I’m so thankful for your dad and the role he played in who you are today! You made a comment about some survivors struggling with the idea that God chose their parents. Ahem. I don’t exactly wish for different parents, but I do wish the ways they harmed me had not happened. I used to struggle with Psalm 139 where God forms us and places each of us in our mother’s womb. That was the one verse I would have chosen to remove from the Bible. God’s forming of us strikes me as so gentle and intimate and beautiful. Then—the way it used to seem to me—He placed me in a dangerous situation. I’ve come a long way over the past few years,and I can see that verse differently today. And I’m grateful.
Today, my sister shares Father's Day with her 51st wedding anniversary...and my father-in-law often shared his birthday with Father's Day.
At my house, my 2 great-nephews grieve that neither of them know their fathers...no friends available to play in the neighborhood -- they're celebrating their dads. Life is just hard, eh? So, I weep with those who weep.
But it's good to rejoice with those who rejoice, and I'm grateful you had your dad. I had a good day, too...also a minister, he encouraged my ordination and supported my ministry, even though our fellowship of churches supported women in theory only -- rarely would they hire a woman for pastoral ministry. I was hired by a church that had included women ministers from the start (mid-1800s).
How is it that so many churches can arbitrarily throw out scriptures as only pertaining "to that time and culture", like head coverings, men with long hair, etc., yet doggedly hold on to those that say that women shouldn't speak in church or have any pastoral authority? Seems pretty convenient to me.
It truly is a conundrum isn't it. I lived in that world for many years with so low a regard for myself as a woman that it kind of seemed right. That in itself is telling and sad isn't it?
I’m so thankful for your dad and the role he played in who you are today! You made a comment about some survivors struggling with the idea that God chose their parents. Ahem. I don’t exactly wish for different parents, but I do wish the ways they harmed me had not happened. I used to struggle with Psalm 139 where God forms us and places each of us in our mother’s womb. That was the one verse I would have chosen to remove from the Bible. God’s forming of us strikes me as so gentle and intimate and beautiful. Then—the way it used to seem to me—He placed me in a dangerous situation. I’ve come a long way over the past few years,and I can see that verse differently today. And I’m grateful.
Today, my sister shares Father's Day with her 51st wedding anniversary...and my father-in-law often shared his birthday with Father's Day.
At my house, my 2 great-nephews grieve that neither of them know their fathers...no friends available to play in the neighborhood -- they're celebrating their dads. Life is just hard, eh? So, I weep with those who weep.
But it's good to rejoice with those who rejoice, and I'm grateful you had your dad. I had a good day, too...also a minister, he encouraged my ordination and supported my ministry, even though our fellowship of churches supported women in theory only -- rarely would they hire a woman for pastoral ministry. I was hired by a church that had included women ministers from the start (mid-1800s).
Thanks for sharing, and Happy Birthday! 🎊🎂🎉💐
Thank you, it was a lovely day. And yes, even when churches ordain women this does not mean that they get equal access to opportunities of service.
How is it that so many churches can arbitrarily throw out scriptures as only pertaining "to that time and culture", like head coverings, men with long hair, etc., yet doggedly hold on to those that say that women shouldn't speak in church or have any pastoral authority? Seems pretty convenient to me.
It truly is a conundrum isn't it. I lived in that world for many years with so low a regard for myself as a woman that it kind of seemed right. That in itself is telling and sad isn't it?
That's one reason why God judges teachers "more strictly". The power differential for parents and preachers make us especially vulnerable.