She Thinks She's Witty

Surrounded by Rachel W. It was Easter morning. My mom woke me up before the sun was even up. She took on this brave task because, the night before, I was crazy enough to agree to go to an Easter sunrise service with her. I rolled out of bed and threw something on. Just enough to be presentable. We arrived at the foot of the hill and parked among several other vehicles from church members. We greeted others as they arrived. Or at least, my mom greeted. I grunted. Then we started our hike. See, we weren’t just going to Easter sunrise service at our church, we were going to a sunrise service at the Peace Chapel. The Peace Chapel is owned by Juniata College but we know a guy so we were allowed to use it for services now and then for the church. It is situated at the center of an open field at the top of a large-ish hill. The chapel is a 40-foot circle composed of 53 rough-cut, salt-and-pepper blocks of granite. It’s a spectacular setting that overlooks the surrounding mountains and ...

I preached this sermon on Sunday, August 21. The Tuesday before, my dad was admitted to the hospital for a flare up of his ulcerative colitis. I was also hosting my sister-in-law's baby shower that Saturday. It was a hectic, scary, and exciting week and I'm pretty sure I blacked out from the moment I got the call to the end of church on Sunday. Here's the result of that week's work: Scripture Mark 10:13-16 13 People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. 14 But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. 15 Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them. Message: Living in the Margins August 21, 2016 “Let the little children come to m...

Scripture Mark 14:12-16 ( NRSV ) 12 On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?” 13 So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, 14 and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.” 16 So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.  Meditation We are here to remember the meal shared in fellowship, the feet washed in service, the bread broken and the wine poured in sacrifice. But at the beginning of the evening is preparation. Jesus sent his disciples to prepare for Passover , a reme...

Scripture Mark 10:17-45 Message: Cost! March 13, 2016 Rachel Witkovsky Cost March 13, 2016 Rachel Witkovsky Jesus was upfront with the disciples from the very beginning. He told them then and has told them over and over again what this journey is and what it will lead to. He told them there would be suffering and that he was going to die. But he also told them of the resurrection. The literal journey becomes a symbol of discipleship, of following Jesus. The disciples sometimes imagine that the journey will lead them to glory, but Jesus keeps clarifying, “Not without first going the way of the cross (Geddert, p. 196)!” The disciples are not quite sure what to make of it all, but they are along for the ride. They may not have grasped the magnitude or the truth in his words yet, but they are walking with him on this rode regardless. And they’re about to come to a milestone on this journey. They are about to reach Jerusalem. (Geddert, p. 196) In his Believers Church Bible Comm...

On May 3 (yes, I'm behind, lol) I went to a tea with...well, let's just say, some of my female relatives. There were too many to name them all. We had a blast! The teas are held about four times a year and it's a great way to spend some time together in a special way.  I've always been into tea parties and tea time rituals. This is a very casual feeling tea, though we do dress up a bit, and the food is always amazing. Check out the menu for yourself: I need to find a recipe for that soup, oh my goodness. It was all so good! I couldn't finish my dessert so I took home a little doggy bag. Can't wait till the next one! Hugs & Hearts, Rachel

Day 4 : Psalm 46:10 Read : Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God!     I am exalted among the nations,     I am exalted in the earth.” My Prayer : I try.  I try to be still.  I sit.  I wait.  I scratch my ear.  I push up my glasses.  I think about eating a cupcake.  Then I catch myself and try to be still again.  I don't know why it's so hard, God, to just give you a few minutes.  You deserve so much more.  I'm sorry, Lord, for letting you down, Time after time, When you give me everything .  Please help me to be intentional during lent.  To find time to be still And listen for you magnificent voice.  Amen.  Prompt from Writing to God: 40 Days of Praying with My Pen by Rachel Hackenberg

Day 3 : Humility (I know it's not actually Day 3, but I'm catching up. Trust me.) Read : Isaiah 40 1-2 “Comfort, oh comfort my people,”     says your God. “Speak softly and tenderly to Jerusalem,     but also make it very clear That she has served her sentence,     that her sin is taken care of—forgiven! She’s been punished enough and more than enough,     and now it’s over and done with..." ...27-31 Why would you ever complain, O Jacob,     or, whine, Israel, saying, “God has lost track of me.     He doesn’t care what happens to me”? Don’t you know anything? Haven’t you been listening? God doesn’t come and go. God lasts.     He’s Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn’t get tired out, doesn’t pause to catch his breath.     And he knows everything, inside and out. He energizes those who get tired,     gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and dr...

Day 2 : Daily Blessing Read : Ephesians 6:10-18 (MSG) 10-12 And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. 13-18 Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brot...

Yeah, I let Lent slip on in again without starting my Writing to God and I never finished last year. But here I am again, attempting another year of Lenten practice. Better late than never? The Book : Writing to God by Rachel Hackenberg Day 1 : Caffeine Read : Ezekiel 37:1-3 (MSG) God grabbed me. God’s Spirit took me up and set me down in the middle of an open plain strewn with bones. He led me around and among them—a lot of bones! There were bones all over the plain—dry bones, bleached by the sun. He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Master God, only you know that.” My Prayer : Just because a bone is dry doesn't mean all the flesh is gone. A clean bone is one thing. A bone with dried flesh is another. Gross. Stinky. No hope. We dry up, God. But it wasn't a clean dehydration. We have leftovers, reminders of what made us dry up in the first place. Clean us off and pick us up. Breath new life into us. Each year we need to be reminded o...

My sermon from September 28 , in case you're interested. The title printed in the bulletin was "Silence is Not an Option." The true title, however, was " Silence is Stupid ." If you would rather just listen to it, you can find the audio recording here . Or the video of the service  here . Bethany : Mark 3:3-6 Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.” Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him. Rachel : Jesus was g...

I’m standing over the stove, smelling the lentil soup starting to heat up. I add the next ingredient and start into chopping the carrots. Cooking has a calming effect on me most of the time. (Now, baking on the other hand…) As I chop I start to think about where this recipe has come from. Who made it for me first and who I’ve made it for since. One thought keeps circling through my head. Food is what brings us together. (Which quickly turns into “Food is what bwings us togever, today.”) But seriously. Food is my connector piece to all those I’ve known and a lot of good memories. A few weeks ago, Katie mentioned that the kitchen in the BVS house is the central hub of that always changing family unit. People come, people go, but we always have the kitchen to gather in. I’ll take it one step forward and say it’s also the meals that happen in that kitchen and in kitchen’s around the world that bring us together. It makes me think of the gospel of John which I’m currently s...

I've done a couple series of haiku in letter form and thought I'd share. This first series is called Heroic Haiku. You'll see why. Dear Hubert, I am under siege. Chipmunks are throwing acorns. Get me out alive. Love, Daniela ~~~ Dear Daniela, You are surrounded. There is no hope, I'm afraid. Better luck next time. Love, Hubert ~~~ Dear Hubert, You are a real jerk. I hope they come for you next. Get a new girlfriend. Love, Daniela ~~~ Dear Daniela, I tried my best, dear. I'm sorry you feel that way. Good luck and goodbye. Love, Hubert

Yesterday I was in one of my seminary classes and we were telling stories. One of our assignments has been to do a formalist analysis of an Old Testament story of our choosing. Someone across the room picked the Cain and Abel story. She was telling her story and when she came to this verse, I could have sworn she was looking right at me: Genesis 4:6-7   (MSG)  God   spoke to Cain: “Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well, won’t you be accepted? And if you don’t do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it’s out to get you, you've got to master it.” My religious background is not heavy in the language of sin and condemnation, but this verse really hit me in the chest. I feel like lately I've been sulking. Not literally, but spiritually. No one event happened to start me on my spirit sulk, but I've just felt it lately. And this verse just finally touched on something I hadn't even realized I had been holding onto. Now that I've b...

Scripture : Habakkuk 2:1-3 Duly Noted Fair Trade The goodness of the deed  Is in it's name. You expect God to trade fairly You expect others to trade fairly Why not support those  who make it their trade to be fair. Simple. Not complicated. Help them. Help yourself. Help your world. The world is not as bleak as it seems When there's even a little bit Of fair trading going on Somewhere on this big 'ole rock! Peace & Kindness

I preached Sunday on the book of Ruth and, in particular, Ruth 1:16-18 . I used several sources and had a lot of fun putting it all together.  An Act of True Love: The " Framily " Plan The story of Ruth was one of the first love stories I remember reading. Smack dab there in the middle of the Old Testament with its talk of war, famine, and disease, is a love story. Seemingly out of the blue. And just like any good Disney movie, Ruth starts with grief and loss. [1] Did you ever notice that about Disney? They like to clean up old fairytales and give them happy endings but they always start with some kind of sadness. Cinderella’s dad dies at the beginning and she’s left with her evil step-family. However, she finds her prince and lives happily ever after. Again, in Snow White , her father dies in the beginning, she’s left with the evil queen and she’s almost killed, but she finds her true love and lives happily ever after. Even the movie Frozen , which we’ll revis...