It’s a place of desperation. I need God’s help, but where are you, God? I’m tired, in pain, broken, alone and lost. I want the struggle to be over. Right here and now. I’ve been judged, and the stones are being thrown. I’ve judged myself, and I’m drowning in guilt […]
Spiritual Practices
67 posts
We need a place. A church, a nest, a fire of warm burning coals. A place for the growth of mental health. Is it possible? Trigger alert: This post contains the word ‘Church’ in it. 😊 Please push through. The story goes that there was once a man who had […]
I have a slippery memory. Memories of the good can slip away, but having a habit of recording the good can change our thinking in wonderful ways. My mother kept a red ledger book in one of the kitchen drawers, and it kept her. It kept her grounded in the […]
I want relief from tension. But where from? Maybe in Jehovah – Jireh. The God who sees and provides in the cognitive dissonance of struggle. I want answers. Easy to find answers. But maybe what I really want is for the tension I am in to be seen and […]
Some people believe in luck; I don’t. I believe in wisdom and work, empowered with faith to build a boat that catches providential wind. I remember the first time I bought a lottery ticket. I’ve only ever done this twice. I remember all the thoughts that raged around in me. […]
When one door closes, another one opens, but when. We wait and watch for providence to blow. It happened again last week. A door closed. In my little gardening business, I have been mowing a small every fortnight for about a year. Then, last week, the property was sold, […]
It’s so easy to hold on to what’s been given to you, but passing it on opens the door to joy. The Parable of the Joyful Man (Parable of the Talents) Did you ever play that children’s party game – Pass the parcel? The children sit in a circle, and […]
Sometimes I feel alone in the struggle, but when I listen deep I sense a providence. A providence I can lean into. It was the strangest thing I have experienced in a dog’s behaviour. Our family once had a dog that leaned. He would come alongside you, cross his legs, […]
We could rake the muck forever, but what about stringing pearls? What will bring the delight of heaven to full song? I recently watched someone restringing a necklace of pearls. With mindful precision, a fine silk cord was taken and inserted through the pearls with a small needle. A […]
In short: Psalm 23’s “table” isn’t a dinner table — it likely pictures a “tableland,” an elevated, predator-free plateau a shepherd clears in advance so his flock can graze safely. The verse is a picture of God’s providence: preparing what we need before we even arrive at our need, even […]