The metaphor of midwife is used of God to help better understand God as a deliverer when the people of Israel are in Babylonian exile (Ps. 22, 71). L. Juliana M. Claassens writes, “The image of the midwife powerfully communicates the commitment to preserve life in life-and-death situations.”[1] Just as the metaphor of God as … Continue reading Shiphrah and Puah: Deliverers and Liberators for God
How many times a day are we on social media checking to see how much interaction there is on our posts and tweets? Are we becoming obsessed with trying to be an influence in the sphere of social media? In a world where we vie for likes and followers on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and … Continue reading Blessed Are the Nameless
I have always loved fairytales and the promise of a story that despite problems faced would end happily. I think of Cinderella and how we identify with the unfairness of her situation of being forced from a position of “daughter” to that of “servant,” and then how we rejoice when despite all the machinations of … Continue reading Fairytale Faith
I sit in my car in the parking lot of our local Walmart going over the grocery game plan with my sons. We are going into the store, getting our five items, go through the self check out, and then leave. I further stress to my sons that they are to follow me and not … Continue reading Learning to Accept I’m not Superwoman: Part 2 Grocery Shopping and Adequacy
“Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28 NRSV). The angel Gabriel appears to Mary with a greeting and refers to her as a favored one, a blessed person. We are not told of anything in Mary’s past that would signify such a greeting, so we must ascertain that this ‘favored’ bestowal from … Continue reading The Gift of God with Us
"With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the Lord; and in the midst of many I will praise Him" (Psalm 109:30 NRSV). This is a busy week. I am on Thanksgiving break from work, but there does not seem to be a lot of time to actually relax. Somehow I thought it would … Continue reading A Practice of Being Thankful
In Luke’s Gospel, we have the account of the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary to inform her that she has found favor in God’s sight. In Mary’s conversation with Gabriel we are informed that God has chosen her to give birth to God’s own Son, who will be named Jesus. This conversation ends with Mary’s … Continue reading Taking a Risk in Saying Yes: Mary’s Faith
I’ve been tired before, but nothing compares to the almost constant state of exhaustion that is my life now. It has been just over a year since my husband, Bob, became disabled due to illness. This past year he has been in the hospital and nursing home for a total of five months. He is … Continue reading God’s Strength even Helps a Caretaker Walk on the High Places
Psalm 56 begins with the psalmist crying out for God to be gracious to him. We soon find out that the psalmist is surrounded by those who oppress and have “trampled upon” him continually. In fact if we look through the psalm many verbs are used to describe how others are treating the psalmist: they … Continue reading God is for Us
Women are more than their outward appearance, yet are women admired more for their beauty or for their brains? How many compliments do you hear in regards to a woman’s intelligence? How often do you hear someone comment—positively or negatively—about a woman’s appearance? We live in a world in which, despite their qualifications, women are … Continue reading Really Seeing Abigail: Brains before Beauty
Michelle Mosier 