Books, Taylor Swift, and other hyperfixations
Happy December! As always, I'm not quite sure how we got here! Last month was jam-packed with write-ins, family dinners, and karaoke. It was so packed I'm going to start with some life updates. Life Updates I got my first tattoo. Don't worry about it. Originally, my writing group had talked about getting matching tattoos.… Continue reading November Wrap-up: Turning the corner
Where do I even start? A fair number of big things happened in 2019. I am, to put it mildly, pretty tired. Here's why. I Went Vegan One of the main tenets of Methodism is "Do no harm." In 2019, I tried to minimize the harm I cause, starting with what I eat. I'm pretty… Continue reading 2019 Recap: Farewell to an Exhausting Year
So FUN STORY. I thought this was Top Ten Tuesday LAST week. When I saw everyone posting their holiday TBRs instead, I reformatted my entire post and did Top Five Tuesday. GOOD ONE, LAUREN. MY BRAIN IS SOUP. You Are Your Own: A Reckoning with the Religious Trauma of Evangelical Christianity by Jamie Lee Finch I… Continue reading TOP TEN TUESDAY: Books I Hope to Find Under My Tree
Last night, while waiting for the bus, I got angry. It happened while I was reading updates on the impeachment trial and accompanying Tweets from Methodists annoyed with the proceedings. They have every right to be frustrated. Ten months ago, queer Methodists (myself included) and their allies were denied inclusion in the Methodist denomination. It… Continue reading My Rage-Fueled Grown-Up Christmas List
I am on what I like to call a religious vacation. On this vacation, I won't work out my faith with fear and trembling. Neither will I obsessively study different Bible translations and commentaries. I attend church as a visitor might: curious but detached. I started this vacation with a dire case of "religious exhaustion."… Continue reading Losing my religion
I miss school. I'm a social baby who loves to learn. I'm flashing back to my senior high of school, which suuuucked. The start of school, though, was ALMOST ALWAYS great. My outfits K I L L E D I T. To celebrate the start of school again, I'm doing the Back-to-school Back Tag as… Continue reading Back-to-school Book Tag
Christian author Rachel Held Evans died this morning.Before reading her books, I had given up on ever being accepted by other Christians. I'd bent myself to fit a set of ever-changing standards with no success. I struggled to make friends and the ones I had objected to "sinful" parts of my personality. My faith flickered… Continue reading Remembering Rachel Held Evans
Last month, Methodists voted against LGBTQIA+ inclusion. As a result, Conservative Methodists - including the Wesleyan Congregational Assembly and delegates from Africa - took control of roughly 77% of the English alphabet. In response, affirming denominations claimed custody of the letters L, G, B, T, Q, I, and A. Conservative Methodists struggle to make use… Continue reading Aftermath of the Methodist vote
Well...I did a thing. I liked both of the topics on Artsy Reader Girl and Bionic Book Worm, so... ...I combined them. My birthday is next week and there are so many books I WANT. I keep adding books to my wishlist. I have narrowed down (somewhat) the books I want to read in the… Continue reading Top 10 Books I Need to Read in 2019
Won't lie, didn't love 2018. Maybe the year wasn't a total lost cause, because of new friends and growth experiences and improved health, but I sure hated living through it. Different things influenced my year in big ways and I want to sum them up: I quit my job I finally got out of… Continue reading Lauren’s 2018 Retrospective
Narrative Paradise 