Blog - Debra Rienstra

By Debra Rienstra In cultural commentary

The Enemy Within

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By Debra Rienstra In nature

On Cicadas, Parasites, and Creepy, Slimy Things

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By Debra Rienstra In memoir

The Remnants of Their Lives: An Ancestry Adventure

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Uncategorized

A Vote is Not a Valentine–Or a Virtue Test

It seems to me people have all kinds of unhelpful notions about what a vote means. And that can lead to them choosing not to vote, usually for either (or both) of two reasons. 1. They don’t think their vote matters. 2. They want to…

Debra RienstraMay 4, 2024

climate change spirituality theology

What Can the Church Offer to a World in Crisis?

What distinctive gifts does the church bring to the table? What can we offer, right now, in this moment in history? What gifts of the church are suited well for what we need?

Debra RienstraApril 6, 2024

cultural commentary pop culture

Messiah Complex

The cinematography is amazing! The production design incredible! The acting top-notch! The directing visionary! Eh. I was bored.

Debra RienstraMarch 23, 2024

liturgical year

Unless a Seed Falls: John 12:20-36

Even I have to admit, it looks terrible: broken, rotting stalks, bare dirt, no happy winged visitors. I tell myself there are over-wintering insects in there, that native roots are strong, that spring is coming. But right now: stillness, death.

Debra RienstraFebruary 24, 2024

liturgical year Pious Petunia silly

Pious Petunia Lifts Us Gently Over a Candy-Coated Lenten Threshold

Miss P recommends relaxed bemusement at the strained and unnecessary efforts of some Christians to claw back holy meaning for Ash Wednesday out of the lacey pink clutches of commercialized romance.

Debra RienstraFebruary 10, 2024

arts theology

Blessed Unrest

We often wonder what God is calling us to do in a particular moment or passage of life. Could we ask ourselves, in such moments, “What is my blessed unrest here?”

Debra RienstraJanuary 27, 2024

liturgical year spirituality

Thin Places

The Transfiguration story speaks to that part of us that longs for the mountain-top experience—for the epiphanic moment when, even for an instant, we perceive through the veil of clay to the numinous glory beyond. If only we could find a thin place, maybe we…

Debra RienstraFebruary 9, 2013

cultural commentary politics

Doomed To Be a Taker

I really must apologize to the whole of society, since evidently I am a “taker.” I am a leech, a parasite, a moocher. This was certainly not my intention, but I missed some sort of memo and now I find myself in a category of…

Debra RienstraJanuary 26, 2013

memoir

House Blessing

This week we had good news: a buyer for my parents’ home, after only thirty days on the market. A miracle. Mom signed the purchase agreement on Tuesday, and we’ll close by the end of the month. So now I must say good-bye to my…

Debra RienstraJanuary 12, 2013

Pious Petunia

Pious Petunia Solves Your Holiday Dilemmas

Dear Miss Petunia: I have no idea what to serve these days at holiday parties. Some of my friends are vegetarians, some are vegans, then there are the gluten-free types, people with food allergies, and I even have an aunt who is diabetic. What should…

Debra RienstraDecember 29, 2012

The Enemy Within

On Cicadas, Parasites, and Creepy, Slimy Things

The Remnants of Their Lives: An Ancestry Adventure

A Vote is Not a Valentine–Or a Virtue Test

What Can the Church Offer to a World in Crisis?

Messiah Complex

Unless a Seed Falls: John 12:20-36

Pious Petunia Lifts Us Gently Over a Candy-Coated Lenten Threshold

Blessed Unrest

Thin Places

Doomed To Be a Taker

House Blessing

Pious Petunia Solves Your Holiday Dilemmas

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