Hey, Mom. Thanks for being here, and for reading these things I write every Sunday. But really, thanks for all the times when you aren't here in front of this screen because you're too busy working in the real spaces around you, planning our meals and wiping down the highchairs after the kids have gone (and also … Continue reading Hey, Mom
Someone gave me a composition notebook for my fourteenth birthday and told me to write blessings in it, to number them. I think the goal was 10,000, but I lost count after awhile, and the “thanksgivings” turned into little observations of the world around me: The house is quiet this morning. Elsie learned to roll … Continue reading The Things I’ve Seen
"Thank an artist today," someone said on Instagram last week, and I happened to be walking through the booths at the entrance to Silver Dollar City--- little closets of handmade brooms and paintings and pottery and baskets and woven rugs. The makers of each were dressed in their aprons and smocks, watching us and waiting. … Continue reading Thank the Artist
I made a list of foods over the weekend (and made myself hungry doing it): Cucumbers and crackers and cheeses and grapes and tea and butter for scones. If I couldn’t remember something, I tried to imagine Bilbo’s pantry and the Dwarves’ feast as they ravaged it. After all, Hutchmoot is a place for eating … Continue reading A Taste of the Feast & A Prayer for Hutchmoot
March 22 Today’s been strange. I didn’t go to church, didn’t talk to my friends or take notes or play on worship team. I didn’t leave my house. I’m tired of hearing about the coronavirus, but it isn’t something I can ignore. Or should. But that also doesn’t make it my focus. God is. And … Continue reading Two Reasons to Thank God Today
October 6 My friend asked a question last week that got me thinking: “Bethany, if you weren’t a Christian, where do you think you’d be today?” The more thought I gave it, the more sobering the question became. I started sensing just how much my faith infiltrates and informs me. I tried wrapping my mind … Continue reading A Serious Question
Two months ago, a friend emailed me for advice on finding a solid church. I wanted to respond that I was the wrong person to ask. I’ve never “church hopped” or “church shopped.” I’ve never had to hunt down a healthy congregation. My Dad became a pastor in 2001, the year I was born. Not … Continue reading 10 Things I Love About My Church
September 8 Eugene Peterson is a master with words and this week, I’ve been enjoying his modern interpretation of the Psalms. It’s an honest, fearless, worshipful message inspired by Scripture’s truth: God, my God, I yelled for help And you put me together. God, you pulled me out of the grave, Gave me another chance … Continue reading Psalm 30 (In Modern Language)
August 18 It’s been a crazy, hard, good, busy week and God has been carving truths into my heart. Here’s one: His plan is perfect. I like to schedule out my hours, my days, and my life. Just this week, I bought a calendar to set on my desk. I scribble words into the boxes … Continue reading When My Plan Isn’t Perfect
August 4 I tend to take my salvation for granted. And when I do stop to thank Jesus for his profound love and sacrifice, I still underestimate the gospel. How? By forgetting I’m a Gentile. I shouldn’t belong in Jesus’s family. I shouldn’t have access into this incredible mystery of divine grace. But I do. … Continue reading Hope for the Gentile (Like Me)
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