Did you know Vegas is so bright it causes light pollution in Death Valley, over 100 miles away?

I never get to see cool night skies but I can see the luxor pyramid beam from my house

I've also given cash out of my own pocket to folks who have come to my office looking for help only to find out I'd been scammed. It feels really shitty and makes you hesitant to give more.

We get obviously fake calls all the time. I've been called a bitch, a cunt, a terrible Christian because I've said I do not have direct access to the church's money (I don't! Which is good! That's accountability...) and could not wire cash cross country to a stranger without permission

...have *something* going on. But scammers never want that. Meanwhile, we have church members in poverty that need support, and neighbors who are actually in need.

No individual is allowed to touch the church's money without permission from the board, which is good? It's accountability?? My current church lets me give out gift cards at my discretion and I will usually offer them even to people who may be lying bc if you're desperate enough to lie you probably

The number of times I have been cursed out and called a terrible Christian by obvious scammers because I wouldn't wire cash across the country or give out the church's bank account # to someone over the phone...

When I do post it's usually either biblical studies takes or something about my cats

But with the invention of The Proverbs 31 Woman, we get a vvv convenient idol of benevolent sexism

Part of the problem is the way we divorce scripture from context and isolate certain passages to reinforce cultural norms. Evangelicals don't say "Be a Proverbs 31 man and give your alcohol to the poor" because that doesn't reinforce their individualistic meritocracy

I think "Woman of Valor" is not a bad reading per se. It has its place. But without a more nuanced reading that acknowledges the class context in which The Proverbs 31 Woman lives, it risks subjugating more liberative approaches to scripture in favor of lean-in corporate girl-boss feminism

Even the "Woman of Valor," girl power reading that became popular in evangelical and mainline feminist circles fails to get at the meaning and ends up reinforcing patriarchal and hegemonic norms. This reading glorifies an individualistic protestant work ethic by ignoring class dynamics in the text

An appropriate interpretation, I'd argue: "A Sugar Mommy, where can I get one?"

Proverbs 31:1-9 is all "rulers, don't get drunk and be lazy. Don't oppress the poor. Use your power to improve the world." Proverbs 31:10 and on is the same message but for wealthy women. Don't be idle, take care of your workers, contribute to society, etc

Started in January but then I got morning sickness and didn't feel like working with dead stuff, and the nausea lasted until like 2 weeks postpartum, so it just sat on the shelf. But last night I finally picked it up again! Here's some before pics