Dear one, God sees you. We see you. You are loved. You’ve lived in hell. You’ve tried. You’ve cried. The rages, the blaming, the criticism, the threats, the hits. You lived through it all, and you did everything you could to make it better. You did everything to keep him calm, keep him happy. But it’s not your fault. There’s nothing else you could have done. We see you. We believe you. And now life looks different. You’re shattered, you’re changed. This whole chapter is all part of your story now, even though you never wanted it. So many people at your church, tragically, won’t understand. You’ve been through the unimaginable; that’s why they can’t imagine it. Educate them if you have
Tell us a little about yourself I am a wife and mum to 2 adult children Matt and Sally and a rather big black rambuncious dog Charlie! I am a Clinical Nursing Facilitator (part time) and love teaching my students holistic care by the bedside. I am also the President of Nurses Christian Fellowship of Australia and this opportunity has lead me to teach Spiritual Care in the Critical Care Context to nursing and medical students in Fiji, Taiwan, Copenhagen and throughout Australia. I feel very privileged to have these opportunities and God given experiences. I also serve on a medical ship from time to time giving emergency, routine and maternal care to our incredible neighbours in Papua New Guin
“My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”… These are the words uttered in Psalm 22, part of the collection of prayers preserved by the community of faith in ancient Israel. They are words that express the anguish of suffering of the Psalmist and seeming rejection by both God and people. What can these songs of lament offer us as readers in the 21st century? In our eagerness to celebrate the glory and victory of Easter Sunday, we should not neglect the value, mystery and pain of the songs of lament. These words of Psalm 22 were also used by Jesus Christ in the passion narrative of both Matthew and Mark. Why did Jesus quote this Psalm 22 at his death? In our eagerness to celebrate the glorio
Tell us a little about yourself I am a coffee drinking, exasperatingly optimistic, irresponsibly tattooed, twenty something assistant pastor, novice Christian radio announcer and Bachelor of Ministry graduate. I would describe myself as a theological pilgrim and one who tries their very best to be sensible and reliable (despite the tattoos and caffeine dependence). What's your favourite bible passage & why? “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely” - 1 Corinthians 13:12 I mentioned be
Tell us a little about yourself I own a portrait photography business called Reverie Studios in Geelong Victoria. I have been married to my very patient husband for 23 years and I have three incredible teen daughters Meghan Caitlin and Asha. Early in my life I realised that I was drawn to the arts. I loved to read and loved to draw and studied art when I left school. It was then that I first picked up my camera but it wasn’t really the right fit. I was twenty and drawn to other mediums to express myself. But fast forward to the day I saw an ultra sound of my womb and the first little moment I had photographic evidence of life and suddenly the idea of recording this became profound. My hu
I have a newborn. I say it like I’m in an AA meeting. Hi, my name is Erin and I have a newborn. It’s been 39 days since I last slept. I remind myself that there is a time for everything and this is the time to endure the unique torture that is sleep deprivation. This is the time for projectile vomiting and poonami’s and a distinct lack of personal hygiene. Have I showered today? I honestly can’t remember. I tell myself it’s a season. It won’t last forever. And even though my daughter, Éowyn (The Charger), is my very much longed for and prayed for rainbow baby, I struggle with this stage of life. Any of us are apt to struggle when a tiny human is completely dependent on us. The nights seem to
Tell us a little about yourself Over the years I have worked as a teacher; AFES staff worker; pastor in several churches; Christian education consultant; University chaplain and author. I have had the joy of partnering with my theologian husband ministering in a number of places around the world and in writing together. In the last few years this writing has taken us to various locations in China, and Fujian Province in particular. Our first book, ‘View From The Faraway Pagoda’ traces the story of out grand-aunt, Sophie Newton, a CMS missionary from the dangerous years of the Boxer Rebellion to the start of the Communist Uprising. During the research for this book we were amazed to discover
There is something that we have all faced in our past, something that we may even be facing right now and it is definitely something that ALL of us will face in the future! It’s something that has the potential to steal our dreams, our confidence, and our vision. Yet, this same thing has the potential to propel us towards our dreams, increase our confidence and extend our vision. It’s a voice that we all hear and it’s a voice that we all need to be equipped to deal with. {It’s the voice of DOUBT} I believe that doubt can do 1 of 2 things – it will either cripple our destiny or it will drive us towards it! Doubt cripples our destiny when we refuse to deal with it. It can seem so much easier i
Tell us a little about yourself I live in beautiful Port Adelaide with my husband Marty, and our 4 month old baby, Gideon. I’m currently on maternity leave, but I’m otherwise employed as a high-school teacher, teaching a range of history, English, business and psychology. I’m very slowly chipping away at a Graduate Diploma of Divinity. We love our church family, Enfield Baptist Church, where we’ve been attending since we married eight years ago. Having grown up in great Anglican churches, I’ve appreciated learning and growing from the core gospel commonalities and the cultural differences in expression between the Anglican and Baptist traditions. I’ve been involved in kids, music, small grou
One of the first times I felt powerless was as a little girl, waiting for my mum to pick me up from school. She had been delayed and I didn’t know where she was. My eyes scanned the streets, thinking maybe the next car would be hers. I only had eyes for our family’s light brown Holden Kingswood. But she didn’t come. As the hours wore on, I started to concoct all sorts of theories about where she was. And of course, my mind drifted to the worst case scenario. She eventually did turn up. But during those two hours, I reached quite a heightened state of anxiety. I managed to escalate each thought I had to another level, and another. As a little girl, sitting there on the kerbside, I felt powerl
“Tell me a fact and I’ll learn. Tell me a truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever,” so speaks an American Indian proverb. God well knows the power of story. So when he rescued his chosen people from slavery in Egypt ready to birth them as the nation Israel, he did so with events so extraordinary they would be sure blood their veins with the oxygen they would need to keep their faith alive for all time. And God instructed his people to tell the story of the Exodus to their children and all generations that followed, and to re-enact it yearly through the Passover meal, so they would not forget God’s love for them, and the extraordinary miracles he perfo
