Sarah B Anderson

How Disappointment Shows Up In Advent

Posted by Sarah B Anderson | Dec 20, 2017 | Faith, Ministry, Parenting, Personal Growth | 0

My youngest is perhaps the most confident person I have ever met. He is nothing if not convinced of his ability to do just about anything. He lives life self-assured, self-reliant and maybe the slightest bit delusional. Because no matter how often reality proves that he isn’t as capable as he thought, he isn’t willing to let go of the vision he has of himself. As being the best at everything. A couple of days ago, the advent reading I did mentioned the story of John the Baptist. John reminds me of my son. He was loud and certain,...

When Christmas Isn’t What You Expect

Posted by Sarah B Anderson | Nov 29, 2017 | Faith, Personal Growth | 0

Years ago I read that many traditional Christmas songs are written in minor chords. I don’t know where I saw it, or who said it, or even if it’s true, actually. I just know, that it made sense at the time. That there is something about the songs of Christmas that feel equal parts melancholy and joyful; both promising and ache-y. That the words make mention of one true and meaningful thing, while the tune hints at something else, equally true, and meaningful—but also sad. In some ways I’ve started to dread this time of year. For whatever reason...

How to Save Thanksgiving

Posted by Sarah B Anderson | Nov 21, 2017 | Culture, Faith, Personal Growth | 0

The French philosopher, Simone Weil wrote about this idea of gravity and grace. I am not nearly smart enough to totally understand what she meant when she wrote about it, more than half a century ago, but I heard Pete Rollins describe it a little like this: We live in a world that operates by the laws of gravity. It’s the way things are, the natural and social rules of the culture we exist in. Gravity literally and metaphorically brings order and routine and structure to our world. But every now and again we catch these glimpse of grace....

Why Veteran’s Day This Year is Different

Posted by Sarah B Anderson | Nov 10, 2017 | Culture, Personal Growth | 0

I read two things this week that caught my attention. One said, “a sign that you’re an adult is when you start thinking on a spectrum, and not in binaries, when things move from being mutually exclusive and black and white ideals to more gray and more complicated.” The other said, “every day, 22 veterans commit suicide.” I could personally relate to the first thing. The past decade of life or so has been a slow move away from well-defined categories and towards more nuanced thinking. It has caused me to look at my faith differently, my politics differently,...

The One Thing We Can Agree On When Handling Tragedy

Posted by Sarah B Anderson | Nov 8, 2017 | Culture, Faith, Personal Growth | 0

I have spent the past several nights away from my phone. It wasn’t a decision I made myself. I think it went something like, me scrolling through my twitter feed, occasionally stopping, and speaking, with an elevated blood pressure dictating the words coming out of my mouth, fueled by anger, frustration, and all kind of swirling emotion, my husband listening calmly, and then reaching over and taking the phone from my hands. “What?” “You need to be done.” So I was, done, this scenario repeating itself several times over the course of a week. The problem Sunday night, when...