Living Out Loud

#1: I’m pro-choice because I understand biological reality.  If a single-celled zygote has the same rights as a born person, then every woman with a functioning reproductive system is a murderer. 2/3 of fertilized eggs fail to implant, so if a zygote is a person, then that's a lot of wasted souls. A fertilized egg is not guaranteed to become a person; and sometimes it becomes two or more people (identical twins/triplets). Also, in the case of a molar pregnancy, the zygote has not developed into a conscious human being, but into a potentially life-threatening tumor.  Without consciousness, a body is not a person. That’s why it’s legal to withdraw life support from those who are brain-dead.  A fetus has no life of its own, physically or mentally, until it's separated from the mother.  Physical development starts when the egg and sperm cells are produced—but actual, conscious life isn't possible until many months afterward. Also, until viability, the embryo/fetus is ful...

#1: Modesty begins in the heart. Modesty doesn't always come with black-and-white rules. However, the Bible outlines the basic principles of modesty.  1 Timothy 2:9 says that a modest person is someone who has "decency and propriety."  #2: Modesty is about dignity and self-respect.  M odesty isn't just about sexuality.  Our words, actions, and clothing choices  should be decent and proper for the occasion.  If our outfit/behavior is so flashy (or so tacky) that we're immediately the center of attention when we walk into a room, then we're not being modest.  #3: Modesty matters. When it comes to sharing the Gospel, your actions speak louder than your words. You might be the only "Bible study" that someone reads today, or the only "church service" that someone gets this week. So when you dress and act modestly, you are honoring God and living out the Gospel for all to see.   When it comes to modesty, it's easy for us to go to extremes, ...

Growing up in the Bible Belt, I absolutely loved the TV show 19 K ids and Counting . It was nice to see Christians—people like me—on television, even if they were kind of old-fashioned. I didn't agree with the Duggars on everything, but I admired their willingness to stand out from the crowd. In an era of short shorts and crop tops, the Duggar girls were happy to wear maxi skirts and modest t-shirts. And rather than complaining about their family's strict modesty standards, they actually seemed quite happy about "covering up for Christ."  A few years after I started watching the Duggars' reality show, their son Josh's sex scandal came to light. As a teenager, Josh had molested four of his younger sisters, and his family had kept it a secret for all those years to protect Josh. Well, what about protecting the girls? We should never prioritize the interests of an abuser over the safety of his victims. And sexual assault should never be a private family affair! ...