Kendra Arsenaux Kendra Arsenault

Self-transformation is something we all seek after, but many of us don't have the tools to embark upon this journey in a way that creates lasting change. Unrealistic expectations, faulty self-assessments, and inadequate tools for self-change, set us up for cycles of failure. Sometimes churches sell hope in a way that is not helpful. They promise immediate deliverance and often spread the belief that change can happen relatively quickly. Statements like, "I am a new man", or the "old man has been left behind" fail to acknowledge that change is a long process. Self-transformation happens when we hold ourselves accountable to the past versions of ourselves. Being a Christian is not about being invulnerable, invincible, or relentlessly optimistic. It is about being honest about our lifelong struggles, realistic in our assessments, cautious in our optimism for change, and surrounded by the support we need to grow. Jeremiah 29 deals with having honest conversations with ourselves about the very long journey, a seventy-year exile, a marathon of steady, supported growth.

The Mark of the Beast, the number 666, these apocalyptic terms are taken from the Bible are often used in a fanatical way sparking suspicion about implanted chips and the need to stockpile food for the end of the world. I want to pose a challenge to these interpretations and talk about something closer to the heart, and that is how the mark of the beast, is more like the mark of Cain, the mark of violence. It is not an external force planted in the foreheads of otherwise good people thus making them bad. The mark of Cain revealed what already was, his violent impulses that resulted in murder. October is Domestic violence awareness month, and I thought this would be a great moment to discuss how violence shows up in the Bible and in prophecy.

And on the 7th Day, God created...justice. Today's episode is a radical exploration of the implications of the Sabbath and the equality explicitly expressed within the text.

Summary and reflection of the book "The Power of Ritual" by Casper Ter Kuile.

Biracial, bisexual, bicultural, we all hold complex that identities that require us to learn self-integration and self-acceptance. Exploring the story of the tragic mulatto and other "bi" stories of history, we learn how to better engage in spaces of cultural acceptance, not forcing anyone to deny parts of their identity in order to gain greater acceptance in the dominant community.