John-Mark D. Burkholder "I can feel that," I told my obstetrician as he pricked the left side of my abdomen on December 11, 1992. I was on an operating table in an outdated birthing clinic in Bandung, Indonesia, prepped for a C-section. As with my first pregnancy, I had pre-eclampsia but this baby was also breech. The … Continue reading At-Risk
Author: Eva Burkholder
Upended
Mary was all set to marry Joseph and raise a normal Jewish family in Nazareth. She expected to follow in her mother's footsteps. She was probably already dreaming of how she would keep her kitchen, raise her children and organize her days. But all that changed in an instant.
Pierced One
At age 15, I got my ears pierced. While never strictly forbidden, my family silently frowned upon ear piercing. After all, if God had meant me to have holes in my ears, I would have been born with them! But the big hoops that hung on the ears of my older and sophisticated cousins in … Continue reading Pierced One
Blessed to be in the Kingdom
Mary would not have qualified by Jewish standards to be The Blessed Mother. The Jews of Jesus' day had very strict criteria for the blessed. They had to be Jewish, male, religious, healthy and wealthy. If you were sick or poor or female, well, your bad! God obviously wasn't blessing you! We know (see previous post) … Continue reading Blessed to be in the Kingdom
Blessed to Obey
Last Christmas, I had the privilege of watching my son perform at the Lancaster Bible College concert. I so enjoyed his enthusiasm, the way he sang so heartily and paid full attention to the director. Not only was he in the choir, but he also played bells and xylophone. But then, to my surprise, he suddenly … Continue reading Blessed to Obey
Blessed to Believe
Recently this post popped up as a memory on my facebook page: He [my son] gives me such joy, has so many talents, and loves Jesus. I am a blessed mother. And this from a coworker heading to the field for the first time: The entire journey went smoothly without any delays, missing luggage or other problems. What a … Continue reading Blessed to Believe
Good Things
According to my brother-in-law, the Rev. David Handy, "Traditionally, since ancient times, in liturgical churches (Lutheran and Anglican, as well as Catholic and Eastern Orthodox), the Blessed Virgin Mary is considered the greatest of all the saints, bar none. Greater than Francis of Assisi in the 13th century, or St. Benedict (founder of the Benedictine … Continue reading Good Things
A Safe Place
At that time, Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth.Luke 1:39–40 Mary sat there trying to catch her breath. What had just happened? Had there really been an angel right in front of her just moments before? "I'm going to … Continue reading A Safe Place
