Tag Archives: Dietrich Bonhoeffer

What to read in these uncertain times

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I’m heartsick about what’s happening in the United States these days. Perhaps you feel some of the same bewilderment and anxiety?

I’ve put together a reading list for these uncertain times. I’ve read some before and want to revisit them. Others, my husband has read and recommended.

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A mix of fiction and nonfiction, in no particular order, to read in these uncertain times

With a couple of notable exceptions in eighth grade and my freshman year of college, I had lousy history teachers and came out of school with only the most basic understanding of World War II and the Holocaust. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank introduced me to the horrors of that time period when I was in middle school.

As an adult, my reading of both fiction and nonfiction has filled some of my knowledge gaps and broken my heart over and over. Continue reading →

The Hatfields and McCoys in me

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Now before you start worrying – I’m not confessing to a violent murder (or pig theft) with this week’s title, but I am confessing to a flaw in my character: a stubborn unwillingness to let go of past wrongs. While I come by the stubbornness honestly (I think my folks could easily point out stubborn streaks in the family tree), I’m pretty much alone in my ability to hold a grudge – at least among my closest family members.

My struggle to forgive is not something I’m sure I want to air publicly, but Easter has convicted me to write about it anyway. Easter is that wonderful, joyous holy day of the year when we celebrate Christ’s victory over the grave and the sacrifice he made to save us all.

His death on that wooden cross wiped the slate clean for all of us. His resurrection gives us hope of our own salvation. We are a forgiven people of God.  Continue reading →