Advent is coming. I love that thought. Advent is coming. And yet it has been. It has been last year and the year before and the year before that and the year before... We have celebrated Advent for century upon century. So the weeks of Advent remind me, no - remind US, that we dwell in an amazing true story, an astonishing history. It is an historical narrative in which the Creator of everything intervened in history for the sake of all creation. And the celebration of this particular intervention by the Creator coming to humanity we call Advent. Furthermore our remembering Advent year after year prior to Christmas forms us. It forms us through recollection of the faithfulne
Paul was on his second missionary journey when he had a vision of a man who pleaded with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” The apostle responded to the vision by gathering his team and quickly setting off across the Aegean Sea for Macedonia, the northern region of modern-day Greece. When they arrived, Paul and his fellow missionaries passed through the port of Neapolis and headed straight for Philippi, “a city of Macedonia’s first district and a Roman colony” (Acts 16:14 CEB). Luke, the author of Acts, records that Paul’s first ministry encounter in Philippi was not with a Macedonian man,[1] but with a group of women. The group included Lydia, a woman originally from Thyatira. This
Tell us a little about you I am 22 years old and am still learning who I am and what my place is in this big world. However I love coffee, going on long walks, spending time with my family/friends/pets, love a good laugh and love working through my faith in God. I am registered nurse at the Children's Hospital and look after children with cancer. What's your favourite bible passage & why? My favourite bible passage is from 2 Corinthians 12.9. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. This passage constantly reminds me that in my
On International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, this article is dedicated to: - All women and girls who experience violence and oppression - All the women and men working to end discrimination and violence against women - All the women and men who relate to each other in safe, respectful and loving ways - All women and girls of future generations who we pray can be set free Women and girls experience prejudice, discrimination, bias, injustice, harassment, abuse, and violence with a pervasiveness and severity that their male counterparts do not. Globally, girls are married against their will to older men, female fetuses are aborted when parents would prefer a boy, and wome
What is your favourite Bible passage and why? Psalm 91 (in particular verses 3-6) “Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, not the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.” When I was in the depths of depression and my anxiety was stealing my sleep, when the nights bought terror that I had never known before, these verses calmed my anxious heart and infused my spirit with peace. I would read Psalm 91 over and over ag
Tell us a little about yourself: I am a mother of 3 children- a 12 year old, an 8 year old and a 2 year old. I also have my cousin’s son living with us at the moment- so four children at home! My husband is the Creative Arts Pastor at our church. We have been living in Sydney for a year, prior to that we were in Melbourne for 3 years, and Hong Kong for almost ten years. In Hong Kong, I was teaching English; now, I am studying a Bachelor of Education (Primary) via distance education. What's your favourite bible passage & why? Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. An
(image from Wonder Woman 2017, Warner Bros) You probably saw the Wonder Woman posters earlier this year. I loved one in particular. In it, she is standing slightly side-on; still, but poised to move. She is in part-silhouette but you can make out the industrial angles of her boots and armour. One hand makes a fist, the other holds a sword. Behind her the colours suggest fire, with blue sky beyond the flames. Below her the words: Power, Grace, Wisdom, Wonder. Those words, that image, stuck in my mind. And from that came a prayer. A prayer for women. May you know the power of the Almighty God. The God who spoke the heavens into being and who holds the world in the palm of His hand. The God w
When you’re done by 8am, and you never signed up for days like this. When they push you and shirk you and you have to clean tomato seeds and avocado mush off them again: Love When they cry for reasons known and unknown, and we cry for the fourth time that night. With no strength left to get up and go to them again, know what He promises in the morning: Joy When the noise of life and schedules and anxieties seem too loud, too long and too uncertain. Then they start hurting each other and breaking things. Attune your heart to something that surpasses all understanding: Peace When they disobey again and again, and you have to approach again and again. Renew the sticker chart, re-arrange the wee
We’ve all experienced that feeling of relief that comes at the first light of dawn after a seemingly endless night. Whether it be due to keeping watch over a sick child, insomnia, or an anxious wait for news, fears magnified in the deep of night somehow give way to the hope that often accompanies early morning light. God is the author of light, and the very beginning of Hebrew Scripture is suffused with references to it. At the dawn of creation, from the deep darkness and as the “Spirit of God was hovering over the waters”, light explodes into the world evoking divine delight - “God saw that the light was good” (Genesis 1:4a), separating night from day. Intriguingly, we see in these early
The Proverbs 31 woman hovers in the back of my head as I get up each morning, because it’s normally before daylight (v.15). That’s at least one characteristic of the woman of valour ticked off! Just as well, because my capability with sewing and textiles is next to nothing, and that comes up at least 4 times in the description of this woman! (v.19, 21, 22, 24) I jest, but she seems like super-woman compared to me. I feel inadequate next to her varied capabilities and energy. For some women, Proverbs 31 is a passage that brings them freedom because they have been squeezed into extra-biblical gender roles. Far from being only at home, the Proverbs 31 woman is involved in business (v.24) and re
1. Tell us a little about yourself I am a farmer’s daughter but most definitely a city-girl. I am married to Tim and we have two sons aged thirteen and eleven. We live in Sydney’s North West and have lived in our current house for ten years (the longest time I have lived in any one abode). While I am not currently teaching I still tend to think of myself as a Primary Teacher. I love reading and writing and was delighted to publish a couple of small articles. I enjoy organising and decorating and making things beautiful -the flowers God creates bring me great joy. My friends would most likely describe me as a neat-freak and control-freak (and they’d be right!) At the moment I am seeking G
I’ve always liked the idea of “using my days well”. When I was teaching I could look back on the day and see what had been done. Now that my children have left home and I’m heading up to 60 I still like to use the day well. My mother quietly did - and perhaps I want to be like her. I like to look back on the day and see that I’ve finished something or done something to help or written a card and addressed it and put it in the letterbox. But I’ve been challenged about this in the last few months. What is a day well used? I was watching “Call the Midwife” while I painted my brown dining room chairs white. Yes, another thing done. (so proud!) In one of the final episodes Sister Mary Cynthia aft
Tell us a little about yourself: I am a Music Teacher, I am married, have 4 children – 3 girls 22, 20 and 18 and a boy 15. What's your favourite bible passage & why? I have a few favourites that I always go back to but one that gives a good perspective and reassurance for me would be Philippians 4:4-9. I can focus my thoughts to where they are most helpful when I follow what this says. How do you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus? Spend time contemplating His words and praying, go to church and meet up with others during the week for encouragement. What would you like the next generation of Christian women to know? They are already perfect as they are in God’s eyes but keep trying and
