Short answer: everything Easter is God’s ultimate redemption. We say, “Christ is risen. He is risen indeed.” We sing, “Death where is thy victory, grave where is thy sting?” As K.J. Ramsey recently posted, “God hangs on the hard wood of humanity’s hatred and death becomes a door.” I see this so clearly in theContinue reading “What Can Widows Teach us About Easter?”
Category Archives: living with grief
Way down, Hadestown
Recently I was able to see the musical Hadestown. Ok, to be more specific I went to see Hadestown on a Saturday as part of my Broadway Philadelphia subscription and then I got rush tickets and went again on Wednesday. I listened to the full soundtrack at least 8 times between Saturday and Wednesday’s showContinue reading “Way down, Hadestown”
Anna, the Widow
After my husband died, I threw myself into an exploration of biblical widows. And since I genuinely love research (nerd alert) this included more than a handful of commentaries and books. Doesn’t everyone have a theology section in their home library? I figured it was about time I introduced you to some of these badassContinue reading “Anna, the Widow”
Tears of Love
I got married four days after Christmas. At the time, this made perfect sense. 1. I love Christmas, both the church and the reception venue would still be decorated for Christmas-this would save me a ton of money and was my preferred aesthetic. 2. I was finishing graduate school in December, so I would beContinue reading “Tears of Love”
The Music of Advent
Singing has always been my favorite way to pray. The songs of advent provide some of the richest texts and most beautiful melodies with which to pray. So this post comes with a playlist (click here for the songs). Below you will find my favorite verse from each of the selected songs, but you’ll getContinue reading “The Music of Advent”
The Advent Wreath
“The long dawn of Advent begins, for now is the season of an ever-growing and an ever-kindly light-the one that lets us see reality more clearly.” (Kate Bowler, intro to Advent devotional) These words immediately make me think of the advent wreath. A visible symbol of the light growing brighter and brighter until finally ChristContinue reading “The Advent Wreath”
No-vember
Like any good millennial I spend much of my day consumed with social media and am therefore very aware of all the trends. November has some of my favorites. It starts sweet with 30 days of thankfulness, then gets sassy with the trending hashtag no nuance November. Apparently, other people can sometimes have trouble speakingContinue reading “No-vember”
The Liminal Space
I love words-especially words that somehow capture an entire concept. I’m a sucker for lists like this that show you words in other languages that perfectly encapsulate a feeling we can only awkwardly describe in English. One of my favorites had a real moment a year or two ago-it’s the Danish word Hygge meaning aContinue reading “The Liminal Space”
It’s my Birthday and I’ll Cry if I Want To
My birthday falls about a month before my late husband’s. When we were first dating I loved that. It meant he had to buy me a gift first and I could see exactly what level of gift giving he thought we were at before I had to buy him a present. Heaven forbid I giftContinue reading “It’s my Birthday and I’ll Cry if I Want To”
Triggers
I hate that word. Probably because I teach middle school and, “ugh, triggered” or, “i know, I was soo triggered” are phrases that the 8th graders say with regularity when referring to any minor inconvenience. That’s one of the risks that comes with normalizing mental health conversations-words start to lose some of their power. BecauseContinue reading “Triggers”
Widowed and Writing 