It’s no secret that the Omega Christian Writers conference is happening next week. Preparations have been underway for months now (OK, for two years actually, since the last in-person conference) and now it’s almost time! Squeeee! But what is so good about a writer’s conference? I’ve written about the advantages of conference before: being with […]
writing
Why You’re Not A Bad Advert for God If You’re Sick
‘How are you feeling?’ my friend asked as I walked into church. I jiggled a pair of dice in my head. When you live with a chronic illness, innocent queries after your health can backfire quickly. Well-meaning people can pray for healing that is not forthcoming, or I can get caught in a web of […]
Continue reading Why You’re Not A Bad Advert for God If You’re Sick
My Dead Friend’s Gift
My friend died a couple of weeks ago. His funeral was last week. I watched online from interstate as his friends, family and wife shared funny and heartwarming stories about his life. He was a gifted musician, a cellist, among other things. He was the kind of musician who could organise, orchestrate and conduct entire […]
Names of My Children
Here we go again: Mother’s Day. This day invariably brings up grief for the children I wanted but never had. This grief, while uncomfortable and distressing, is a natural reaction to the loss of carefully planned hopes and dreams in my life. But how to grieve for these children? There are many ways to grieve […]
Changing Lanes and Taking Risks
‘Stay in your lane’ is a frequent social media soundbite that is not so much advice as it is admonishment. And I get it. I do. There’s only so much a millionaire can say about living on the poverty line, for example. Or that an expert on Russian poetry can tell me about when to […]
Of Beauty and Rage
No one tells you about the rage. I wish someone had. I wish when I was first diagnosed with lupus that someone wise, a doctor, a counsellor, a pastor, had sat me down and said, ‘Now, Steph, lupus is going to change you as a person. You will come to resent your own skin and […]
Happy Birthday, Book Baby!
‘I live with lupus,’ the lady said, ‘and when I saw in your author bio that you live with lupus too, I told myself I simply had to meet you!’ ‘I’m so thrilled to meet a fellow lupie!’ I laughed. Lupus is a rare condition and I often feel a bit alone and lost in […]
‘The Most Important Thing’
Due to circumstances beyond my control, I was recently forced to watch free-to-air TV. I don’t watch much free TV, having long ago joined the ranks of the stream watchers. But I was locked down with the flu from hell in a hotel room, so free TV it was. Part of my torture program included […]
Lingering with a Lime Tart
Here I am, sitting in a little café just a few hundred metres from the beach, relishing the opportunity to sit and write. The fresh salty air comes wafting past, washing the last of the autumn leaves off the trees, and I inhale the wind like it’s my last breath. There is something so cleansing […]
We Have Liftoff!
The launch party for Surviving Chronic Illness: Grace in the Flames went off without a hitch! Last Saturday 8th Feb, 2025, a small gathering of about twenty people met upstairs in an intimate yet open space at Thirroul C3 church. We ate food—including freshly baked lemon-and-lime mini-muffins and chocolate brownies—and then we settled down for […]