If you live in the greater LA/Orange County area and you are a Christian with a slight bent to the irreverent, there are some upcoming events that might be revelant to your interests. First, in two weeks LA’s Hatchery will be putting on an Adult VBS at their headquarters in Redondo Beach. This is a fun, tongue-in-cheek experience that will also provide some incredibly meaty content, with Walter Brueggemann as the main speaker (and myself leading “craft time” on Thursday and Friday.) You can come . . .

A couple weeks ago, I was talking politics with my friend Kelley Nikondeha. Kelley is one of those smart and interesting friends who makes me think a little deeper on everything, and when it comes to the bible, she knows her stuff. We were talking about the Make America Great narrative, and Kelley offhandedly illuminated the Old Testament version of this phenomenon in a way that blew my mind, because I'd never made the connection before. I begged her to write it up for me so I could share . . .

This post was sponsored by Playster. As a mom of four book-obsessed kids, and as an avid reader at myself, I am always looking for the latest technology that will encourage reading and provide a nice online library for our family. I recently had a chance to try the Playster service, and I have been really impressed. Playster is a subscription service that allows users to subscribe to books, audiobooks, music, movies, and games.  You can choose to subscribe to only one service, or you can . . .

I have tried to let my children come to their own conclusions when it comes to politics. I have shared information with them, and have done my best to educate them without bias or propaganda. I have always wanted to avoid indoctrinating my children in regards to politics because that is how I was raised. I grew up in a conservative Christian home. You love Jesus and you are a Republican, end of story. There was no nuance. No possibility for looking at both sides. No encouragement of critical . . .

This content was sponsored by Monroe Shocks & Struts Road trips . . . they can be boring and tedious, but they can also be a time for family bonding. While we certainly aren't opposed to breaking out the technology for long-haul trips, we try to avoid relying on digital entertainment for shorter trips. For example, a trip to grandma's house is about 45 minutes, and one we take pretty frequently. Instead of pulling out the ipads, we try to use that time as a chance to have some . . .