Introducing: Rough Edges Shop
Proudly women of color owned, Rough Edges Shop is a faith-based online apparel company based in Brooklyn, NY with the goal of raising awareness about mental health, especially about how faith plays a role in healing within relationships, families, the church, and communities of color.
20% of all proceeds will be donated to a mental health focused charity.
WHAT IS SUBSTACK?
Substack is an online platform that allows writers to connect with other writers and have more direct access to readers. This means you’ll still get the same musings on God, relationships and pop culture—just in a new space that makes it even easier to connect.
I’m so grateful for your support and can’t wait to continue this journey with you on Substack. See you there!
With love and gratitude,
Latest Posts
Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie’s Barbie movie was the most inspirational blockbuster for me since ‘Wonder Woman’. There, I said it.
Yes, I am a follower of Jesus. Yes, I believe in the beauty of marriage and the significance of motherhood. No, I don’t agree with every single aspect of the film.
Borrowing a concept from Andy Crouch in his book Culture Making, as a Christian, it’s easy to arrogantly condemn culture, quickly copy culture, or mindlessly consume culture, but my hope here is to bring a dialogue around the issues that the film attempts to address. If you want to see Barbie but are met with the thought that you might be “betraying your Christian faith,” I hope in sharing my perspective, you can find freedom to check out the movie for yourself and draw your own conclusion.
MOST POPULAR POSTS
Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie’s Barbie movie was the most inspirational blockbuster for me since ‘Wonder Woman’. There, I said it.
Yes, I am a follower of Jesus. Yes, I believe in the beauty of marriage and the significance of motherhood. No, I don’t agree with every single aspect of the film.
Borrowing a concept from Andy Crouch in his book Culture Making, as a Christian, it’s easy to arrogantly condemn culture, quickly copy culture, or mindlessly consume culture, but my hope here is to bring a dialogue around the issues that the film attempts to address. If you want to see Barbie but are met with the thought that you might be “betraying your Christian faith,” I hope in sharing my perspective, you can find freedom to check out the movie for yourself and draw your own conclusion.
We define what Christian music is supposed to sound like. I think that's where we've got it wrong. God is not in a box. There can be a beautiful blend of what mainstream music sounds like and the authenticity of serving Jesus.
Based on all the hype surrounding Wonder Woman (starring Gal Gadot from the Fast and the Furious franchise), I expected to feel empowered and inspired as a woman. That, I did.
I never expected, however, to be glued to my seat for over two hours, seeing one biblical truth after another being portrayed flawlessly on screen.
It’s currently two days before my due date for Baby #4. This pregnancy has definitely been more of a whirlwind than all my past pregnancies, what, with three preschoolers and with a new hat I put on this fall: homeschooling mom.
Here are three important lessons that I learned during the course of my fourth pregnancy.
Moses and I were two months away from marriage and we sat in a park discussing our future: our pending marriage and my career.
I had no doubt that God was calling us to be married, but knowing that only added to my confusion. God, if You truly wanted us to be together, why would our careers clash like this?
We define what Christian music is supposed to sound like. I think that's where we've got it wrong. God is not in a box. There can be a beautiful blend of what mainstream music sounds like and the authenticity of serving Jesus.
I was honored to interview Mari Madrid (choreographer, dancer, creative and wife to Keone) who is a strong woman of God with a beautiful heart. She has a passionate desire to use her craft to create beauty and draw others to God.
I recently had the honor of interviewing the beautiful and talented musician, Moriah Peters. We talked purity, modesty, marriage, and listening to God’s voice. I was so blessed to find a kindred spirit in her, since we share a deep passion to inspire young people to be deeply committed to Jesus Christ. She released her first music video TODAY for her single “Brave.” Be sure to check it out and share.
My values as a Christian hinge on the centricity of grace and the gospel of Jesus Christ. The biggest challenges I face all revolve around the temptation of narcissism and self-worship. Christianity is all about loving God well, and loving our neighbors. We’re called to serve the people around us but It’s very easy in this business to be self-serving.
If you are the one hurting on Mother’s Day, just know that, even if it feels like no one else sees you, God does. He intimately knows you and your pain, and He loves you.
Greta Gerwig and Margot Robbie’s Barbie movie was the most inspirational blockbuster for me since ‘Wonder Woman’. There, I said it.
Yes, I am a follower of Jesus. Yes, I believe in the beauty of marriage and the significance of motherhood. No, I don’t agree with every single aspect of the film.
Borrowing a concept from Andy Crouch in his book Culture Making, as a Christian, it’s easy to arrogantly condemn culture, quickly copy culture, or mindlessly consume culture, but my hope here is to bring a dialogue around the issues that the film attempts to address. If you want to see Barbie but are met with the thought that you might be “betraying your Christian faith,” I hope in sharing my perspective, you can find freedom to check out the movie for yourself and draw your own conclusion.
I've followed Taylor Swift’s career from the beginning. I’ve admired her flair for storytelling, her ability to transform the mundane details of everyday experience into profound life lessons. I’ve also admired her knack for creating an endless number of catchy melodies. Being a fellow millennial woman, I feel like I’ve gone through the awkward transition from insecure, adolescent teenager to self-assured woman right alongside her. Yet I can’t help but feel that each of our brands of womanhood are worlds apart.
Based on all the hype surrounding Wonder Woman (starring Gal Gadot from the Fast and the Furious franchise), I expected to feel empowered and inspired as a woman. That, I did.
I never expected, however, to be glued to my seat for over two hours, seeing one biblical truth after another being portrayed flawlessly on screen.
It’s currently two days before my due date for Baby #4. This pregnancy has definitely been more of a whirlwind than all my past pregnancies, what, with three preschoolers and with a new hat I put on this fall: homeschooling mom.
Here are three important lessons that I learned during the course of my fourth pregnancy.
American Christian culture can tend to be just as guilty as the secular culture when it comes to viewing women as nothing more than sexual objects. When we use the Christianese term “modesty” incorrectly, we can make it a dangerous concept.
(WARNING: May contain plot spoilers from ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’)
Dear God,
I listened to Britt Nicole’s “Still That Girl” and I couldn’t help but break down. It’s like she wrote that song for me. I totally relate to how “dreams may change” and “plans may fail,” and how once upon a time, Britt believed she could be the girl “shining in the dark,“ the bright-eyed girl who truly believed she could change the world.
I’m thinking about ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ and its different portrayals of femininity.
As an adult, I’ve balanced being a full-time college student, a volunteer for a high school ministry, and a retail employee for 30+ hours. I’ve held two internships and two part-time jobs simultaneously. Yet, never have I felt more overwhelmed and powerless than at my most current career choice. My current job? Being a mommy of two.
The animated musical’s “Surface Pressure” reminds us that we can’t love our neighbors if we’re mentally exhausted ourselves.
“Is it really over?” I asked out loud as the credits after Black Panther rolled. Yes, I was one of those people. No, I was not mentally prepared to leave Wakanda.
For any reader who may not be familiar with Wakanda, it is a fictional place in the Marvel Universe (Non-Geek translation: the world of Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk and Spiderman). Wakanda is the only African country to be untouched by colonial influence. The film Black Panther follows King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and his rise to the throne of the isolated, technologically advanced African society.
I went to go see The Greatest Showman in the movie theaters twice. For a homeschooling mom of four, with kids ranging from one to five, that is no small feat. But the foot-tapping original music, themes of American ingenuity and self-love, and timeless love stories drew me in. I was mostly mesmerized by the love story of Phillip Carlyle (Zac Efron) and Anne Wheeler (Zendaya).
It’s an old-school love story and isn’t bogged down by an overemphasis on sex and infatuation. There
“I think I’m falling in love with someone else,” I told Moses, my then boyfriend, over the phone.
“I can’t talk to you right now,” he said with a trembling voice. Then he hung up.
It was one week before our first dating anniversary.
What would it take for God to humble you and get your attention? For me it was ten days at the hospital in the middle of a pandemic.
During this season of transitioning from three to four kids I’ve felt like Philip: annoyed, maybe even angry at God that He would expect me to do something so impossible.
If you are the one hurting on Mother’s Day, just know that, even if it feels like no one else sees you, God does. He intimately knows you and your pain, and He loves you.