I mentioned in my review of "The Exact Place" that I was under contract to Doulos Resources, but I don't think I've explained why here on the blog, and it's really very exciting.
I'm editing a book on celebrating the church year in the home. It's a book that will gather, in one place, all the information you need in order to match the rhythm of your home life to the rhythm of the church year. Is it Advent? Open the book to the chapter on Advent, and find seasonal prayers, recipes, and crafts, as well as the history of the season, and ideas for extending your celebration to include friends and neighbors. And the same for Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter . . . there's not a season in the year we're not covering!
Like many evangelicals, I've spent the last decade or two realizing that my heritage as a Christian includes more than just the past five centuries of Christian history. Cranmer and Calvin are mine, but so are Augustine and Anselm.
And the feasts and fasts of the church year are ours too, but sometimes it's hard to know how to celebrate them in daily life. This book will tell you how. I'm so pleased and excited to be part of bringing it into existence.
Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell
Monday, October 29, 2012
Friday, October 26, 2012
7 Quick Takes
1. Is it bad that the two reasons I like our cat are: 1) because he's pretty, and 2) because he's nuts? The pretty part makes him aesthetically pleasing and the nuts part makes him funny.
I'm pretty sure I'd be upset if those were the two reasons someone liked me.
2. My son asked me this week if "things" is "spelled with an F." As I tried not to laugh, I realized I'm going to be very sad when he loses that last bit of baby-lisp.
3. Last night, after the marathon of teeth-brushing, bathing, and bedtime prayers, as Adam and I were making the rounds amongst the kids' four beds, kissing and doing the last tucking-in rituals, we caught each other's eyes and I mouthed, "we're almost there!" and he nodded excitedly back, "I know!"
Seriously. Those two hours between when the kids go to bed and when we do? Gold. Pure gold.
4. I think I need to take the presidential elections more seriously, but it's really hard to do when you not only don't live in a swing state, you live in a state that doesn't even know what a swing is. I keep reading all these very serious articles, and I know the election matters, but it's so hard to take them seriously because all of them seem to be trying to convince me of something and you know what? Convincing me of something will make no difference whatsoever in the course of the election. I live in California. My senators could paint themselves pink and walk into the next session of Congress on their hands, and I still wouldn't be able to vote them out of office.
So, I have my opinions, but they don't feel very real.
5. It's almost Advent! And it's less than a month till Christ the King Sunday! Which is my very favorite Sunday in the whole church year. Yay!
6. I like Christ the King Sunday so much because it's our yearly reminder that everything turns out okay in the end. There's such security in knowing the end of the story. I don't know how we get there, I don't know what we're going to have to endure, but I believe the Lord's promise that He will return and judge the earth. And so, trusting in that promise, I have absolute safety in following Him. He is in control, and obeying him is the path to life, and life abundant, and life eternal.
7. In the much shorter term, it's almost the weekend. Which means the six of us in our family get more time together than apart, and that is a very great blessing indeed.
For more Quick Takes, head over to Jen's place at Conversion Diary.
Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell
I'm pretty sure I'd be upset if those were the two reasons someone liked me.
2. My son asked me this week if "things" is "spelled with an F." As I tried not to laugh, I realized I'm going to be very sad when he loses that last bit of baby-lisp.
3. Last night, after the marathon of teeth-brushing, bathing, and bedtime prayers, as Adam and I were making the rounds amongst the kids' four beds, kissing and doing the last tucking-in rituals, we caught each other's eyes and I mouthed, "we're almost there!" and he nodded excitedly back, "I know!"
Seriously. Those two hours between when the kids go to bed and when we do? Gold. Pure gold.
4. I think I need to take the presidential elections more seriously, but it's really hard to do when you not only don't live in a swing state, you live in a state that doesn't even know what a swing is. I keep reading all these very serious articles, and I know the election matters, but it's so hard to take them seriously because all of them seem to be trying to convince me of something and you know what? Convincing me of something will make no difference whatsoever in the course of the election. I live in California. My senators could paint themselves pink and walk into the next session of Congress on their hands, and I still wouldn't be able to vote them out of office.
So, I have my opinions, but they don't feel very real.
5. It's almost Advent! And it's less than a month till Christ the King Sunday! Which is my very favorite Sunday in the whole church year. Yay!
6. I like Christ the King Sunday so much because it's our yearly reminder that everything turns out okay in the end. There's such security in knowing the end of the story. I don't know how we get there, I don't know what we're going to have to endure, but I believe the Lord's promise that He will return and judge the earth. And so, trusting in that promise, I have absolute safety in following Him. He is in control, and obeying him is the path to life, and life abundant, and life eternal.
7. In the much shorter term, it's almost the weekend. Which means the six of us in our family get more time together than apart, and that is a very great blessing indeed.
For more Quick Takes, head over to Jen's place at Conversion Diary.
Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell
Thursday, October 25, 2012
on being part of "the middle class"
I'm hearing lots about "the middle class" this election cycle, and I can't help thinking: Doesn't just about everyone in the States think they're middle class? Seriously. You could be making a just-above-the-poverty-line salary, living frugally and wisely, and feel middle class. Or you could be making a million or two a year in a high-cost-of-living area, and feel middle class. But the day-to-day options and margins in those two situations aren't anything close to the same thing.
Anyway. I don't buy "middle class" as a terribly useful economic term . . . but the solidarity implied by its frequency of use among people in such diverse situations might mean that its a terribly useful social term.
It says something about Americans that we all want to claim the term "middle class". I'm not sure what it says, but it says something.
Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell
Anyway. I don't buy "middle class" as a terribly useful economic term . . . but the solidarity implied by its frequency of use among people in such diverse situations might mean that its a terribly useful social term.
It says something about Americans that we all want to claim the term "middle class". I'm not sure what it says, but it says something.
Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Links - Beowulf and Tolkien, Electoral Craziness, and more!
"Seeing Beowulf Through Tolkien":
"If There’s an Electoral College Tie, Things Will Get Even Crazier Than You May Know": - the punchline makes this super-short article worth a read.
"What the Bible Says About Anger": I found this short, organized summary very helpful.
Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell
If ancient pagans could die for order and light knowing that those things would lose out in the end, how much more should Christians die heroically . . . when they know that Good and Truth will win out in the end.
"If There’s an Electoral College Tie, Things Will Get Even Crazier Than You May Know": - the punchline makes this super-short article worth a read.
"What the Bible Says About Anger": I found this short, organized summary very helpful.
Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Book Notes: "Legion" by Brandon Sanderson
Legion by Brandon SandersonMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Sanderson's known for his huge, symphony-like epic fantasy, but this novella proves he can play a mean little jig too. He's doing about five different things at the same time in this novella - it's a mystery, it's a speculation on the nature of faith and science, it's a study of a fantastical psychological ailment, it's a sci-fi (or is it fantasy?), it's a character (characterS?) study - and it reads really, really fast.
It's just fun to read something so well-executed and engaging that you can gulp down in an hour - fast enough that you can hold all the different aspects of the story in front of your eyes at once and enjoy how well they play off each other. I liked it!
View all my reviews
-Jessica Snell
This post contains Amazon affiliate links. (See full disclosure on sidebar of my blog.)
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Links! - sonnets, chocolate, TEC, and more!
"Call for submissions: essays on infertility, miscarriage, and/or adoption" - this is from Kalos Press, and if it sounds like something you might be interested in, I encourage you to follow the link to view the whole description of the planned book.
"A New Creation": - I'm not quoting from this one because it's a sonnet, and I don't want to ruin the shape of it by excerpting. But if you've ever been discouraged about the state of modern Christian art, well, go read this and be encouraged that God's people are still writing beautiful things!
"the inconvenient truth about your halloween chocolate and forced child labor":
And, in news that's not really news, the Episcopal Church is still doing its best to rid itself of every orthodox cleric it can (but leave the property, please):
"TEC Moves Against South Carolina Bishop and Diocese; Special Convention Called"
"The Earth Shifted: Rage, Revisionists & Responses for The Diocese of South Carolina"
What interesting links have you found lately?
Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell
"A New Creation": - I'm not quoting from this one because it's a sonnet, and I don't want to ruin the shape of it by excerpting. But if you've ever been discouraged about the state of modern Christian art, well, go read this and be encouraged that God's people are still writing beautiful things!
"the inconvenient truth about your halloween chocolate and forced child labor":
A report from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture about cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast estimated there were 284,000 children working on cocoa farms in hazardous conditions. Some of them have been taken from their families, or sold as servants. U.S. chocolate manufacturers have claimed they are not responsible for the conditions on cocoa plantations since they don't own them. This includes Hershey, Mars, Nestle, and the US division of Cadbury . . . who collectively represent pretty much every snack-size candy bar that will be available in stores this Halloween."Ideas for an Ethical Halloween":
For our family, the response to learning this has been to limit our chocolate purchases to fair-trade chocolate. Buying fair-trade is the best way to ensure that chocolate has been ethically sourced . . .(Hat tip to my friend Lindsay for the preceding two links.)
And, in news that's not really news, the Episcopal Church is still doing its best to rid itself of every orthodox cleric it can (but leave the property, please):
"TEC Moves Against South Carolina Bishop and Diocese; Special Convention Called"
"The Earth Shifted: Rage, Revisionists & Responses for The Diocese of South Carolina"
What interesting links have you found lately?
Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Finished Object: Flowers in the Snow Afghan
1536.
Which is enough to say: I'm thrilled with how it turned in and I am never, ever doing it again. ;P
But the little girl who requested it is very happy with her flower garden blanket, and sleeps under it every night - and it's big enough she'll be able to sleep under it even when she's not a little girl anymore.
This wasn't my favorite project to work on, but it was one of the most satisfying.
Peace of Christ to you,
Jessica Snell
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