Before the party, we were all, “It will be legendary! The kids will be talking about this party when they’re SIXTY! When the other kids hear about this party they will be sobbing to their parents and berating them for taking them to Disneyworld instead of going to our boy’s party!”
After the party, we remembered that only really happens when you’re eight. I fear we may have peaked too soon…
We knew that the refugee crisis was bad – the people drowning in the seas, the ‘jungle church’ at Calais, but sometimes it takes the death of one person, one beautiful child, to remind us of our common humanity, to turn the ‘Them’ into ‘Us’. Some images still have the power to change the world.
When the grief of chronic illness strikes, I am Adam and Eve, homesick for Eden, looking at the angel barring the way back. My sickness is part of the metaphor that reminds me of the brokenness of the world. When I am paddling in the clear Mediterranean, I am John in Patmos, with a glimpse of heaven and the riches of eternal life with the Creator.
What’s the best way of getting to know someone—their blog and social media presence, or in person?
Where do you most reveal your true self—in person, or online?
I’m guessing most people would say unhesitatingly, ‘in person.’ But before you confidently plump for that option, consider Jane Austen.
Offers of prayer and alternative medicine come with two big assumptions: that I can be changed (which, outside of a miracle, is unlikely to happen) and that I need to be un-disabled to be okay.
..Is the church a safe place to lay bare your soul?
We all want church to be a place of utter authenticity and honesty, but sometimes being honest in a church setting is like stripping off to your underwear, only to find the rest in the home group fully clothed and looking askance at your boldness.
I read and sunbathed, and we ate fresh fish by the sea and watched as the boy hopped up and down on the beach, throwing pebbles into the waves. I’m so grateful for the privilege to go.
Have you ever taken someone’s hurtful words about you deep into your soul, only to later realise that those words were a lie that you should have rejected?
This post is all about that process, and how to respond when someone’s words cut you to the quick.
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Tanya Marlow blogs on the Bible, suffering and the messy edges of life [read more]