This is the irrational season when love blooms bright and wild. Had Mary been filled with reason there’d have been no room for the child. — Madeline L’Engle I am not one of those women who loved being pregnant. Personally,…
Mary the thorny rose
“Life doesn’t come with a manual, it comes with a mother.” — Cleophus (Cleo) Franklin Jr. Not too long ago my family and I were sitting in a booth at a local restaurant waiting for our food to arrive. I…
Mary the rose garden
In the classic children’s book The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, a grieving father locks away the garden of his dead wife, forbids mention of it and hides all affection and beauty from his sickly son who he locks…
Mary the rosebud
Each time a new baby was born, a single red rosebud was placed on the altar in the sanctuary of my home church. My youngest child was born after I returned to serve there, and 12 years ago, her red…
Improvising Grace: Reformation and dissent
Author’s note: On Oct. 22, I was privileged to preach at a convocation celebrating the 25th anniversary of the School of Divinity at Wake Forest University. I pass it along in this Reformation week. …
Baptists are body and blood related to Mary Magdalene
Baptists have made plenty of mistakes in how we regard women. Women have just begun to take a full stride as pastors in many of our networks and denominations, while the Southern Baptists still disallow women to serve as pastors….
The blood of Advent
This is the first in a four-part series of Advent reflections by Julia Goldie Day that will run on Mondays. Ever hear the phrase, “Behind every successful man, there is a woman?” Jesus is the successful man; Mary is…
Mary, Our Mother (For Baptists): Blessed is she
This is the final article in a four-part Advent series. One of my children asked me the other day, “What’s the big deal about access to birth control?” My answer was, “If your mother had not had access to birth…
A case for why Mary didn’t know
I have appreciated the recent writing of Julia Goldie Day. She speaks wise words, especially for the voiceless, the oppressed, those marginalized by our society. I read with interest her recent post about the now-popular Christmas song “Mary, Did You…