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Strength in Weakness?
By Elizabeth Ahlman While we were living in Leipzig, Germany, my family and I had several opportunities to visit Lutherstadt Wittenberg. In the courtyard of the Black Cloister is one of my favorite statues. It’s Katie Luther, full skirts swishing out, arms pumping, looking as if she was striding purposefully across that courtyard. If anything depicts a womanly strength, it’s that statue. Katie looks all business, as if ready to take on anything — as if ready to go to battle on her own little homefront (or not so little, as the Black Cloister was actually huge). Historians and perhaps lore tell us that Katie was strong and bold –…
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Singleness and Vocation and Comfort
By Keri Wolfmueller Dear Sisters, I have a question that I hope you can help me with. I know that marriage is a good gift from God, and so are children. But what does that mean for those of us who haven’t gotten married yet and might not? Hi Sister! Thanks for trusting us with your question, that’s a special place to be. First, know you will be in our prayers. We will pray that God will grant you His comfort, peace, joy, wisdom, and contentment with whatever your future may hold. I feel like everything I’m going to say you know. You are a student of the Scriptures. So,…
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Review on Demystifying the Proverbs 31 Woman
By Bethany Kilcrease Perhaps it’s just me, but I’ve always found the book of Proverbs a little baffling. Sure, I know it’s about Christ. I know that Christ is Wisdom incarnate (1 Cor. 1:30). On this basis I can work through the first nine chapters, in which Lady Wisdom contrasts herself to Dame Folly. Christ (Wisdom) is the way to life. Rejecting Him leads only to Folly and death. In chapter 8, Solomon gives an especially compelling picture of the pre-incarnate Christ calling out to foolish sinners in the persona of Lady Wisdom. But then what do we make of chapters ten through thirty-one? Despite having glanced at various commentaries,…
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Giveaway- Tait & Co. Ceramics
By Holly Scheer If your home is anything like mine, you can never have too many places to store odds and ends. You also probably love gorgeous bowls. Who doesn’t? Well, we’ve got your back here, because Tait & Co. Ceramics makes lovely food safe pieces that are pretty and functional. Here’s a little about the shop: We are two college students with a passion for ceramics and candle making! We love using the art and communications degrees we are pursuing in our business! You can look at their work here. For more see them on Instagram. Ok, now what you really want to know- about the prize and how…
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Katie’s Bookshelf- Review of Scarlet Virgins: When Sex Replaces Salvation
By Ellie Corrow The sexual revolution brought many challenges and questions to Christians and social conservatives who saw the dangers in seemingly rampant hedonism, but felt unequipped to address it within their families. Stepping in to fill this breach was a bevy of books and programs such as True Love Waits, Silver Ring Thing, and I Kissed Dating Goodbye, which gained widespread largely uncritical acceptance across the breadth of conservative Christian denominations. The sexual purity movement, as it is collectively known, and its accompanying educational materials, have since become something of a roadmap for concerned parents and youth leaders attempting to guide children through the modern wasteland of sexual ethics.…
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Giveaway- Lutheran Coffee Mug with Schieber Shenanigans!
By Holly Scheer (Click the picture to see it bigger) We’re Lutherans, and most of us share a deep love for hot beverages. Coffee, specifically, although tea isn’t too shabby, either. That’s why we here at the Sisters of Katie Luther have paired with Alisha of Schieber Shenanigans to host this giveaway for you! What could be more fun than a coffee mug with a Luther’s Rose on it? You’ll be the coolest at the next potluck or church social hour, so make sure you enter this! Speaking of entering, it’s really simple. Just click through to like both Schieber Shenanigans and our Facebook page if you haven’t already, and…
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The Gift of the Liturgy for Mothers
By Holly Scheer Mothers of babies and toddlers who take them faithfully to church and still deal with crying (theirs, and yours), and feeling harried, please know that church is so important for them, and for you. Attending a traditional, liturgical church is a lasting gift to both your children and yourselves, both in this life and in the next. If you’re struggling with feeling overwhelmed, or that it might be best to come back when they’re bigger, please know that church is the best place for you and them now! It’s been a few years since I’ve had to take any of my own kids out of the service…
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Comfort in Private Confession
By Vanessa Rasanen That drive to church might have been the hardest I had ever made — and I’ve made plenty of white-knuckled, stress-filled, holy-moly-please-be-quiet-or-I’m-going-to-lose-it Sunday morning drives with my four littles. That particular weekday afternoon, though, I was headed to our near-empty church to meet with my pastor in the sanctuary for private confession and absolution. While I’ve often encouraged friends to seek this out for themselves, and I have openly confessed this pastoral service to be a blessed gift, truth is I was downright scared to do it myself. I had actually been considering making it a regular practice. After all, there’s no reason you need to have…
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When Christian Love Needs to be Tough
By Vanessa Rasanen There is much about this life in faith that seems confusing to those who live outside it. This shouldn’t shock us, of course, since God tells us quite clearly that His word is folly to those who don’t believe. They won’t understand why we give so much of our income to the church — even before putting any into our own savings. They don’t get why we wake up early every Sunday to get to church even when there’s a foot of snow outside. And they certainly cannot fathom why we would dare to share something as personal as our faith with those who have no interest…
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For Holy Week
By Bethany Kilcrease If anyone is still looking for some good devotional reading for Holy Week and beyond, let me introduce you to a hidden gem recently written by a Lutheran woman. I have been reading and re-reading Carolyn Brinkley’s Bearing the Cross: Devotions on Albrecht Dürer’s Small Passion (CPH, 2012) for several years now and heartily recommend it to anyone. Deaconess Brinkley uses the artist Albrecht Dürer’s series of woodcut images called the Small Passion (1511) as the basis for thirty-four short devotions. As implied by the title Small Passion, Dürer’s extremely detailed woodcuts portray scenes Christ’s Passion, although Dürer and Brinkley also contextualize the Passion narrative with images…
