Looking Back at Summer Reading

November 25, 2019 ~ jennrudsit ~ Leave a comment

by Laura Bloxham

When I was in grade school I lived for summer reading programs at the local library. If I read so many books or so many pages, I could qualify for prizes. Usually the top prize was a ride through town on a fire engine. I qualified for that prize after the first month.

When I was in junior high school I looked forward to reading in bed all day, reading classics with big classic stickers on the spine. I read Crime and Punishment and Mansfield Park until my eyes were bleary. Then I’d put a sweatshirt over my nightgown to make myself presentable for supper with my family.

In my adult years I’ve had various summer reading plans. During my college summers, I read Faulkner novels. For ten years or so I read Dickens novels. Of course I read many other books as well.

Because most of…

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Revealing Vulnerability

November 18, 2019November 11, 2019 ~ jennrudsit ~ Leave a comment

by Meghan Laakso I let out a long, forced exhale as I left the examination room. In my hand I held a light blue piece of paper, prescribed for Effexor. The doctor’s hand fell on my shoulder, making me jump out of my anxious thoughts. “This will help you feel better, Meghan,” he said. “If … Continue reading Revealing Vulnerability

Shaping Identity: Belonging

October 30, 2019October 30, 2019 ~ jennrudsit ~ Leave a comment

by Sara Whitestone With a splash, I step off the anchored boat. Bobbing in the warm Atlantic waters, I check my equipment one more time, making sure my mouthpiece and mask are in place before I let the air out of my scuba diving vest. Then I descend into the sea. Even though there are … Continue reading Shaping Identity: Belonging

Shaping Identity: Not Suited to this World

October 7, 2019October 5, 2019 ~ jennrudsit ~ 1 Comment

by Liz Backstrom "To do something well you have to like it. That idea is not exactly novel. We've got it down to four words: ‘Do what you love.’ But it's not enough just to tell people that. Doing what you love is complicated.” Paul Graham, 2006 I always wanted to be a scientist as … Continue reading Shaping Identity: Not Suited to this World

12.2, an Issue in Review

September 30, 2019September 26, 2019 ~ jennrudsit ~ Leave a comment

by Emily Hanson Every issue of Rock & Sling witnesses to a myriad of different ideas, feelings, and actions and each piece does so in a way that is specific to the individual writer. Issue 12.2 is no different than the rest in how it witnesses to a diverse set of ideas, but, what makes … Continue reading 12.2, an Issue in Review

Can You See Anything Now?

September 16, 2019September 16, 2019 ~ jennrudsit ~ Leave a comment

by Jessica Dundas The label “Christian Fiction” tends to turn me off. I expect another cleaned up, simplified version of life, where they always get their miracle and every sunset reminds us that God is good. Cheesy clichés, sub-par writing. But that is not at all what Katherine James has given us in her novel … Continue reading Can You See Anything Now?

Shaping Identity: This Beautiful Mess

September 10, 2019September 9, 2019 ~ jennrudsit ~ 1 Comment

by Julie Riddle I have a child for you. In an instant these six words dismantled my long-held identity as a woman who had chosen to not have children. (On my bookshelves you will find a copy of Beyond Motherhood: Choosing a Life without Children. Its pages are heavily highlighted. That book got me.) I … Continue reading Shaping Identity: This Beautiful Mess

Shaping Identity: Breathing

August 23, 2019August 27, 2019 ~ jennrudsit ~ 3 Comments

by Karen Bjork Kubin This butterfly is going to sit on your arm for a while, okay? I’m sure I nodded, but I don’t remember. The idea of the butterfly gracing my arm with all its pink translucence was just the sort of magical thing I’ve always been drawn to. It was attached to a … Continue reading Shaping Identity: Breathing

What Witness Means

August 19, 2019August 3, 2019 ~ jennrudsit ~ Leave a comment

by Alanna Carlson Anyone who knows me knows that I am unabashedly, loudly, political. Not infrequently, a family member (often on the other side of the political aisle than myself) will ask me some variation of the question, “Why do you care so much about something that doesn’t really affect your life?” I have, until … Continue reading What Witness Means

Shaping Identity: Literature that Lives in Me

August 9, 2019June 14, 2019 ~ jennrudsit ~ Leave a comment

by Laura Bloxham I have always loved reading. When I was a child I gravitated toward Nancy Drew, who solved mysteries, had a supportive father, although largely in the background, a best friend, a boyfriend, Ned, and a car. She was independent. I avoided animal stories, which almost always ended with the animal dying. I … Continue reading Shaping Identity: Literature that Lives in Me