Leanne Shawler, Artist

Jennifer Dukes Lee has challenged her readers to a " Pin God First" challenge for the month of November. She'd found that with her iPhone by her bed, her prayer time for God at that waking time had been lost to playing with her iPhone. I knew I had to read this before I left for work this morning because I have been struggling to not go to the computer first thing in the morning (that is, after getting dressed, feeding the dog and getting breakfast for myself to bring to the computer). My iPhone wouldn't last a second on my bedside table, it'd get lost amidst all the books.  I read a catalog this morning in order not to be on the computer first thing. Normally, I pray to God during my commute, because I take a bus and I do tend to get off track in my prayers sharing my concerns to God. I think for me, the hook is getting caught up -- this need to know what's been happening in the world and in my family and friends' lives. For Jennifer it's a ...

I'm not even sure why I'm calling these God's Love Stories, except that they point to God and us working toward God's kingdom here and near us. Plus, there were a lot of really good links and I needed to close some tabs on my browser. 'Slow Activism': Organizing to the Tune of a Different Piper by Maxwell Grant at The BTS Center My Slower Paced Blog by Michel Boyett at found grace . Which pretty much sums up why I blog infrequently. 'Cause I don't wanna. The Spiritual Practice of Saying 'No' by Nadia Bolz-Weber at Patheos Why I Don't Go To Church by DL Mayfield I Am A Plus Size Woman Who Wore a Low Rise Bikini to the Beach and This is What Happened by Marie Southard Ospina at Bustle Nadia Bolz-Weber was invited to share a brief video at an online church conference. She turned it over to members of her church. Beautiful and true. Girl Starts Positive Post It Day (FaithTap) after being bullied This blog post has t he world...

This Sunday's lectionary readings are: Isaiah 25:1-9 Psalm 23 Philippians 4:1-9 Matthew 22:1-14 The gospel is another parable about the kingdom of heaven, which Jesus is sharing in the temple. It's the wedding feast for the king's son. Invitations go out and are ignored, or excuses are made, or the messengers are even killed. The king does some killing right back, and invites anyone his slaves can find in the streets, those who wouldn't normally get invitations, to the wedding feast instead. Then this poor guy shows up, without a wedding robe and is cast into the outermost darkness as a result. And I'm thinking, geeze, God, have a heart. It's not like he had time to go buy something to wear. I really dislike this gospel, not just because it seems so damn unfair, but because it has resulted in some pretty huge atrocities against Jews. Christians do love to take things out of context. It's very judgemental, and seems to be focused on who gets in ...

So I got caught up in the combined overwhelm of High Holy Days and catching a dreadful cold and have neglected this blog for the last couple of weeks. I thought I'd reboot with a selection of interesting blog posts from the last month or so. Sarah Bessey Fan Club (she wrote some amazing things this past month) 173 beats per minute made me cry Guard Your Gates is an adorable story about a family tradition and digs deeper Be Not Afraid: A Letter To My Charismatic Brothers and Sisters should be read by all, not just charismatics. Other Worthy-of-Reading Posts The Other Lie by Lisa Sharon Harper, guest-blogging at Rachel Held Evans' An Unzipped Heart... by Jennifer Dukes Lee, getting into the fears that hold us back Returning to Ferguson by Samantha Field at Defeating the Dragons A Generous Master by Rachel Held Evans, blogging the lectionary (which I need to get back to) Desmond Tutu's Four Steps to Forgiving Others , an interview at Religious News S...