Book Review - This Here Flesh by Cole Arthur Riley

The local library is one of my happy places. As I walked through the library, absorbing its calm and quietness, I saw This Here Flesh on a pedestal as a featured book. I sighed audibly as I grabbed it. I follow the author on IG on her Black Liturgies page. Her writing often encourages me that I add her posts to my stories. So when I heard she wrote a book, it was only a matter of time before I got my hands on a copy.

Where do I begin? We are sacred human beings, flawed and all. From this space of holy humanity, with stories from her elders, particularly her gramma and father, we are serenaded with words that heal. Hers is not an easy story to tell, yet the Divine is woven through her story. There is deep trauma in her family in the form of racism, poverty, abandonment, and abuse. She also wrestles with unexplained health challenges. These moments bring out a depth of thought, reckoning with our circumstances, and still having joy in endeavoring to live life the best we can. 

Women of the Word - Kristie Anyabwile

Kristie is a force to be reckoned with. Instead of falling prey to labels and being pigeonholed, she’s rooted her identity in her calling as a Christian, wife, mother, and servant of the local church—specifically, she notes, in that order. She supports her husband as he pastors Washington, D.C.’s Anacostia River Church, discipling other women as she writes and speaks about her own experiences as a wife, mother, and follower of Jesus (christianitytoday.com).We all need someone like Kristie in our lives, someone who knows the Word and with God's help lives out the word. She is as resourceful as she is serious but possesses a zest for life. Meet this month's Woman of the Word - Kristie Anyabwile.

Kristie Anyabwile

Women of the Word - Cintia Listenbee

As an encourager, I was looking for fellow encouragers online. I kept looking until I found this gem: Cintia Listenbee at simplycintia.com. Cintia has an economy of words that ministers to your heart. From Brazil, her culture is evident in her writing. I love learning about her customs while she shares her faith. Cintia is also multilingual, so infrequently some posts are written in Portuguese (which I allow Google to translate). Regardless of language or culture, her strong faith emanates from a blog post. Meet this month's Woman of the Word - Cintia Listenbee.

Cintia Listenbee