Bible women aren’t the only heroic women in our life of faith. Today, March 7, we celebrate Perpetua, a young mother who gave up her life rather than deny her love for Christ. Her story reminds me of brave women across the world who are making life and death decisions—often putting their very lives on the line—so that their children...
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This is a tough time for many in the country, me included. My heart and soul grieve deeply the change of both leadership and mood in this country. And part of my sadness comes from the deep divisions found not only in our nation but around our dining room tables as well. Don’t get me wrong. I have a political preference;...
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Throughout history, especially on dark nights, women have protected and nurtured their own: nursing, loving, comforting, or fighting off intruders. Deep in the pages of Exodus, a mysterious story picks up on that same theme, but is a narrative unlike any other in the Bible. There, a woman named Zipporah, Moses’ first wife, rises up like a Minnesota wolf on...
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Book Review, Common English Women's Bible by Lindsay Hardin Freeman Jewish tradition offers a dynamic tool for interpreting the Bible: black fire and white fire. The words themselves are black fire, handed down from generation to generation. White fire is the space between words, the place where readers use their intellect, creativity and personal experience to better understand and assimilate the text. In...
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Don’t know about you, but I’m tired of women being passed over, especially those who stand up and tell the truth, whether it be at the workplace, in our communities, or at home. And there’s many women in the Bible who have been overlooked—among them, Huldah, the prophet. That’s right. Huldah, the prophet (2 Kings 22:14-20 and 2 Chronicles 2 34:22-33)....
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Political divisions. Strife. Grief. Unfortunately, all seem common these days. On this election day, I hope our country begins to heal. Sadly, it will take time. But there’s much to be said for the theme, “United we stand, divided we fall.” Thousands of years ago, five girls faced similar grief and division that would have taken down most of their peers....
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Cut-out witches are everywhere this time of year. You see them carved into pumpkins, stuck into trees. But deep in the pages of the Hebrew Bible, about the year 1007 BC, is the story of a real witch—a woman who could have been killed for responding to the ragged, scared man at her door. Turns out that man was the...
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Last in the series: “Women and War” Sometimes there are stories in your mind and heart that will not go away—and this is one. The biblical narrative of the woman who ate her son turned the stomachs of our research group when we came upon it, deep in 2 Kings. Here, amidst the horrors of war (8th century BCE), in a terrible bargain,...
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I come to this week with a heavy heart. My lifelong friend Michelle died two weeks ago, unexpectedly and without warning. In the Great Litany (1549), Thomas Cranmer prays that we might be saved from dying "suddenly and unprepared." Michelle was an international judo champion, a strong and independent soul. I suspect that forensic tests will show that she experienced significant...
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"Jesus died and rose from the dead." While not exactly a ho-hum expression, we often take it for granted. Think then, of the resurrection from another angle: What if no one had been there when Jesus walked out of that tomb? Would he have slogged through the streets of Jerusalem, perhaps winding up at Peter’s house? Would he have made his way to...
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