CS Lewis has written a lot of great words over the years: The Chronicles of Narnia, Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, Surprised by Joy, The Great Divorce... just to name a few. However, one statement in particular has challenged me, led me, encouraged me, followed me: "Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less." Stop. Read it again....

Read More...

Our church runs a craft group where about 100 women come, chat and create for a couple of hours each Wednesday morning. Each week, someone shares for 3 minutes. I was asked to share and felt the Lord prompt me to share part of my story with them. I thought I'd also share it with you. "In 2014, after living with chronic fatigue syndrome since 2006, I...

Read More...

Milestone birthdays have an effect on us. We reflect on past achievements, while simultaneously mourning opportunities passed; reliving distant memories, while planning distant futures. Mix-tapes, montages, bucket-lists, and resolutions. Today I turned thirty and I don't feel swayed by any of those. I'm not particularly sentimental - I don't hold on to the past, and I feel like I'm living the future already...

Read More...

I want to be a generous person. I presume you do too. Generosity is an incredible trait – being able to hold things not too tightly, to be open-handed, to give as we have been freely given to – yet why do so many of us struggle with it? I am happy to be generous, in fact I love being generous, and I...

Read More...

I've recently returned from a couple of weeks in Sydney. Sydney is my home town. We support the Sydney Swans, I can drive in Sydney without google maps, I could take tourists on awesome days out, I have close friends and family. But while in Sydney, I didn't feel at home. Yes, things felt familiar. It was comfortable. I knew backstreets and suburb...

Read More...

I think I'm getting worse at waiting and I don't think I'm the only one. It doesn't matter if I'm waiting for a friend at a cafe, waiting on the phone for customer service, or waiting in a queue at a restaurant - I'd rather be somewhere else, multi-tasking or distracting myself. I can't sit or stand there... just... waiting. We are distracted...

Read More...

This is a post I originally wrote on my other blog, Thearle Girl, back in March 2014. I have been thinking about encouragement and words (as I often do) so thought I'd share these thoughts with you here. I’m a ‘words of affirmation’ kind of girl. Words, the right words, for me, bring life. No words, do not bring life. I have been...

Read More...

Most TV shows have a series of repeated themes or recurring storylines. Maybe it's lazy writing, or maybe it's what life is really like - despite all our differences, there are: common questions we ask, common mistakes we make, common problems we face. common paths we take. One of those recurring stories is a question of identity, which is really a question of...

Read More...

Sometimes life throws up more questions than answers.    But often we would prefer that feeling of closure,    that sense of control,    when we know all the answers. Life isn't like that though, life has ambiguity, discovery, mystery. Photo // David James Photography @davidjames__photography We're not supposed to understand everything, but we should understand why we're here. We're not supposed to know...

Read More...

One thing that gives me life is reading God's Word and journalling. But I don't do it enough. There I said it. I don't read my Bible enough. I'm not good at being a read-your-Bible-everyday kind of Christian. There's too much pressure for me, there's too much guilt for me, and there ends up being too much reading and not enough understanding, not...

Read More...

What is today? It's a bit of a nothing day. A Saturday of a loong weekend. The day between two other days. But it's Holy Saturday. Why holy? Nothing happens, nothing is achieved, on Holy Saturday. There's silence. Not much is recorded in the Bible. There's pain. There's suffering. There's mourning. It's quiet. Yet God is still working... Pete Grieg identifies with Holy...

Read More...

"Busy" is an all too common response. It has a whiff of vague importance; without really saying anything, you can convince others (or maybe just yourself) that your day,  your week,  your life... is filled with meaning. Why do we do that? Why do we feel the need to promote ourselves this way? Why do we hold busyness as an idol? I think...

Read More...

There is a sweet spot between safety and stupidity. A place between sitting at home with the doors and windows locked... and playing chicken on the M1 in peak hour. A place between your plain black t-shirt... and your leopard-print bow-tie. A place between supporting Hawthorn... and backing Carlton to win the premiership. There is space between the places. The beauty of a...

Read More...

On Sunday night I had the privilege of speaking at Beaconsfield for the first time. On a day that was also Mez's birthday and my official induction - to say it was big was an understatement. So what would be the first thing you would say? I started with the word, 'finally.' Not an expression of satisfaction, conclusion, or frustration. A word of...

Read More...

Sunday was our first church service at our new church. We already felt a part of the community and were already involved in the life of the church, but it was really special to actually go to the services, worship together, meet other people, and hear from God's Word. Being in ministry, especially starting somewhere new, causes you to question lots of things...

Read More...

Last week we packed up all our things. We farewelled our beloved home, our beloved friends, our beloved family. We said goodbye.  All of our worldly possessions were in a truck, and those few things that we needed (or were too difficult or explosive to pack in a truck) were in our car. We left Sydney with our car and left for Melbourne....

Read More...