Meeting Jesus in my Period: A Candid Conversation

Sometimes I get mad at Jesus for not having experienced menstruation. This is usually around the time when I get my period. Easy for you, I say to Jesus. You never had to deal with the feeling of being balled up in pain every month, like clockwork. You never had to run to the nearest […]

What Strong Women Do

None of the ladies in my family shrink back. Distinctly southern, full voices fill the room when we enter. We’re known for our loud laughs and warm embraces. We aren’t afraid to speak our minds and take the lead. We see a space and fill it. We see a need and fill it. I never […]

Why I Call Myself A Sinner

Here is the entirety of the prayer I use the most: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. It’s called the Jesus Prayer, and comes from the Orthodox tradition. I’m not sure where I came across it, but I started using it in as a breath prayer years ago. Concentrating […]

Shame Is The Great Presence-Killer

Why have I heard from God? Why have I not heard from God? *** I was eight. Each night I got out a book of children’s prayers and tried to connect to God after my parents turned out the lights at bedtime. My family was falling apart that year in spectacular ways—in a few months, […]

Grief: Living with Unanswerable Questions

by Tabitha Terlunen [Trigger warning: Loss of a child] I have both witnessed and been the recipient of miracles. I have felt God catch me when I stepped out onto the churning waters of faith. I believe in miracles, I know the theology, I can grasp the concept of divine will vs. a fallen world. […]