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Katie’s Bookshelf– Searching for Sunday by Rachel Held Evans Review
Welcome back to Katie’s Bookshelf! Life’s busy, really too busy to waste time on bad books, and The Sisters of Katie Luther are here to help! Feel free to eavesdrop on Sandra Ostapowich, Holly Scheer, and Ellie Corrow, as they use technology available to regularly e-chat about books we’ve chosen to read and discuss together. These reviews are informal, probably slightly snarky, but always informative, and designed to help you determine what is worth your consideration. Pull up a chair, a cup of tea, or something else, if you prefer, and help yourself to our conclusions, as we explore what is on offer. Our book this time is the new…
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To My Daughter, On Becoming a Woman
To my daughter once, my dear little girl, and now, a young woman: One normal evening, out of the blue, you were catapulted into the next stage of your life, and I, without any qualifications and little warning, was advanced to the next level of parenting. Like you, I’m a few parts scared and a few parts excited. Here are a few things I’d like you to know, from my heart to yours. This is a lot to handle. Oh, how I’d like to let you stay home from school, curl up in a ball, and eat chocolate all day! I know, dear, that this is a lot to handle. …
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Amidst Every Distraction
By Vanessa Rasanen Above the exit of our church lies a sign — “The sermon is over. The service begins.” Or something like that (stupid mom-brain). This is the gist, though, and often when I pass under those words I think to myself “Wait. What was the sermon about again?” Some Sundays I can’t even recall the readings for the day — any of them. You’d think out of the Psalms, Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel I’d be able to remember at least one of them. But nope. Mom-brain is part of the problem, for sure. No, really. Every child seems to make my memory so. much. worse. But it’s not…
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So Your Husband Just Received His First Call…
Dear Sisters in Christ, It was June 26, 2005. On that day my husband was ordained and installed as a pastor in the Lord’s Church. I remember it well. There was an illicit buzz in the heavy, hot air that filled the sanctuary. My stomach had been doing regular somersaults since the Call Service a few months prior; it was now out of control. It was real! It was happening! The organ was resounding! The kids and I were all dressed up and ready to go. But…was I ready to go? Was I ready to be THE “pastor’s wife?” I certainly had been doing some research. The previous four years I…
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Article XXIV (XII): Of the Mass, Part 3
And although our belief has its chief testimonies in the Epistle to the Hebrews, nevertheless the adversaries distort against us mutilated passages from this Epistle, as in this very passage, where it is said that every high priest is ordained to offer sacrifices for sins. Scripture itself immediately adds that Christ is High Priest, Heb. 5:5-6,10. The preceding words speak of the Levitical priesthood, and signify that the Levitical priesthood was an image of the priesthood of Christ. For the Levitical sacrifices for sins did not merit the remission of sins before God; they were only an image of the sacrifice of Christ, which was to be the one propitiatory…
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Article XXIV (XII): Of the Mass- Part 2
What a Sacrifice Is, and What Are the Species of Sacrifice. [Now, lest we plunge blindly into this business, we must indicate, in the first place, a distinction as to what is, and what is not, a sacrifice. To know this is expedient and good for all Christians.] 16] Socrates, in the Phaedrus of Plato, says that he is especially fond of divisions, because without these nothing can either be explained or understood in speaking, and if he discovers any one skilful in making divisions, he says that he attends and follows his footsteps as those of a god. And he instructs the one dividing to separate the members in…
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Raising Our Daughters (and Sons) To Just Be
By Vanessa Rasanen Never, in all my years of growing up, did I doubt I would get married and have children. It was a given. It was part of my dream, my goals, my plan. Despite my liberal and feminist upbringing — which emphasized career over “just” being a housewife — I wanted a family and I wanted to stay home to care for that family. And no matter what it took, I was going to have it. And I do. I have three wonderful children, an amazing husband, two sweet dogs. I have a home filled with love and laughter, joy and hilarity. And though I’m no longer home…
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Teach Chastity Not Purity
By Amanda Markel For as long as I can remember, and maybe even longer than that, American evangelicals have focused on purity when talking to their children about sex. On the surface, this sounds good. Purity goes hand-in-hand with abstinence-based sex education, and that tends to be the goal of most Christians…waiting to have sex until marriage. The emphasis on “purity” is problematic for several reasons, though. Let’s start with the most obvious. None of us are pure, period. It doesn’t matter if you’re talking sexually, or in any other way…we all fall short. We are all poor, miserable sinners. To think we can attain purity in a specific area…
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A New Song
By Emily Cook Once, in a college class, we were discussing finding God in nature. I was asked to look outside at a nearby tree, and tell the class what it told me about God. “Um… it’s reaching up to the sky to show us we need God?” Maybe. Or maybe it has outstretched arms to teach us to embrace the whole world? Or perhaps a tree has disorganized branches because God loves wild spiky hair and hairspray is an affront to God? Point made, professor. We can be inspired by nature, but we can’t “read” it. Without revelation, there is little we can say for certain. But we have…
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Hi, I’m the Wife of an Alcoholic
By guest contributor, Poekitten Hi, I’m Poe, and I’m married to an alcoholic. I didn’t know he was an alcoholic when we got married, but I did know eventually his drinking would become an issue. I just didn’t expect it to happen so soon — only a year and a half into our marriage. It was difficult, but I wouldn’t change it, as it has shaped our marriage and who we are as people. I’ve had people ask us how we did it, how we made it through. Divorce among alcoholics is high. Though I don’t have the stats on me, my husband was told repeatedly while he was in…
