No one can be right or wrong about how to celebrate Lent, I realised the other day. Lent is a church tradition, not something instituted by Jesus or the apostles. So we’re all in the same boat, theologically speaking, of needing to figure out how Lenten practices might sensibly and meaningfully connect us to God […]
This is an introductory post to our Lent with Kids series, explaining how and why we’re using candles and a bunch of other things to make Lent meaningful at home. I wrote this several years ago now, and it has become a cornerstone of our family spirituality. Skip to the bottom to see the basic […]
A good listener is never short of friends. Some people are naturals at this popular skill, and you might be lucky enough to know one or two. Plenty of us have to learn the skill of being a good listener, though the kind intention does go a long way, too. The headline ‘act’ for the Do […]
It took me some courage to decide to blog on this activity from the 40 acts of generosity Lent challenge. Is there any book in the world that provokes such diverse and heated reactions as the Bible? Among Christians there is an enormous range of responses, from obedience to respect to frustration. Fans of the English language […]
Much as with our teacher-appreciation lists the other day, most of us will be fortunate enough to be able to list some of the adults who took an interest in us as we grew up, and beyond. When I was eleven, Chris H gave me my first ‘fancy book,’ to start my grown-up book collection, […]
I considered procuring a sackcloth onesie recently. A couple of months ago, SBJ began to add sit-down-in-the-street protests to his repertoire of new behaviours. If he wanted to run off independently in a carpark but was restrained, or, maddeningly, if we wanted him to walk but he wanted to be carried, then all in an […]
Let’s be generous with ourselves, too, this Lent. Take your time over the generosity challenge. I certainly will be. It’s not only because of the time difference that I’ll be blogging through 40 Acts of Generosity without strict adherence to the day-by-day order from the United Kingdom-based 40 Acts website. Ash Wednesday, the first day of […]
I could probably tell a history of my life through pancakes. They were one of the first things I learned to cook by myself, as evidenced by the bespattered pancake page of the Edmonds Cookery Book. You too, huh? My Mum got heaps of kudos by pouring pancakes in the shape of our initials. Nothing […]
The wheel, the codex, the ice-cream. These are among the things so awesome they need not be re-invented. Also, a 40-day Lent plan for 2013. It turns out Stewardship UK are putting on a thoughtful, well-designed, user-friendly Lent practice called 40 acts. I’m inviting you to join me in joining them. 40 acts of generosity, […]
My Greek teacher, one of the loveliest men alive, reports seeing hot cross buns and Easter eggs on sale in an Auckland supermarket on 4 January this year. So presumably Easter’s not far away! Before Easter, for much of the world, comes Lent, one of my favourite parts of the church year. This year Lent’s […]