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 […]
Mental health
121 posts
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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, […]
What if this is not the worst-case scenario? What if it is the best-case scenario? How would your view of your current circumstances change? What if every person you encounter is simply doing the best they can with what they have? What if every person who misunderstands you and causes […]