i have loved the conversation going on in the comments section of the blog piece Nkosi wrote for me on First Steps White South Africans can make towards a really new South Africa. My friend Lex passed on a response from her friend, Sindile, which i thought would be good to use as a standalone post as i'm sure it will also generate some good conversation. So we would love to hear from you and please [...]
So HAPPY 5 YEARS BLOG POSTING ANNIVERSARY... To me... and more specifically, Irresistibly Fish... For those of you who have journeyed with me for some or most of that time, thank you. As much as this is the online diary of my general musings, it has also been a place where i have hoped to challenge and wrestle and encourage and entertain others and every time you show up and read and especially [...]
To be a mom, I’m sure means different things to different moms. Each journey into and through motherhood is littered with moments and memories that are particular to that mom and to her journey with her children. I’m a mom of two ~ and believe me, I don’t profess to know anything at all about being the perfect mom. Actually, the longer I’m a mom, the more I realise how much I really don’t know [...]
I am 'Mum' to three amazing biological children. Sir J, aged 14, Lady M aged 12 and Little Miss 7. You can stop pulling that face, these are not their real names, just how I refer to them in order to respect their future online identity and privacy. My initiation into motherhood didn't begin with a pretty white dress, two rings on my finger, a Christian husband who'd vowed to love me for life, or a [...]
Photo courtesy of Taylorraephotography.com I’ll be the first to tell you that I suck at marriage. Let me give you an example. A few weeks ago we were sitting on a bench outside a perfect little neighborhood boulangerie in Australia, eating pain au chocolat in the sunshine when Jonathan told me he was thinking of applying to grad school so that he could potentially start a program when we return from Korea. “What do you think?” he [...]
There is this pervasive myth, particularly prevalent in the evangelical Christian subculture (though I’d argue it’s present in other parts of society too) that boys are sexual and girls (at least good girls) aren’t. In my article for Relevant I called this the lie that “Girls don’t care about sex.” If you are anything like me, you have countless times heard things like “Men think about sex all the time” and “Men are very visual [...]
Perhaps the most often-encountered lie I heard about sex from youth pastors, conference speakers, inspirational books, and the impassioned speeches of parents was the idea that if you wait until you are married to have sex, God will reward you with mind-blowing sex and a magical wedding night. For those of you who don’t believe there are individuals, churches, and organizations who teach this, here are some ACTUAL QUOTES on the subject: “For you, the [...]
The first myth I pointed out in my Relevant article was this idea that “Any and all physical contact is a like a gateway drug to sex.” Growing up, I frequently heard metaphors like, “Don’t start the engine if you aren’t ready to drive the car” used to warn teenagers that any physical contact (including holding hands and kissing) was a slippery slope straight into the jaws of fornication. Let me be clear. There is some [...]
We got married on the 28th of November 2009. Best decision ever. Seriously. We have both loved being married and will often wonder how we got to be so blessed. There were a few things we decided on early in our marriage that has made a world of difference, and we have practiced them ever since. Firstly... We decided to never leave the 'honeymoon stage'. Everyone around us who heard how happy we were kept [...]
"It takes a big man to cry, but it takes a bigger man to laugh at that man." [Jack Handey] Ah, i love me some Jack Handey, but as i continue to look at some different aspects that define the character of a person, i'm not quite sure that would be the best approach. However, when we hear the word "Sorry!" coming out of our mouth, we should always be asking ourselves one key question: [...]