June 2014
My memories of summer are filled with bliss. Laughing with my sisters on the raft in the middle of the cove near my grandparent's beach house. Playing card games with three generations around a painted white table past my bedtime. Watching storm clouds roll in, low and ...
In our final post of four related to understanding, celebrating, and receiving the gift of the Sabbath, David Zahl reflects on our tendency to want to work, even as we rest:
A few months ago, The New York Times ran a remarkably astute editorial about the state of American ...
I confess that I am more of a Sabbath-breaker more than a Sabbath-keeper, although it was ten years ago now that I began to rally some frail faith for practicing the habit of weekly rest. Ten years ago, I was the mother of three very small children: a preschooler, a toddler, ...
Where I come from, Shabbat begins at dusk on Friday nights, and ends when the first three stars become visible on Saturday evening. The twenty-five or so hours from Friday evening through Saturday evening are meant to be a time of restorative rest and reconnection with God, ...
I've been thinking about the Sabbath—this weekly day of rest, or is it a day of worship?—for years now. It first piqued my interest in college, when a Christian friend of mine decided to stop doing homework on Sundays. I was intrigued—he looked so happy ...
Excerpts from a few articles that caught my attention this week:
Faith
Shun the Atheist Boyfriend - Emma Green, The Atlantic
A poll reveals that parents of all political persuasions are very squeamish about the prospect of a godless daughter- or son-in-law. In general, ...
School has finally finished for my kids, and the temperatures are finally reaching the 80s. Summer has arrived, which means I've gotten emails recently from the town library, the school library, from teachers and other parents, all related to summer reading. Our eight-year ...
Jokes are my brother's love language. If you know a good joke, or even an average joke, telling it to my brother Matthew is probably the best decision you could ever make. Even if you fumble the delivery, as I'm wont to do, Matthew won't hold it against you. His ...
If you're looking for an excellent novel to read this summer, pick up Sing For Me, by Karen Halvorsen Schreck. Karen weaves together a compelling story about race, class, music, faith, and the immigrant experience in Chicago in the 1930s. The main character, Rose, and her ...
Father's Day is on its way, and with it comes a reminder of the significance of fathers. In reading the first article posted here in the Weekly Roundup I wondered again about the reason God calls himself Father over and over again in the Bible. It may well be a hallmark ...
As Ta-Nehisi Coates documented recently in his long and compelling cover story for The Atlantic, "The Case for Reparations," the government of the United States for centuries has perpetuated systemic injustice against African Americans. These formal legal practices ...
I picked up No Greatness Without Goodness, by Randy Lewis, because I was intrigued that a senior VP at Walgreen's had successfully created hundreds of jobs for individuals with both physical and intellectual disabilities. I was even more intrigued to find out those jobs ...
I've heard Christians say that if we still lived in the Garden of Eden, we would all be walking around naked. The story in Genesis 2 seems to support this idea. It was only after God confronted Adam and Eve about their tragic and rebellious decision to eat the fruit that ...
Culture
"A culture that too tightly binds sex and self-respect is likely, in the long run, to end up with less and less of both." --Ross Douthat examines the issues behind the Santa Barbara killings, our sexual culture, and feminism in Prisoners of Sex (New York ...
A lesbian wedding, childhood sexual abuse, alcoholism, violence, pornography, and murder all show up within the pages of Wally Lamb's most recent novel We Are Water. So does love, loyalty, healing, beauty, and a confused evangelical Christian. In many ways, it was a hard ...
July 2014
