When I look at my church, I realize that my husband and I aren't the only ones who will take care of our kids. Our church will, our extended family will, and our community will too. Our children will probably be better off for these other examples in their lives. This takes the pressure off of me and my husband to be their sole caretakers and frees us to pursue vocations outside the home without feeling guilty for not "always being there."

St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, but he was actually Scottish. He was captured by raiders as a teen and was taken to Ireland, where he was enslaved for many years. He converted to Christianity during this time and had prophetic dreams about leaving and ultimately saving Ireland. After he was ordained a bishop, he preached the Gospel and converted Irish pagans for 40 years. But he didn't actually drive away snakes from the country, as legend has it. That's because there were never any snakes in Ireland to begin with.

The heart of the issue is whether we obey in practice all the texts of scripture. And that, I would argue, requires more than a simple application of the household codes. Without love we are clanging gongs. Without love we are nothing. We have to start with love and work it all the way down to the particulars.

From the Vatican to Buenos Aires, Catholics worldwide rejoiced when Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio became the new pope. He's the first Jesuit and the first Latin American in modern times to lead the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.But in some ways, he's just a normal guy. Here are five things to know about Pope Francis:

Unfortunately, our obsession with authentic celebrities, this skewering of public figures who seem fake, illustrates our cruelty. It's reflective of how we women (yes, even Christian women) respond to one another. We prize a particular kind of authenticity in this culture and in Christian circles. Funny, self-deprecating, confessional, slightly rude, a little bit awkward. Not demure, not dainty, not too mannerly. Bonus points if you laugh with a little bit of a snort.

In Scripture there are many different names used to describe God. While all the names of God are important for a variety of reasons, the name "Abba Father" is one of the most significant names in terms of understanding how he relates to his people.

There is a growing conviction, notably in Canada, that paedophilia should probably be classified as a distinct sexual orientation, like heterosexuality or homosexuality. Two eminent researchers testified to that effect to a Canadian parliamentary commission last year, and the Harvard Mental Health Letter of July 2010 stated baldly that paedophilia ‘is a sexual orientation.’”

Iceland is working on banning Internet pornography, calling explicit online images a threat to children. '"There is a strong consensus building in Iceland," Halla Gunnarsdottir, an adviser to the nation's Interior Minister, told England's Daily Mail. "We have so many experts, from educationalists to the police and those who work with children behind this, that this has become much broader than party politics.

Last year, I marched into Valentine’s Day kind of victoriously. All the pink and the chocolate and the flowers were less a symbol of what I didn’t have, and more a symbol of what could be. It was hopeful. I couldn’t help but be aware that a special measure of grace had been extended to me so that I could hold equally in both hands two seemingly contradictory ideas – that I could still want to be part of a beautiful marriage partnership with just about every fibre of my being, and yet somehow I could love the rare freedom of this aloneness, too.

There has been a long burning discussion about the stereotype of the conduct and courtesy (or lack thereof) that many Christians display toward servers, waitresses, valets and others in the service industry. Among other things, the "Sunday morning crowd" at restaurants has a bad reputation. But why does this stereotype exist? Because, in large part, many servers think it is true. Many Christians do as well. But, what does the research say?