Jesus to his disciples ahead of his crucifixion: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:18 I’ve been thinking about Easter Sunday. And how like, I want to make sure I don’t lose sight of the warmth of the Easter-Sunday, Jesus-qualified hope of not being left alone. I want to make sure that in the aftermath of the Good-Friday death of the King – the King I’ve come to […]
“In the middle of their talk and questions, Jesus came up and walked along with them. But they were not able to recognize who he was. He asked, “What’s this you’re discussing so intently as you walk along?” They just stood there, long-faced, like they had lost their best friend. Then one of them, his name was Cleopas, said, “Are you the only one in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard what’s happened during the last few […]
Deep in the night Where light is most known in some place other than here At each gust of wind The wind chime moves And with each movement, she makes her simple sound Lets us know that she’s here That the wind tonight moves her Makes her feel Draws out melodies words Important to note though, As simple her melody It goes heart-deep It is not empty noisy words The wind simply blows And in […]
“God grabbed me. God’s Spirit took me up and set me down in the middle of an open plain strewn with bones. He led me around and among them—a lot of bones! There were bones all over the plain—dry bones, bleached by the sun. He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Master God, only you know that.” Ezekiel 37:1-3 (MSG) It was as if something had momentarily suspended whatever it was that […]
“If one’s religion is to mean anything, if it is to last, it has to stand outside of time and place. Its truths have to be transcendent…. To be blunt, a god that is no bigger than our own desires is not God at all, but a divinized rationalization for self-worship” – Rob Dreher I find a weird sort of peace in reading this quote – weird because in the past it would have held […]
“…There is an illusion that we can have sometimes that we are ‘passionate for God,’ but the reality is we’re maybe a little more confident in our ‘passionate personality,’ and we’re clinging to an illusion. Instead of actually getting to the point (of often brokenness) where we know that we know that we know… that it’s only by grace.. that we can even lift our voice” – Brian Johnson (From his talk ‘Overcoming Anxiety’ on […]
“…None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives.” Col 3:15-17MSG. This morning, giving thankfulness a little space meant pausing for long enough to take note of the colours standing before me on what felt to be a very ordinary, and somewhat weary Tuesday. Taking notice of what simple things you appreciate […]
Painted a bit of a heart-warming mess of tones and textures this afternoon. For me, these tones reflect the sweet moment of finally sensing the warmth of hope in the midst of seasons that have, at times, been somewhat grey and gloomy. Hope always arrives; if she hasn’t yet, do not fear, for she is most certainly on her way. The thing about the nature of hope is that she does not, and will not […]
“Since Jesus went through everything you’re going through and more, learn to think like him. Think of your sufferings as a weaning from that old sinful habit of always expecting to get your own way. ” 1 Peter 1:2-4 MSG // Could this be about control? Control aims to keep it all turning out as we imagined and hoped; stress and trouble free. But the trouble with holding on tight to this, is that when […]
This week I was a little bit struck by one simple piece of the Sunday evening message; Encouragement as simply a passing on of courage to another human. For me, the little hugs and the ‘you can do its’ spoken in the thick of my anxious or doubtful moments always seem so small and insignificant because I’m often fixed on how these could never take the fear or sadness or the struggle away. But I […]
anne-marie elizabeth 