Some people who love birds can listen to the forest chatter and tell you what kinds of birds are singing. The titmouse and the mourning dove, the chickadee and the robin and the wren and even–I’ve seen them out my back window–the stunningly yellow Prothonotary warbler. For some people, all of these birds are like…
The Wild Goose Festival is a gathering at the intersection of justice, spirituality, music and the arts. Happening June 26-29 outside of Asheville in Hot Springs, NC. You can get more information and tickets here: www.wildgoosefestival.org. I am honored to be part of the Wild Goose blog tour and connect through cyberspace with many other people…
Last Friday was the first Valentine’s Day since my dad died. My brother and I don’t know what Dad usually did for the big day, so we got Mom some flowers. They are pink, not red. And the card simply says, “Happy Valentine’s Day;” it does not have one of those cheesy romantic Hallmark verses…
Recently my brother in Christ (cough, cough, ahemmmm), Mark Driscoll, has unleashed on the world yet another macho tirade masquerading as biblical interpretation. I’ve seen lots of buzz about this article because in it he claims that “Jesus is not a pansy or a pacifist.” Them’s fightin’ words for Mennonites! And there is a lot…
This morning I came across this beautiful question in a sermon from Randy Newswanger: Are my understandings of God, my understandings of healing and redemption, my understandings of community and celebration large enough to hold the specific details of your story? I think this question is at the heart of church. We base our shared…
So I have another story about holy space and tears and unconsumed communion bread. You can read it over on Huffington Post.
My family shared communion bread in my father’s hospice room before he died. We blessed it, broke it, and ate it. My mom caught a few medical professionals off guard by holding the loaf out to them when they came into the room to check Dad’s blood pressure or give him his medications. But all…
A few weeks ago, my Facebook pages and blog feed were abuzz with discussions about impending Mothers’ Day worship services. Most of the posts said essentially the same thing: Remember that Mothers’ Day is hard for many people. It’s hard for women who have chosen not to be mothers and women who want to be…
Yes. It is horrible that a man held three women and a child captive in his home for years. Yes. It is almost unbelievable that neighbors, police, and even the captor’s family members knew nothing about this for so long. Yes. These women and this child need our earnest prayers for the full healing of…
As I mentioned in my last post, “desiring” is my star word for this year. The yellow glittery star is taped up in my craft room: Desiring. And the word is swelling my heart in unexpected ways as my husband and I dream about a home in the country. We’ve talked about it for several…
Spacious Faith 