How can a person know when they have truly forgiven someone else. What is the difference between true forgiveness and simply stuffing down or sweeping under the rug your feelings? It is tempting for Christians to try to forgive quickly in order to ease their minds and resolve the conflict. […]
Mental health
209 posts
If you put your nose to the grindstone rough, And keep it down there long enough, You will soon conclude that there are no such things, As a brook that babbles or a bird that sings. These three things will your world compose: Just you, the stone, And your ground-down […]
You can’t carry things while you’re asleep. That may seem a silly statement to make as it seems so obvious. So writing a To-Do list can take those items into tomorrow and give your mind a clear space to sleep. You want a rest, a real rest. One where you […]
My father’s flannelette pajama shirt was always cozy and warm. As a child I would climb up on his lap, cuddle in and go off to sleep. The rhythm of mums knitting needles clicking beside me added to the feeling of being held and loved. It was a place of deep […]
You want a great day, and you plan for it. But so much is reliant on actually having a good sleep. This is because God has always meant for the day to begin when your head hits the pillow and you rest in Gods trusting embrace. There is a rhythm […]
The worst lies are the lies we tell ourselves. Can’t is really won’t and with stubborn self-protecting pride, we stifle life. There are three lies that will keep you stuck. I can’t change; They can’t change; Things won’t change.
When stressful situations come we have a choice to either fight, take flight, or freeze. But underneath there is an invite to grow and drop the mask of the false self. If he were a politician he would have had the slogan ‘Make Israel Great Again’, and he was doing a […]
It’s always hard to confront someone with your concerns about their mental health. Failing to do so maybe an act of collusion. Speaking the truth in love is what we need to do. Sometimes you’ve got to have the hard word. To say things that you wish you didn’t need to. Who […]
To ‘Walk the extra mile’ is not about being generous, or servanthood. It’s about flipping the power dynamics and creating a sense of fear and uncertainty. Have you ever heard someone say ‘They walked the extra mile’? We link this little phrase with the idea that this person did more […]
Giving the ‘shirt off your back’ is not an invitation to more abuse. It is a subtle expression of self-worth and can confuse and shame the bully. Have you ever tried to challenge someone’s behavior, and it just gets thrown back at you? You may feel like you are being […]
Harsh words and rough hands can abuse but are we meant to turn the other cheek and accept the abuse. No, we are to grow in dignity. She had given into the bully 365 times too many. She had been cheek-slapped all of the marriage. For him, he had accepted […]
Harvey didn’t quite know what to make of the whole noise and hubbub happening outside his hermit cave. He had run from all the scandal, and now he was out in the desert looking after a bunch of smelly sheep. Others too were joining him. All clothed in rags and […]
They were so caught up in themselves and their selfish desires that they got lost to the concerns of others. Without recognising the wealth of love around them, they were the prodigal, a child of abundance squandering it away. What drew them back was a memory of love, faint and small, […]
There are none so blind as those that will not see. Only when we realize that we have been chasing after false promises will our sight return. We see that we have been conned and we are now in a prison of our own making. One spring afternoon, I was […]
Just outside my window, I can see a beautiful yellow rose. It wasn’t there last week, well actually it was, but it was just tightly bound up under its green calyx. A lot can happen in a week, in a day, in a moment. I can see the beauty but to deeply […]
Around the hillside of the sheep farm where I was raised were grooves worn into the soil by hundreds of sheep following each other. It was the easiest route. I also have routes in my thinking patterns that have become ruts. Familiar paths that have been worn deep into my thinking. A thought gets […]
She walked into my office in a long, flowing skirt. She always had loved long, flowing skirts. But she blamed them and herself for both of her rapes. “Maybe if I hadn’t worn a skirt,” she thought. And she hated herself. The man read from his journal. Almost 20 pages […]
It was election day here in New Zealand last Saturday and as I stood in line to cast my vote I started a conversation with an elderly English gentleman. He had come to New Zealand in 1968 on a world trip. Running out of money, he decided to stay. ‘Well, why […]
The shame of an attempt at suicide can cling onto you like the odor of some dirty old socks. You would do anything to get rid of that stench. Is that a good description of shame? That feeling of embarrassment at what you have done. You want to hide, run, cover it […]
We are all like druggies, wanting that quick fix to kill the pain. Be it a drug, some porn, a sale, a comfort food, an altar call, a dose of the ghost (Holy Spirit), or a faith formula to get what we want. Anything, just anything to avoid going deep, […]