Author Archives: carolyncustisjames

The common practice in Christian circles of choosing a “life verse” isn’t a practice I’ve found helpful. It’s simply too easy to lift a biblical tweet out of context and misinterpret it entirely. It can be shattering only to discover … Continue reading →

“Prayer is subversive activity. It involves a more or less act of defiance against any claim by the current regime. . . . [As we pray,] slowly but surely, not culture, not family, not government, not job, not even the … Continue reading →

Ever since white smoke billowed out of the Vatican chimney back in 2013, I’ve been an admirer of Pope Francis. I love his humble spirit and his heart as reflected in his care for the poor and the disenfranchised. No … Continue reading →

Whenever I speak at women’s conferences about God’s purposes for his daughters, women who find this message to be as life-changing as I do inevitably wonder how differently their stories would read if they had heard this message when they were young girls. I … Continue reading →

What he gets right and what he gets wrong. Some mornings, I don’t need coffee to jolt me awake. Sometimes all it takes is a tweet. The tweet that did it recently came from a friend who, with a simple … Continue reading →

There’s a rickety old shack in the Oscar winning movie, Forest Gump, where Forest’s best friend Jenny grew up. Jenny’s shack is also the place that hides her darkest, most painful memories—early years of sexual abuse. After they reach adulthood, Forest and … Continue reading →

I suspect the renown Reformation pastor John Calvin is one of the last men anyone would expect to show up during Women’s History Month—at least in a favorable way. This is where the capability of church historians (I’m thinking of … Continue reading →

My memories of the Synergy Women’s Network are never far below the surface. It doesn’t take much for them to burst into life for me again. That happened as I watched the historic Women’s March on January 20, knowing Synergy … Continue reading →

On January 21, 2017, day two of the president’s first week in office, city streets in America and around the world were flooded with predominately pink-hatted female protesters raising awareness of women’s rights. The pink hats were a visible protest … Continue reading →

May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart. May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of … Continue reading →