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I’m Pregnant! Should I still take the Lord’s Supper?
By Vanessa Rasanen “Dear Katie Luther Sisters, I’m pregnant, and I just read newer guidelines that say no amount of alcohol is safe during pregnancy. Can I still partake in the Lord’s Supper?” Yes, you can, and you should. It’s good for you and the baby. Next question… I’m just kidding, of course. Not about my answer, but about that being all that needs to be said on the matter. The Truth is the Lord’s Supper is good — for both you and your unborn little one. It is there in the bread and wine that Christ our Lord comes to us personally, physically, and substantially to give us the very forgiveness…
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Loving Your Neighbor When You Don’t Like People
By Vanessa Rasanen People are idiots. There, I said it. There are the morons who couldn’t be bothered to actually read my writing before commenting……. you have the time to write a scathing comment accusing me of taking my children to dive bars where they aren’t allowed, but you couldn’t take the five minutes to read where I specifically say we don’t do that? Awesome. Then there are the people who take your position on one thing and twist it into meaning something completely psycho — because of course, my wanting a big family must mean I look down on people who don’t have children or don’t want a big family, too… obviously my desire…
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Talking Sheep: The Role of Laity in the Church
By Vanessa Rasanen I’ve never been known for my tact. I rarely say the right thing, and even when I do I usually say it in the completely wrong way. Perhaps it would be better to remedy this problem by keeping my trap shut and learning to be quiet, but instead I’m learning when to speak up and how. This is an important skill to develop, too, as it can benefit our jobs, our families, our communities, and even our church. Yes, even our church, and even as laity. We laity are a great asset to our church, though we may not always recognize that. This is perhaps more true…
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When Thanksgiving Disappoints
By Vanessa Rasanen This week I’ll be taking the turkey out of my freezer to thaw. I always try to do this earlier than recommended so as not to repeat the great disaster that was Thanksgiving 2011 when I discovered a still frozen turkey in the fridge, leaving our family to dine on a holiday meal of side dishes and no bird. Thankfully, there were only three of us around that table that year, one of whom has no lasting memory of my mommy disaster due to his being only two at the time. Yet this upcoming holiday holds its own shares of disappointment for that kiddo, now a when-did-he-get-so-big six…
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Picking the Perfect Lutheran Name
By Vanessa Rasanen The job of naming someone is quite daunting, isn’t it? Sometimes I think Adam sure had it easy. You know, aside from that whole plunging the entire world and all of creation into sin… But really, he gave names to all the creatures and to his wife, and I’m guessing he didn’t have quite the same issue we have today where every other name considered is tainted by some person we’ve met, character we hate, or abominable figure in history. He didn’t have to worry about what initials spelled or whether they rhymed with swear words or embarrassing bodily functions. He just picked a name, and there it…
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Our Freedom to Give
By Vanessa Rasanen People aren’t perfect. You’re shocked, I know. We screw up — sometimes in big ways. We get angry. We covet our neighbors’ livelihood. We struggle with lust. We choose to sleep in instead of cherishing God’s Word and Sacrament. We are sinners (Romans 3:23). Enter God’s Word. That awesome Word gives us the slap upside the head we need, teaches us how we ought to behave, and then soothes that stinging with the sweet balm that is salvation through Christ Crucified. It’s all we need from our Father in Heaven: Discipline. Correction. Forgiveness. The Word of God can sting, though. I mean, it delivers a swift kick…
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A Mother’s Confession
By Vanessa Rasanen This morning I failed. Despite every effort to tackle those few hours of solo-parenting with grace and love and patience, I was running around like a banshee. The kids — though dressed, fed, and happy — weren’t listening. They were outright ignoring me, disobeying, and breaking the fourth left and right. And I was flipping out. The playroom was a pit. The roast needed to get in the slow cooker. The dogs needed to be kenneled. One kid needed water. One needed help opening the sippy cup. Another needed a diaper change. And my coffee — my poor, sad, neglected coffee — was cold. I was running…
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Confession and Shame
Dear Sisters, I’m not sure where to ask this but I’ve seen that you run posts without naming the asker so I thought I’d try. I’m married and we have a new baby. I love my husband and my son but there’s something wrong. Something really, really wrong, and I am ashamed. I haven’t talked to my pastor because I’m worried I’ll make him think I’m horrible. I’m attracted to other women. I’ve never actually typed that out before, but I need help. Do you have any advice for me? -A hurting sister. Dear Sister in Christ, First, I want to tell you my heart hurts for you. I…
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The Loneliness As We Sit Together
By Vanessa Rasanen Last week I wrote about hope. This week so much of that hope is gone. Even when I’m able to spend 5, 10, 30 minutes focused on a project or helping one of my children get dressed or giving them a bath or rocking them to sleep, it doesn’t take long for this painful reality to come and smack me in the face again. Our baby’s dead. Not even alive long enough for his or her heart to start beating. Dead. Gone. And as if that knowledge wasn’t difficult enough as it is… there is the physical reminder, the discomfort, the pain, and the visible evidence of…
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No Assembly Required
By Vanessa Rasanen I am an expert at crib assembly. Each new baby and each move has meant tearing down and reassembling that piece of furniture, to the point that I’ve now gotten so much practice in the process I can put it together by myself without injuring the toddlers who are “helping” me by being completely in the way. And it looks like I’ll be assembling some new baby furniture in the near future. This weekend brought my family the blessed news we are expecting another baby. This in turn brought a whole slew of emotions from joy and worry to anxiety and hope. This hope of a…
