Jan 25, 2021 | Book Reviews
I can’t forget the time I held an “Ask Anything Monday” on Instagram and someone asked me for my five favorite parenting books. I answered honestly: I don’t have five! I barely read any. My kids are ages 5, 3, and 4 months at the time of writing and I’ve read two ?? parenting books so far. Honestly, I find most parenting books either behavior-focused or too lenient and child-centric. I don’t like labels (gentle parenting? So anyone who doesn’t subscribe to that model… isn’t gentle? No thanks!) and I’m very selective about who I listen to regarding parenting. That leaves me with not many options.
Jan 18, 2021 | Christian Life & Theology
Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Would you believe I spent most of my life thinking of this day only in terms of retail sales and ski resort blackout dates? I knew who MLK was (sort of) and what he did (a little) and I knew his actions were significant for black men and women. But I’m not black, so I paid little attention.
Jan 12, 2021 | Book Reviews
A few months ago (in the heart of 2020) I received a rush of questions regarding “the Esther anointing” – a particular anointing of God on women to bring the power and transformation of God’s kingdom to political and social spheres. This phrase was new to me and I could not find much regarding its origins. Eventually I was clued into the book from which the phrase was taken: The Esther Anointing by Michelle McClain-Walters.
Jan 8, 2021 | Christian Life & Theology
If we believe God sovereign only when our candidate is in power, we do not believe God is sovereign at all.
Dec 30, 2020 | Christian Life & Theology, Productivity
Since reading The Tech Wise Family by Andy Crouch a few years ago, I’ve worked hard to create boundaries with my phone, laptop and TV. Though we aren’t anywhere near as strict as the Crouch family, we do endeavor to have tech boundaries in place. The quarantine of 2020, however, really did a number on our family culture. I don’t regret the increase in family TV time (we probably watched five seasons of Forged in Fire and the Great British Baking Show, each, plus other favorites) but going into the new year and a new school semester for the girls we need to get back to our boundaries.
Dec 29, 2020 | Basic Theology, Christian Life & Theology
I’m writing this at the turn of the new year, when many of us begin thinking about a Bible reading plan for the next twelve months. I personally use the last week of December to plan my study focus for the next year along with my annual goals. However, there is no bad time to choose a reading plan! You don’t need a new year to adapt your study, and you can quit a reading plan that isn’t serving you anytime. Read that again!
Dec 18, 2020 | Christian Life & Theology
This Christmas, I get to hold my three month old son in my arms. I get to gather my two older daughters together, rumpled in their ballerina pajamas, on Christmas morning. I get to hear their hearts beat as I hug them and see the life dance in their eyes.
Not every mother gets to experience that this Christmas.
![Modesty & the Real Weaker “Brother” [The Women’s Issues Series]](https://phyliciamasonheimer.com/wp-content/uploads/jeremy-bishop-h9NU6laTNzM-unsplash-1080x675.jpg)
Nov 25, 2020 | Christian Life & Theology, Podcast Episodes, Sexuality
Don’t cause a brother to stumble.
We’ve heard this phrase applied to modesty, but do we really know the context of Romans 14? Who is the weaker brother – the man, or the woman? The answer varies based on who we’re talking about, but that’s not something you learned if you grew up in purity culture. In PC, the weaker brother is always the man.
Nov 23, 2020 | Christian Life & Theology
The tears came hot, pouring from the corners of my eyes in the dark, forming two spots on the pillow behind my ears. Josh was asleep, Van was snoring the soft purr of a baby in his bassinet. But I couldn’t sleep.
I closed my eyes and saw them again.
The baby born still and cold.
The child hungry and thin, his eyes looking widely at the camera as if it could feed him.
![Synthesizing Christianity and Feminism [The Women’s Issues Series]](https://phyliciamasonheimer.com/wp-content/uploads/lindsey-lamont-hUWINRMPvsc-unsplash-1080x675.jpg)
Nov 11, 2020 | Christian Life & Theology, Podcast Episodes, Sexuality
Jesus was a feminist… or was He? Within the church we see a sharp divide between Christians who call themselves feminist and those who go so far as to take the label “anti-feminist” – and everything in between. Feminism has morphed and changed with each of its four waves, with the mission developing as time goes on. The feminism of 2020 is not the same as the feminism of Susan Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
