When Christianity is assumed to be an “answer” that
Stanley Hauerwas
makes the world intelligible, it reflects an
accommodated church committed to assuring
Christians that the way things are is the way things
have to be.
Their Stuff/My stuff
it’s easy to see our partner’s crap, all the ways they drive us crazy. It’s much more difficult for me to look at my own stuff, my own reactivity, and my own childhood experiences which wired me to react in certain ways in given dynamics.
It’s hard, she says, “for me to study my own reactivity.” In the midst of being annoyed with one we love, it’s hard to ask ourselves, “What was it about me?”
Dr. Alexandra Solomon via NSE notebook
When a person believes that he or she possesses eternal truth, there’s a temptation to believe that he or she is entitled to rule.
David French
“When you worship power, compassion and mercy will look like sins.”
Benjamin Cremer, a Wesleyan pastor
Doing it right
We don’t come to God by doing it right. Please believe me on this. We come to God by doing it wrong. Any guide of souls knows this to be true. If we come to God by being perfect, no one is going to come to God. This absolutely levels the playing field. Our failures open our hearts of stone and move our rigid mind space toward understanding and patience. It’s in doing it wrong, making mistakes, being rejected, and experiencing pain that we are led to total reliance upon God. I wish it weren’t true, but all I know at this point in my journey is that?God has let me do just about everything wrong, so I could fully experience how God can do everything so utterly right.
Richard Rohr
Shalom.
Of course it means peace.
But shalom is a word that overflows the boundaries of its own letters and irrigates other words.
Wellbeing. Harmony. Justice. Fruitfulness. Righteousness. Welcome. Union. And yes, Peace.
For all who, today as every day, long for shalom, in our heart, community, and world, this is a good prayer:
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Jim Gordon
Jesus’ tool box
..one of the best tools in the toolbox of Jesus. Tell ‘em a story, a riddle, invite curiosity and imagination, and let’s see what becomes of a world like that. If Jesus wanted to be crystal clear, he would have written a book of philosophy, like Aristotle. Instead, he told stories.
Scot McKnight
Gentle Parenting
In neglecting the dark corners of a child’s soul, gentle parenting does children a disservice. For the fact is that most children know that they’re sometimes bad, and that they sometimes do things out of malice, spite, and greed. Gentle parents are right: shame and guilt are negative feelings which may cause “trauma” for the child, as for the adult. No kidding. But the job of the parent is not to prevent any potential “trauma”, it is to love the child even when they are bad, and to punish them, and most importantly to forgive them. A child can’t understand the lightness of forgiveness without understanding first that one needs it. (I often wonder if the parents also want to avoid the “trauma” of guilt and shame, and so never acknowledge their own reasons for doing the things we do, such as becoming parenting “philosophy” consumers out of vanity, pride, or sloth. We may one day have good reason to ask forgiveness from our kids.)
https://unherd.com/2024/12/the-cruelty-of-gentle-parenting/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
ARCHIE UPDATE
Momma Gabby:
1 month (and some days) of Archie ? it’s been a big month for our tiny warrior! He graduated to a lesser vent which lets Kyle and I hold him and he is up to 2lbs and 8oz now! Please pray for continued growth, his care team, and for Kyle and I as we navigate this season of life. All Glory and Praise to our Father for this precious blessing!
STILL ON THE JOURNEY