One I sensibly hauled myself to the walk-in yesterday to see about arresting the increasing fiery pain in my ears. We’ve all had a cold since the beginning of October and mine has been chiefly residing in first one, and now both, of my eardrums. The walk-in doc seemed shocked that anybody, let alone a whole family (because I went ahead and complained about the whole crew) could be sick. Wondered if he knew where he was. We do all... Read more
My thirteen year old is starting to get a handle on her online classes. When we started the year, I expected that both the course material, and the reality of signing in every day and keeping up with the class and the teacher, would be an uphill climb. As I said to her when we were both anxious and stressed on the first day of class, “what I am doing is flinging you into the deep end of an Olympic... Read more
This Guardian piece was all over Facebook last week, and being a dutiful participant in social media, I read it. And then, because it was so weird, I read it again. Actually I think I read it, like, four or five times, trying to understand what the author, who appears to be some kind of man, was saying. It seems at first glance to be a joke, but as you labor through the prose, it becomes vaguely clear that he... Read more
I was recently able to acquire for myself a copy of Rachel Held Evans’ A Year of Biblical Womanhood. I haven’t had time to really get into it, other than to note, at the outset, that she is a good, funny, writer, and that, though her premise is utterly flawed, I feel sympathetic and sorry for her, about her church experience. In fact, based on her introduction alone, I think a great mounting defense can be made for what I’ve... Read more
I trust everyone is alive and well after the busy weakened. We were all having so much fun, inhaling great buckets of candy, and then, surprisingly, everyone began to cry midway through Sunday afternoon. After hearing many variations on the cry “This is the best day ever!” it was sad and alarming go hear the gentle whine of “this has been a really bad day.” Saturday ascending to the heights, Sunday crashing very hard. So in the end we had... Read more
We’ve arrived, finally, I hope, at the last two of the Solas of the Reformation, Solus Christus and Soli Deo Gloria. Indulge me in a little confession. I find it hard, in a reactionary way, to articulate the name ‘Jesus’ in the company of other people. Not that I’m embarrassed to say it, but I am always irritated by pastors who say it overlovingly, so that the ‘e’ and the ‘s’ are drawn way out. And then there are the... Read more
I am not very nice company for that beloved pastime, Family Movie Night. Whenever I am in the position of having to watch a movie (every Monday evening), I am the irritating person who whispers my displeasure at critical moments, like just when everything is heating up, or when the music turns sappy. Leave it to me to ruin everything by pointing out that the sweeping grandiosity of the soundtrack is lugging along the extremely poor acting. In this way... Read more
Welcome back to Anne’s definitive guide to the Solas of the Reformation, cough. And some people have the gall to think that I’m not funny…. Today let’s look at the lynchpin of the whole lot, Sola Scriptura. If you can effectively undermine and destroy this one, you can demolish not only all the other ones, but Christianity itself. If you can shove people’s attention off of the bible and on to themselves, and other people, and other stuff, you ruin... Read more
Yesterday I kicked off a little fun series about the Reformation, which feast always coincides with the celebration of Halloween. I never can understand why children would rather run around eating candy dressed as Darth Vader than sit and meditate on the mediatorial work of Christ. Children are so impossible. Today I want to carry on talking about Sola Gratia, and, just so you don’t end up very disappointed, I’m not going back for a history of the Reformation, nor... Read more
Some lovely reader of this blog asked last week why I, or anyone in general, would celebrate Reformation Day. Why celebrate a divorce, she asked? Which is a good question. Why celebrate a division, a breaking apart? And, before I actually stumble around trying to answer this question, I would just like to say that I don’t have that many actual friends, either in reality or in, cough, “my online community” but of those I do have, fully half of... Read more
Preventing Grace
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