It is easy, all too easy, to take the familiar for granted. To make mundane that which is truly incredible. In a moment of jarring clarity a week or two ago, I realised just how quickly we do this and how much I am guilty of falling into this trap.
Continue reading “Disregarding the Majesty of the Almighty”Allowing time for the mud to settle
Last night I was awake for some time in the middle of the night. And is so often the case thoughts came flooding through my mind one after another. Making the prospect of a short period of wakefulness increasingly impossible.
Continue reading “Allowing time for the mud to settle”The munificence of the God who initiates conversation
I remember clearly the first time God asked me a question. It was ambiguous, puzzling, and frustrating. I was confused. Was there a right answer and a wrong answer? Surely there must be, for God was asking. And clearly, the correct answer was the one that I dreaded? Wasn’t it? The answer that I did not want to give? But how was I to know? What was I supposed to do with this question? And why would God ask me a question in the first place?
Continue reading “The munificence of the God who initiates conversation”Lessons from birds: the invitation to live free from anxiety
If I had to describe the dominant emotion of this year, I’d call it anxious. This year has been marked by bouts of intense collective uncertainty and rapid change as we’ve faced the initial, and then further, outbreaks of Covid-19. Between those bouts, the persistent hum of heightened tension about the pandemic locally and globally has become our soundtrack.
Here in New Zealand we have been in the enviable position of being Covid-free for long stretches. Though we’re currently in a state close to normal (albeit a normality awash with sanitiser, tracer apps and daily Ministry of Health updates), we are undeniably still living under a cloud. We know our world could change at any time.
Continue reading “Lessons from birds: the invitation to live free from anxiety”To begin to comprehend the incomprehensible
Who is God? How are we even to begin to think about him? Is there somewhere, somehow, to unravel the vastness of the seemingly incomprehensible? God can so easily seem distant, severe, austere and disapproving. But where do we begin if we really have no idea what or who this God, followed by millions for millennia, is?
Continue reading “To begin to comprehend the incomprehensible”Hearing God part 3 – Hope for those who don’t
I was in conversation with someone recently, and they spoke to me about how they have never heard from God. They said that they have tried. That they have sought to listen, and they have asked God to speak, but they do not hear anything. They told me how they longed to hear from God in the way so many others seem to, and yet that has not been their experience. And I said that I understood. For I too was once in that place.
Continue reading “Hearing God part 3 – Hope for those who don’t”The Power of the One
Today we have the honour of hearing from a very special guest blogger, Helen Geddes. Helen is a blessing to so many people and a wonderful gift, particularly to me (Alicia) as I have the privilege of being her daughter. She was recently reflecting on someone who made a huge impact on her life. These are her thoughts:
The people we interact with throughout our lives can have a profound impact. Just recently, I have been remembering one person in my life who’s influence, though only knowing them a short time, has been significant.
Continue reading “The Power of the One”Sleep as a spiritual practice
Before I had children I did not realise what a gift sleep is. Now, after nearly six years of my sleep hours not being my own, I see differently. Sleep is precious and sometimes fragile. I hope I never take a full night’s sleep for granted again and am grateful always for it.
But even in this appreciation for the physical benefit of sleep, I have not until now thought of sleep as a spiritual practice. I’ve recently come alive to the idea that even in sleeping we can be in the presence of God and God can be at work in us.
Continue reading “Sleep as a spiritual practice”The dance of the trinity
I have always found the concept of the trinity hard to understand. Who is our God? How is He three and yet also one? Do I relate to God as Father? Or as Jesus, the Son? Or as the Holy Spirit? How do I interact with all three? Should I do so all at once or one at a time? And if I do, am I then understanding them as three rather than one? But then if I focus on the oneness do I then lose the three-ness? Above all, what does this mean in practice? And how does it affect me as a follower of this God?
Continue reading “The dance of the trinity”The lenses that we look through
A year or two ago, I listened to a sermon in which the way we see God was discussed. To be fair, I am not even sure if that was the main point of the message, but it struck me and stuck with me. The lens through which we see God clearly has profound ramifications. For it determines how we relate to Him, and also to others.
But what occurred to me then, and has sat with me ever since, is that identifying this lens is undoubtedly both challenging and complicated. For we see God through our eyes, our experience, prejudices, preconceptions, through what others have told us, what we have read and heard. Beyond doubt, all these things colour our perceptions. While we will never see perfectly, this is something we must be aware of, and seek, wherever possible, to overcome. For if we fail to do so, we may end up following a God who is not.
Continue reading “The lenses that we look through”