As my faith has shifted I have become underwhelmed with much of my tradition. I’ve hodge-podged new rituals out of other practices and looked in dusty nooks of this one for meaningful expressions of a spirituality that no longer fits … Continue reading
Like most mothers, I adore my children. Like most mothers, I have this sense that I sort of “woke up” when they came into the world – as if I were only half living before. Like most mothers I catch myself in awe of their beauty and creativity and strength. And like most mothers, I get overwhelmed, infuriated, worn out, and exhausted doing this thing.
.
My children do not obey me “first time, every time,” they don’t follow all my sound advice, they don’t thank me for everything I do. Most days include sensory-overload and I reach a point where I’d love nothing more than for them to leave me alone for a bit. There are times when I would be totally happy to let them sit in front of brain-sucking screens for an hour (or three) while I enjoy not listening to the noise that is my beloveds. Times when I would love to hear a “you’re right, Mom, I should not hit my brother, here’s a coffee, I’m going to go lead a calm game outside with the siblings I cherish.” Continue reading
Growing up Christian meant toddling into the idea that Jesus is a friend, that God so loved the world, that we are brothers and sisters and children of one Creator. I never had the chance to wonder about humanity’s worth … Continue reading
Often beside a cluttered kitchen, overlooking a disaster of a living room, my family sits down to eat dinner (usually later than I’d like to admit). At the table next to a lamp we have a little chalkboard on … Continue reading
I will not serve a God of vengeance
For whom justice burrows path
For one day justice turns on me
And my submission bows to wrath
I will not serve a God of joy
Promises of pleasures boast
For full of joy my gut will burn
And sick I’ll be of champagne toasts
I will not serve a God of wealth
Who might deliver fortunes, still
My desires can’t be numbered
And power binds a slave to kill
I will not serve a God of nations
Of tradition, God of tribe
I’d keep rules and build tall fences
And break sacred human ties
But I will serve a God of Love
Whose heart is here among us
Whose borders, ever open
Invite the faithful and forgotten
I will follow Love past lines
Deep in the wilderness
And dance around great fires
Sisters built in holy rest
I’ll join Love’s song recalling
The story of our birth
And lean on brother’s harmonies
We together find our worth
And we will call out loud with Love
To our people not yet free
“You are welcome by our fires!
Come sing and dance with Me!”
Love’s wild ones know darkness
We agree we’ll never hide
Instead we’ll borrow courage
From each other’s hands held tight
Love gathers close and solemn,
One stern command to learn:
“We will wait for all to join us.”
For that’s the God I serve
So we want to make sure the world knows it’s broken? I see… We want to make sure we don’t feel alone in our brokenness. Because that is a scary thought, right? Being the worst… Being the most broken, the … Continue reading
I resisted this for so long, the slide into what I always assumed was a non-decisive limbo. A place for the cowardly to hide from conviction. But then my convictions led me here to the in-between spaces… And now I … Continue reading
Krysann Joye 