About Priscilla's Pen

This website is the work of one woman (with some input from others from time to time) who has a calling to serve and the ability to write and to design web pages. It's a collection of thoughts, experiences, studies, lessons, and the miscellaneous ramblings of a sometimes unconventional Christian who has had to work hard for her faith, and is willing to share it with others.

Materials from Priscilla's Pen have been accused of being pithy, amusing, cutting, comforting, thought-provoking, and even occasionally profound.

One primary aim of this ministry is to give hope and compassion to those wounded hearts who have survived abuse, or are recovering from mental illness or addictions. Recovery, it has been said, is a spiritual journey, and although sometimes painful, the journey can deeply enrich one's personal relationship with God. The author is one such wounded heart, and has made that spiritual journey and learned a great deal along the way.

Another aim of Priscilla's Pen is to give enough food for thought and material for consideration that perhaps might end up being a catalyst for spiritual growth or greater awareness of self and others.

The graphics on this website are all original. One of my talents happens to be digital art and design, and I've got a good background in history, as well.

This site has a decidedly Celtic theme to it because I happen to like Celtic art, and also because the Celts were among the earliest Christian converts, whose style of spirituality is very appealing to me. Celtic Christianity has a focus on God as a living, ever-present, loving God, one who is not confined to a book or a building, but is literally everywhere, in all things. The overall emphasis is on pursuing a living relationship with a living God, and on spiritual growth and enlightenment.

There are several symbols on this site worthy of note. The first is the wild goose, which is a traditional symbol of the Holy Spirit. It does give the phrase "a wild goose chase" a whole new meaning, certainly.

The threefold knot is an ancient symbol of the Trinity, and is known as a triquetra, which is from the Latin, meaning "three-cornered." It has three distinct arcs, equal, interwoven, inseparable. In fact, many threefold or three-sided objects can and have been used to symbolise the Trinity; this one happens to be my favorite and it goes well with the Celtic theme of the site.

The feather, of course, is meant to be a quill. It's probably a wild goose feather. At least, I would hope that it is.

On a somewhat more personal note...

This website was originally put online in 1995 because I felt called to do so. I had things to say, and I needed a forum in which to say them. Since I had been making web pages for some time, I started this website (and eventually purchased the shoshanna.org domain).

When I first put this site online, I was very concerned about "offending" people. I had the unfortunate experience of having been "corrected" (and not very lovingly) in other Christian interactive forums, and I was acutely aware that some people will take offence at... well, just about anything that disagrees with their personal understanding or point of view.

Now, I realize that if your understanding or point of view cannot stand up to differing viewpoints, it says something about your beliefs. If you can't examine them in the light of other opinions, they're probably held out of fear or out of ignorance rather than out of enlightened study or heartfelt faith.

I also realized that I have to write what is in my heart, and not worry about what others think. Jesus was a rebel who went against accepted traditions and religious thinking (Mat 12:2, Mat 9:14, Mat 15:2-3) who argued with the established religious officials (Mat 3:7), was regarded as a glutton and drunkard and who consorted with the "undesirables" of society (Mat 11:19). He was someone who flouted convention and tradition and rattled cages and didn't care what the establishment thought of him. He also knew perfectly well that not everyone would understand what he was talking about but that those who were his own, those who were listening, those who were searching, would follow (John 10:2-19).

So I decided to stop worrying about the establishment, about those who adhere to a particular cherished dogma or liturgy to the exclusion of all else, about those who can't stand to examine their beliefs or consider that perhaps others have different but equally valid points of view. If I rattle cages, so be it. I have the example of all the apostles and of Jesus, himself.

That being said, this website is not, in fact, particularly controversial, and tends to be fairly moderate and quite non-denominational. This is simply a personal expression of faith and the struggles I've had and the things I've learned as I had to cross the proverbial desert.

It is my hope that the material here will be of comfort and perhaps serve as a beacon or at least a lamp to others, particularly those who find themselves suffering and struggling to heal and to know and trust God, and those who realize that perhaps their perception of and relationship with God is not what it should be, or those who simply want some spiritual food for thought....