Wounds and Scars. An Invitation

Wounds and Scars. An Invitation

There is a kind of loneliness when you have wounds and scars, but it’s met when someone comes with their wounds. It’s an invitation to connection. I don’t like to see scars on a human body. They tell me that something has gone wrong. There has been injury and therefore […]

Are You Comfortable With Beauty?

Are You Comfortable With Beauty?

And there was beauty, but are you comfortable with beauty in yourself and others? I suppose we are mirrors of beauty to a hungry world. I love to look at beauty. A sunrise or a sunset. A rose in the garden or a bird singing for joy. I recognise beauty […]

Watching the Wind. Looking at Clouds

Watching the Wind. Looking at Clouds

If you’re always watching the wind or looking at clouds, you’ll never step outside your door. But with quiet practice, we can give generous attention to what truly matters.   I tried something new last night. Something I haven’t done for a very long time and building up to that […]

I am the product of

I Am A Product Of …

Many things go into the shaping of one’s life. ‘I am a product of long corridors, empty sunlit rooms’ says C.S. Lewis. What are you the product of?   Mathematics wasn’t my strongest topic at school, but somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind I recall the term ‘product’. […]

I want to forget some things. But does God forget? Does God choose not to remember and if so, how does this help me heal?

Does God Forget?

I want to forget some things. But does God forget? Does God choose not to remember and if so, how does this help me heal? I once visited the ancient ruins of Olympia, Greece. The tour guide told me that in the entrance to the athletic stadium there were once pillars […]

You Will Have Trouble

You Will Have Trouble

We don’t want trouble, but when Jesus says ‘You Will Have Trouble’, there must be something to help us through.  There are some promises I would like God not to keep. I’m not sure if you can still get them or not, but you used to be able to buy […]

I am loved

I Am Loved

It can feel very lonely when we don’t experience love. A sense of abandonment. To know that ‘I am loved’ is like the permanent embrace of presence.  To be loved and know it deeply is, I think, the quest of every heart. According to early Church writer Paul, it is […]

17th Century Nun’s Prayer Lord, Thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing older and someday will be old.

17th Century Nun’s Prayer

A 17th Century Nun Prayed ‘Lord, Thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing older and someday will be old.’ Recently, I went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, a small village here in New Zealand. In 1892, Suzanne Aubert (better known as Mother Mary Joseph) established the congregation of […]

I Am Known

I am Known

In a world of loneliness, we need the reassurance that ‘I am known’. From this, intimacy grows.   One of the questions many people face is ‘Do I matter?’ For many, it feels like they don’t matter to anyone at all. That they are just a blip of dust in […]

I am Held

I Am Held

When your world is a mess, it may seem lonely, but God is always holding us. I am held by something far bigger than myself. Currently, you are travelling at a speed of about 1,000 miles (1600 kilometers) per hour. That is the speed of the rotation of the earth. You don’t […]

Take Time to Steady the Ship

Take Time to Steady the Ship

You’ve been through a storm, and there has been major upheaval. Please, take time to steady the ship and restore direction.    It was a wild and unsettled time in my life. It was like my little life boat had run into a big storm and I had held on […]

Preparing your Shelter from the Storm

Preparing your Shelter from the Storm

There will always be storms, but it’s how prepared you are is more the question. Prepare a shelter from the storm for yourself and those to come.    There’s a storm coming. I can smell it. It’s a mental health storm, and it’s brewing to be a big one. A […]

Love is a Gift With no Strings Attached

Love is a Gift With no Strings Attached

When the receiving of love has strings attached, then is it really love? Love is a Gift With no Strings Attached. In many of the gardens i visit they have garden hoses and for the last few years many gardeners have been installing retractable hose reels. They are quite a […]

What Type of Ball are You?

What Type of Ball are You?

There are all sorts of people in this world, and there are also all sorts of balls. If you could describe yourself as a ball, what type of ball would you be? Wrecking ball to table tennis ball.    I have vague memories of the first ball I ever had. […]

I'm Looking for Wisdom more than Silver, Gold, and Rubies

I’m Looking for Wisdom more than Silver, Gold, and Rubies

We place value on things such as beauty, strength, power and riches, but there is something more valuable. I want wisdom more than silver, gold, and rubies. I couldn’t believe it. I was doing some research for this post and found that there is a website where you can measure […]

It's not 'Two steps forward and Three steps back'

It’s not ‘Two steps forward and Three steps back’

Progress and change can seem like ‘two steps forward and three steps back’ but maybe the steps need to be millimetres and with gradual gentle side ways movements we can see movement. It was disappointing when then they said it. In fact, it was surprising. They said it with good […]

A Christmas Rejection - No Place For You

A Christmas Rejection – No Place For You

It wasnt so much a closed door, it was more a Christmas rejection. There is no place for you here.   I watched him as he told me he wasn’t going to his family’s Christmas party. He had felt a lot of rejection from his family and now he couldn’t […]

What's in Your Emergency Mental Health Grab Bag

What’s in Your Emergency Mental Health Grab Bag

A crisis hits and the scaffolding around your life seems to shake, but you have a Mental Health Grab Bag, and so you know you can get through this.   An emergency hits, or maybe it’s just seeing certain family members. Something gets added to your stress load, and the […]

Good Conversations don't leave you Feeling Judged

Good Conversations don’t leave you Feeling Judged

Feeling judged can make you want to hide. Why put yourself out there if people are going to judge you? What you want is a good conversation.    They didn’t have the conversation because they knew they would feel judged. Feelings of being dismissed, ridiculed, ‘shot-down’, laughed at, mocked would […]

Risking a Sacred Conversation

Risking a Sacred Conversation

We all want to be known, held and loved, but to find this requires a level of risk to have a sacred conversation. Are you ready for that?   I once had a conversation with someone, what I would call a sacred conversation, and they couldn’t handle the fire. They […]