My Top Tweets and What They Tell Me About You

You have to scratch where people itch. Have you ever been asked to scratch someone’s back. You start to scratch and then they say a little to the left, up a bit, down a bit then the words ‘ahh’ drift out. You know that you have found the spot. When […]

Questions and Answers about Mindfulness

Recently I have been reading and practising Mindfulness. I have found it very helpful, so I thought it would be good to get some advice and guidance around Mindfulness. I tracked down Richard Johnston who has a website dedicated to Christian Mindfulness. So I sent him some questions. 1. What is […]

A Church for Black Spotted Sheep

I was always on the lookout for black wool. I raised on a sheep farm here in New Zealand and whenever shearing time came around I was in the shearing shed working alongside those lean muscular men, shearing our sheep.

Jonah and the … Negativity Bias

I have always marvelled at the skill of those who played the sport of Lawn Bowls. In this very English game, a small heavy ball is bowled down a perfectly flat green lawn at such a pace that it will come to rest next to a smaller white ball. Rather […]

Mental Health Grows Bud by Bud, Brick by Brick

Mental Health Grows Bud by Bud, Brick by Brick

Something happened here but it didn’t happen overnight. As a gardener I have been working on an old homestead garden for two days every week for around two years. When I first started, the garden was in bad shape. Over grown with weeds, dead trees and sick looking plants it […]

Why You Need to Welcome Ravens for Your Mental Health

The rawness of the meat was either inviting or disturbingly unappealing. Stories shared, honesty held as holy, the powerless being empowered. For some it was too raw, too up close and uncomfortable for them to receive the gift God was offering. To take in this gift there would have to […]

Do you Have People who Invite you to Rest?

It’s his favourite resting place. I have a large comfortable chair in my office. With solid armrests and comfortable cushions sometimes it’s a tussle between myself and our two dogs who gets to sit on it. Our nervous pound pooch Tyler particularly likes it. He climbs his large body into […]

its-time-for-you-to-give-it-a-rest

It’s Time For You to ‘Give it a Rest’

I had never quite sensed that feeling of release before. It was time to have a rest.  That feeling of letting it all go and handing it on to someone else. I had been in ministry for 13 years serving as a Pastor/ Chaplain to people who struggled with ‘Normal […]

How to Start Your Day by Going to Sleep

This morning I woke up and realised some thing was different. While I was sleeping somebody came in and cleaned the house, sorted the washing, and even … took out the rubbish. Well, it felt like that.