by Emily Wierenga | Sep 5, 2012 | amazing, art, beer, believers, children, church, community, ed cyzewski, festival, grace, hippies, hymns, imperfect prose on thursdays, parenting, synchroblog, wild goose festival
it’s a collapse of child and mother, the after-supper kind of collapse. we haven’t seen each other all weekend because i’ve been away and we have joey and jin here too. and sometimes this having other people in our home feels a bit like the curtains... by Emily Wierenga | Sep 3, 2012 | art, artist, calling, conference, creation, creator, identity, imperfect prose on thursdays, justice, love, salvation, weight, wild goose festival
following are some photos, and a snippet of my talk, which i gave this sunday at the Wild Goose Festival… taking some time now, to recuperate and reconnect with my boys, but we will be starting Imperfect Prose again, this Wednesday… hope you can join us!It... by Emily Wierenga | Aug 29, 2012 | cancer, children, flowers, garden, identity, love, mum, needing, parenting, she loves magazine
…As a mother of four boys—two of them my own—I’m trying to need them in the way that Mum needed her flowers, in the way that she needed me when she got cancer. In the way that she would leave messages on my answering machines which consisted mostly of “umm,” and... by Emily Wierenga | Aug 29, 2012 | calling, children, christians, crucifixion, david platt, holy spirit, homeless, Jesus, radical, sacrifice
the more i read Radical the more uncomfortable i become, because i’m not sure that i’m a christian. i think i’m a wannabe follower of Christ who’s missed the boat. he said, follow me, and i said, wait! i have my art and my writing and my... by Emily Wierenga | Aug 27, 2012 | canada, church, closes, coffee, coffeeshop, community, crusades, damage, david platt, faith, food bank, friendship, Jesus, poor, poverty, radical, sabbath, sunday, unity truth church, winnipeg
yes, i am a disgruntled pastor’s daughter who grew up going to church every sunday and begrudging it. the hours spent listening to a father she didn’t know and the small talk afterwards (which i still dislike), the feigned interest in weather and health... by Emily Wierenga | Aug 23, 2012 | belief, bible school, buddhism, christianity, church, doubt, faith, lying, missions, prodigal magazine, religion
I stopped believing the day I entered a Buddhist temple on a mission’s trip. I stopped believing when I saw the men taking off their shoes before they entered their holy place. When I witnessed their reverent bows, the intimacy with which they kissed the floor... by Emily Wierenga | Aug 21, 2012 | a deeper story, evil, God, good, pacifism, peace, war, warfare, weapons
“Not only am I a pacifist, I’m a militant pacifist.” (Einstein)A person I know says he’s a pacifist. He, the grandson of a man who fought in World War 2, and of another who fought in the navy, says that if someone were to threaten his family, he would not defend... by Emily Wierenga | Aug 18, 2012 | anorexia, eating disorder, healing, lullaby, minister's daughter, pastor's daughter, redemption, singing, song, wholeness
you know this. you know about my relationship with my dad growing up. how he was a wonderful pastor and sometimes an absentee father, how he read us bible stories and kissed us on the cheeks and home-schooled us in french and music yet didn’t really know how to... by Emily Wierenga | Aug 16, 2012 | beach, dedication, family, God, kayaking, pastor, son, summer, water
We’re kayaking, and water falls from our paddles forming circles in the water, hundreds of concentric circles expanding, like the lake is one large tree, and we are counting its ages. “See how they pass seamlessly through the waves and ripples?” Trent says. He’s... by Emily Wierenga | Aug 12, 2012 | a sweethaven summer, book, church, courtney walsh, giveaway, God, home, homesick, sweethaven homecoming
I’m not sure but that I don’t always feel a bit homesick. We’re in Ontario, right now, and me with two little boys crowded on my lap trying to find their way back to that safe place. We returned from BC one week ago, spent two nights in our own beds and then, gone...