted on MySpace about my experience working my first full time job out of college (be forewarned class of '09, the real world ain't pretty). I figured I'd share it with you all... enjoy!

“Right now, this is just a job. If I advance any higher in this company, then this would be my career. And uh … well, if this were my career, I’d have to throw myself in front of a train.” ~Jim, from the “Health Care” episode of “The Office”