To be known is to be pursued, examined, and shaken. To be known is to be pursued, examined, and shaken. To be known is to be loved and to have hopes and even demands placed on you. It is to risk, not only the furniture in your home being rearranged, but […]
Spiritual Formation
227 posts
It was one of those magic moments that will stay in my memory forever, I can still hear the echoes now. The Pisa Baptistery is famous for its perfect acoustics. The guide stands on the other side of the baptistery and sings a few notes, pauses then sings a few more, […]
When you are trying to change a default thinking habit or behavior, it is like learning to drive on the other side of the road. It’s hard work. Whether you drive on the left or the right, changing your thinking is difficult. It must be very frightening for foreign drivers […]
Have you ever been found, found out, or found wanting? We all want to be known. Artist: David Hayward This picture comes from the story of the Men caught in Hypocrisy. Jesus went across to Mount Olives, but he was soon back in the Temple again. Swarms of people came to him. He sat down […]
When the stress loading becomes too much it is very easy to lose your way. What we need is some sort of Thinking Compass. Mental Illness is one of the worst fog generating experiences you can have. Your brain can play tricks on you. Your perceptions can change, sometimes quite […]
Never Borrow Sorrow from Tomorrow Deal only with the present — never step into tomorrow, For God asks us just to trust Him and to never borrow sorrow, For the future is not ours to know, and it may never be, So let us live and give our best and […]
Photo Credit: andyaldridge via Compfight cc A young couple moves into a new neighbourhood. The next morning while they are eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbour hanging the wash outside. “That laundry is not very clean; she doesn’t know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry […]
There is no ideal community. Community is made up of people with all their richness, but also with their weakness and poverty, of people who accept and forgive each other, who are vulnerable with each other. Humility and trust are more at the foundation of community than perfection. Jean Vanier […]
I was seated in the second row from the front. The speaker and his ‘bling blonde’ wife were seated directly in front of me. He got up to speak and for the next 30 minutes (seemed longer) he worked the crowd. Pacing across the stage, dripping clichés, pausing for effect, urging more commitment and telling […]
We all have feelings, but what does God want you to do with your feelings? Perhaps God wants you to bring the feelings to God first. I have emotions I am human, and as a creation of God, I have emotions. I have feelings. God feels, so therefore I do. […]
Many times the expectations on us are just too heavy. When I saw this image I just had to use it. So many times we want to be the dog on the right, doing great things, projecting strength, and on top of everything. Whereas, in reality, we are more like […]
The Perfect Cup it is time for meto see the flawsof myselfand stopbeing alarmed it is time for meto halt my drivefor perfectionand to accept my blemishes it is time for meto receiveslowly evolving growththe kind that comesin God’s own good timeand pays no heed to my panicky pushing it […]
Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit I wonder what adventure lies just outside your door? The Hobbit […]
Transformation is something we more easily see in the rear-view mirror than out the side window. David Benner What’s the view out of your side window like at the moment? Fast and furious? Blurred, as the year whizz’s by you? In this post I want to sow an idea in […]
The man with the knives, the pretty girl on the target, the drum roll and then the silence. A knife whistles through the air into the target, inches away from the young lady. Then another, and another and another. The crowd is hushed and shocked at the danger, the […]
It was a story that released an inner groan. It was the story of a North Korean soldier being executed for failing to grieve after the death of Kim Jong-il. He was caught drinking during the 100 day mourning period. Execution is bad enough, but the way he was […]
It can be frustrating when your ‘hands are tied’. ‘My hands are tied’ is an idiom that means that you are unable to act or behave in a certain way because something is constraining you. There is no freedom. ‘I would love to raise your salary but my hands are […]
We all make mistakes; we all stuff up. The feelings of regret, shame, maybe even guilt can plague and loom over us like a dark cloud. How do we learn to come out from that cloud? We need to eat more Swiss cheese! Ok, now I don’t want you to […]
I don’t want to come into contact with them, but I sure am glad they are there. Guardrails are needed to keep safe. As I drive to various places, I see them. Not really designed for attractiveness, they are made from concrete, steel, wood and the worst are those are made […]
What do you mutter in your self talk? It does matter, but you can change the stream of words that you keep saying. I like to listen to people. In particular, I try to listen to the words or phrases that are repeated. The little phrases or sentences they might […]