I’m going to be frank with you. The world’s a bit of a mess right now. You know that, though. You look smart. I bet you even drink your 2 liters of water a day and hang your washing out as soon as the machine finishes, like I definitely do. Since we’re two peas in a smartypants pod, I’m sure you have a similar question to me; how do we make sense of this mess, particularly when trying to live as a Somewhat Decent Christian™? Then, after we make sense of it, what do we do to try and.... unmess it? If these are the questions you find yourself asking, you’ve come to the right place.  

Here’s the good news. This isn’t new. Sure, the current circumstances are unique but the world being a mess, that’s been done so many times before I’m surprised it’s still selling tickets at the box office. In the past when people messed the world up, God sent Jesus to die on the cross as a kind of ‘Get out of jail free’ card. The grace extended to us through that act is not only still available to us today but remains the guiding path through the mess. 

Here’s the bad news. From where I'm sitting, it seems like the Christian community is intent on holding a global community that hasn’t made the decision to follow the Christian faith, to a higher standard of accountability than it holds those within the church who have made a decision to follow and live by the Christian faith. The hypocrisy of the church’s willingness to so readily extend grace to itself but to seemingly hold back on extending it to those outside the church is apparent to more than just me. 

That leaves us with a bit of a goliath sized task on our hands. Not only do we have to deal with the murkiness of life in general as it affects our everyday lives in unique, custom-made ways whilst living as a Somewhat Decent Christian™ but collectively we need to find a way to flip this apparent hypocritical and judgmental narrative for those who have become disenfranchised with the church along with those who view it as a part of the problem rather than a part of the solution.  

How do we do that? 

We cut to the grace. 

This website is intended to present my own personal thoughts and insights on what I believe cutting to the grace looks like in practice as it pertains to contemporary political and social issues. In a no holds barred, let’s make some waves, let’s cut to the chase approach, I will take my own understanding of the Bible and Christian doctrine along with my own understanding of politics and sociology and discuss how I believe we can live graciously as Christians in today’s world. I’ll do this by posting weekly blogs discussing my thoughts and analysis on current news headlines and social happenings. 

As you read my posts, you might agree with me. You might vehemently disagree with me. You might ‘I can kind of see where you’re coming from but what about...’ with me. I hope that, whatever your perspective, we can take a few things out of the ‘too hard’ basket and open some respectful and real discussions around some tricky and potentially confronting but important issues facing Christians today.  

Let’s get elbows deep in the real stuff. 

Let’s cut to the grace. 

I can’t believe I have to spell this out for you. A cactus is prickly. It’s difficult and painful and not always easy to get along with or identify with. You have to grow it in a completely different way to how you’re accustomed to growing plants. It’s just a shamozzle of a plant, really. Despite all of this, you’ll still find flowers on them. Right there in the middle of all the prickly parts, BOOM! Flower. Think of that flower as grace. It doesn’t make sense. It’s not really where you expect it to be. The prickly, difficult cactus doesn’t really deserve it, but it’s there. We need to work at becoming the flower on the cactus; the grace in the difficult places. Life can be prickly. We don’t have to be. Genius, right? I know. 

I’m Frank. (Remember, before, when I said I was going to be frank with you? Hahaha. Ok, not that kind of crowd? Got it.) 

I’m Anna. 

I have no more official standing to be writing my thoughts on these matters than you do. The difference between us is that I have the audacity to think people might somehow benefit from what I have to contribute to the social discourse on heavy-hitting matters. The nerve! I know. I’m not sorry though. For the $30,000 it’s worth, I have an undergrad degree in the social sciences and sociology fields with a major in theology. I’m also in the process of completing an advanced degree in political science. More importantly, I have a lifetime of living as a human in this world. 

I understand that my views, opinions, interpretations and applications probably won’t sit well with everyone but it’s not my intention to present material that I think will keep everyone happy. I’m not interested in playing both sides of the fence just to ensure everyone feels like their voice is represented here. I’m only speaking on behalf of myself.  

I’m open minded enough, though, to accept that I may have things wrong or that I haven’t considered things from all angles. If you believe that to be the case in regards to anything I’ve written, I’m more than happy to discuss and debate our thoughts and ideas together in a respectful way. What I won’t do, however, is engage in an argument with a closed minded person who simply believes I’m wrong and they’re right and there is no room for respectful learning and re-contemplating together. If that’s you, I make no apologies for the fact that this site probably isn’t for you. I’m not writing to try to tell anyone what to think or to force you to abandon your own views and replace them with mine. I’m writing to add another perspective into the mix. I challenge you, if you’re brave enough, to keep reading and challenging your own thoughts and views together with me.