During a recent visit to New Zealand Al Engler, who works in Seattle with the Navigators, introduced us to ‘pray and play’. Al shared a story of going to party with a group of young friends to illustrate this idea. Before heading out to the party in fancy dress costumes, the small group prayed for the party […]

I’ve recently been inspired by Jesus’ encounter with Matthew and his tax collector friends.1 Given the animosity between Jews and tax collectors it’s amazing that Matthew appears perfectly comfortable joining Jesus and his group of followers. What was it about Jesus and the community he was forming that made Matthew feel welcome? When Matthew throws a party Jesus seems […]

The attentiveness of shepherding has become more clear to me this year with our ewes and lambs needing extra care and help. On many days this has meant feeding animals four times a day and administering medication. One of our lambs, and possibly the mother, would not have survived without assistance at birth. Juliet and I […]

I grew up knowing I was loved. This was communicated through countless small actions and at times given voice in heart felt expressions of love. Once I left home I realised how significant this was. One of the few times the Father was audibly heard speaking to Jesus was a declaration of love, “This is […]

As I flew home I was thinking about this blog and being intentional as an everyday worker for Jesus. I had exchanged pleasantries with the person I was sitting next to and we had both settled into relaxing after being away for work. As I thought about being intentional, I felt challenged about engaging with the person […]

Friends have expressed shock, anxiety, pain and anger to the terrorist attacks in Christchurch. What does this mean for the future? God’s Spirit and God’s Word are both a comfort and a “compass” in situations like this, orientating us to God and his promises. It’s sobering to think that the shooter believed his actions were […]

The kingdom of Jesus grows as you and I take little initiatives to serve and love the people around us. This might be with family, flatmates, workmates, neighbours, friends or others we meet in the course of our daily lives. Jesus gave us the images of salt, light, yeast and fragrance to describe who we are in the world. […]

When God called the prophet Jeremiah he said, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed (or gave) you as a prophet to the nations.” We are each in this world by design and with something to give. For Jeremiah this was challenging […]

After an intense time of serving, Jesus said to his disciples, “come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” I imagine laughter and lightness in their spirits as the disciples set off by boat on their wee break with Jesus. Perhaps like me, an invitation of rest sounds attractive to […]

At our recent Navigators National Gathering Mutua Mahiaini strongly encouraged us to engage deeply with the whole Bible. He asked us when we last read through the Bible. This challenged me and so I have decided to use one night each week to read the Bible. I started last week. This morning in our time with God Juliet and […]