I recently resigned from my job. That’s right, chucked it in, without having another job to go to. I have resigned without the safety net of knowing where I am going next. This was not my plan. The plan was to find the next job, line it up neatly, then resign. I like my […]
Author: Steph Penny
Enough
Ever been told you are too much? If you’re anything like me, you have been told most of your life that you are too much. Too bossy, too opinionated, too nice. Too assertive, too passive, too spiritual. Most of us have been told to cool it or reign it in, and the underlying message […]
Finding my Fit
When I was in my twenties, I did not fit because I was single. Everyone around me was married by the age of 21. It was like a team sport in my church. “No problem,” I thought, “It will just take me a little longer to find the right person. There’s no urgency anyway.” […]
The Author
I’ve been thinking about writing, Jesus and authorship lately. As an author, I understand what it is like to have control over a piece of work. (At least, I understand how this feels for a non-fiction book. I understand that writers of fiction often experience little control over their characters.) Whether I am writing fiction […]
The Idolatry of Marriage
“Marriage will solve my lust and loneliness problems.” “When I get married, I’ll finally be able to serve God in my fullest capacity.” “When I get married, my problems will be over.” I’ve heard single people make comments such as these. I used to believe them myself. As a single 29-year-old, I was convinced that […]
Inner Compass
Have you ever gotten truly lost? A few years back we went overseas and decided to go for a walk through a national park. The website advertised the walk as being a one-hour trek, which we decided was doable for us. I am not terribly fit and I tire somewhat easily. But I agreed to […]
Did You Survive?
My social media feed one month ago was inundated with pre-Christmas survival-type blogs. You know the kind of thing: “7 tips to stress less this Christmas”, “How to spend time with family without wanting to kill them”, “How to make a killer Christmas lunch” and so on. My feed was full of tips and tricks […]
Hungry*
Taylah was hungry. Not the I-skipped-recess kind of hungry. Not the I-was-facebooking-so-long-I-forgot-to-eat kind of hungry. Not even the I’ve-been-smoking-again kind of hungry. The kind of hungry that gnaws away at the lining of your stomach like a silent killer, patiently and relentlessly stripping your insides away. Taylah had not eaten a proper meal in three […]
The Gentleman and the Arsonist
I grew up believing that the Holy Spirit is a gentleman. Church described the Holy Spirit in this way: a loving, respectful, well-mannered person who would never push me beyond my willingness and capacity. It painted a picture of a spiritual being concerned with my consent before He did anything. When I was a teenager […]
Live Dogs and Dead Lions
“Anyone who is among the living has hope – even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!” Ecclesiastes 9:4 (NIV) This evocative image struck me a couple of weeks ago when I heard a sermon preached on this text. The illustration of a living dog standing next to a deceased lion is […]