Lent 2026: Present hope

Yesterday I wrote about what I call candle theory; the idea that some things, when shared, do not leave us with less but instead increase what exists. Like light in a dark room. One candle lights another, and suddenly there is more light than before. That reflection reminded me of a Bible passage I preachedContinue reading “Lent 2026: Present hope”

Lent 2026: Does anyone have a brick?

Apparently the game isn’t done teaching me yet… If you read yesterday’s post, you’ll know Catan has become a popular game with some of my family. It’s also turning out to be a goldmine for theological thinking, so here’s a second reflection inspired by the board game. Our games of Catan have a particular rhythm.Continue reading “Lent 2026: Does anyone have a brick?”

Lent 2026: If…

This year I have been greedy; I have two books to read and reflect on through lent. I guess unsurprisingly they both use the passage of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness.  Both books gave me plenty to think about, but for today I want to go back to the passage. I read through MatthewContinue reading “Lent 2026: If…”

Lent 2025: Truth in the Temple

Today, I found out that traditionally on the Tuesday of Holy Week, we remember Jesus in the temple – teaching, challenging, confronting. It’s an interesting passage on the way to the cross. It shows a different side of Jesus. The tension is rising. The cross is coming. And yet, Jesus doesn’t back down. Combining theContinue reading “Lent 2025: Truth in the Temple”

Lent 2025: The Importance of the One

This week has been challenging – if you’ve read my recent posts, you’ll know that. But I don’t apologise for that. If David could write psalms about despair, abandonment, and loneliness, then I think it’s okay for me to write about exhaustion and overwhelm. God created us with emotions, and being honest with Him aboutContinue reading “Lent 2025: The Importance of the One”

2024 40 days of lent: day 2 – Muted

It is said that if a person loses one sense, the others become sharper to make up for it. Someone who is blind will often be able to discern more through hearing and smell than someone who has all their senses. On a smaller scale, someone who is trying to concentrate on what they areContinue reading “2024 40 days of lent: day 2 – Muted”

The same but different – lent 2023

In a few weeks I have been invited to speak at a church. It’s after Easter so the passages they have given me are about what happens after Jesus has risen. There is the story of Jesus appearing to his disciples in a locked room on the evening of Easter Day (or its equivalent 2000Continue reading “The same but different – lent 2023”

Pain bearer – lent 2023

There a lots of titles used in reference to God. Some make sense, others need a bit if thinking about. This one was used in a prater recently and comes in the latter category. Jesus, Pain-Bearer. It seemed an odd title. I still feel hurt, no one else bears it for me. I was remindedContinue reading “Pain bearer – lent 2023”

It’s not the big things… – lent 2023

Sometimes in life we have amazing experiences. We conduct a choir on a cruise ship, we cater for an amazing dinner party, we right an article that gets published… OK, those are all me, but I’m sure you have some stand out amazing memories too. And they are most definitely part of our stories. ButContinue reading “It’s not the big things… – lent 2023”