Featured Articles
Remember to Take and Eat
I wonder if I kept that cup of July 2023 yogurt because I was savoring a memory or because I was fearing loss. But there was still loss. Instead of allowing me to taste the west and celebrate its goodness, that yogurt surely became more science experiment than breakfast under that sealed lid.
Featured Articles
1925
Let’s look back at 1925 to see the portents of the year but also its other possibilities, to compare what looked big at the time to the small things that turned out to be more important. We could all use a break from looming fate right now.
An Insurrectionist Set Free
A raucous mob of religious stalwarts gathered on a day centuries ago outside a palace. Like many of those gathered in the Capitol on January
Tears and the River of Life
The God of the scriptures does not have a heart of steel; God has a heart of flesh, a bleeding heart, and God has eyes
Drawing 101
While many art classes were designed to enhance creativity, this drawing class mostly helped us learn to draw realistically and accurately. I enjoyed this extended
Sabbath for the Restless: Rediscovering God’s Gift of Rest
Sabbath rest offers a glimpse of eternity. Hebrews 4:9-10 reminds us, “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters
Jimmy Carter’s Lonely Pilgrimage and Lasting Legacy
It was Carter’s election as President which made “evangelical” and “born again” public terms rather than the private vocabulary of a minority religious community. Ken
Lucky
We live in the tension of God’s sovereignty and terrible things happening. We live in the mystery of God’s unfolding plan for creation’s salvation and
Latest from the Blog
Daily blog by our regular bloggers & guest contributors.
I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now
Dylan is on the charts again for the movie A Complete Unknown which covers the period when he went from a complete unknown to a
A Letter from the Institute for Christian Studies
On January 15, 2025, the ICS Board of Trustees voted to discontinue ICS’s status as a Denominationally-Related Educational Institution of the CRCNA.
Behold!
Mary Oliver was simply showing us what she saw, rarely venturing beyond her own backyard.
Watching Old Movies
Beginning with the earliest recorded film, I’m going to watch one film from every year up to the present.
Legislating Language
The language restrictions imposed on CDC research and reporting take the question of language censorship to a new level as well.
Let There Be
Consider the power of a word. Let there be. A word speaks the world into being, igniting evolution and the churning of the existence of
Pious Petunia Proffers a Pertinent Parable and Prudent Proposals
Come to think of it, Miss P proposes instead that Canada take over the US. All the US states could become nice Canadian provinces, and
Haunted
The decision has been made to stop the work of USAID for 90 days. That’s what’s haunting me, keeping sleep from my eyes.
Reviews
Healing What’s Within: Coming Home to Yourself–and to God–When You’re Wounded, Weary, and Wandering
Healing What’s Within is like a two-hundred page conversation with a sage spiritual director.
This Sweet Earth: Walking with Our Children in the Age of Climate Collapse
Wylie-Kellermann’s book is a hope-filled, though realistic call to subvert the darkest version of that future through a variety of means.
My Body is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church
Reading My Body is Not a Prayer Request was a signpost moment in my own life. Rather than a flash of sudden change, finding Kenny’s
Life in Flux: Navigational Skills to Guide and Ground You in an Ever-Changing World
Life in Flux is more than a book; it’s a lifeline for those adrift in uncertain times. By confronting cultural myths and presenting God’s timeless
How to Stay Married: The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told
Harrison Scott Key’s How to Stay Married is a story of trauma, past and present, a marriage gone off the rails with two wounded partners
For Our Daughters
While this film doesn’t trace how segments of the church ended up with a culture of toxic masculinity and prevalent sexual abuse (there are resources
What About Evolution? A Biologist, Pastor, and Theologian Answer Your Questions
Imagine being in a room with a biologist, a pastor, and a theologian, where you can freely ask any questions about evolution, and they each
The Bookshop: A History of the American Bookstore
As old institutions across America struggle for relevance today, this important book reminds us that there are simple things we can do to help preserve
Poetry
You Said, Let There Be Light
You said, Let there be light, and there was light. And you saw that the light was good …
Jesus, Son of Gop
On the night he was supposed to be betrayed, Jesus strapped on a Glock under his cloak, just in case the breastplate of righteousness didn’t
Blessed
Unnoticed except by their Maker, my wife and me–a dozen sparrows blissful at their ablutions …
Near Death
We drove nails into His wrists, air reeking of animal remains and criminal bodies piled next to the horse trough …
Make a Joyful Noise
meaning click tongue when crossing the street for joy of having legs …
November Cold
Ice crusted sheets over November puddles bespeak more of the future than this cold day …
Podcasts
“You Said Let There Be Light” by Michael Zysk
In this episode of the poetry edition of the Reformed Journal Podcast, Rose Postma talks with Michael Zysk about his poem “You Said, Let There
“Life Beneath” by Matthew Pullar
In this episode of the poetry edition of the Reformed Journal Podcast, Rose Postma interviews Matthew Pullar about his poem “Life Beneath.” Pullar is a poet
“Jesus Son of Gop” by Sarah M. Wells
In this episode of the poetry edition of the Reformed Journal Podcast, Rose Postma talks with Sarah M. Wells about her poem “Jesus Son of GOP.” is the
“Near Death” by Zoie Jones
In this episode of the poetry edition of the Reformed Journal Podcast, Rose Postma talks with Zoie Jones about her poem “Near Death.” Jones lives
“Make A Joyful Noise” by Abigail Carroll
In this episode of the poetry edition of the Reformed Journal Podcast, Rose Postma talks with Abigail Carroll about her poem “Make A Joyful Noise.”
“November Cold” by Dave Warners
In this episode of the poetry edition of the Reformed Journal, Rose Postma interviews Dave Warners about his poem “November Cold.” Beginning in 1997, Warners