blog.

Justice in Education for All

By Megan Westra / April 29, 2014 /

Evangelical Christians often champion the ‘sanctity of life.’ This phrase typically refers only to abortion. Many Evangelicals argue that a culture that allows legal abortion does not truly value human life. While many Evangelicals have fought against abortion for decades, we have yet to see a movement that expands the idea of ‘sanctity of life’…

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Riding in on a donkey

By Megan Westra / April 15, 2014 /

“It just all seems so…divided.” The descant rolls on and on from so many of my friends and peers; believers from all walks of life. The words are paced with shocking consistency. They are set to a meter like a metronome, the rise and fall undifferentiated. And it’s true, I can’t remember a time in…

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#Justice: A Peek into Urban Violence w/ Megan Westra

By Megan Westra / March 12, 2014 /

“Do you feel safe?” Well, not always. I’m getting used to it now. The wide eyes and once-in-awhile gaping mouth. “Where do you live?” I live in the inner city. On purpose. And I have no plans of leaving. I have been robbed five times. I have witnessed a drug deal while sitting on my front…

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That Time I Gave Away Half of My Clothes (and other ideas on how to practice simplicity during Lent)

By Megan Westra / March 11, 2014 /

It was over a year ago now (but it seems like just last week) when I noticed it.  Piles everywhere. Clean clothes, dirty clothes, outfits tried on and off and discarded for a more preferable option before leaving for a morning meeting. Piles and piles and piles. And at once, I was over it. Enough…

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Owned (A Lenten Meditation on Excess and Simplicity)

By Megan Westra / March 10, 2014 /

I’ve found myself altogether discontent lately. Maybe it’s just that I’m tired of wearing snow boots and my sub-zero parka every day. Maybe it’s just that the sunlight never seems to come bright enough, for long enough. Maybe it’s that as I pound out miles on the treadmill, unattainable images of which to measure beauty…

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Fluffy, Delicious, Protein Pancakes (gluten, dairy and refined sugar free)

By Megan Westra / March 6, 2014 /

I’m sorry. If you’re a regular around Crazy Little Thing, I’m sure you typically come here to read about sex trafficking, or violence against women, or how many child slaves are involved in the process of getting chocolate to your kitchen and makeup on your face. Today though, I’m addressing a different topic of great…

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We have a winner!

By Megan Westra / February 17, 2014 /

Congratulations Samantha!  You have a copy of The Locust Effect headed your way! Thanks so much to all of you who checked out my review and took time to enter. Please pick up a copy of The Locust Effect via amazon.com or at Barnes and Noble.

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Weekend Reading

By Megan Westra / February 15, 2014 /

“Lean In” Valentines from Nora Borealis A Bar and a Pole “What would happen if collectively we decided to give one another the benefit of the doubt? What if we agreed that there is always more to us than one essay, one conversation, one moment, one admission? People are nuanced and complex; we are not just the…

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Heartbroken, Yet Still in Pursuit of Justice

By Megan Westra / February 14, 2014 /

I am an eternal optimist. I look for the best in people. Always. My greatest bent in life is to look for the ways in which things and people, systems and structures may be restored. I just see hope and potential everywhere.  Brokenhearted people, antique furniture, neighborhoods crumbling under the foreclosure crisis, students who have…

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#Justice: A War Cry Against Gender-based Violence

By Megan Westra / January 22, 2014 /

I grew up idyllic and carefree in a valley just beyond the coal fields in West Virginia. I heard about abuse, I read about it, I knew that it sometimes happened. That sometimes a woman would get beaten by a boyfriend or husband. I knew about rape, but it never happened in my world. It…

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