How my education shaped my faith

I am one of those sad souls who spent far too long at university with little to show for it. After six-and-a-half years, I finally collected my undergraduate degrees. For the next six-and-a-half years, I honestly couldn’t stomach the idea of returning to do a masters, let alone a PhD. It’s silly, isn’t it, having such a strong reaction to university. It’s as if I’ve … Continue reading How my education shaped my faith

8 learnings from my younger self

This evening I stumbled upon an old Word document I wrote back in June 2009 – a couple of years before this blog was birthed. In it was a short list of eight things I’d learned so far that year. It’s interesting thinking about the circumstances that led me to these conclusions. Naturally this got me pondering whether I have learned these lessons – or … Continue reading 8 learnings from my younger self

Rethinking evangelism: an alternative to the Great Commission?

(Un)evangelistic personalities For the longest time, I resisted identifying as an evangelical Christian. I preferred to call myself a Protestant as a way to explain that I wasn’t Catholic and declined to define myself any further. Protesting is kinda cool; “evangelical” just makes secular Australians think of crazy southern Baptists. But also, evangelising is pretty much alien to my personality. I have friends who rave … Continue reading Rethinking evangelism: an alternative to the Great Commission?

Whingeing my way through Lent

Despite writing eight years ago that Lent and I were through, I once again found myself abstaining from chocolate and coffee in the six weeks leading up to Easter. To be honest, I whinged my way through this Lenten season. It wasn’t because I found this form of pseudo-fasting particularly difficult but because I kept asking myself why I was even bothering. In declining offers … Continue reading Whingeing my way through Lent

Brutality and humanity: a book you won’t want to, but should, read

Early inspiration I suppose that every writer, whether professional or amateur, has work from their past that they’re seriously embarrassed to have brought into the world. One example in particular comes to mind. I wrote stories all through my childhood and adolescence and am generally proud of what I penned, but I did have woeful phase in Year 10 where I mimicked the style and … Continue reading Brutality and humanity: a book you won’t want to, but should, read

The art and the agony of anticipation

My manager’s kindergarten-aged daughter is a brave little one: she willingly holds her arm out for the needle at the doctor’s. While I don’t exactly freak out about injections and have donated blood a number of times, I am a bit squeamish when it comes to blood and the cutting up of my body. I don’t think I’ll ever get laser-eye surgery because the mere … Continue reading The art and the agony of anticipation

From Advent to Adventure

It’s the second week of Advent and I’m not really feeling it.

Generally speaking, people slide easily into one of three distinct categories: (1) those who absolutely love Christmas; (2) those who find Christmas super stressful; and, (3) those who are indifferent to Christmas.

I love Jesus but I am planted firmly in the third camp.

So I scour the season, I scour Scripture, both for magic and for logic. Continue reading From Advent to Adventure