My physical pain levels have been high over the past few weeks. I’ve found myself - in a childlike manner - uttering: “pain, pain, go away”! Then I think of others, like a friend I had coffee with this week, dealing with a much bigger health mountain than mine. Or today. a colleague grieving the … Continue reading A brokenness invitation
Author: Scott Pilgrim
Thankful in the silence!
I’m sitting in my parents’ home tonight and it’s so quiet. That’s very strange for this house. You see, my dad has stubbornly refused to wear hearing aids for a long time and he’s renowned for his television being set at a volume that allows people in the next suburb to listen in to the … Continue reading Thankful in the silence!
The difference default
When you get more than 400 people from 65 countries in a room - and throw in that they’re Baptists - you are amid a very diverse bunch. Difference is all around you - be it language, skin colour, dress, equity, cuisine, theology, worship style or preferred football code. And given we were meeting in … Continue reading The difference default
Getting off the slippery slope!
This year has been a tough one on my body, from managing expected spinal pain to unexpected salmonella hospitalisation. So, when I tested positive to lousy Covid again on Sunday, I was more than ready to accept an invite to my own personal pity party! I had good reason to grumble, I told myself. And quickly, … Continue reading Getting off the slippery slope!
Hope has a name!
Life may be very good for you today. You may be in full voice. And joyfully you may sing and shout, with all that is within you: “He is risen!” Or you may find yourself in a very different place. You may be trying to navigate the most testing of times. Your days seem hard. … Continue reading Hope has a name!
Until the storm passes!
“Chicken or the egg.” That’s my specialist’s best two guesses as to what has given me a very unexpected crash course in severe salmonella infection. It has been a tough and stretching week physically and emotionally, but hopefully I will be home in the next few days. And a sobering thought I will take with me; … Continue reading Until the storm passes!
Surprise me!
Am I ready for new ways, new paths in life in 2024? Am I ready to be humbly surprised by God in 2024? Or will I be trapped by the pursuit of power, familiarity, arrogance and complacency? These are questions I’m asking today as the Christian calendar celebrates the arrival of the Magi at the … Continue reading Surprise me!
Disturb me this Christmas!
I had asked the big man in the red suit for a dragster for Christmas. It was 1975 and I was trying to hold on to my Santa convictions despite the discouragement of my older brother. As was the tradition on Christmas Eve, I was sleeping on an air mattress in my grandparents’ lounge room … Continue reading Disturb me this Christmas!
He sees us!
She had lost her husband and now her only son. She is broken and weeping. Life is desperate. And then we read: “Jesus saw the woman”. He saw her! And his gut was moved with compassion. I never tire of reading these words. Jesus sees the desperate, young Palestinian woman, who has lost her two dearly loved … Continue reading He sees us!
Prayers for Olive
It has been a while since I’ve woken to the sound of a baby crying. As I heard baby Olive crying in the early hours of this morning, I was reminded of a huge challenge that I have never experienced, living without a roof over my head. And I was thankful for the practical difference … Continue reading Prayers for Olive
apilgrimpens 