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belonging

this is a post i wrote about what happened when i decided to join our church. i’m still kind of bemused, uncertain, giddy from doing it. http://theunsparedrod.wordpress.com/2013/11/23/measure/

This Pastor Has Had It

Chris M, posted an account of a popular, charismatic pastor having an affair with the pianist (?). And then he spoke of the personal connections he had with this episode, which made for interesting reading (to say the least). He made the point that this was fucking...

Conservatism is not always where you expect

I follow and interact with a diverse range of people online, especially on Twitter. One of those is Tiffany Reisz, author of The Siren, first book in a series of books about, Nora, a professional dominatrix and her attempts to get published. The writing is very good...

Sick kid and grieving the loss of prayer.

My son is sick. It might be no more than scarlet fever (because apparently we live in Little House on the Prairie days). But his doctor thinks it’s Kawasaki disease, which is much more serious. Of course, I’m terrified. Even without treatment prognosis is...

The New TLS!

Okay TLSers! Our new site’s LIVE!!!! Check it out! IMPORTANT: We’ve archived the old forums so that you can copy and paste any of the ones you want to the new format. To access them click on your profile pic and chose “archives”. There are...

Exercise: music, headphones and an hour

So today’s Saturday spiritual supplement is about intentionally taking some time out to do something relaxing. I want to share with you something I do once in a while that I always find helpful. I’ll give you an example as well. I lie on my couch, put my...

the editor in chief

The other day I saw someone’s update on Facebook (not TLS!) that read something like this: “Thinking about feeling sad? Thinking about feeling discouraged? Instead, think about being happy and encouraged!” And there lies the problem! So many lives...

is the biggest hurdle the fear of ourselves?

Many of us fear “coming out” sexually or spiritually. It can be terrifying because we know what the risks are. But there are two sides to the story, one less important than the other. Those watching you come out: We used to think they were the ones...

Exercise: morph your negative into a positive

Today’s Saturday Supplement is an easy one. Take one characteristic about yourself that others considered negative and turn it into a positive. Here’s an example from my own life. I was always called STUBBORN! I remember digging my heels in with my dad and...

what was your final Jenga block?

I think what really started me on my road to deconstruction was two things: The Church: The way I was treated at church when I tried to be myself and ask honest questions caused me to realize that the church is a controlling institution and that I would have to...

how do you take off your band-aid?

I hate taking off band-aids. It hurts. I used to take them off really slowly, making every effort to make sure the pain was kept to a minimum. I would take as long as a minute to take it off, longer if there was hair involved. It still hurt, but spread out like butter...

Why compare yourself to others?

Today I’m just giving you an extended quote from one of my favorite philosophers, Krishnamurti, because each and every one of you is amazing: “Throughout life, from childhood, from school until we die, we are taught to compare ourselves with another. Yet...