God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land. (Psalm 68:6) Let me state the obvious: There are too many lonely people in the world. Now you can rightly ask, how is that so obvious to me? Well, I’m glad you asked. It’s so obvious to me […]
Read More Say What You See: Lonely BefriendedI have nothing against youth ministries. I know a lot of work goes into engaging with children and young people helping to develop spiritual awareness, personal growth, social skills and even a sense of vocation. What I get a bit concerned about is how youth ministry can tend to emphasise a generational gap. People are […]
Read More Taking Advice From The EldersMy Dad was never a very verbal man. The church used to love the rare opportunities he got to preach because although he wouldn’t be the charismatic big preacher, he would also not take long. Though he wasn’t the chatty type – my Mum more than made up for that – it was evident he […]
Read More Following Dad’s InstructionsMinistry is an interesting concept in thought and practice. The model of ‘ministry’ I saw growing up consisted of the main man having to be bi-vocational as there wasn’t enough income to make him a ‘full-time’ minister. So they had the week job, then come church day, they’d have to roll out the main event […]
Read More Family & Community: Ministry MattersChurch at its best is when a group of people who otherwise have no reason to be together, find themselves entangled in each other’s lives as they are now members of the family of God. That family is not just a nominal one. It’s a messy one. It’s one with all sorts of oddballs. It’s […]
Read More Family, Fellowship and FriendshipYesterday I sat in a church service and in advance of today’s celebration there was a tribute given to the mothers among them whether members or not. It was beautiful to see gifts and affection shown for the women who do so much to nurture and care for their children and others as well. It […]
Read More The Marvel of MothersRemind me to tell you of the remarkable story of my wife, her son and my surname. Fascinating stuff, and it’s a true story too. In the meantime all you need to know is that my beloved wife has an equally precious and highly valued son. Indeed to date he is the only son from […]
Read More Appreciating Family In Ever Changing TimesI just cannot tell you how often being a parent, I feel like I’m parenting myself! I see my attitudes towards my parents in the way my children behave. Though it’s a completely different context and they are genuinely very different people to me (for starters I was never the daughter!) it is amazing how […]
Read More Child Of God, You Will LearnThe Problem With People: A Personal Perspective Getting on with people isn’t that easy. Although I was brought up in a church environment, I found it very hard to get to know people. This was made harder realising people put on masks to avoid being authentic and vulnerable. My parents moved from one end of […]
Read More Peace … with others (in the Family)August means the Summer holidays. It is the only month in the year where children in compulsory education are not under compulsion to attend school. Back in the day when I was a child I didn’t really look forward that much to holidays and August was a notoriously long month. As an adult I don’t […]
Read More Children Know How
Life With CD 