The Rabbit Room

Release Day Review: Hidden in Shadow by Janna Barber

Every month the moon grows to fullness, wanes to nothing, then grows back toward fullness again. That’s how it looks from here, anyway. In fact, the moon is just the moon, always there and always the same size, however it appears to us.

5&1, Part 8: Come, Lord Jesus, Come!

This is the eighth in a weekly series that will seek to break down the mists and myths that put people off the vast treasure house that is classical music. Each time, I’ll take a theme and choose 5 pieces or excerpts (from over 600 years’ worth of music) and then round it all off with one larger work.

Hence 5&1 from 600!

The Habit Podcast: Christiana Peterson

The Habit Podcast is a series of conversations with writers about writing, hosted by Jonathan Rogers. This week, Jonathan Rogers talks with Christiana Peterson, author of Awakened by Death: Live-Giving Lessons from the Mystics.

The Unabashed Optimism of Melanie Penn

Melanie Penn picked the perfect time to be so straightforward.

Advent, Week One: Hope

The ark of the covenant was hidden behind a network of barricades. You couldn’t stroll into the temple and lay hands on the seat and symbol of God’s presence. There were sacrifices to be made, garments to be worn. After ritual cleansings, there were sacred coals, incense, showbread, a bloody altar. If you ran this gauntlet, if you leapt every hurdle, still you would not meet God. You’d come face-to-face with a thirty by sixty foot wall of fabric. As it wasn’t made of stone, perhaps the veil gave an illusion of flexibility, of softness. But make no mistake: it was there to keep you out. It was there to prevent your entering into the holy of holies and communing with the Most High God.

Means of Giving Thanks in 2020

This year, it’s not a given to be thankful. In fact, one could go so far as to call it an accomplishment. So we’re not here to pressure you into it, silently waiting to cut the turkey until you’ve shared what you’re thankful for this year. However, we are here to offer some words and melodies that stir thanksgiving in us, recognizing that perhaps now more than ever, gratitude is a necessity too often mistaken for a luxury.

Why Black Friday?

[Editor’s note: Black Friday is coming up in just a couple days, along with its all-too-familiar sense of moral conflict. Many of us are asking questions like, “To what degree can I participate in this without selling my soul to American consumerism?” Well, great question. Last year, Executive Director Pete Peterson wrote a helpful post exploring some of those tensions and why the Rabbit Room chooses to participate in Black Friday. We’re re-sharing it here, along with some of the deals that we are offering this year in the Rabbit Room Store.]

The Habit Podcast: Tsh Oxenreider

The Habit Podcast is a series of conversations with writers about writing, hosted by Jonathan Rogers. This week, Jonathan Rogers talks with Tsh Oxenreider, teacher, podcaster, literary tour guide, and author of Shadow and Light: A Journey into Advent.