Hey, all. I got laid off from my job at the end of May, and I haven’t been able to find an… Alexys Lewis needs your support for Help Keeping House Post-Layoff

Not the typical rhetoric you hear during Pride Month, but it's true nonetheless. Note that I said love is a choice, not sexuality or attraction. Those are beyond our control; love isn't. Love's not rooted in feelings, but rather demonstrative action. Here are a few Biblical examples: Ruth She refused to leave Naomi because of her love and devotion to her.

Well, I thought I was only gonna write two blog posts this month, but I thought wrong. Yes, I'm writing about my hysterectomy as part of my Pride Month series. Why? Because, in a way, I raised my middle finger to the patriarchy/heteronormative society by getting rid of some parts involved in procreation. So, regardless of whether someone affirms my gender, I can never be the model Christian housewife who has her own biological children (although there are several reasons why I was never gonna be this anyway).

Yea, I'm coming out swinging with this one. If you live in the U.S. or are even vaguely aware about what's going on, you'll know that some Christians get irate, hostile, and/or bigoted when pronouns are mentioned. They vehemently argue that he/him and she/her are the only valid pronouns to use for individuals, asserting that using "they/them" to refer to a singular person is grammatically incorrect and that God didn't make trans people.

Hey, fam. I have a few things to announce. First off, I'll be doing another themed blog series for Pride Month this year! I've got one post almost ready to schedule, and I'll be working on the other one later today. "But, Nik, there are more than two weeks in June." Which leads me to my other announcement. Moving forward, I'll try to shoot for just two blog posts a month.

Well, this isn't the other post I had planned for my Mental Health Awareness Month series, but we're here. "Uh, Nik, how does this relate to mental health?" Surprisingly, it does in a lot of ways. Now, what do I mean my whimsy? And why am I even using this word? Great questions. Whimsy has actually come up a lot in the cultural zeitgeist; I've mainly seen it crop up on TIkTok and Tumblr, but I'm sure it's popping up in other places, too.

I know this feels like a weird start to my Mental Health Awareness Month series, but, as I say a lot on here, hear me out. We're gonna kick things off by talking about anxiety. I've already done a post on being a mentally ill Christian, and Minister Charlie's also done several good posts on anxiety on their blog. …

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, a few things will be happening. One, I'll be doing another themed blog series. I already have a few ideas lined up, but just a head's up: I may only do two posts for this month (life is life-ing; you know how it is). As for the other announcement... Sanctuary's starting a quarterly newsletter!

Some of you may look at this title and immediately agree with me, no questions asked. Some of you may agree but wonder why. And some of you may be clutching the pearls at the suggestion (especially if you've heard about and/or got caught up in the satanic panic). Fear not, for, as always, I shall explain. Quick disclaimer: no AI was used in the creation of this blog post.

I wasn't really sure what to do for a post this week; I even thought about taking off this week because life is still life-ing. But as I was making brunch (because it feels weird calling it breakfast with how late I ate) the morning I started drafting this post, God reminded me of something I came to a realization of a while ago.

Yup, that was an EPIC: The Musical reference for those who caught it. Oh, you thought I was done with this series? Fam, I don't even know when I'll be done with this series. Anyway, the title of this series references the song "Warrior of the Mind," the final song of the Troy Saga. Athena debuts here, and you find out about her relationship with Odysseus as well as their backstory together.

Hey, fam. Changing things up on y'all again this week. This post, I interviewed Apostle Dr. Lee Ann B. Marino on the topic of sophia, or wisdom. We don't really talk about how that word is feminine in form, let alone what that means for the church as a whole. So, I went to someone I knew had looked into this topic extensively to get her take on this.

March, among other things, is Women's History Month. Instead of a devo, however, I thought I'd switch things up and start this series with an author spotlight for Sanctuary's own Apostle Dr. Lee Ann B. Marino. She's written 40+ books so far (with more in the works...I know; she's built different), but I'd like to promote her book Surrounded By So Great A Cloud Of Witnesses: Women Of Faith Who Revolutionized History…

What better way to wrap up my Black History Month series than with talking about the black national anthem, "Lift Every Voice and Sing"? This'll be another—you guessed it—lyric breakdown, so buckle up. I'll be giving some historical and cultural background on this song, but I'll also be looking at how it can apply in a broader sense today. I also won't be covering every part because I wanted to focus on others.

Yes, I'm using Black Panther to talk about nationalism. Yes, I'm doing this for Black History Month. As usual, stay with me for this one. It's gonna be a ride. Black Panther is one of my favorite Marvel movies. After rewatching it a few months ago, I re-fell in love with it and remembered how well done it was. I also noticed a few things, one that I wasn't completely comfortable with given the country I live in and everything happening in it.

Didn’t formally make an announcement about doing a themed series for Black History Month, so consider this it. And to start things off, I wanna talk about the movie Sinners. I saw it for the first time this past Friday. I noticed that it was free on Prime (suspiciously during BHM, but…hey, movie I didn’t have to pay to see on a streaming service I’m already paying to watch movies and shows on), so I checked it out.

"Hey, Nik, where's that quote from?" Well, you see, dear reader, EPIC: The Muscial still has a firm grip on my psyche, so you're getting another post based off that. For context, this line comes from the song "Odysseus" in the final saga. Odysseus is finally home, but his palace is filled with suitors who want to harm his wife and child (and that's putting it very mildly).

Yup, the EPIC: The Musical train continues (full speed ahead…sorry; I had to). Now, onto the post. This is inspired by the song “Hold Them Down” in the Ithaca Saga. In it, the suitors are trying to complete the challenge Queen Penelope gave them to see who can ascend the throne, but they’re quickly realizing none of them can do it.

Well, 2025's almost over. My gut reaction is to say, "Good riddance." But that would be a disservice to all the things God's showed me this year, let alone the many ways They've shown me grace. And for those who are wondering, yes, this is a reference to the song "Full Speed Ahead" from EPIC: The Troy Saga (and if you weren't wondering, well, now you know anyway).

In lieu of a devotional today, I wanted to share this graphic I made with you all. It's an important message we don't really hear this time of year, and some of you may need to hear it, too. To quote what I said in another blog post, "However you want to celebrate the holiday—or not celebrate them—is totally up to you.

"This was a perfectly good opportunity to reference Frozen, Nik!" Look, I know, and I've already done a Frozen post. But today, I'm gonna talk about a movie that I'm very late in seeing but am glad I watched it nonetheless. If you've been following my blog the past few months, you know I've done some Marvel-related posts. Truth is, I'll always be a DC girlie at heart.

Letting go means acknowledging that we cannot control the outcome of a situation. In this post, I offer practical advice to help you let go and stop worrying about the future.