Devotional
Six Spiritual Lessons I Learned at the Gym
Some experiences in life are like thumbnail images of the larger mural of our lives. They startle us with their simplicity; they awaken us with their clarity. They are tutors in the larger classroom of our every day lives, guides on the road of our spiritual journeys. Recently I had an opportunity for a gym [...]
Looking Beyond the Juniper Tree!
Have you ever felt like you cannot go on? Have you ever experienced the weights of despair, discouragement and disappointment? Do you ever wonder if there is anybody left who actually cares for your plight? If any of these questions ring true in your heart than you understand to some degree the experiences of the [...]
Bible Reading: Pick Your Plan for 2012
Personal Bible reading can be a glorious adventure or a guilt-burdened duty. Choosing a Bible reading plan that fits your life may be part of the key to finding delight within the pages of the Old Book. Have you ever read through the whole Bible in a year? For me, this strategy for Bible [...]
The All Seeing Eye
One of college professors announced that he had concluded that Christian’s no longer believed in the omniscience of God. Initially, I paused and thought, “What do you mean we don’t believe in the all powerful, all knowing, all present God? Of course we believe it, those terms are in our doctrinal statement”. However, his accusation was profound. [...]
Expecting the Supernatural?
When faced with health trials or when all human means have been exhausted, we turn to God in prayer. Christians worship a supernatural God. So why do we pray for Divine intervention while still harbouring doubts that God will perform the miraculous? We certainly can’t demand that God answers our prayer in a certain way, [...]
Points of Light on a Southwest Flight
Air travel in America has morphed since my first trip in 1983. In those days dressing up was the norm, meal service was complimentary, and bags flew free. Now we wear what’s most comfortable, buy our own food, and pay extra for bags. Except on Southwest. That’s the US airline where bags fly free. We [...]
Tell Me More
A loud red t-shirt with bold silver letters bearing a Tongan message was a recent gift to my husband. Not knowing the Tongan language, he had to ask several Tongan friends what the words meant. “Difficult to say in English,” was the usual response. Finally, he found someone who was willing to hazard a rough [...]
Thank you Mum
I remember the day as if it was yesterday. It was my first day in high school (Year 7 for international readers) and my whole world was changing. In primary school, you reach the top of the food chain in Year 6 only to start again at the bottom in high school. At the end [...]
The Hollow Tree
A few weeks ago I stood under a large 16 metre gum tree with an arborist and local council officer. I couldn’t fault anything with the tree… but then again, I don’t known anything about trees. The two professionals were so alarmed by the tree that they created an exclusion zone around the tree and [...]
Too Right
Too right! It’s Aussie slang for “I agree with you.” However, many Christians I’ve met are so “right” that they can’t agree with anyone. Backing themselves into a corner by their insistence on being right, the sharp point of their rightness keeps others well away and prevents them from meaningful fellowship with others who do [...]
Courage & Faith
I saw a touching portrait of personal courage and faith over the weekend. In their HSC (12) Year, a student is facing a protracted stay in hospital after a similar stay in hospital in the previous year. The first thing that struck me was their personal courage. Thinking back to my own Year 12 experience [...]
Well that’s just your opinion….
Last week I was at the airport waiting for my flight when I received a phone call. The call was from the airport gate informing me that I was about to miss my plane. I was relaxing at the time and my first response was incredulity – “No I am not about to miss my plane!” Then it [...]
