Marilyngardner5

LATEST ARTICLES ( 1127 )

• New Lives and Portable Memories

  

  Every time I leave home, I'm struck by the fact that I have that choice. I'm not being forced out by violence, persecution, or a crooked landlord. I choose... Read more

  Posted on 19 March 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Lenten Journey: A Lenten Vent

  Over my personal church history, I wasn't really exposed to Lent as a practice. As a young girl we attended a Baptist church, and later I went to an... Read more

  Posted on 17 March 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• The Story of a Christian/Muslim Friendship – a Guest Post

  

  Every September, when cool breezes off the Nile River replaced the sweltering heat of summer, the expatriate community in Cairo, Egypt would reunite. Most... Read more

  Posted on 16 March 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Lenten Journey – “I Was a Stranger”

  

  What is our first reaction, our spontaneous response, when we meet the stranger? "Who let's these people in here anyway?" asked the man. He was agitated,... Read more

  Posted on 13 March 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Memories of Home – A Guest Post

  

  Murree Christian School P.O. Jhika Gali, Murree Hills, Pakistan I can picture the scene as if it was yesterday. I am lying on the top bunk in my dormitory.... Read more

  Posted on 10 March 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Lenten Journey: Waiting for Aslan

  

  "WHAT an extraordinary place!" cried Lucy. "All those stone animals - and people too! It's - it's like a museum." "Hush," said Susan, "Aslan's doing... Read more

  Posted on 09 March 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• International Women’s Day 2017 – #BeBoldForChange

  

  Every year I write about International Women's Day - the day set aside to honor women, to highlight the critical role they play in all of life. From nurturing... Read more

  Posted on 08 March 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Lenten Journey – Turn the Whole World Upside Down

  

  Around six years ago, an eye doctor named Tom Little was killed in a massacre of 10 international aid workers in Nuristan province in the country of Afghanistan... Read more

  Posted on 06 March 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• “Pardon Our Dust”

  

  We invite you to follow along with Marilyn and Robynn, both grace-desperate Christ followers- one a newly welcomed Orthodox the other a patchwork Protestant-... Read more

  Posted on 03 March 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• “How Do We Say That God is Good When Life is Not?”

  

  I read the words and my eyes brim with tears. I'm sitting by the window and bright sun radiating off fresh snow bathes the room in cold light. I continue... Read more

  Posted on 02 March 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• An Angry Diva and a Fragile Psyche

  Yesterday my book, Passages Through Pakistan, was released. I have been looking forward to this day - a day when my 8-year-old baby is born and the world sees... Read more

  Posted on 01 March 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• The Grand Unraveling

  

  For several months I had been calling Trump's impending presidency The Grand Unraveling. He made campaign promises that seemed horrifying to me, he boldly made... Read more

  Posted on 24 February 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Dear Seema: The Politics of Prevention

  

  Note: Seema Verma is President Trump's nominee to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the United States. Dear Seema, I'm a Registered Nurse... Read more

  Posted on 23 February 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• I Am Not Muslim: On Identiy Confusion Solidarity

  

  During the weekend, an "I am a Muslim too" rally took place in New York City at Times Square. A picture of the event shows a large crowd gathered, all mouths... Read more

  Posted on 21 February 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Passages Through Pakistan – An Excerpt

  

  The train rounds a bend. The rest of the cars appear one by one, all tied to one another far into the distance It comes as a surprise to be tied to things so fa... Read more

  Posted on 20 February 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Yesterday I Baked a Cake

  

  Yesterday I baked a cake. It's my birthday on Sunday and yesterday I baked a birthday cake for myself. Later this morning I will spread a raspberry filling... Read more

  Posted on 17 February 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Finding Your Niche at #FIGT17NL

  

  In 2014, I hosted a blog series called "Finding Your Niche: Using a Multicultural Past to Create a Meaningful Present." The result was a set of essays from adul... Read more

  Posted on 16 February 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• People Have Friends; Governments Have Interests

  

  When I first began dating my husband, I would joke that I dated him and 30 Iranians. Cliff had hundreds of friends and most of them were international students... Read more

  Posted on 15 February 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• On Snow Days and the Waste of Hate

  

  This piece was written last Thursday morning, when I had an unexpected and delicious snow day. It's a Thursday morning and I wake up to a world of white. Snow... Read more

  Posted on 13 February 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Attending to Our Souls

  

  A couple of years ago, over Christmas, we dog-sat an unusual Greyhound named Pickles. Pickles was a large and awkward canine. He stood taller than our coffee... Read more

  Posted on 10 February 2017 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION