Sarah Bessey

It started to snow one morning this week. We’re in an odd little pocket of Canada, caught between the ocean and the nearby mountains, so we actually don’t get much snow here. For a couple of prairie kids like me and Brian, this is almost ridiculous.  We tend to have cold, drizzly, gray winters with …

Make Room for Joy Read More »

This past Sunday, my two little nieces performed in their church Christmas pageant. I love to watch Christmas pageants and so few churches do them anymore (for good reason: that amount of work is no joke). One little red-haired lamb and one angel with tinsel-trimmed wings stole the show for me. But our littlest girl …

Longing for His Presence While Celebrating Advent Read More »

Because we drive by the farms on the edge of town and the tinies watch for sheep.  Because I almost always consider pulling over on the side of the road just to take photos of our Sunday drive: the crisp blue sky and the sharp green rolling hills, the turning-red blueberry bushes squatted across the …

Why I Go To Church Read More »

Someone told me that I’m disgustingly prideful. They talked and wrote about my hubris, my vanity, my self-importance and self-promotion.   Someone else told me that my hallmark is my humility and self-deprecation.   Someone called me an uppity woman, like it was the 19th century all over again.   Other people tell me I’m …

Why You Should Forget What Your Critics Say About You Read More »

My first allegiance isn’t to feminism. My first allegiance is to Jesus and His kingdom. Following Jesus changes my feminism, not the other way around. I choose to be a feminist in the way that Jesus would be a feminist.  The ways of the kingdom of God stand in direct contrast to the ways of …

The Feminist That Loves Jesus Read More »

I am driving home from a memorial service for a longed-for baby boy. He had red hair. I can only hold back that lung-deep cry for so long before I know it’s time to simply pull over my minivan, so littered with library books and coffee cups and one lonely shoe. Simply lay my forehead …

When It Feels Like God Is Asking Too Much Read More »

“You’re here to be light, bringing out the God colors in the world” (Matt. 5:14, MSG).   In my research and work on Jesus Feminist, I found myself struggling to land the book—and my own self—in the hinterland between “Everything is getting better! Girl power forever!” and “It’s a cesspool of despair. We’re going to …

Faith Sees God’s Hand in Good Times, Bad Times Read More »

Author’s Note: This column is not directed at any one church or experience. It is an amalgamation of my many years—more than 20—being a part of womens’ ministries in various churches of various denominations in many different contexts.   Dear Women’s Ministry:   The world can give me cute cupcake designs and decorating tips, scrapbooking …

An Open Letter to Women’s Ministries Read More »

Certain vocational milestones stand out in my mind. There was the day my grade two teacher typed up my first story and told me I should be a writer someday. My first article published in the school newspaper.   The first time someone who did not know me in real life left a comment on …

My Preaching Debut Read More »

My sister’s husband recently graduated from university. Between working full-time and being a wonderful father to my two little nieces, it was a busy and arduous road to complete his education. We’re very proud of his perseverance. Among all of the young people, I felt rather middle-aged at his convocation. I got married one week …

Are Middle-Aged Women Overlooked in Church? Read More »

My youngest child is 14 months old. And she has never, not once, slept through the night. That is roughly 426 nights, straight, of broken sleep for me. My first child slept 12 hours through the night from early infancy. My second child was a bit more of a challenge because we lived across the …

Finding God When Your Baby Won’t Go to Sleep Read More »

My parents are not writers, they did not grow up as devout readers of literature or poetry, and they value words more than anyone else I know. My father and mother believe that life and death are in the power of the tongue and so they have always been careful about the words they say …

The Power of a Calm Heart Read More »

The false binaries can grind a girl down. While I was growing up in third-wave charismatic circles, women were often cautioned against “the Jezebel spirit.” (I think I just heard half of the old crowd barf on their shoes at that old label, but oh, I’m going there.) Yes. Terrible Queen Jezebel of the Old …

Instead of Looking for Jezebel, Let’s Celebrate the Deborahs in the Church Read More »

It’s Holy Week in the Church calendar now. The world isn’t longing for another easter egg hunt or free chocolate. The longing of our hearts isn’t for a bigger and better stage performance. We’re yearning for Jesus, still, all of us, always. The Church is (hopefully…) our place and community for the detox from the …

Embrace the True Meaning of Easter Read More »

I have had to yank that lie right out of the ground, burn it like chaff. I know we mean well, of course we do. We say things like: “oh, I just want to be used by God!” We sing songs: “use me, Jesus!” and we mean so well. When we say “used by God” …

God’s Desire to Be With You, Not Use You Read More »