Hi friends,

Hope the end of this week finds you ready for a restful weekend. 

I’ve been reading Trica Hersey (aka the “Nap Bishop”)’s book Rest is Resistance, and it certainly has me thinking about what it looks like to steal away moments of rest, reflection, daydreaming, and napping throughout the week. Not just because I’m more productive when I’m better rested, but more importantly as a way of saying: I am human. I am not a machine. Capitalism does not own me. 

I feel a super chill book review coming, lol.

In the meanwhile, though, I wanted to catch y’all up on some of the things I’ve been writing beyond this blog!

• A few months back I had the chance to do a deep dive into the book of Daniel, which was fascinating. It got me thinking about how small a role women play in these stories…and yet, when we go looking for them, they are still there. And, however briefly they may be mentioned, they are important. I wrote some reflections over at Feminism & Religion on the queen mentioned in Daniel 5, whom I call the “memory keeper,” and the daughter of the king mentioned in Daniel 11, whom I call the “alliance maker.”
• I really enjoyed queer Portland-based writer Elizabeth Weinberg’s book Unsettling (is “enjoyed” the right word? well, I’m definitely glad I read it). Over at Sojourners, I reflected on this book, the climate crisis, the Christian practice of lament, and imagining a different kind of world together. 
• Oof, this was a personal one. (Not that anything I write isn’t personal…but you know, some more than others—or at least differently.) I reflect on the two Southern Baptist churches (including Saddleback) who appealed the SBC’s decision to boot them for having female pastors and were decisively denied their appeal, in light of my own experience almost getting kicked out of church volunteering.
• I know I said a few things about “The Secrets of Hillsong” docu-series here, but I also said a few more things over at Sojourners. Turns out there’s a lot to say. Thinking through what healthy church volunteering looks like vs labor exploitation. 

I’ve also posted more at Patheos. The recent posts over there that mean the most to me are the two on reproductive rights: reflecting on what it means to actually affirm life, and wanting any conversation about “protecting life” to include protecting pregnant people’s lives.

Would love to hear your thoughts about any of this, anytime.

Peace and rest to you this weekend,

Liz