I usually avoid online arguments like the plague. Don’t get me wrong, a lot of arguments on social media are worthy. Things like ‘Is COVID-19 Real?’ and ‘Who is Keeping Our Government Accountable?’ and ‘What is Your Favourite Musical and Why is it Hamilton?’ Then there are religious debates. The place of LGBQTI+ people in […]
Stories of Singledom
It never ceases to amaze me how society pressures single people to ‘just’ get married. I hear it anecdotally in the stories told by single people who get called ‘fussy’ or ‘picky’. I hear it in singles asking aloud why they’re still single. I read it in social media complaints about the lack of eligible […]
Can We Have a God’s Day Instead of Mother’s and Father’s Days?—Part 2
Last week I shared the breath of fresh air of talking about God on Mother’s and Father’s Days, instead of our earthly mothers and fathers. I love the idea of focusing on God’s fatherly and motherly traits on such days. I would love for churches to make God the centre of these celebrations—to the extent […]
Can We Have a God’s Day Instead of Mother’s and Father’s Days?—Part 1
Most childless people struggle with Mother’s and Father’s Days. It is an unfortunate but understandable part of the grief of not having the children we wanted. It’s even harder in church services for us to applaud those who get the life—and children—we hoped for. That’s why I think we’re better off focusing on God, instead […]
My Favourite Things: When Church Does Childlessness Well
Churches often struggle to include childless people. They’re great at ministering to mothers and fathers and kids. But they often neglect those in the minority, those who didn’t follow the expected social and spiritual trajectory of getting married and making babies. I have a few choice stories about the bad and the ugly of church […]
Living Waters of Creativity
‘It’s a good song,’ he said to her, ‘It’s just the first verse that needs a little more work.’ We were sitting in a semi-circle, me and a handful of other Christian songwriters. One woman had taken the courageous step of sharing her song with us. We were in the delicate process of giving her […]
My Writing Tribe
There’s lots to love in a writing conference. Workshops, speakers and bookstalls for that all-important retail therapy. It’s a great chance to network and and garner contacts for editing and publishing, something all writers need (whether we are aiming for traditional or self-publishing). But there’s one thing I love most about these kinds of writerly […]
My Bible Hero
I was caught unawares in a recent interview* on childlessness when the interviewer asked, ‘Who are your bible heroes?’ I thought fast. Who is my hero in childlessness, the one who most inspires me? I thought about Jesus. I thought about Paul. I thought about the disciples. I thought about the old testament too. And […]
Birthing Babies
I sent off another copy of Surviving Childlessness this week and, as always, I felt like I was saying goodbye to my baby. Birthing a book baby is a strange feeling. I am overjoyed at the result, a book I can hold in my hands that looks and feels exactly as I always imagined it would. But […]
Legacies of Faith: The God Who Weeps
It’s Mother’s Day again. My church is holding a Mother’s Day service. Other childless Christians might appreciate the dilemma this presents. On the one hand, I love my church and want to be part of it. On the other hand, Mother’s Day can be one of the toughest days in the calendar year. There are […]