I’ve been stalling on the subject of obedience: just the term makes me a bit squeamish, and I’m not sure where this discomfort comes from. Maybe my squeamishness is the result of having grown up singing in church one too many rounds of that cheesy, old hymn, Trust and Obey; maybe it is the outgrowth of…

I got my very first piece of borderline hate mail recently. Since it has been said by writers far more seasoned than I that you haven’t really “arrived” in the blogging world until the hate mail starts accruing, I’m actually feeling pretty un-phased by the development.  (Just think, for example, about all the controversy that Rachel…

  This Thanksgiving, I’m reminded again of Helen at the assisted living center who regularly tells me she hates her life and wants to die. From a pragmatic standpoint, it doesn’t really help that Helen doesn’t believe in a God who loves her- a God, in short, to Whom one might give thanks. Recently, though,…

The skeleton at the beauty parlor is retiring. I heard the news just the other day. Maybe it’s more accurate to say that the neighbors who every year at Halloween brush off that funny, old ensemble, positioning it strategically near the sidewalk for the viewing pleasure of all passersby, is retiring.  Maybe the tradition just…

Last night’s premiere of the new James Bond movie, “Skyfall,” was a sensation. The grand narrative of good versus evil unfolded in a quick-paced, suspense-filled string of high-speed car chases, jaw-dropping stunts, and gratuitous destruction. And, all the traditional eye candy was there again. An older, dashing, chiseled and sufficiently “naughty” Daniel Craig, whose dry,…

I’m convinced that if he lived today, the early church father, Augustine, would like Twitter and I would be one of his followers. Augustine once said of the God he worshiped: “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” I love that quote.  For one thing, it tweets.  For another, familiarity can breed endearment: I hear…

Yesterday we took our new puppy, Roosevelt, to be neutered.  (Now, with both a Carter and a Roosevelt for pets, we have a truly bipartisan household.) Our five-year-old son, after hearing our attempt at an explanation for why Roosevelt had to be neutered, said, “Mommy, why do only the dogs who don’t get their balls…

Fellow saints and sinners, none of you pointed this out (rather surprisingly), but it occurred to me this morning that I had originally written this: “The Bible and my Reformed tradition have taught me that we human beings are capable of making idols out of just about anything, children included- maybe most especially our children…”…

The other day I was sitting at lunch next to a still lively, 90-year-old woman at a plush, assisted living center.  (Funny thing is, even in plush surroundings like these, the food still tastes like your average, garden-variety, “institutionalized” grub.)   She told me she no longer sleeps at her age, and guffawed when I…

Every so often my demons- they know me well- stop by. Early this morning, not wanting to wake my husband who lay snoring next to me, I found myself crouched in silent tears next to the kitchen door, seeking some sort of empathy from our puppy, Roosevelt, (our latest addition to the family) as he…

Kristina Robb-Dover
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Kristina Robb-Dover

Thoughts at the intersection of life and God from one saint and sinner for anyone "converted," "unconverted," or "under conversion."

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