As a counsellor I am, on very rare occasions, gifted with a token of gratitude from a client. Usually it is chocolates, cookies or something similar. When I receive such a gift, my normal response is, “Thank you; I’ll share this with the team.” Not only does my work team appreciate the sharing of edible […]
Author: Steph Penny
Are We Too Happy?
A childless lady recently told me she has stopped going to church because all she heard about was “belief and trust”. She said that positivity has invaded the church and she no longer feels comfortable bearing her grief of childlessness there. My heart aches for her. It begs an important question: Can we be too […]
A Platter of Platitudes
I was irked the other day to hear that a fellow childless lady had her childlessness described as “God’s will.” I don’t know if it was meant as an encouragement, but it sounded like the result was all kinds of unhelpful. To me, “It’s God’s will” comes across as a platitude. We do this, don’t […]
Reflections on Otherhood
I recently watched a TED talk by Melanie Notkin, “Welcome to the Otherhood”[1]. Melanie spoke about the grief of being single without children. For Melanie, the grief was one of “circumstantial infertility,” that is, grief of not being able to have children because of her relationship status. One thing I liked about Melanie’s TED talk […]
God as a Haven
The Bible uses some lovely metaphors to describe God: God as a fountain of living water, Jesus as the bread of life, the Father as a mother. One of my favourite types of metaphors for God is the use of place. Here are a few quick examples: “I will say of the Lord, […]
Writing “Haven”
Three years ago I contracted salmonella poisoning in Europe. Exotic, right? I was hounded by relentless nausea for the first three days, accompanied by chills and other joys not appropriate for public consumption. Even though I started to get better after a few days, it is fair to say that I was not myself […]
Easter Joy to the World
A friend of mine recently asked me, “How would you define the difference between joy and happiness?” I immediately thought I knew the answer. But as I opened my mouth to speak, I realised how complex the answer really was. We ended up having quite a lengthy conversation on the matter. Here’s where we […]
The Safety Myth
“There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable.” – C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves. I was attacked by my pet cat this week. Not the nice, playful kind of attack, where she waits around the corner to leap out at me and give me mild heart failure. No, I’m […]
The Worry Bank
I’ve been really worried lately. You name it, I’ve been worried about it. Health, work, family, even sleep – which, ironically, stops me from sleeping. I’ve been worried about it all. And I’ve made an important discovery: worry gets me absolutely nowhere. It’s tricky, isn’t it? I know that God is in control. I […]
Resisting Rest
It’s heartbreaking watching people burn out. I routinely witness friends in the church burn out over and over, especially those in paid ministry. It’s almost as though someone put “Must do everything for everybody until burnout is inevitable” in their job descriptions. There are many factors that can contribute to burnout. Overwork, underwork, unrealistic job […]