I received a PDF of this book in exchange for an honest review. I genuinely believe one can never have too many well-written children’s Bibles. Different authors make choices in their paraphrase or translations of the important stories, in which stories are selected or omitted, and in the illustrations. By having several illustrated Bible story… Read More
RevGalBookPals: Entertainment during COVID-19
Sometimes my reading recommendations are a little more “do as I say and not as I do”. If you asked me what you should read right now, I would totally tell you to re-read something you love or try a new book in a genre that you know brings you comfort and a sense of… Read More
RevGalBookPals: The #MeToo Reckoning
Content Warning: sexual assault, abuse, rape, church abuse, I am Lutheran (ELCA). In Lutheran theological understanding, all of the commandments are interconnected, not only to our relationship with God, but to our relationship with other people. Commandments are most quickly broken because we (people) create false idols. These are not the golden calf of… Read More
RevGalBookPals: Love Big
I see a lot of requests for ideas for retreats, especially women’s retreats. Often the request is for quick or easy ideas. I try to keep an eye out for books or work that would make good retreat fodder- to be mulled, prayed over, moved by, and carry away back into “real” life. If you… Read More
RevGalBookPals: Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I’ve Loved
Content Warning: Cancer Trigger Warning: Cancer TL;DR: Woman has cancer, grieves loss of life she expected to have and the life her family will now have, God remains present and mysterious For the sake of full disclosure, I know Kate Bowler. We went to Yale Divinity School at the same time. I think we… Read More
RevGalBookPals: Whatcha Reading?
I have a stack of half-finished books and finished books waiting for reviews. Trying to read in the present tidal wave of publishing is like trying to drink from a firehose. Our church book group recently read Jesus- Safe, Tender, Extreme. Published in 2010, we might have been late to this gentle book. It sparked a… Read More
RevGalBookPals: The Hate U Give
This is the book: The Hate U Give. The picture is linked. You can buy the book today. You can be finished with it by Saturday. At the latest. And when you’re finished, you will have read a powerful first-person fictional narrative about a 16-year-old named Starr who is in the car when a police officer… Read More
RevGalBookPals: The Cure for Sorrow
There are some books that you just need. Not because you are a pastor or a particularly dedicated lay person or because you preach or are waiting for a call or are even a Christian, but you need this book because you are human. You need this book because it will give you words for… Read More
RevGalBookPals: Threading My Prayer Rug
Problem: You would like to help people in your congregation or community learn more about Islam. Ideally, this would happen with a visiting Muslim speaker or a visit to a mosque. Maybe your community does not have a mosque or there are not any speakers that you know or both of those steps are still… Read More
RevGalBlogPals: Two Alternative Histories
The adult education group at the church I serve is studying Daniel. It is very interesting to talk about how the Bible is put together and used differently by different groups of people. Daniel is counted with the “major” prophets in Christian scriptures. The book is part of the writings in Jewish bibles. In talking… Read More
RevGalBlogPals 