The only way there is through. To reap a joy, we sow a tear, but it’s work, hard work, so we don’t travel alone. We journey with safe others. I knew there had to be an ocean of loss behind the lifestyle mask they were wearing. For all the stories […]
change
86 posts
There is a grain or a pattern to our thinking that needs to change, but we are stuck, so God gently comes against the grain and changes it from the inside out. It goes against the grain of self-protection to let someone in, especially when we have been hurt. But […]
So why did the Samaritan cross the road? Perhaps he wasn’t afraid of the sky falling in. Let’s not be chicken with people like us. I happened to call an acquaintance of mine a few days ago. He does some jobs for me every now and then. As we talked, […]
It was a dream, but now it was shattered. Perhaps a new dream was to be discovered, and so we dug deep into what truly mattered. It was happening again. The dream was being shattered. The marriage was over, the pregnancy test was negative, a redundancy letter handed out, and […]
There is a mask or even a mist that we can see something quite wondrous when we see behind or through, but it takes awareness to see the vision of what they are becoming. There is a drive I take every week to a farm and garden out in […]
Being formed like a little child is something Jesus wants us to do, but how are we to do this as adults? Perhaps it’s by surrender to the potter’s hand. Probably the most joyous gift to our family over recent years has been the addition of a new family member. […]
Why you get so angry can give a clear direction about who you truly are. It’s a matter of the heart. Your anger can indicate what you hold most dear. As they became more whole, the anger started to simmer, then boil, and then it flowed over the containment of […]
Criticism can hurt, bruise and extinguish our hearts, but learning how to handle criticism can build new strength and resilience. I could see the hope drain out of him as I watched both the subtle and not so subtle criticisms land upon him. I was in a meeting with a […]
We often have the same negative thoughts going around and around in our brains, but we can change them when we arise and bind the brain with truth. I always marvel at those men and women who lift heavyweights. It takes time, effort, and wisdom. Many of them you will […]
There was no self-confidence. It was gone like vapor from ash. But something reignited when we looked at the pebbles and not the mountain. It was like I was looking at an empty shell. They were there in the room with me, but there was very little confidence within them […]
You might be helping them too much and hinder any progress for them and yourself, but we can learn new ways of helping and see the change we want for them and ourselves. She was helping too much, and the person she was helping didn’t mind one little bit. In […]
Life can hand us a bunch of questions with few answers. But there is something inviting in a question, and so we explore a road less travelled. When Bob climbed into the passenger seat next to me, I could see that something was wrong. He wasn’t his normal cheery self. […]
In our spiritual life, we want to know if we are making progress, but much of growth and formation is intangible, so we have to look deeper than a mere measurement. It wasn’t the answer I was expecting, but when we dug a little deeper, I could see the wisdom. […]
Words said, have power. Self-deprecation is to pray against the self, but we can learn to pray for the self and so develop healthier thinking patterns. It was the words at the end of his sentence that caught my attention. ‘I’m so stupid; I always do things like that’. You […]
Do you keep making the same bad choices over and over again? You can change, and it all begins with a decision to change the way you think and act. It was New Zealand’s worst airline disaster. On November 28th, 1979, Air New Zealand Flight 901 flew into Mount Erebus on Ross Island, Antarctica. […]
Stress can add up to be too much, and we can have a mental health breakdown, but when we break it down like in the story of David and Goliath, we can find a way through the chaos. Stressful times can feel like a massive avalanche of overwhelming pressure. The […]
Storms of life can hit hard against our mental health, but we can learn to stand firm and even advance. Developing resilience is a practice of strengthing your inner Bulldog. It was quite something as I watched this little goat headbutt a Bulldog. Repeatedly it launched itself at the Bulldog, […]
Some people can be difficult to live at peace with. To live peaceably and in harmony requires each person to do the work on themselves. Some people are like bottomless holes. You give and give, and they take and take. They raise a storm, and you’re expected to bring peace. […]
We all have a cocoon around us that may keep us safe, too safe, but there is a time for leaving the old and entering the new. Sometimes we have to walk through the crowd to get there. Something new was happening in them. They were changing, leaving. There was […]
Anxiety can make you want to control, but learning to detach can bring peace. Perhaps you care too much and it’s time to let go. She was holding on tightly. Too tightly. It was care, it was love, but in that embrace, she was suffocating the life out of the […]