Why does “full term” have to feel so…full? I once read a lovely book (which I really ought to read again…and you should read as well) called Great With Child, in which the author (Debra Rienstra) refers to herself as “ripe” at the end of her pregnancy. I keep thinking about that. I feel ripe…teetering on the edge of sweetness and rottenness. I should be picked from the tree soon or else I’ll be one of those peaches I had to rake up every summer of my childhood, busted and … [Read more...]
On suffering and joy
February 23, 2011 By 5 Comments
As I write this, I’m resting after a good day of hard work and accomplishment. I love feeling like actual events happened in my day. I connected with dear people, loved my kid, accomplished tasks (groceries: more vinegar so my hubby can pickle more onions!), and rested. I also had some contractions. Of course, I’ve been having Braxton-Hicks for a few months now. I mean real contractions. These were small but they let their force be known: little reminders about what’s coming (and how much … [Read more...]
Confessing Fear
February 7, 2011 By 13 Comments
Yesterday during time of confession in our worship service, I ran my mind over my past week and realized that if I’ve had a pattern of brokenness in my life the past few days, it’s been in the form of fear. As a hormonal mama who wants nothing more than to make our little nest ready for baby, I’m feeling the burden of what I don’t know about our future: how much I wish I could feel settled, how much I wish we had a handle on our five-year or even one-year plan. But we don’t. Instead … [Read more...]
Savior of the Nations, Come
December 22, 2010 By 3 Comments
For my last post of the Advent season, I'll leave you with this lovely Advent hymn. I hope that your Christmas is full of wonder and beauty and hope. I'll check back in with you next week. Until then, Merry Christmas! Savior of the Nations, Come Savior of the nations come, Show yourself, the virgin's son. Marvel heaven, wonder earth, That our God chose such a birth. Not by human power or seed Did the woman's womb conceive; Only by the Spirit's breath Was the Word of God made flesh. Mary then … [Read more...]
On Mary: Faith and Doubt
December 20, 2010 By 11 Comments
Whenever I spend time reading the biblical story of Mary, the mother of Christ, I imagine her to be like me, a sincere believer who can still find a way to doubt, to say yes, then run. This Advent season, I haven’t been able to get past Mary’s doubt. It’s not that I can ever know she was a doubter, it’s just that I sort of hope she was. The more I know Jesus the more I grasp my need for what John chapter one calls “grace and truth,” a spiritual rescuing of those of us (all of us) who … [Read more...]
“Come now, let us argue it out…”
December 8, 2010 By Leave a Comment
That’s the New Reformed Standard Version of Isaiah 1:18. If you’ve read (or heard) this verse before, it probably went something like, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (King James Version). The NIV says: “Come now, let us settle the matter…” But, the NRSV, bless its heart, quotes God as saying, let’s fight about it. This passage is often … [Read more...]
For Pawpaw, on Veteran’s Day
November 11, 2010 By 17 Comments
Today is Veteran’s Day. I grew up going to “Veteran’s Day” events with my grandparents (Meemaw and Pawpaw), who were always invited to anything honoring veterans (and usually written about the in the local paper following that event). That’s because they have a powerful story. A really powerful story. Pawpaw’s airplane in World War II was shot down over Nazi territory. He was hit by bullets and was still able to escape his flaming plane via parachute. When he hit the ground he was … [Read more...]
The Great Story
November 10, 2010 By 7 Comments
I’ve been thinking about stories lately, mostly because my two-year-old is obsessed with them. I don’t just mean he wants a story about a bear and a toad becoming friends. I mean, while I’m changing his diaper, he wants me to tell a story about how his poop came out. He wants a story after he’s been in time-out for throwing his food on the ground about the time he sat in time-out for throwing his food on the ground. The boy’s obsessed. At the same time, I’m working on a series of … [Read more...]
For Stuey
October 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment
This weekend, we lost my husband’s grandfather. We spent Saturday grieving and then watched our beloved Phillies lose the NL Championship to the city we live in. Papa wouldn’t have cared. Though he lived in the Philadelphia area for the past thirty years, he never bought into their sports teams. He loved all things New England, his childhood home. Chris cared though. He went into the game longing for a happy distraction from his loss. What we got out of it was a night of street filled … [Read more...]
Beatitudes
October 13, 2010 By 6 Comments
I’ve just finished preparation for leading my Mom’s Group discussion on Wednesday. We’ve been doing a study of the Gospel of Matthew and it just so happens that my day in charge has fallen on Chapter 5, the Sermon on the Mount. Seriously, we’re supposed to discuss Jesus’ most intense, beautiful and revolutionary sermon in one hour, while eating bagels? Shocking, I know. So, as much as I’m supposed to be ready to discuss the entire chapter tomorrow, I can’t get past the Beatitudes: … [Read more...]
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