It has been a year. A year since my granddaughter Anna died in her sleep. She was four months old; had been bubbly and so alive, with a generous smile for everyone.

Anna's baby brother was born just a month ago. She never got to see him, never got to unwrap and 'inspect' this new little one as her Mamma did when her younger brother was born.

It is the little things we ... << MORE >>

I've been taken by Sam Kelly's rendition of Make You Feel My Love. Watching closely we see the impact of his heart and words on the judges and those in the audience.

It is a beautiful thing to witness how his sincere rendition of this song cuts through the veneers and polish of our lives (could you feel it too?), to the heart of our matters.

Here are the lyrics:

"When the rain
Is blowing in your face
And the whole ... << MORE >>

I dropped my phone in the paint tray. Never have I so willingly plunged my hands into paint. Never before have I run my phone towards water.

We have the ways by which we do life, and then we have the exceptions.

When it comes to phones, the rule is, Do NOT submerge in water.

"Stay away from the water"

But there I was, rushing my IPhone 4S to the water,

Rinsing, washing, rinsing, washing, and then rinsing and washing some more,

Literally aiming that stream ... << MORE >>

Between a rock and a hard spot.

I'm thinking it's the best place to be.

I'm sitting on Mayne Island at our family home. The sun is shining, the house is still quiet, I've got my cup of tea and my little computer, my Bible and journal with a pen in hand and all is well and fine with the world.

It's that moment in time, that day or hour or week, the now, where everything stops for a touch of time.

The needs and the demands ... << MORE >>

I take the time every morning in introspection and prayer. Quieting my heart and mind, centering my runaway emotions and fears and confusions, finding that inexplicable peace from God that quite simply puts a welcome sign on each day.

Today I am meditating on three words: Difficulty, Joy, Trust

Those three, all together like that.

Difficulty Joy Trust

DifficultyJoyTrust

Like they are meant to go together, meant to inspire the other and as though each would be incomplete ... << MORE >>

The last weeks my attention has been caught by Britain's Got Talent. With auditions and semi-finals and finals, my votes were on a few notable talents.

Take a few minutes to watch this performance for instance: 

Only Boys Aloud - Welsh Choir

I don't know about you, but I found them absolutely beautiful.

Not the only inspiring performance, there were most assuredly others.

And as I watched a number of these auditions a ... << MORE >>

My family is busy making blankets. I took the one I am working on to Mayne Island and my few days away this week.

You see, there is a babe added to the family, and this means afghans.

It's a bit of a funny thing, for as I looked around the house on Mayne I saw evidence of years of blanket making.

I napped under a striped afghan that my Grandma crocheted years ago now (I think it is older than my youngest daughter).

There are afghans my ... << MORE >>

I'm working out of my head lately. If you frequent my blog posts you have most likely noticed. And while our heads are important, they are not very moving.

Words without heart, without emotion, fall pretty flat. Even I am not satisfied with some of my posts these last weeks.

The best posts rather are those full of heart and soul. Brimming with raw authenticity these are the ones most loved and commented on; they are the ones that move us.

And I've a little secret to share. ... << MORE >>

Transitions are powerful yet never easy. Life is full of them, these shifts and changes of landscape and journeying, movement that we must all make in and of ourselves.

Perhaps you are in your own transition, becoming a new creature yourself, moving in new ways, stretching to reach for things you had not reached for before, and others around you are not so impressed, and certainly don't know what to do with themselves in context of you.

My own journey has been full of people not able to carry on alongside ... << MORE >>

Imagine if you will for a moment, that you have a person by your side of inestimable value; a person who has made themselves invaluable to you. A person who knows what is important to you, what makes you tick, how you work best and the values by which you work.

Just imagine.

There is a Pastor Edison in Uganda, overseeing a number of churches throughout the surrounding area where he lives.

The day I spoke at his church I spoke of this:

... << MORE >>