Debra Rienstra, Author at Debra Rienstra

Further Up and Further In

Naturally hearing about such experiences make us wonder what heaven might really be like. Of course there are cultural commonplaces featuring harps, clouds, white-robed angels, and St. Peter at the pearly gates. The Bible offers a few glimpses: a shining city, a fruit-bearing tree, white-robed…

Debra RienstraJuly 14, 2012

liturgical year spirituality

The Long Slog

Maybe we are kidding ourselves. That outburst of Spirit-energy we managed to whump up on Pentecost is tough to maintain, especially for your average, mild-mannered Reformed congregation. Maybe we should admit that what we’re really facing starting the Monday after Pentecost is ordinary time, the…

Debra RienstraJune 30, 2012

cultural commentary memoir

I Was a Christian Camp Dropout

I wasn’t a great swimmer, I had never shot a bow or paddled a canoe, and lights-out readings of The Giving Tree didn’t impress me even at the innocent age of almost-ten. Meanwhile, it seemed as if everyone else had inherited camp-related skills from their…

Debra RienstraJune 16, 2012

cultural commentary pop culture review

Desire and Its Discontents

After all, this is a show about advertising, the industry that trades on desire—evoking it, creating it, exploiting it.

Debra RienstraJune 1, 2012

nature silly theology

Matthew 2.0

Therefore everyone who hears these words and puts them into practice is like the wise woman who followed the instructions on the internet when she built her retaining wall.

Debra RienstraMay 19, 2012

liturgical year memoir spirituality

The Resurrection of the Mind

ln the section on the Holy Spirit, we profess our faith in “the resurrection of the body.” Familiar, precious words. A couple weeks ago it occurred to me, though: do we believe in the resurrection of the mind?

Debra RienstraMay 5, 2012

arts Calvin events

Postcards from the Festival of Faith and Writing

I report to you late on Friday night after two exhilarating days at the Festival of Faith and Writing at Calvin College. I’m exhausted and happy and there’s still a whole day to go.

Debra RienstraApril 21, 2012

liturgical year spirituality

Holy Saturday: the Liturgical Blank

But then what? In most of our worship contexts today, the church gives us nothing particular to do until Sunday morning, when it’s all trumpets and lilies and pastel Easter frocks. Between Friday at 3 and Sunday at 10 (or 7 if you’re unlucky enough…

Debra RienstraApril 7, 2012

cultural commentary silly

Back in My Day, We Just Didn’t Know Stuff

I admit there’s something romantic about wood stoves and typewriters and horse-drawn carriages and other technologies of the past. For about ten minutes. Then, get me back to my central heating, my laptop, and my minivan. And definitely, definitely: give me the internet. There’s nothing…

Debra RienstraMarch 23, 2012