I had no idea how big the topic of dealing with conflict was. All I knew was that I didn’t like it – and I avoided it at all costs. I didn’t know that there was a good reason for this. Now it makes sense that I couldn’t handle the big rejection when I was a teenager – because I was already on shaky ground…
Read MorePraying God’s word hotwires prayer into the most powerful force in the universe. It is part of the armour of God. Combining word-based prayer with praying about everything is a formidable combination. However, to pray God’s word, we have to have it either in front of us, or in our hearts, ready to come out of our mouths. A time may come when the only word we have, is what we have stored up in our hearts.
Read MoreI am an evangelical Christian. Yes, the kind that is referred to as “a motley crew” protesting in Wellington right now. So, if we are “brothers and sisters in Christ” and we hear from the same God, then I ask myself, why do I have such repulsion and almost embarrassment for what is happening in front of Parliament buildings here in our lovely country of New Zealand?
Read MoreSpend two minutes talking to someone outside of the Christian faith and you’re most likely going to hear a list of complaints they have about Christians and churches. Or they just don’t want to hear about Christians, what we say or do, or the God we serve.
Read MoreA group of my retired minister friends have been praying that God would give my Holy Spirit book wings. Entitled The Holy Spirit as Person and Power: Charismatic Renewal and Its Implications for Theology (Wipf & Stock, 2020), it had the misfortune to appear just before the Covid-19 pandemic shut down a lot of human interaction and publicity.
Read More“Don’t call me, I’ll call you!” I said to my fiancée, Ray, with no intention of calling him ever again. “I do not want to hear your voice, or see your face. I need space, and I don’t think it’s going to end well.” To say I was extremely annoyed was the understatement of the year. After 13 years of being single, it was just two weeks out from our wedding and I’d just hit a major red flag.
Read MoreThe signs were there. Will it come today? I waited. Transparent skin allowed the orange and black lines to protrude. Was that a crack beginning to appear? Monarch butterfly season had given me a fresh insight into the marvels of creation. My garden was littered with swan plants and my camera was on standby. The eggs were abundant, allowing a great selection of shots as the insect traversed its cycle.
Read MoreSix months ago, we were all going about our business, taking for granted the relative safety of our environment… and then Covid slithered in, hissing and spitting its venomous presence into our collective lungs.
Like the song, “Every breath you take, every move you make I’ll be watching you”. All of a sudden, every person and every surface became suspect as we washed our hands obsessively and compulsively and stood apart from friends and family.
Read MoreOn Mother’s Day, I feel the need to confess my sins. You see, I haven’t been a perfect mother. My children are now grown up and I’ve survived with my sanity almost intact. There were times when I loved them to bits and other times when I wanted to chop them into bits and flush them down the toilet. The only thing that stopped me was the effect on the plumbing bill. At times a long jail term with meals provided looked rather attractive.
Read MoreFarming methods have evolved over the years with some farmers coming to terms with farming practice being a possible pollutant of our pristine environment. I’ve been following with huge interest the government’s idea of a flatulence tax. I, of course, say this tongue in cheek.
Read More“Mmmm! What a beautiful fragrance!” I reflected as the scintillating aroma pervaded my senses. “There has to have been a Creator who crafted this masterpiece!” The cream-petaled magnolia tree boasted its distinguished place in the late summer garden. As I carefully broke the budding foliage, fresh dew dripped on to my skin.
Read MoreSomething really special happened to me the other day... As a solo mum I struggle sometimes to make ends meet and while browsing through an op shop I discovered a beautiful near-new queen-sized bed cover. A lovely mid-grey and plush in soft matte velvet.
Read MoreAs the world struggles against Covid-19, the situation is changing. In the beginning, many nations were convinced that locking down their population, to various degrees, was the right strategy. All over the planet, we now see a change in rhetoric at the highest levels as we inch forward towards a “new normal.”
Read MoreTrue peace is not the absence of turmoil or trouble, it’s the ability to fly above the storm like the eagle. In the last few, tumultuous weeks, the world as we knew it has changed. What has been building for years in secret, has finally begun to surface. Whether we like it or not, whether we agree with it or not, whether we can handle it or not.
Read MoreOn the first day of the week, they found an empty grave. The question is, is that all there is to the resurrection, or is there more? We celebrate the resurrection, when just a short time before we know our Lord was beaten, dragged and nailed to a cross. The sky darkened, and the disciples wept and ran and hid. Jesus' body was removed from the device of evil, wrapped in a shroud and buried; a stone was rolled over the entrance to the grave. The people left to contemplate their future, but things were about to change and change they did, for all parts of the world.
Read MoreThe sifting, sorting, the shaking and the breaking has begun… the end game is repentance, holiness, realignment, rebuilding and breakthrough. Because He loves us. Now is the time for obedience. Writing The Wild Side was large. For years the Lord said, “Write the book.” For years I argued, complained and procrastinated.
Read MoreThe one time I heard God speak audibly was not pleasant. I was crushed from the week-long bootcamp with the Lifeway First Wave Army. My body thought it was dying and my soul wallowed in a strange cocktail of self-pity and pride. This week of bootcamp felt like 6-months, but I still had 6-months stretching out in front of me. The hardest part was being separated from my 3-year-old boy, which seem to cause physical torment.
Read MoreLen has a question that can’t wait till the group has settled round the table. “Why did God make beings that were capable of rebelling against Him?” Silence. Suzy sits down beside her husband and speaks quietly, but firmly. “I think the answer has to do with the Kingdom principle of freedom. If they couldn’t choose to obey or not obey, they would have been puppets, not free beings.”
Read MoreI’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, everything that can be shaken, will be shaken. Awake, awake! Fear the Lord! The shaking has only just begun. Global lockdown… a stark reminder that in the blink of an eye, things as we know it can completely change. In the blink of an eye…
Read MoreI cannot stop asking forgiveness daily for the sins of our nation (along with many other intercessors - specifically regarding abortion), just as Daniel did while in exile…
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