Ruth Nieves

Today, I picked up a family member from a mental health facility. One thing I noticed, and it shocked me all at the same time, was the amount of young men and women, in their teens and young adult years, in these wards and facilities. I see it all around me as I minister and counsel people from all walks of life and ages. I see a trend of young adults and young people not being able to handle life. So many have lost hope and meaning that they try to end their lives or turn to drugs, sex, the streets, anything to help them stop thinking about life. As I tried to process what I saw. I became so clear and truly obvious. There is a common denominator missing here. GOD! They have no hope and lost all meaning because they don't know God. Whether it was that they weren't given that foundation at home or school. Whether they rebelled and ran from God. Regardless of the reason. They feel as if they have no hope. Again, I blame those that came before us, parents, churches, religious le

Lately, I have been reading articles and watching the news and noticing that there is a trend going on. I don't know if you have noticed it or not. You may even be experiencing it at work or in your own community. Last night I read an article about ABC wanting to pilot a show called, "Good Christian B****es." It is a show about women in the church and their depiction. It is similar to "Desperate Housewives" in a whole other form. When the periodical "Christianity Today" was contacted about how offensive the name and content of the show was to them, they chose not to fall for the trap. But someone did say in the same article, "I would highly doubt that you would see a show titled, "Good Muslim B****es" or "Good Jewish B****es." Why is it okay for Christians to be bashed and depicted in such a manner. I am not naive to think that we are perfect or gossip-free. I have been in ministry long enough to know that we struggle with the