Heart Matters Blog

"Look up at the heavens and count the stars, If indeed you can count them. Then he said to him, so shall your offspring be…" This verse can be found in Genesis 15 v 5 and is this amazing moment in time when Abram is in the midst of a penultimate moment with The Lord. In the previous chapter Abram had just been in the throws of battles with a whole bunch of kings, and has an encounter with Melchizedek, The King of Righteousness. As a side note, it's actually the first time in scripture we see a moment of gift giving, shown in the tithe he gives this king. If you look at the language in Genesis 14 I have it on good authority that the language in itself is military and the battles were real. Abram and Sarai, his wife had been on this crazy journey of tests and choices and ultimately lear...

Embrace uncertainty. Some of the most beautiful chapters in our lives won't have a title until much later. —Bob Goff I was at Mayo recently and the Neurologist told me that I'm in the early stages of Primary Progressive Aphasia. It's progressive and at some point, along the line, I will not be able to speak. I've struggling to find words since early April 2019. I needed a PET Scan when I was at Mayo, but I couldn't find the words. So, Rey stepped in and said the words for me. My speech pathologist said that I need a journal when I make phone calls. I write out the things I need to say, and voila, it works. I wish I had it at Mayo that day. I am powerless against this disease. I can take supplements, but I am still helpless against this disease. It's hard to be powerless.&nbs...

My oldest brother walked up the sidewalk to his car and drove away, leaving my friend and I home alone. Being middle-schoolers, we were excited to have the place to ourselves. But a little later we heard a thump. "What was that?" We looked wide-eyed at each other. The rest of the night, we went back and forth on whether our imaginations had grown the size of the old farmhouse itself, or whether we had every right to have palpitating hearts and frozen limbs. As the night wore on, we became convinced we were not alone. At the pinnacle of our terror, we decided we needed to take some sort of action and face the latest noise head-on. As we cautiously moved towards the noise, my brother jumped out from the shadows, terrifying us. He had indeed not left for a night on the town! After relief...

Here we are again, the trees turning and dropping their leaves, the strong and living frame unveiled again having beautifully hosted so much growth, so much of itself. Trees so perfectly testify to life, their seeds, and fruit now making their way towards the earth to nurture all that's to come. It's a grateful fall. A pay-it-forward even. The cycle so inviting, to experience the tree in its most vulnerable transition. For everything to be removed and yet somehow it stands there naked and completely unashamed. That final transition full of golden leaves, as they truly are. This cycle we call life seems to roll around again, and I get this sense that we are being invited to take so much of it with us into what is next. The river is flowing in the most strangest of years and the new beginnin...

I’ve been inspired by Christine Sine’s Facebook columns on Christian Poets and Writers page. Her actual website is www.godspacelight.com  Tom and I have just returned from a very wet neighbourhood walk – such a contrast from a week ago when the dry smoke-filled air carried toxic chemicals and was hazardous to breathe. It is so good to breathe fresh air again and be able to enjoy our beautiful neighbourhood walks. I have found myself gasping in awe at the patterns of raindrops on flowers, leaves and even spiderwebs. The rain has invigorated me, and, not surprisingly, had me searching for my post on rain walking from last year where I talked about how good rain is for us in body, mind and spirit. This year, however, my daily rain walks have made me hyper aware of tho...