The Swallow's Nest: A Feminine Reading of the Psalms

By Marchiene Vroon Rienstra and Marchiene V. Reinstra

Book Overview

"Invites us to respond to the biblical call to pray without ceasing. To pray according to his Psalter is to be healed, is to bind up the brokenness of our lives." --MELANIE A. MAY editor of Women and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802806244
• ISBN13: 9780802806246
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: Eerdmans Pub Co
• Length: 257 Pages
• Weight: 1.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.0" x 0.5" x 7.5"

Customer Reviews

Beautifully done

I have used these readings for Taize services. Hearing the feminine imagery in such a setting provides great material for the silent reflections that such a service includes.

Help in getting that God-is-a-man picture out of your mind

Have you ever wanted to pray using the Psalms--but found that their language assumes a male reader? Let's face it, from Psalm 1, verse 1 --"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked"--they seem to be male-oriented.This book is widely used by thousands of Roman Catholic nuns as well as by laywomen, including evangelicals,more liberal Protestants, and Catholics--any woman of faith who wants to pray the Psalms from the heart and finds it easier to do so in a more feminine context.The author is an ordained Presbyterian pastor who grew up in the Christian Reformed Church, which does not ordain women. She has close ties with Dominican sisters and others.Her version of Psalm 1, verse one, reads, "Blessed is the woman who ignores the advice of the wicked...." She calls her book "A Feminine Reading of the Psalms"--not a translation. For each psalm she provides a one-sentence possible context to relate to our lives today. For example, she says for Psalm 141, "This might be the prayer of an inner-city girl struggling to resist the pressure to join a gang of drug dealers." With some context, it is easier to respond to a psalm that speaks about enemies or great suffering. Marty Rienstra takes all 150 Psalms and divides up them up to be read 3-4 per day, in a cycle of four weeks per month, to be started again each month. Each day of the week has a theme--Sunday,"worshipping God our Savior"; Monday, "hoping in God our future"; Tuesday, "seeking God's wisdom"; Wednesday, "trusting in God our refuge"; Thursday "crying out to God for justice"; Friday, "confession and lamentation before God," and Saturday, "praising God the Creator."She lays out the psalms for each day in three groups as a morning prayer time, midday prayer time, and evening prayer time. Each has an opening, hymn, suggested reading, short prayer, and benediction along with a psalm or two. She also provides prayers and quotations from great women and men in church history, such as Hildegard of Bingen and Julian of Norwich. I have been praying with this book since it came out in 1992, and I bought one for each of my daughters and many other friends. I know you will like it too...

Refreshing

As an expectant mother, I found it very comforting. It felt great to look at God as a woman and mother. It also made my relationship with God closer knowing that he cares for me as I care for my child.