He caught my eye as he walked past my seat on the train. Dressed in dark, drab clothing, with sunken cheekbones and a weather-worn face, he held the air of one who had nowhere to go. He sank into the seat behind me and leaned heavily against the window. He will be here til the […]
Counter-culturalism
Counter-cultural challenges to the modern church and to society in general
Healthy Comparison?
I hardly ever get jealous of other people. Except for one time. Real bad. A few years ago, I was working on a musical project with a bunch of other musicians. One musician in particular was doing very well in this project. She was a talented musician whom I admired. She was popular with everyone. […]
Too Picky?
A reader recently commented on one of my blogs about singleness, saying they were told to just pick someone and marry them because “anyone will do”. They were told, unbelievingly, to stop being so fussy. This story struck a chord with me. During my painfully single twenties, I was regularly asked if I was “picky”. […]
Badge of Honour
The place is a disaster zone. Furniture overturned. Rubbish piled high. Chaos and disorganisation as far as the eye can see. Yep, I just moved house. It is easy to see a new house as being some kind of badge of honour. Society tells us that material things are markers of success. Got the house? […]
Surviving Valentine’s Day
Red roses. Fluffy teddies. Umpteen love hearts on social media feed. Yep, it must be Valentine’s Day. I had a lot of trouble tolerating Valentine’s Day when I was single. And it was not just the pointless commercialism. It was the unsubtle message that you have to be admired by someone to be a worthwhile […]
Did You Survive?
I think I survived Christmas. I mean, my heart is still beating, I am still breathing, so I guess I survived. All of my limbs are still attached, so I guess I’m still in one piece. Prior to Christmas, there was an onslaught of Christmas survival blogs, especially for single and childless people. Advice abounded, […]
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 (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 […]