Debra Rienstra, Author at Debra Rienstra

Summer Camps I’d Like to See

Next week I send my highschooler to jazz camp, the first of three different music camps he’ll be attending this summer. When I was growing up, our camp options were far more limited than the proliferation now available. I remember music camp (which I did…

Debra RienstraJune 13, 2015

college life spirituality theology

In Their Words: Calvin Seniors on Vocation

A week ago, I was enjoying the splendor of commencement day, saluting some fine young people that Calvin College has now unleashed on the world. (Yes, you’re welcome, world.) This fresh new batch of graduates includes my own daughter! It was my first experience as…

Debra RienstraMay 30, 2015

memoir review

Teaching Us To Number Our Days Aright

“There are no good choices.” I remember saying that to my mother three years ago when we hit the first major decision point in what would become a long sequence of no-win decisions. My father had fallen again, crossing undeniably over the threshold to dependence.…

Debra RienstraMay 15, 2015

liturgical year spirituality

Saturday of the Harrowed Hearts

Holy Week demands that we dwell in-between. We have been trying since Palm Sunday to place ourselves in the familiar stories of this week, imagining ourselves with Jesus at the supper or in the garden or at the foot of the cross, setting aside our…

Debra RienstraApril 3, 2015

liturgical year Pious Petunia

Pious Petunia Strolls Gracefully Down the Via Dolorosa

It’s time once again to consult with our guest columnist Pious Petunia, seeking her wisdom to console and guide us through the rough spots on the journey from Ash Wednesday penitence to Easter rejoicing. Dear Miss Petunia: I usually give up sweets for Lent, and…

Debra RienstraMarch 20, 2015

liturgical year spirituality

I’m Done with Broken

During Lent, I expect to hear about sin and suffering, but I’m starting to get tired of the word “broken.” Also “brokenness,” “broken world,” “broken people,” and “messy, broken world/people.” Overused words descend into cliché, and I think we might be approaching that territory here.…

Debra RienstraMarch 6, 2015

Michigan nature spirituality

At the Mineralogical Museum

“I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.” — Ezekiel 11:19 Hardness has advantages. I think of this today here in Michigan, where the temperatures have been so cold that snow absolutely crackles when car tires push…

Debra RienstraFebruary 20, 2015

arts memoir

Filling Out the Questionnaire at the Dance Studio

Congratulations on starting dance lessons! Dance students gain many benefits through becoming better dancers. In order to assist your specialist teacher in personalizing your foundation and future programs, please let us know the five most important benefits you wish to receive through your dance lessons,…

Debra RienstraFebruary 6, 2015

silly

OT/NT Entertainment Group, Inc.

I’ve been thinking about the complexity of modern communications and entertainment and the very long distance between the Ancient Near Eastern world of the Bible and life in a mass media culture. That led me to wonder what would happen if a bunch of biblical…

Debra RienstraJanuary 23, 2015

memoir Michigan nature

Snow Day

Six-thirty a.m. Dark. No sound save the wind’s distant crescendos and calms. No traffic sounds. Slip out of bed to check the internet for closings: could it be? Oh, snow day! A peek outside: streetlamp light illuminates the snow, still blowing horizontally, at least eight…

Debra RienstraJanuary 9, 2015

Debra Rienstra

Summer Camps I’d Like to See

In Their Words: Calvin Seniors on Vocation

Teaching Us To Number Our Days Aright

Saturday of the Harrowed Hearts

Pious Petunia Strolls Gracefully Down the Via Dolorosa

I’m Done with Broken

At the Mineralogical Museum

Filling Out the Questionnaire at the Dance Studio

OT/NT Entertainment Group, Inc.

Snow Day

Popular Posts

Recent Posts

Links

Books

Connections

Contact