Redefined Juliet

Haiku for My Thirties

2013-02-21T13:36:00.000-05:00

Chipped tooth in the glass I stare at the former white More wabi-sabi.

God's Grace

2013-02-13T11:20:00.001-05:00

In memory of Bob Hoke. As many of you know, my dad is a pastor in the United Methodist Church. He's been in the ministry longer than I've been alive. Yesterday, he had the honor of assisting in the funeral services for Bob Hoke, a community stalwart and hard-working farmer who attended my dad's first charge as senior pastor. I wanted to share the story my dad shared at Bob's funeral so that

How To Be Beautiful

2012-12-30T21:59:00.001-05:00

A few days ago I received an email from Danika Holmes, an up and comer in the music world who stumbled upon this blog and found herself excited to align with so many of the R.J. ideals and especially with The Mirror Project. Her latest song is called How to Be Beautiful, and she asked me if I'd post it for you. Of course, I said yes. The song speaks for itself: And for you, dear readers,

How Mary Gets the Shaft.

2012-12-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

Mary. The Mother of Jesus. I grew up Protestant and I always thought all of my Catholic friends were incredibly odd for praying to the Holy Mother. And I had a lot of Catholic friends. In sixth grade at my middle school they used to let the Catholic kids out early for CCD. Out of a class of twenty-five, there were only two of us who didn't qualify for early release. I used to feel left

Prayers of a Tweenage Girl.

2012-11-25T21:10:00.001-05:00

When I was 12 years old I remember clearly praying almost every night before falling asleep, "Dear God, please let me be a good person." It was my nightly plea. "Please let me be..." I don't know if it's something for which I needed to ask permission. But it was a prayer for the future. It was something I hoped for. Before me, I could see where my thought train headed. I could see my

Games for Girls.

2012-11-02T16:44:00.002-04:00

I've been wondering what in the world my next topic here at RJ would be. I have been intentionally avoiding the election, which may be to my detriment as a blogger, but I've learned that you can't really change anyone's mind about politics once they've made it up. I'm happy to give you the run down on my voting thoughts if you comment and tell me that's something you want - if not - then

Why You Should Vote.

2012-10-01T22:36:00.000-04:00

It looks like a party. But it wasn't. Before the 19th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified in 1920, women couldn't vote. It was against the law. It's something that seems so far removed from us here in 2012, but it's not. It was less than 100 years ago. And at that time, the pervasive thought was that politics in general weren't women's business. Some thought women weren't

Celebrating Love.

2012-09-16T15:09:00.001-04:00

I was privileged to attend the marriage celebration of a dear friend yesterday. It was everything such an occasion should be. The photos speak for themselves: There were many moments that were sheer perfection yesterday, but the moment that sticks out most for me is when Hanniel (the bride) tore her dress under the arm. She wasn't devastated. In fact, she

New Stuff.

2012-09-07T23:09:00.000-04:00

So you may (or may not) have noticed the cool new stuff here at R.J. I've got a new clickable tab at the top of the page called "Blog Love." It's a place where you can go to grab a super cool button to slap on your blog or page or add to your blogroll to show your love and support for Redefined Juliet. There's also a button there on the right sidebar that links up to the same page, in case

You are better than this.

2012-09-03T22:18:00.000-04:00

This Sunday our pastor talked about encounters with God. Specifically, he talked about Paul's encounter, and how everyone's encounter is different, because we are all different, and how no one's encounter is invalid, just specially catered to them. I don't remember a lot of God Moments from my childhood. I remember feeling happy. I remember understanding Jesus Loves Me and feeling the joy of

Oral Sex

2012-08-17T09:56:00.000-04:00

I titled this "Oral Sex" because not only is that what this post is about, but I knew it would be eye-catching. I also knew that when people typed it into Google hoping for some tips and tricks, they might just get this post instead, and gain a different sort of understanding. I spent the past week at my parents' house, which gave me a rare opportunity to talk with my mom almost uninterrupted.

The Tipping Point: Women in the Olympics

2012-08-14T14:21:00.004-04:00

The 2012 London Games have been a huge turning point for Women. Women in the media. Women in the workplace. Women in sports. Women in general. The US women won 58 medals. FIFTY-EIGHT. We didn't top the medal count for women in the world. But we. won. 58 medals. More than the men in our country. But that isn't the point. The medals aren't the point. The topping of the men isn't the

30 Lessons From Mom

2012-07-30T19:00:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking a lot about my mom lately. It's funny, our mother-daughter relationship has had it's rocky moments, but now that I'm a mom myself, I consider her one of my very best friends. The lessons below are things that she didn't necessarily say out loud. She didn't have to. Love you, Mom! 1. Have a bird bath in your yard. 2. Learn the names of the birds that visit. 3. Treat

Anxiety Overload

2012-07-26T18:17:00.000-04:00

This is another post-dated blog, written March 1, 2012. I sometimes blog about my anxiety disorder and my SAD. This one is about my anxiety. I'm directing the hardest show I've ever attempted, and we open in two weeks. Most people would be nervous. There would be some stress. But my body chemistry functions on overload. And so here I am. I am writing about it for two reasons: 1. Because

Fifty Shades of Grey: My Thoughts

2012-07-18T16:12:00.000-04:00

There's been quite a lot of buzz about the Fifty Shades of Grey Trilogy by E.L. James. It's interesting because erotic fiction doesn't always make it into the mainstream critical circle, let alone into the hands of most mainstream readers. Fifty Shades... obviously, has been different. As you all know, I lean strongly to the feminist side of the femininity spectrum. I'm for equality in

No One Has Anything on You.

2012-07-17T00:51:00.000-04:00

Today is my birthday. I'm 32 years old. It doesn't change because you're a grown up. (Photo: ViNull/Flickr) It occurs to me that somewhere along my teen years I made the arbitrary decision that when I turned thirty-two I would be officially "old". I keep thinking as I approach thirty-three that this was the year in which Jesus died on the cross, and he was God, so you must be good and

Cut.

2012-07-11T20:26:00.000-04:00

Today my daughter gave herself a hair cut. I have heard that this is a normal sort of right of passage for a young lady, and since my daughter is just over four, it must be about that time. I blame myself. First of all, I left the scissors out after cutting my sons hair today. Second... well... I don't exactly present an example of long flowing locks as being equal to femininity. I

Pieces of Truth.

2012-07-05T16:10:00.000-04:00

My husband and I run an inspirational website for passionate creators: artists in all disciplines called Patchwork Veracity. We chose that title because we believe that Truth can be found all around us. From the most unexpected sources. And often, for creative types, in their work. This whole idea has also led us to believe that Truth leads to More Questions - and so... art that evokes

Hair meaning

2012-07-03T15:38:00.000-04:00

My friend, Tara at The Organic Sister, posted this blog months ago about her feelings after shaving off her dreadlocks. It explains everything I have wished I could say about the experience of shaving one's head so poignantly (and the photographs are spectacular). If you haven't read Tara's blog, you are seriously missing out, by the way. In light of this particular post, I wanted to take

On Romance.

2012-07-02T09:11:00.000-04:00

This morning I chatted with my mom on the phone about Brave and my previous entry regarding it. It was interesting that she asked me "Don't you think there should be any romance at all in life?" And she got that from my Brave post, so I figured I should clarify my thoughts on the issue. I absolutely think there should be romance in life. I also think that romance can come from two sources. 1

Brave - Disney win! Toymaker - Fail.

2012-06-30T23:14:00.001-04:00

Saw Brave with the fam tonight. LOVED it. It wasn't the epic I thought it would be, with Merida going off on a journey all by herself, but I really enjoyed the mother-daughter legend, the backdrop of Scotland, and the dismissal of all things previously associated with Disney princess-ness. Merida is strong, sassy, unique, independent, spunky, smart, and yes... Brave. Her mother is... a queen

MIrror-Mirror

2012-06-30T15:33:00.000-04:00

I just finished an article in the May 2012 issue of Whole Living Magazine about a woman who decided not to look at her reflection for a month. It was hard. It's funny, because I'm sitting in a five star hotel at present with my family on the government's tab surrounded by mirrors and reflections. A huge window. Full-length mirrors on all sides. An entire wall in the bathroom. A desk I an

Inklings.

2012-06-29T10:39:00.000-04:00

Last night was the first meeting of the current writing group I'm attending. It's been literally years since I've had a group of writers with which to correspond, make notes, share pieces and critiques, and generally offer support in our endeavors. It was... refreshing. I got to tap into a section of my brain that had been lying dormant for about ten years. I miss tossing around literary

...so why DON'T I?

2012-06-25T21:13:00.000-04:00

I just finished reading this article in Whole Living Magazine about the Tao. (cue freak-out from my religious friends who think I'll be a pagan/Buddhist/atheist/Jew at any moment...) It's been awhile since I've read anything about the Tao. Last time, I was in college. I was dating this guy who was supremely down-to-earth. Not a boring down-to-earth, but a rich, soulful, grounded

It's a Sin to be Boring.

2012-06-24T16:26:00.000-04:00

I know. Be careful what you state in your title, RJ. Be careful what you state as fact... Sin... It's missing the mark, isn't it? It's being off the track, off the path, NOT in God's Way. I've recently finish a study on Inheritance by Beth Moore. I'm not sure I'm a huge fan of the costs to study through and from her, but I understand that the woman has to put food on the table, and I'm