This is our favourite tree in our garden. It’s leaves are always the last to turn the dramatic colours of Autumn. It feels like our favourite tree holds out for as long as it can and then finally, reluctantly capitulates to the new season surrounding it. Eventually it’s leaves begin to turn colour. Yellow. Red. …
Hype and hope
The world is loud these days. Social media Fake newsGaslightingIdentity politics These are words that barely existed ten years ago. What they all have in common is that they are the result of hype. And they cause hype. Hype: "extravagant or intensive publicity or promotion.” The hype levels in our world are increasing. Everyone’s got an opinion (whether grounded …
Winter
I spent a few days at some meetings in Cape Town recently. Whenever I fly into Cape Town, I choose a window seat so that I can enjoy the scenery as the plane heads into the Western Cape. It’s particularly beautiful at this time of year, especially if there is snow on the mountains. Every time I head into Cape …
Walking in circles?
I love Psalm 23:3 from the Passion Translation:"He opens before me pathways to God’s pleasureand leads me along in his footsteps of righteousnessso that I can bring honour to his name." The phrase footsteps of righteousness has also been translated as “circular paths of righteousness.” It is a common trait for sheep on the hillsides of Israel …
Clearing ground
On a recent family road trip we passed some beautiful forested areas. I noticed something about these rolling hills of forests, though. Some of the hills were covered in magnificent, fully grown pine trees. Others were home to some beautiful young saplings that had only recently been planted. Still other hills were simply patches of …
The house that burnt down
One of my most vivid childhood memories is of a house close to ours that burnt down. One day it was there.One night it burned. The next day all that was left was a smouldering, smoking shell of a house. From a home to a burnt down house. I remember my childlike fascination with the …
Don’t look back in anger
The British rock band Oasis were HUGE in 1996. It was my first year of university, and every bar, club and campus hangout was playing Oasis. Or so it seemed! Their music was anthemic. Thrilling. Stirring. Rousing. Shimmering guitars blossoming into dramatic choruses. It was music that defined a new, wondrous time of opportunity. A …
Questions for God
My son Caleb is 6 years old, and he has an exhaustingly enquiring mind. He listens carefully to information and then begins to process it by analysing and questioning what he has been told. And, he invents his own set of impossible questions by connecting seemingly random concepts. What’s the weakest thing in the world- …
Water in the Ship
“All the water in all the oceans can’t sink a ship unless it gets inside.” Eugene Petersen. Nothing in the ocean of life around us can sink us, unless we let it get inside of us. When illness comes, or anxiety grips us, or conflict rocks our relationships, it’s easy to come to the conclusion …
Stormy Seas and Rainbows
I took this picture while on a run in Adelaide. My mind was focused on the run and for a long time, all I noticed was the stormy sea. But, when I stopped for a rest and lifted my head, I suddenly saw the rainbow. The stormy sea. A picture of turbulence and trial. It …