One particular moment in the Easter narrative captivated my attention this year. It was the decision of a quiet, courageous, woman. A few days before Jesus was crucified, she broke a flask of fragranced oil and poured it over him while he was dining with a group of friends. On the face of it, it seems …
When I started this blog eight years ago, I compared motherhood to an ultramarathon. I was encouraged to find out how good women are at them. At long distances, the playing field is levelled. It’s one of the only sports in which woman regularly compete with, and outperform, men. Now that I’m older, and have …
The new year is a good time to set an intention for the months ahead, as we decide what we want to achieve and who we want to be. I should confess that I don’t often make new year resolutions for myself. However, as January has trundled on, and a virus has forced a more …
You’ve probably got some in a drawer in your kitchen. They’re all different sizes, so they won’t stack neatly. Many of them are stained with a tinge of red, scratched, or even cracked. A few have no matching lid, and even more lids have no matching container – but you hold onto them, just in …
Like a dog chasing its tail, I could spend hours a day following my children around trying to keep the house in order. A few days neglect and the washing basket is overflowing. A morning of schoolwork and the dining room table and floor are covered with scraps of paper, pencils and flecks of rubber. …
Before delving into how our everyday activities can reflect something of the glorious character of God, I would like to take some time to talk about motivation. What we do matters, but, more important, is the motivation behind our actions. This is one of the most piercing lessons Jesus taught us while here on earth. …
In the opening chapter of A Christmas Carol, Scrooge weighs up the cost of Christmas, and finds it lacking in value: “What’s Christmas-time to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, and not an hour richer… Much good it has ever done you!” The cost …
The majority of life is made up of one mundane moment followed by another. Occasionally, we have exceptionally exciting events, but then, as surely as autumn follows summer, ‘normal life’ kicks back in. Floors need sweeping, plants need watering, food needs cooking and messages need responding to. I wonder, which are the moments that truly …
“…But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane,In proving foresight may be vain:The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ MenGang aft agley,An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,For promis’d joy! Still, thou art blest, compar’d wi’ me!The present only toucheth thee:But Och! I backward cast my e’e,On prospects drear!An’ forward tho’ I canna see,I guess an’ …
This series on words is coming to end. However, we would be wise to never stop seeking to improve how we speak. As the Bible says: “We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.” (James 3:2) Speaking without fault might …