Be grateful for what you have,
they say.
Okay.
I’m grateful for my marriage
with my husband.
But many folks across the country,
emboldened with power,
want to rip our marriage apart,
calling our love unconstitutional,
along with many other nasty
words, phrases, and threats.
Seeking the goal of allowing
states to make our union illegal,
or perhaps a full-fledged federal ban.
So I’ll be grateful for what I have,
as I’ve been told,
before it all gets legislated away.
Happy Fourth of July
Lord,
prepare my ears to hear the suffering
shield my heart to not take on that pain
warm my soul toward genuine empathy
enliven my mind to interpret and translate
and sharpen my tongue to speak the wisdom
of Your Holy Spirit
Amen.
www.goodreads.com/book/show/32311036
“NDN teens have the highest rate of suicide of any population group in America. A white man can massacre 9 black ppl in a church and be fed Burger King by the cops afterward. A presidential candidate gains a platform by saying Mexican immigrants are murdered and rapists
It’s hard for me to imagine curiosity [in America] as anything more than a pretext for colonialism” (Tommy Pico, ‘Nature Poem,’ 40).
“Look, I’m sure you really do just want to wear those dream catcher earrings. They’re beautiful. I’m sure you don’t mean any harm, I’m sure you don’t really think abt us at all. I’m sure you don’t understand the concept of off-limits. But what if by not wearing a headdress in yr music video or changing yr damn mascot and perhaps adding .05% of personal annoyance to yr life for the twenty minutes it lasts, the 103 young ppl who tried to kill themselves on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation over the past four months wanted to live 50% more” (Tommy Pico, ‘Nature Poem,’ 56).
“Jesus said to Judas, ‘Friend, do what you are here to do.’ Then the crowd with swords and clubs came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him. Suddenly, one of those with Jesus put his hand on his sword, drew it, and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword’” (Matthew 26:50-52).
Jesus never condoned physical harm, violent retribution, or revenge.
In fact, Jesus was diametrically opposed to violence because it is antithetical to God’s holy nature and design for humanity/creation.
As the Rittenhouse verdict has shown us, once again, we live in a society and Justice-lacking ‘justice’ system that prioritizes power maintenance, white supremacy, and vigilante violence over human life and flourishing.
It is clear that our hope cannot be in the systems and structures of humanity, but in God alone.
Jesus commands us to put down our weapons and idolatry of violence, lest we all perish by that very sword.
Just as Jesus, Christians must stand for human life. For the flourishing of all creation. For God’s kingdom here, on Earth, as it is in Heaven.
Lord, give us courage, hope, and love in the face of great evil and despair. In your mercy and strength, may your will be done through us, Amen.
www.goodreads.com/review/show/4327901192
As a United Methodist Deacon, I am in awe and Thanksgiving of Margaret Ann Crain for putting together this comprehensive and highly enjoyable historical overview of how the current Deacon order came to be: through persistence, obedience to the Holy Spirit, and strategic planning! This book is a gem and I recommend it to every person who is curious about diaconate ministry!
Also, this quote was one of the most succinct and helpful descriptions of the call to Deacon ministry I have seen to date:
“What is a deacon? A deacon is an extension of the mission of the church, and extension of the Eucharistic table of Grace, wherever she or he is appointed. A deacon is also accountable to the UMC, accountable to uphold the highest standard of ethics to bring the needs of the world to the local church. Deacons are entrepreneurs, seeking out places to respond to the calling that God has placed on their hearts. Deacons are enfleshed representatives of Christ, seeking to contribute to the transformation of the world. Deacons are embodied mission” (Margaret Ann Crain, ‘Advancing the Mission,’ 132).
www.goodreads.com/book/show/30968235
“I recoil
at we. Now we
know; We feel love
when; We believed
the Earth was flat
until; We stir with
heavy feeling bc…
I wipe my muddy feet
on the loveseat of We
unless I’m talking
about you and me.
Kumeyaays knew
a rounded Earth based
on the curve of stars
or didn’t, I’ll never know.
It’s a dark part inside me.
Books are fallible, towers
of letters with the power
you give them. It’s heartbreaking
to watch your pillars fall
Watch the crops dry up
and die House set on fire Forced
to dig up yr dead To. Literally.
Dig. Up. The. Old. Graveyard.
n move w/them onto a stone hill
where nothing that grows
can live. Penned in like cattle.
Approaching scientism,
universalism, a supremacy
of any given thought
process—strikes me A
hammer of dark spots. America
never intended for me to live
So that we never intended
to include me”
(Tommy Pico, ‘IRL,’ 70).
I’m thrilled to share that my poem was included in Geez Magazine’s 2021 Advent book: ‘Songs for the Shadows: A Season of Embracing the Dark.’
If you don’t have a plan for advent devotions already, I highly recommend snagging yourself a copy today: https://geezmagazine.org/blogs/entry/songs-for-the-shadows
My poem is called ‘The Spirit Finds Me in the Darkness’ and is a re-imagining of Psalm 23.
www.goodreads.com/book/show/50358133
I especially appreciated Akhtar’s clear explanation of how ‘Economy’ is our National god in the United States. All people, no matter their religion, bow down in deference to Economy before their gods.
www.goodreads.com/review/show/4236110185
This short book from Dr. Nancy Bedford packs a vital theological punch. It poses the question ‘Who was Jesus’ and ‘What does it mean to follow him’ in an attempt to redirect the Church back toward the centrality of Christ, the gospel message, and what it means to be the Body of Christ. Without the centralization of Christ and what it means to tangibly follow Christ, the Church has lost its way. This text is a clarion call for our times with tangible steps for redirecting ourselves and our communities toward Christ.
Dr. Bedford provides 6 entry points into the two posed questions:
1. Who is Jesus of Nazareth and what does it mean to follow him?
2. Who is Jesus ‘the Incarnate One’ and what does it mean to follow him?
3. Who is Jesus as Prophet, Teacher, and Healer? And how to follow him?
4. Who is Jesus ‘the executed one?’ How do we follow him?
5. Who is Jesus resurrected and exalted? How do we follow him?
6. Who is Jesus in the Spirit, and how do we follow them?
This book is written to be accessible to all people and has discussion questions for each chapter. As a result, it is perfect for small groups! I highly recommend.
I’ll end this review with a succinct quote that I believe speaks to the concise clarity, beauty, and conviction of this text:
“If we say we follow Jesus, whenever it seems that the fruit of our discipleship does not lead to justice and peacemaking, it is time to reexamine our lives and those of our communities of faith. We can do so with the help of the Spirit by examining more closely the way Jesus lived (Matthew 7:15-20) and asking ourselves whether we are truly walking in his footsteps” (Dr. Nancy Bedford, ‘Who was Jesus and What Does it Mean to Follow Him,’ 74).
Amen!
www.goodreads.com/book/show/45734929
First and foremost, I need to clear the air: this is NOT a gendered book. The only place where the editors hint at a particular presentation is when the editor’s note only mentions biblical figures Hannah and Esther. And to that, I say “come on editors, do better. Resist the idolatry of capitalism and gendered marketing, please. It harms all of us who cannot fit your false expectations of hyper masculinity and feminism.” We need to resist the consumer world that says a Bible designed to highlight the beauty of scripture does NOT mean that it should be primarily marketed to girls. Boys MUST learn to see the beauty of scripture, too. If you get this version for a girl, get it for a boy, too. The Bible is for all people, so let’s stop boxing ourselves in with gendered stereotypes. Thank you and I will now step off my soap box.
This Zondervan NIV 2011 updated translation, written in Zondervan NIV typeface, is a WONDERFUL version of the Bible that is highly engaging. First of all, it does what many versions cannot: it meets the needs of visual learners. The editors of this version worked with BibleGateway to find the most searched scriptures and balanced them with scriptures that are lesser known to present 600 scriptures in colorful artistic presentations through the entirety of the Bible! 9 different artists took charge of illuminating the 600 different scriptures. They also did a fantastic job of making the chosen scriptures memorizable so that folks can engage with their Scripture reading for memorization as well.
Each page of the Bible has a couple of inches on the edge with lines for note-taking. Every few pages has this space taken up with the artistic presentation of scripture. These illustrations are gorgeous and reflect the essence of each individual scripture.
The Bible also comes with sticker tabs for each book of the Bible, if you want to have the books of the Bible marked in this way. All this to say, this version of the Bible is meant to be engaged: written on, highlighted, and covered in stickers. Have at it! Mark it up and make it your own!
The Bible also comes with a sturdy box carrying case which is helpful for being mobile. It is also small enough to carry around with you! The cover itself is a gorgeous felt floral pattern with a woody brown felt binding. Visually appealing without being obnoxious.
The back of the Bible has a table for understanding biblical weights and measures in comparison with our modern weights and measures, an index of the 9 scripture artists and which scriptures illustrations they created, and 5 pages of lines for note-taking.
It has been a joy engaging with this visually stimulating and artistic version of the NIV translation Bible and I look forward to utilizing it and learning from it in the months/years to come!
Deacon Grant 