Faith, Grace, and Hope

This year has been sparse in my blog. I stopped my posts about the 50 most essential Biblical passages, I hardly acknowledged any saint's days and I never really commented on what was going on in my life. In the past 12 months, I spent 8 full months pregnant, my husband left for Iraq on Good Friday, I had a C-section, a very close friend left me right after my son was born (and hasn't spoken to me since) and my husband missed the first four months of our son's life. When I am really having difficulty dealing with situations, I can't even write about them. It takes almost all my energy to actually deal with what's happening and so I can't bring myself to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). Many people offered to help me and many people did help. There are several people without whose support- I might have pulled the covers over my head and refused to get out of bed. Recently, someone suggested to me that I was trying to be perfect or that I might be depres...

After Psalm 137 by Anne Porter We're still in Babylon but We do not weep Why should we weep? We have forgotten How to weep We've sold our harps And bought ourselves machines That do our singing for us And who remembers now The songs we sang in Zion? We have got used to exile We hardly notice Our captivity For some of us There are such comforts here Such luxuries Even a guard To keep the beggars From annoying us Jerusalem We have forgotten you. "After Psalm 137" by Anne Porter, from Living Things Collected Poems . © Zoland Books, 2006.

Malachi 3:1-4 1 See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap; 3 he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. F 13 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years. Luke 1:68-79 68 "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. 69 He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spo...

In Anchorage, there is a gentleman who visits churches and writes up his experiences for the Anchorage Daily News. He recently visited our sister church, Central Lutheran. You can read his warm and positive review here . When he visits churches, he looks for warmth and friendliness to visitors as well as an organized service, Bible-based preaching and meaningful music. Do we offer these things? What kind of review would he give us? What kind of review would Jesus give us?