Mennonites on retreat…

We had a great time at Portland Mennonite Church retreat this weekend. Nine of us became members, five of whom are in our church small group. Only two had a Mennonite background (or were “ethnic Mennonites” as I like to say).
I love that Mennonites are completely fine nurturing Anabaptist stereotypes. We even rebaptized a former [...]

the root of all evil and This American Life

We knew the loan industry was experiencing some weirdness when we had our car loan rejected by three banks. At first, I was scared out of my mind. Had my credit been hacked? Was my identity now the possession of a computer saavy 13 years old in the United Arab Emirates? A quick check and [...]

it is time.

At church this Sunday we officially become Mennonites. Wish us the best.

 

fear and trembling

I have to admit something: I am pretty scared of health professionals in hospital childbirthing practices. I realize this every time we go to a prenatal appointment. I always seem to offend our midwife (or so I imagine) by making snarky comments about Kaiser, our evil health care provider or bringing up things like how [...]

who are you?

I’ve started to wonder: what exactly is Baby Flo-Bix going to look like? The problem for our imaginations is that Jacob and I were completely different looking babies. Here’s J:

Jacob came out of the womb wearing lederhosen and grasping a sausage in each hand. He’s a round Arian child. He’s smiling so big in this [...]

Jeremiah Wright in light of my Christology paper

 
 
One of the things I’ve been struggling with in class this semester as we’ve explored liberation Christologies is the relationship between corporate justice and individual culpability. I was writing my paper to answer the question (ha!) “Who is Jesus in light of race relations in America?” The question of systemic and historic oppression of African-Americans [...]

things they don’t tell you about pregnancy, part deux

Time for the second trimester edition of “TTDTYAP” subtitled “Because you certainly would never have children if you knew.”
We’re rolling into week 24ish and discovering all sorts of new things.
1. Urinating blood may mean absolutely nothing. Of course it could mean bladder cancer or kidney stones. But if you’re me, it means that the baby [...]

yes! Sex indication in the news!

I could hardly believe my luck that my gender indication thirst has been quenched by, of all sources, the NYtimes.
Check out this blog from health writer Parker-Pope on the relationship of heavy eaters and the birth of boys. Now I just have to wonder, did I skip breakfast on December 1?

Boy or Girl? The Answer [...]

is it a girl?

One of my favorite new pregnancy things is predicting the baby’s gender through old wives tales. Here are the few that would point to Baby Flo-Bix being an XX:

You had morning sickness early in pregnancy
Your baby’s heart rate is at least 140 beats per minute
You are craving sweets
You are craving fruit
You are moodier than usual during [...]

stuff white people like

In case you hadn’t run across this blog, I wanted to point you to Stuff White People Like. The list includes “study abroad,” “juno,” “gentrification,” “irony” and “gifted children.” Some of the entries are more thoughtful than others but almost call attention to what sociologists call the construction of whiteness. Coming off our gender conversation, [...]