Blog - LUTHERWOMAN

Who Am I Really?

How many of you have been to an event, sat around tables with a bunch of other women, and been asked to introduce yourself? Do you usually start with “hi, my name is ______,” and follow that with what you do for work, hobbies you like to pursue in your free time, or maybe some vocation God has given you (think wife, mom, sister, friend, etc.)?

This is what I asked women from my church to do when we gathered this Fall for our yearly women’s retreat. I said, “tell the people around your table who you are.” As I listened to the conversations around the tables, I chuckled as they all responded exactly the way I thought they would.

There was much laughter when I brought them back as a group

Did God Really Say?

Somewhere along the line, the voices in my head that helped me write stories and think through problems started using their powers for evil. Did that really happen, my brain would ask me, or did you just dream it up? It wouldn’t pick at the big, important events; it would just question small details. Did Mom really tell you that, or did you make that up? Are you sure anyone would believe you if you said that out loud? No one else seems to remember that— you’re probably wrong. Your friends will think you’re stupid.

Tiny questions and doubts that on their own didn’t do much but together managed to chip away at the self-confidence that had seemed so effortless growing up. By college, it felt like my brain was some frenemy that might

Remember Mary

It was a typical snowy winter night in Colorado. I had waited till everyone went to bed, staring out the frost covered window waiting for Santa. I was 5 years old and I was determined to see Santa for myself. As I stared outside into the dark night, I could see the streetlights from the living room window and I watched as the snow fell slowly in front of me. Every sound I heard, made me wonder if Santa and his sleigh had landed on our roof. At one point gazing out the window, I swore I heard sleigh bells. I don’t know how long I stood at that window waiting for Santa, but I eventually gave up and went back to bed. I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get to see Santa. Have you ever eagerly awaited something, to just be disappointed? Years later, it makes me evaluate if I am as eager for the arrival of the Christ child as

How to Navigate Grief during the Christmas Season

Broken relationships. Sickness. Miscarriage. Death of a loved one. Loss of a pet. There are so many different things that might contribute to a feeling of grief throughout the Christmas season. During this time of year, grief sometimes feels unwelcome or misunderstood. It seems out of place with the joyful decorations and parties and parades that occupy the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I think the stark opposition between grief and joy only serves to intensify the feeling of grief for one who is sad. You’re not supposed to feel unhappy during the holidays, right? But what if you do? Is it wrong? Should Christmas just pass you by?

In December of 2015, I experienced a miscarriage. It was my second in six months. Medically, I needed a D&C to help my body complete the

Am I Qualified to Serve?

When I was in the 5th grade, my Mom signed us up to volunteer for Christmas Unlimited. This organization collected toys for low-income families and foster parents. In the weeks leading up to the Christmas shop being open, the volunteers neatly arranged new toys on long shelves that took up the entire store. Each toy was worth a particular amount of points. When parents came into the shop, each was allotted a certain amount of points to spend for their family. After the Christmas shop opened up, as a volunteer, we walked the long isles with eager parents hoping to find the perfect toys, helped answer questions and then led them to the table where they neatly wrapped the gifts, sealed it with a bow and put them in large black garbage bag to take home. ,br>,br> Over the years, my Mom and I

The Idea of “Ideal”

I can't remember the day. It wasn't like in the movies where the girl slowly brings her face up to the mirror and she suddenly feels different. It did not arrive suddenly, and I didn't even see it happening. I noticed it more and more, that I looked in the mirror and I hated what I saw. When I looked, I cringed. I did whatever I could to do to get away from that mirror and move on with my day. As I went on with the mundane chores I had on my agenda, I felt a heaviness. I felt a weakness. It transformed from “well….It will have to work for today” to “I can't look at myself at all today”. Looking at the mirror and hating what I saw was starting to turn me into a different person. I didn't want to be around people anymore. I stopped caring about myself. I would stop doing my hair and my makeup, I wouldn't

What Do We Do When Worldly Advice Fails?

“Just Be Positive.” “If you achieve it, you can do it.” “Pray harder.”

Have you ever heard one of these popular self-help phrases or maybe even said them yourself? If you’re like me, you’ve dealt with these phrases one or more times in your life. You may have thought that you would be able to encourage and uplift someone. Later, you walked through a tough moment, and someone told you one of these phrases and instead of leaving you comforted, it left you feeling alone and maybe even worse than before.

For me, there is one phrase that I found myself thinking about: nails on a chalkboard. It’s a phrase that to this day, I cringe over.

Holiday Traditions

Not going to sugar coat it, when it comes to Holiday Traditions I’m one cynical sister. At least the ones that come with large consumeristic attachments…these ones often leave us wanting more before we’re even grateful for what’s set before us. Holiday traditions can also carry an emotional weight when we’ve experienced something tragic in and or around a holiday.

Perhaps it’s a first holiday, with holiday traditions that someone isn’t there for. Or perhaps it’s a love gone wrong that leaves us cynical about that holiday for years to come. Maybe it’s a bit of a mixture of all of them.

There isn’t one holiday tradition that I’ve clinged to year after year.

A Constant Amidst the Change

Fall has always been my favorite season. Maybe it’s the beautiful colors that appear in the world around us; maybe it’s the warm and comfy fashion. Maybe it’s because my birthday is this time of year. But for whatever reason, this season has always held a certain joy for me.

In a lot of ways, fall is a contradictory season. We start so many things in the fall— new school years, new seasons of television shows— and yet fall is caused by endings. F. Scott Fitzgerald said that “life starts all over again” in the fall, but really, things don’t restart until spring. This season is the beginning of an ending and the next beginning is months away. And yet it always feels like something new is stirring, doesn’t it? It truly feels like life has the chance

Celebrating the Reformation with our Families

Yay! It’s October! As we go down the aisles of the stores we are filled with Halloween decorations, pumpkin spiced everything, and costumes for every age. When the secular world thinks of October, many think of Halloween.

Yet, as Lutherans, we know that October leads us to a big holiday in the church year. The Reformation. Now, maybe you know what that is and maybe you’ve never heard of it. For those of us that didn’t know what that was until later in life, the Reformation is the day Martin Luther decided to nail the 95 Theses on the Catholic Church door. Fun fact: The word theses is a fancy way to say sentences. Martin Luther wrote 95 sentences confronting the Catholic Church on how they were selling indulgences to get people to Heaven.