Christmas. It is my favourite holiday. Always has been and I am certain always will be. I love everything about Christmas, true Christmas that is. Not the marketed Christmas that is nothing more than empty, ugly consumerism. Yet even in my love for Christmas, I can not say that every year I feel the famous…

As I am trying to write something in my blog each week, I am sharing a bit of creative writing I did a good few years ago. It's kind of cheating I know. However, as part of the purpose for me writing a public blog is to release what is within me, this seems still…

"Lord, make me worthy to serve Your Church when she is down." I read this quote in a book called Heart Fire by Johannes Hartl. It both inspired and challenged me. My heart jumped up to meet it and say "Yes! Yes, Lord, me too!" At the same time it frightened me a little. This…

"In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and trust shall be your strength..." Isaiah 30:15 This verse has been echoing in my heart the past couple of weeks.  And I have heard God's gentle call in it. Life has been going at breakneck speed as of late. And though I recognise that there…

Does God ever tell you to read a specific book, or a specific part of a book, at a very specific time or place? He does me. I recently spent two nights on a wee retreat in beautiful Pitlochry and took with me a book that I have been slowly journeying through since God encouraged…

We prayed for #Manchester at church tonight. Naomi reminded us of the passage from Psalm 23 about not fearing, even in the shadow, and we prayed that we as the Church would not fear. Then as we lifted our voices in almost defiant worship these words came back to mind: "And do not fear those…

Henri Nouwen once said, 'I am deeply convinced that the necessity of prayer, and to pray unceasingly, is not as much based on our desire for God as on God’s desire for us. It is God’s passionate pursuit of us that calls us to prayer. ' And the highly respected C.S. Lewis stated, 'I pray…

'To pray is to change,' said Richard J. Foster. C.S. Lewis stated, 'Prayer does not change God; it changes me.' And Eugene Peterson said, 'A changed world begins with us... and a changed us begins when we pray.' "To pray is to change." These words have been reverberating in my mind since I first read them two weeks ago. And they…

It's my 40th Valentine's Day. And I'm single. I've been part of the dreamy teenager, hopeful teenager and cynical teenager crowds at Valentine's. Same in my early to mid-twenties. Then at some point I joined the depressed, jaded, I've-been-disappointed-too-many-times, spending-Valentines's-in-my-pyjamas-in-front-of-the-telly-with-crisps-and-chocolate young woman crowd. From there I moved on to the cynical, protesting Valentines Day, "Valentines…

I wonder, what do you picture in your mind's eye when you hear the word home? I tend to picture something similiar to the photos above. A warm light glowing through the window, worn, cozy sofas, a soft duvet, a big table to fit lots of people around, a well-used kitchen and maybe even the…