The Housewife Theologian

I keep seeing messages like this one on Facebook for the Christmas season: “We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.” And while I was in the grocery store with my 7-year-old son, he says...

I’ve always wanted a fireman’s pole in my house. How cool would that be? I’ve even thought of the perfect place to put it—behind my closet door in my bedroom. We have a little bit of money put away to finish our basement and I’ve been trying to convince my husband to incorporate my vision: my...

Our Creed , Mark G. Johnston (P&R, 2012) I have encountered plenty of Christians who believe that creeds are divisive. The Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary reports approximately forty-one thousand (so-called) Christian denominations or...

I can always go to Michael Horton’s The Christian Faith for inspiration and reflection. He has a beautiful section on The Trinity and Creation. Horton sums it up including a quote from Colin Gunton about the transcendence and immanence of God: In this Trinitarian economy, God is simultaneously...

I’ve been reading over Gene Edward Veith’s book, God at Work , a second time this weekend. He gives the reader much to think about concerning our vocations. One point that he emphasizes that I particularly like is that our vocation involves the here and now. What is our current situation? Who is...

“Authentic” is a popular theological term in the church these days. You might not have a clue what propitiation or sacerdotalism means, but all you have to do is talk about being authentic and you have trumped the conversation. I actually really like the word. But I’m afraid it is losing it’s...

I’ve noticed a bit of a theme going on in some of my reading. It even came up in the comments of my last post. If we really are growing in the faith, shouldn’t we be sinning less? What does it mean to be a mature Christian? After all, we are being sanctified and transformed into Christ's likeness...

Thirty-Seven? What does that even mean? Two prime numbers, side by side—what would Augustine have to say about their significance? I think I’ve figured out the conundrum to all those brain-creaking word problems in math. As soon as you hear, “If a train leaves Station A, traveling at 60 miles and...

With Thanksgiving in two weeks, I thought I'd share this excerpt about the first Thanksgiving from Nathaniel Philbrick's great book, Mayflower. We do not know the exact date of the celebration we now call the First Thanksgiving, but it was probably in late September or early October, soon...

This is the month of Thankfulness. All you have to do is log on Facebook to affirm it. Many friends participate and show their gratitude by posting a different thing they are thankful for each day leading up to Thanksgiving. While it’s good to give thanks for our blessings, Flannery O’...