I met Anna (not her real name) at a recent Koorong book signing. She was a girl in her twenties, single, walking up to me with her single girlfriend. Together, they told me they had been discussing the topic of singleness that very morning, as they were driving to Koorong. Anna seemed to be quite […]
Author: Steph Penny
No More Bitterness
When you write a song and play it for people you are supposed to do a little spiel beforehand where you talk about the meaning behind the song. It’s a bit of a “behind the scenes” approach to song exposition. Being a bit of a rule-follower myself, I now present the story behind No More […]
When God Provides
“I waited and waited and waited for God. At last He looked; finally He listened. He lifted me out of the ditch, Pulled me from deep mud. He stood me up on a solid rock To make sure I wouldn’t slip. He taught me how to sing the latest God-song, A praise-song to our God.” […]
When God Heals
Turn back the clock to 6 years ago. I came down with a vocal problem that wouldn’t go away. For a singer, a vocal issue can be quite alarming. It conjures up images of botched surgery and a voice that is potentially ruined for life. Most of us have heard of singing celebrities who are […]
It’s Not Just You
When I first asked for volunteers with stories of childlessness, I had no idea that so many people would respond. I also had no idea how many of those people would suffer from medical conditions. It seems that there is a high correlation between illness and childlessness. This was encouraging for me, given that I […]
Single and Chronically Ill
When I first published Surviving Singledom, a single lady came up to me and told me about her chronic illness. She shared about how much harder it was to cope with chronic conditions as a single person, largely because there was no-one with whom to share the burden of caring. This lady described the things […]
The Great Unknown
I was talking with a friend recently about vulnerability. We were discussing pain and suffering and the unique challenges faces by chronically ill Christians. One thing we chatted about was the problem of physical healing. When people ask God for healing and then they are healed, it is a beautiful thing, an occasion worthy of […]
Need A Tow?
My car broke down yesterday. In the middle of traffic. On a major road. It was a warm, sunny day and the car decided to stop where it was in bumper-to-bumper traffic. It was the clutch. (My fault for driving a manual.) A clutch is supposed to operate in two phases: in and out. My […]
Artists Still Live Here
Many moons ago, the city of Brooklyn NY was a run-down place. Rent was cheap. Because the cost of living was so low, a bunch of artists moved in. They started creating art in Brooklyn and making the place beautiful. Brooklyn became trendy. In fact, Brooklyn became so popular that a whole bunch of middle-class […]
“You Have No Idea”
My husband and I attended a church function recently. We were seated at a table with three other couples. As we sipped our drinks and awaited the arrival of dinner, the conversation turned to children. It turned out the other three couples were parents and grandparents. What could have been a lovely inclusive conversation turned […]