This is part of an occasional series mining the mundane to find the sacred. For a list of the posts in the series, head here. If I never had to do housework again, that really would be fine by me. But I like our dishes and clothes to be clean; a tidy house is restful […]
We’d better start with a couple of Disclaimers, with capital Ds. 1: I write as an enthusiastic student of the art of home organising, not in any way as an accomplished expert. My bedroom floor is Exhibit A. 2: My house is pretty messy, most of the time. But it’s a much more organised messy […]
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to […]
‘It’s always easier to write someone else’s sermon’ is the motto of my preaching group. On a Friday morning, all five of us might be squeezing one word at a time out onto the pages of our own sermons, but when an email comes through asking for a movie clip showing non-conformist children, a song […]
The wonderful Joy Cowley has a lot to say on how to find the sacred in the mundane tasks of housework. Here is her contemporary psalm on the subject, from her collection Psalms Down Under: God of washing, God of unmade beds, God of dented saucepans and worn-out brooms, your presence in the most ordinary […]
Why a ‘sacrament’? The church has long taught that there are certain special moments where God is particularly present in our world. The ritual of baptism, the sharing of a communion meal. Different church traditions have argued about how many there are, but that seems to me to be a nonsensical question. God is particularly […]
Parenting is flipping hard work, yes? You’re responsible for, as my friend Jess says, tiny sociopaths. They’re cute, sure, but they have little in the way of empathy, self-control, or social graces. You get no sick leave. You’re operating on so little sleep that serious reading now means clicking ‘see more’ on Facebook. Communities like […]
My green cleaning journey so far Me and my husband: It worked! I made dishwashing powder! Cool. No – I need a high five for this. I’m AMAZING! Yeah, well done. I’m not getting enough enthusiasm here. I think it’s amazing that you make dinner. Food that we can put in our mouths. That’s amazing. This […]