Humility knows that all it knows is sometimes half the story, and all it sees is sometimes half the picture, and so is open to hearing more. Seeing more. Living more. With God.
Radical Humility
Fully Filled Brimming Over
This story, this moment, is the fulfilment of a promise. This is simultaneously the completion and the commencement of a plan. A moment foretold and foreshadowed as long as God's long story had been unfolding. A moment that is a line in the sand that will change every other moment from then on.
De-railed
When heaven seeps into our plans, sometimes our plans are derailed and sometimes our tracks are changed in surprising ways, but always our direction becomes more than anything we could have imagined.
Disruption
Sometimes saying yes to God is saying no to safety, security, and the future you'd always thought you would have.
The Path of Peace
When you hold a miracle in your arms anything is possible.
Silence to Singing
December 17th Silence to Singing Listen to the reflection here... (also available on Spotify HERE ) The silence in Elizabeth and Zechariah’s house must have felt so loud. But perhaps not as loud as Zechariah’s own thoughts as he processed the Angel Gabriel’s words. Words that left him speechless. He hadn’t believed in... Continue Reading →
A Song to Light the Dark
When God is doing something new, the air is full of singing.
Strengthening Strength
December 14th Strengthening Strength Listen to the reflection here... (also available on Spotify HERE ) In the beginning, in the first garden long ago, God drew close. As close as breath. And then with His breath He spoke truth into the hearts of the first human beings: Loving truth. Generous truth: ‘You are free to... Continue Reading →
Angels Singing Somewhere
There were angels, but Mary didn’t see them. There was singing, but Joseph didn’t hear it. There was dazzling light, but neither felt its blaze...
Right On Time
I have a silver watch that ticks on my wrist and there are days when it feels like a draining chain, hand-cuffing me to rush and hurry and breathless keeping up.
Plot Twist
In our small life in this large world, it can feel like powerful forces in mighty places make decisions and we all fall in line, falling into the story line that they dictate, subjects subject to their script lines laid down.
Fully Filled, Brimming Over
There are days when life can feel like one big heaving mess. Like a game where happiness, hope and meaning stand unprotected in the Russian roulette line of fire. Aching days when sudden news cuts gaping holes in hearts, when a head spinning diagnoses alters the direction of a life, when sure plans sand-through-fingers fail, when hopes die and this world spins dizzyingly fast in directions we just didn’t see coming.
De-Railed
We run our lives on railway tracks of hope and expectation. We make our plans, and then build them, rail by rail, sleeper beam by sleeper beam. We weld them together in the direction of what we feel will make us happy, give us meaning, give us security, provide for our family. And we ride the rails in the direction of all our plans laid down. Lulled by the motion. Carried along.
Disruption
What if your calling put you at odds with your whole world? What if God's will in you seemed like a kick in the face of all you had been told, raised in and led to believe? If you knew His call would leave you alienated and alone, estranged from your community, friends and even your family, would you still say yes? Yes to God?
The Path of Peace
When you hold a miracle in your arms anything is possible.
We all go about our lives day by day, hour by hour, the mundane shrouding the miraculous, and we forget. We forget that life itself is one unending miracle. We forget how to find joy or peace because we forget the miraculous story that we all inhabit: The long story unfolding all around us, for us and within us.
Silence to Singing
The silence in Elizabeth and Zechariah’s house must have felt so loud. But perhaps not as loud as Zechariah’s own thoughts as he processed the Angel Gabriel’s words. Words that left him speechless.
Magnify: The Song of Mary
We think our eyes are the part of us that see, but actually they’re the part that see in part.
Kingdom Revolution
King. It’s a word with baggage. We have other words with baggage, like politician, ruler, president. All these words carry stories. Stories of human failings and fallen-ness. Stories of political ambition and corruption.
The Whole Story
December 8th The Whole Story You can live in the world your eyes can see, but it will only ever be half the picture. Zechariah’s eyes were old. He and Elizabeth had seen an absence of things hoped for, empty arms cradling despair. And for Elizabeth, this childlessness meant shame (Luke 1:25). Their... Continue Reading →
Immanuel
December 3rd Immanuel I love Christmas. The carols, the wonder, the traditions, the too-much-food-only-eaten-once-a-year. It is the time of year I most miss being with my family, the time when living overseas is most costly, not in money but in feeling, the feeling that comes when you are surrounded by those who know... Continue Reading →
The Coming King
December 1st The Coming King He ‘shall come’ . That was the promise all along. He shall come. The One to stamp on the serpents head (Genesis 3:15), the one to whom the sceptre belongs (Genesis 49:10), the one who will establish His throne in love (Isaiah 16:5). He shall come! This King.... Continue Reading →
Angels Singing Somewhere
December 25th Christmas Day Angels Singing Somewhere There were angels, but Mary didn’t see them. There was singing, but Joseph didn’t hear it. There was dazzling light, but neither felt its blaze. In Nazareth, they had seen the shaming sideways glances, heard the disapproving whispers, and felt the glaring judgment as Mary’s belly swelled.... Continue Reading →
Right On Time
December 24th Christmas Eve Right On Time I have a silver watch that ticks on my wrist and there are days when it feels like a draining chain, hand-cuffing me to rush and hurry and breathless keeping up. We’ve always had a strange relationship time, we humans. Partly perhaps because part of us is timeless…... Continue Reading →
Plot Twist
December 23rd Plot Twist In our small life in this large world, it can feel like powerful forces in mighty places make decisions and we all fall in line, falling into the story line that they dictate, subjects subject to their script lines laid down. “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that... Continue Reading →
Glorify: A Song to Light the Dark
December 21st Glorify: A Song to Light the Dark When God is doing something new, the air is full of singing. He sang human kind into being in the beginning (Genesis 1:27), He called Abraham with a poem (Genesis 2:2-3), Moses and Miriam sang over Israel as they left Egypt (Exodus 15:1), Moses sang... Continue Reading →
Strengthening Strength
December 19th Strengthening Strength In the beginning, in the first garden long ago, God drew close. As close as breath. And then with His breath He spoke truth into the hearts of the first human beings: Loving truth. Generous truth- ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden’. Truth that acknowledged... Continue Reading →
Kingdom Revolution
December 17th Kingdom Revolution King. It’s a word with baggage. We have other words with baggage, like politician, ruler, president. All these words carry stories. Stories of human failings and fallen-ness. Stories of political ambition and corruption. Our world has learned the hard way that the truest measure of any human ruler, is not... Continue Reading →
Two Stories
December 15th Two Stories This is a startling story, but not just because it begins with an angel’s visit. It’s the location where he was sent that may have raised eyebrows amongst Luke's early readers. On a surface level (the one we see with our eyes and live with our perceptions) this story could very... Continue Reading →
The Whole Story
December 13th The Whole Story Doubt is a skilled teacher, and we learn its lessons well. It can school our soul suddenly through a momentary disillusionment, or train it slowly over years, through long seasons of small disappointments. “In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged... Continue Reading →
Absence and Presence
December 12th Absence and Presence They were like Noah in righteousness but like Abraham and Sarah in childlessness. Just as God was about to do something new when he called Noah ‘righteous and blameless’ (Genesis 6:9) and just as God was about to do something new when He promised Abraham and Sarah a family,... Continue Reading →
Radical Humility
December 11th Radical Humility We hear Mary’s voice, we hear Zechariah's voice (for a while), we hear Elizabeth’s voice. Mary, Zechariah and Simeon even get a vocal solo song. But Joseph. He is silent. There are no mentions of his words. Only his actions. But his actions speak a thousand words, revealing who he... Continue Reading →
Fully Filled, Brimming Over
December 10th Fully Filled, Brimming Over There are days when life can feel like one big heaving mess. Like a game where happiness, hope and meaning stand unprotected in the Russian roulette line of fire. Aching days when sudden news cuts gaping holes in hearts, when a head spinning diagnoses alters the direction of... Continue Reading →
De-Railed
December 9th De-Railed We run our lives on railway tracks of hope and expectation. We make our plans, and then build them, rail by rail, sleeper beam by sleeper beam. We weld them together in the direction of what we feel will make us happy, give us meaning, give us security, provide for our family.... Continue Reading →
He Will Come
December 6th He Will Come We stumbled across this cafe down a side street, searching for somewhere to have a moment together out of the cold. The cheery cafe owner took our order and we sat and waited in the corner, looking around us at the tinselled walls and festive decorations. The cafe owner... Continue Reading →
Unfurling Hope
December 5th Unfurling Hope If you run your finger across the round face of a sawn-off tree stump, tracing the circular path of its rings, it will tell you a story. Each line has a tale to tell, a story-line revealing years of droughts, the story of rains, the story of bushfires, the story... Continue Reading →
Prince of Peace
December 4th Prince of Peace She twists the wire around the branches, around and around and around, until all the unruly Christmas greenery finally yields and hangs submissive on the circular frame. There's an intensity to how she does this that most ten year olds don’t have. A determination. Because for this ten year old... Continue Reading →
Immanuel
December 3rd Immanuel I love Christmas. The carols, the wonder, the traditions, the too-much-food-only-eaten-once-a-year. It is the time of year I most miss being with my family, the time when living overseas is most costly, not in money but in feeling, the feeling that comes when you are surrounded by those who know... Continue Reading →
The Coming King
December 1st The Coming King He ‘shall come’ . That was the promise all along. He shall come. The One to stamp on the serpents head (Genesis 3:15), the one to whom the sceptre belongs (Genesis 49:10), the one who will establish His throne in love (Isaiah 16:5). He shall come! This... Continue Reading →
Angels Singing Somewhere
Angels Singing Somewhere Christmas Day There were angels, but Mary didn’t see them. There was singing, but Joseph didn’t hear it. There was dazzling light, but neither felt its blaze. In Nazareth, they had seen the shaming sideways glances, heard the disapproving whispers, and felt the glaring judgment as Mary’s belly swelled. And when they... Continue Reading →
Magnify: The Song of Mary
This song this teenage girl sings, this song inspired purely by seeing God’s heart and then seeing everything else through His eyes, this song Mary sings will so threaten the power structures of this world that throughout history it will be repeatedly banned from being sung in public.
His Name…
He didn’t just come to give us a lovely sentimental feeling and warming family holiday season each December...
Two Stories
Because the story we live in decides how we live...
Unexpected
Belief matters. Because our beliefs create the world we live in. And unbelief creates a world without God. A world of loneliness and despair. A world of hustling to survive. A world of anxiety and fear...
Radical Humility
In taking Mary home as his wife, Joseph was effectively taking on responsibility for her pregnancy, appearing to have broken the laws of betrothal. In sheltering her and the child she carried, Joseph took on Mary’s shame, making it his own...
De-railed
What if God is outside of our field of vision? And what if He is calling us to join Him there? In a reality larger than our human plans laid down...
Disruption
What if your calling put you at odds with your whole world? What if God's will in you seemed like a kick in the face of all you had been told, raised in and led to believe? If you knew His call would leave you alienated and alone, estranged from your community, friends and even your family, would you still say yes? Yes to God?
He will come: A Carol To Light The Dark
This is not fairytale story. He didn't come into a perfect world. He came into ours.
In the dark.
To be the light.
Unfurling Hope
If you run your finger across the a sawn-off tree stump, tracing the circular path of its rings, it will tell you a story. Each line has a tale to tell, a story-line revealing years of droughts, the story of rains, the story of bushfires, the story of years of abundance and years of lack. It will tell you how old it is, how long it has stood in place, and what each year was like. A stump is old and full of years, full of story. A long old story traced in rings...
Peace On Earth
She twists the wire around the green, around and around and around until all the unruly Christmas greenery finally yields and hangs submissive on the circular frame. There's an intensity to how she does it that most ten year olds don’t have. A determination.
The Living Branch…
The Living Branch The days were coming… but they were not there yet. And the aching pain of invasion and exile hung around Israel like the chains they lived, as they strained their eyes into the distance hoping for the promise of hope. Wondering if it was really possible. really true. And we... Continue Reading →
The Coming King
As we begin this season of Advent, let’s be clear on Who we’re waiting for...
A Gift For You This Christmas Season…
So, what if this Christmas we were to slow the story down, and live in it. And let it live in us? What if in all the Christmas rush we forge an island of quiet and sit in God’s long story of grace and let it become the story that breathes us back to life, lighting the dark, warming the cold? What if this Advent season could be a time we turn our hearts back to the heart of the real Christmas story and let it reshape us from the inside out, and in so doing become more real ourselves.
As Christmas Approaches…
Dear Friend, It’s been quite some time since I wrote to you as we journeyed together through the Easter season and I am delighted to be back in contact with you as Christmas and the season of Advent approaches. Since I last wrote my family and I have moved countries so it has been a... Continue Reading →
