Do you take responsibility for your actions? Don’t we just love to pass the blame on to others, yet taking personal responsibility is crucial for our mental health. OK, I admit it, at times I have stuffed up big time. Not just once, but many times. I am sure that […]
Spiritual Formation
226 posts
We want to have a life of comfort, but this prayer asks that God bless you with discomfort at easy answers. A dangerous prayer to pray. May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart. May God bless you […]
Jacob was a cheater, Peter had a temper, David had an affair, Noah got drunk, Jonah ran from God, Paul was a murderer, Gideon was insecure, Miriam was a gossiper, Martha was a worrier, Thomas was a doubter, Sara was impatient, Elijah was moody, Moses stuttered, Zaccheus was short, […]
Oft hope is born when all is forlorn. J.R.R. Tolkien The Return of the King Dark was the night It chased so hard Wild storms thrashed Upon my soul Questions raged Answers unfound Prayers formed and argued aloud Christ stands Tears flow down A break of light A glow in […]
Do you have thinking ruts? Ways of thinking that you just can’t seem to get out of. It was a track that had been worn into the earth by hundreds of sheep plodding over the same piece of clay time and time again. As I child being raised on a […]
Some of my thoughts would scare you. If my thoughts were paraded across a silver screen then you would be aghast. Thoughts of love, pain, anger, lust, depression all dance across the screen of the mind. A couple of posts ago, I talked about lassoing those varmint thoughts. Grabbing hold […]
We all have thoughts that rumble on through the grey matter: some good and helpful, some not so good, and actually unhelpful. I know for me, some of my thoughts have a particular theme. If I could box them and categorize them, I would have multiple files of thoughts. Some […]
How do you respond when someone spreads rumors about you, gossips, lies, pretends to be your friend while really all they are doing is using and abusing you? A stab in the back. Perhaps they influence other friends to their side of the story. You’re having rotten tomatoes thrown at […]
I had heard the same thing over and over and over again from this person. Self-doubts, questioning, cynicism, fear all mashed together to be an ugly serving for the day. They had learned the script over the whole of their lives. Repeated it, rehearsed it, played it out on so […]
Life has ups and downs, but when you have an encouragement journal, you always have a place to go back to reset the heart I forget. Actually, my memory can be pretty bad. I have a ‘forgetta computer’ for a brain as someone has said. We all have a limited […]
I have secrets I tell no one. I am not alone in this I am certain. I am sure you have them too. Things you have done have or that have been done to you. Fears, desires, longings, pains, and some things that you are not even consciously aware of. […]
It’s an acronym I learnt this week from All is Grace, Brennan Manning’s memoirs. He was describing his time in a rehab facility for his alcoholism when he received feedback from his fellow alcoholics in a peer review worksheet. I SEE YOU USING THE FOLLOWING DIVERSIONS TO KEEP FROM DEALING […]
There are some people that just push my buttons! Something about them sets off a chain reaction of thoughts and feelings. Perhaps they remind me of someone else or something that has happened in the past. A memory echo bounces around my soul. If I am going to be a […]
Who Knows you? I know Raj down at the petrol station, I know his face, I see him regularly, and he possibly knows me at the same level. If I was to see him at the Mall, without his uniform, I might wonder where I know him from. Then there […]
2011 has been a year of dramatic change for many. World news has been dominated with natural disasters, dictatorships being toppled, and economic crisis. For an interesting review check out Google’s Zeitgeist 2011: Year In Review. In New Zealand 2011 has also been a year of roller coaster emotions. Winning […]
“So why did you have me born? I wish no one had ever laid eyes on me! I wish I had never been born I wish I’d never lived—a stillborn, buried without ever having breathed. Isn’t it time to call it quits on my life? Can’t you let up, and […]
Paul’s thorn in the flesh could have meaning for you. The greater the thorn, the greater the wound and scar. A ‘Thorn in the flesh’ can disable your walk physically and spiritually, but it can also be a place of growth as it keeps you in humility. Could your thorn […]
“It has been said that there is no true person unless there are two entering into communication with one another. The isolated individual is not a real person. A real person is one who lives in and for others. And the more personal relationships we form with others, the more […]
I listen to people’s stories. I sit and turn my ear and my heart to receive the precious gift they have to offer. I never feel adequate. I never feel able to make any sort of difference, but something happens. I am inadequate, and I want to stay that way. […]
Ever had people try to tear you down. Rotten tomatoes are thrown. Lies spoken, gossip spread, stories twisted, your good name being smeared. All of this leaving you alone in a pool of tears wondering what is going on. The Apostle Paul knew exactly what it was like to experience […]