WHEN YOU’RE IN ON THE JOKE
MAY 29TH 2024
Making space for reverence and living with this perspective, that it all belongs to God and that we are merely stewards of his grace, responding to his leading, as subtle as it may be, keeps you safe from the impulse to prove your power at the expense of your peace. You live with a certain simplicity and wry smile as if you're in on the joke; you slow down to let the car go ahead of you and forgive more efficiently; make space at the table for others; you give generously, listen more intently and find the life you long for hidden in the life you have.
BREAD AND BONES
MAY 15TH 2024
One cannot consume what they revere, for to revere something or someone is to behold them, esteem them and lift them higher than ourselves. Reverence, as a physical posture, turns our eyes upwards as if we are in worship or overcome with awe. A consumption posture does the opposite; it pushes your eye-line down towards the screen, the "scran", and the self. To find the life we long for hidden in the life we have, we must recover our appetite for reverence, for it is in the light of that which fills us with wonder that we see ourselves for the first time.
ETERNITY IN THEIR GAZE
APRIL 18TH 2024
Why are the sweetest moments in our lives so often tinged with sadness? Perhaps it's just me, but I’ll often find myself in an experience of great joy, playing with my children, laughing until we’re crying or sitting around a dining table with friends, passing plates laden with good food and raising our glasses in raucous toasts, only to feel what I can best describe as a passing wave of grief.
I HAVE A CONFESSION TO MAKE
APRIL 8TH 2024
If the life we long for is hidden in the life we have, a certain process of integration and honesty is required of us. If it’s lasting liberation we long for, we have to be honest about what binds us. If we want to sleep on the soft pillow of a clear conscience, we must practice the art of confession.
PRACTICE RESURRECTION
MARCH 29TH 2024
"Christ has died, and Christ has risen" affirms that we're not too far gone. It's the first recovery meeting for the person at rock bottom, realising they are not alone and there is a path to follow. It's the soft glance of unexpected affection from the wounded spouse, the hope of reconciliation. It's the forgiveness of a debt and the rekindling of a friendship. It's the council flat that becomes available to the mother and her children. It's the warm glow of the sun, the relief of shade, and the countless other mercies that we begin to collect the more we practice resurrection.
UNLIKLEY APOLOGETICS
MARCH 19TH 2024
“Be encouraged. You might already be a saint. Raise your hands when you feel the spirit move, even if you're the only one. Compliment a stranger's outfit. Linger in conversations. Follow your curiosity and ask too many questions. Don't apologise for your passion; your life doesn't need a disclaimer. Live on the edge of tears. Read poetry aloud in the park and pray your grace loudly in public. Fall on your knees in worship and when your children ask you to play.”
ORDINARY SORCERY
MARCH 4TH 2024
“I can see those angels, like men in the greasy spoon, sat on tables across the room from each other, with voices raised in rowdy and raucous tones. Like a rally of words or a call and response, "Holy Holy" is being sent back and forth from wall to wall where the paint is peeling and the staff are bored, and the grease crackles aloud in the background. It's all drenched in Glory.”
THE SPEED OF GOD
FEB 26TH 2024
“I consider the cost of connection for the sake of my self-defined progression, and my heart begins to open. My children are a mirror, and at times, I respond to their naivë and nonsensical demands because it’s the foolish things of the world that confound the wise, and watching them play out their whimsical desires helps me untangle my contemplations and frustrations and leads me to consider the reflection staring back at me.”
BELOVED DUST
FEB 14TH 2024
“We stop taking ourselves so seriously, and we become far more forgetful. We forget the ego-centric reputation we were building and the thoughts of others we desperately tried to control. We remember that we are dust and that we will one day dance into the air, moved into motion through the most gentle of breaths.”