Posts from February 2024

Contradictions of life from a Christian-ish 20-year-oldI’ve never written a musing. Sometime in the last five years I stopped praying out loud. I don’t remember ever getting up on barstool. What wisdom can I possibly give to anyone intimidatingly older and wiser? What could I add to the kōrero of people who were thinking about God before I was born? These days I am still figuring out what it means to include ‘Christian’ as a part of my identity. I…

Today is the 22nd of February, it’s 13 years since the big February earthquake. I’m not sure if you’ve done something to mark the day or not. As a staff team at the hospital today we reflected together and read Psalm 46. Verse one says, ‘The Lord is my refuge and my strength, a very present help in trouble’. As a group, we shared our memories of the day and the days afterwards. We also led a memorial service for one…

Eat this Book  I wonder what instructions and messages you got about food growing up.  “You have to finish your veges before you get desert.” “You can have one biscuit in your lunch box” “An apple a day keeps the dentist away.” “Everything in moderation.” “A balanced diet is a chocolate bar in both hands.” Caring parents and childminders in every generation have tried, often fruitlessly (see what I did there) to curate the eating habits of their kids. Usually…

Kotahi te aho ka whati, ki te kāpuia e kore e whatiOne strand of flax is easy to break, but many strands together will stand strong This week I’ve been reflecting on the whakatauki that Kaaren shared with us from the barstool on Sunday.   Our daughter Hannah turned 17 this week, and I’ve been feeling grateful for the relationships that she has with others in our Ilam faith community- grateful for the support of others, and grateful to know that…