Hey friend, Liz here.

Obviously, I’m struggling with Evangelicalism. And I’m not the only Millennial to be having doubts about America’s cultural religion. Take the Joyner kids for example, who you can read about below. All five of them are loud, activist democrats. Meanwhile, their dad is Rick Joyner—the civil war-inciting, Trump-loving, climate-denying preacher.

Um, can you imagine those awkward family dinners? I can’t decide if I’d want to watch it all play out—a theatrical family drama played out in real time—or if I’d rather run in the opposite direction.

Is there any way to mend these relationships? To ignore what’s been unearthed? To go back to “how things used to be”?

Some will say that yes, of course, we can wend our way home. There’s got to be a way through the rubble. But I am not one of those people.

I broke ranks with my own dysfunctional family-of-origin at 29, and I have maintained that separation, despite the pain it has caused me. I believe it is neither healthy nor profitable to ignore the ongoing, unaddressed dysfunction that we see today in our homes—or in our churches.

The truth is better than the fiction. I believe that Jesus’s way brings everything into the open. (Yes, EVERYTHING.)

As Jesus told his followers (in Matthew 10:26-27): “…There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.”

This is the essence of repentance. We all do wrong and bad and hurtful things to ourselves and others and God, but what do we do AFTER the bad thing? How do we move forward? Do we hide or reveal ourselves? Do we defend our actions or change our ways?

Do not fear the truth, friend. The truth is where Christ dwells.

Thanks for reading. Warmly, Liz Charlotte Grant

P.S. You can follow me elsewhere on my website, on Facebook and on Instagram. 

Also, this newsletter is written 100% by yours truly, all by my lonesome, and I make no money doing it. If you enjoy it, one way to say thanks is to share it.

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#1

Their holiday meals are more awkward than yours.

The liberal Joyner kids and their preacher dad, Rick Joyner, who called Biden a Marxist and Trump the chosen one.. well, they’re hoping it won’t come down to firing at each other from opposite sides of the coming civil war.

The New York Times | Read more…

#2

Unlike the rest of us, Dan Levy’s 2020 was AMAZING. Unfortunately, 2020 was preceded by proportionately many more awful years for the Schitt’s Creek star.

“When he was a boy, Levy became so anxious that he did not want to attend birthday parties. He did not want to go to summer camp. He did not, in fact, want to engage in any social situations. Levy’s anxiety physically manifested as iritis, an inflammation of the eye which doctors feared would eventually take his vision. It was as if the dread that drove Levy indoors had then decided to draw all the curtains.

“‘I think that came from a deep-rooted fear of knowing that I was gay and not being able to be free,’ Levy says now.”

Bustle | Read more…

#3

An expert on the psychology of cults discusses how his followers can be deprogrammed and escape the tendrils of the cult of Donald Trump.

Vanity Fair | Read more…

#4

Who are the vaccine hesitant? Republicans, by a landslide, marking yet one more partisan divide. (Surprise!)

But at first, Black and Latinx Americans were the hesitants, according to a November poll conducted by the NAACP and others. Though the numbers have shifted, since then, I’d encourage all of us to remember exactly why black Americans mistrust the medical system we’ve created.

Read the compelling story of “Harriet,” a human medical specimen at Drexel University’s medical campus in Northwest Philadelphia, whose nervous system has been displayed ever since its dissection in the late 19th century.

Who was the specimen called “Harriet Cole”? Did she really donate her body willingly? (Doubtful.)

Atlas Obscura | Read more…

#5

Ever heard of a “beaked whale”? They are a metaphorical unicorn, almost never sighted by humans, either dead or alive. Follow a team of marine biologists as they discover a new species.

“If you have never heard of beaked whales before now, rest assured you are not alone.  … [they are] an animal twice the size of a bottlenose dolphin and as heavy as a plow-pulling horse.

“That such large animals could remain out of sight on a planet teeming with people and our panopticon technologies into the third decade of the 21st century seemed almost beyond belief.”

The Atlantic | Read more…

Just for Fun

Artificial intelligence learns how to flirt—badly— with pick up lines such as these:

Your eyes are like two rainbows and a rainbow of eyes. I can't help but stare.

I love you. I don't care if you're a doggo in a trenchcoat.

You have a lovely face. Can I put it on an air freshener? I want to keep your smell close to me always.

Hey baby, are your schematics compatible with this protocol?

…Um, you’re welcome, single friends. The coders have solved all your problems, again.

Vice | Read more…

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