I was allowed to be myself. I was allowed to be overwhelmed, and I wasn’t rushed to the tidy, theologically correct end. I was discovering a God who could handle all my upset and questions, I was discovering a God who was not placidly unconcerned about our world—in fact, this God of the Bible seemed to have some very intense emotions too.
“I have thanked God for my situation, I have raged at Him, I have pleaded with Him, I have refused to speak to Him. There are times where I feel contentment, and other times where I feel an unbearable sadness. There are times where I know the closeness of His spirit, and other times […]
Joining with Amber on Mondays for concretewords, where we practice writing by communicating the abstract through concrete things – a Horse, a book, stairs – and today The Scales. These concrete words posts have led me on a journey through childhood and nostalgia and spiritual maturity – I write and that’s what comes out at […]
I’m joining with Amber’s Concrete Words series, where she writes about writing and uses concrete words to show the abstract. She is such an excellent writer, this is a masterclass. Writers, do join with us! In the middle of the doctors’ waiting room, amongst the tired magazines and pale patients was an enormous rocking horse. […]
When was the last time you entered a different country? There are two ways of entering a country. The first way is the clear entry. I have been to America once, and the entry was a noisy airport, announcements, surprisingly personal questions from unsmiling uniformed figures, fingerprinting, forms, heavy luggage. I had arrived. Or when […]
Drumroll please… Next Tuesday, 18 September, I will begin a new guest-post series on my blog, God and Suffering: Our Story. I am so excited! I have asked some friends to be courageous in sharing their own stories of suffering, weakness, struggle. They will be telling the truth of what it felt like to undergo […]
A Biblical basis for expressing anger at God Last week I posed this question, ‘If anger is the correct emotional response to injustice, surely being angry at God is calling God unjust. Therefore, is it a sin to be angry with God?‘ I was really grateful for your answers, which were all thoughtful and thought-provoking. […]
One morning, a few weeks ago, I started writing a blog post. I wrote it using my iPad, but decided to draft it in an email so it would be easier to edit. I spent an hour lovingly tapping out a thousand words. I edited, tweaked, smiled. I could feel my brain slowing down […]
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Tanya Marlow blogs on the Bible, suffering and the messy edges of life [read more]