Blogaround

1. Just some cute animal pics I got from reddit:

Image source.

Image source.

Oh, China. Click here to see the full-size image: Image source.

2. Today was one of the best days of my life... (posted August 27) An American blogger talks about his visit to Sri Lanka, where he witnessed a huge celebration- a "going away party" for World Vision. World Vision has been working to help a community there for 15 years, and now they are self-sufficient and no longer need World Vision. This is great. This is beautiful.

3. The Cost of Your Call (posted August 24) This is an article about young people serving God by going into the mission field. It comes at the issue from several different sides: obstacles like college debt, the idea that moving to a faraway impoverished country is more romantic/exotic but sometimes less useful than working in the US, and willingness to endure risk/persecution for Jesus.

4. Why America Lacks Global Leaders (posted August 23) A ton of really great insight here about the usefulness of learning a foreign language- because it changes the way you THINK. (However, I only half-agree with this article- I think it's way too critical of Americans, without offering a comparison of how other nations may or may not be doing it better.)

5. How long will women pastors be news? (posted August 27) "Why must we live with a reality that a female senior pastor is presumed less qualified? Why do we still perpetuate this blatant sexism?"

6. Why Women Don't Get Promoted or Hired- and How to Level the Field (posted August 28) My initial reaction is I DO NOT LIKE the suggestions this article makes. But it's something to think about.

7. Confessions of an accidental feminist by Rachel Held Evans (posted August 29) This. So much this. She explains that she is a feminist not because of some evil, radical, anti-Christian influence, but because she saw and experienced oppression and sexism firsthand in the church, and because she read in the bible about Jesus' respect for women, about both daughters and sons prophesying, about "in Christ there is no male or female."

She says, "I am a follower of Jesus first and a feminist second." Amen. Me too. At some point, I will post my own story of how I became a feminist.

8. I hope some other Star Trek fans out there find this as hilarious as I do:

Image source.

9. To the Boys, Her Role Is Simple: Teammate (posted September 2) A girl quarterback on a high school football team. Good for her. ^_^