There’s Christmas in the air, it’s clear, It’s magical, this time of year, Anticipation looming near – Unless you have no children. There’s Christmas ads for games and toys, To buy for every girl and boy. Too bad you’ll never have that joy – Because you have no children. There’s Christmas lights all over town, […]
I’m An Average Author – and Ok With It
It seems to me there is substantial pressure on all of us to be above average. We are encouraged to “get a head start” early in life, to excel at school and in our careers, to be great, to be awesome, to be exceptional. All of this pressure creates a problem. And it has nothing […]
The Outsiders – Part 2 (A Worship & Creatives Conference Review)
I recently blogged about the outsiders: a group of people who do not fit into mainstream society. As an ex-single person, I remember being an outsider. As a childless person, I am still an outsider. As a creative, I have always been an outsider. Christians are definitely outsiders too. Today we explore another facet of […]
Why I’m Going to a Worship and Creatives Conference
So next week is the annual Hillsong Worship and Creatives Conference (WCC). I’ve been waiting all year for this. I went to their inaugural WCC last year and when it was over, I immediately paid for my ticket for this years’ conference. I have many reasons for returning to the WCC, some relating to my […]
The Outsiders (A Writers Conference Review)
I went to a gathering of outsiders last week. Ok, technically it was a writers conference. But it was essentially a place for misfits and melodramatics to meet and learn and muse. It was a great conference. I made new friends and caught up with old ones. We sang songs to God together. We prayed […]
Why I Still Go To Church
I recently received a thought-provoking reply to my blog, “Real Love”, from a person who seemed to think that Christianity was a life choice best avoided. My blog, addressing some of the unhelpful comments made by Christians toward the childless, seemed to prompt a reaction from this reader. This person’s response was along the lines […]
“When Are You Going To Have Kids?”
When I was single, no-one asked me about having kids. No-one was interested in my plans for a family. No-one cared about my eggs and whether or not I was putting them to good use. For the first twenty-nine years of my life, no-one thought I was wasting my time or misusing my body. Then […]
When Compromise Works
I have always loved writing. From an early age, I wrote short stories about magical happenings and clever kids. I wrote about animals, superpowers and fantasy kingdoms. As an adolescent, I filled book after book with journallings of teenage angst and woe. I loved reading and studying English at school. Shakespeare was fathomable and even […]
To Conference, To Conference
With only a month until the Omega Christian Writer’s Conference, the excitement and anticipation is quickening. Our lives are so busy and there are so many demands on our time that taking three days out to talk about writing can seem like a countercultural luxury. This year, the conference is located interstate for me, so […]
Real Love
“You will never know real love,” intoned the preacher, “Never experience the full extent of God’s love, until you have your own child.” I was a teenager then: young, passive and impressionable. The preacher’s words certainly made an impression on me that day. Gee, non-parents must miss out big time. These days, I am not […]