They are wrong. Words can kill you. Words are powerful. They shape our perception of the world around us. A single word can make us feel sad, mad, happy, or dissatisfied. Sometimes the words of others can pierce our heart like a sword. Words can wound. Some of those wounds we never really recover from.…Continue reading Sticks and Stones May Break Your Bones but Words … !
Author: Nicole Conner
An uninvited Guest: Reflections on Grief
A Repost from last year: It was November 2007. My 11 year old German Shepherd staggered into the kitchen and collapsed. His heart had failed. We called a mobile vet and it was on this day we said goodbye to Simba. I grieved that dog. Those who love their animal friends will understand the pain of…Continue reading An uninvited Guest: Reflections on Grief
Leap of Faith? It’s Easier to Talk about It!
“To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. Not to dare is to lose oneself.” – Soren Kierkegaard For most of us, life is often a fairly mundane rhythm of existence. Weeks go by before we notice how much time has actually elapsed. Now and then we have an unexpected visitor: Risk! Situations or moments…Continue reading Leap of Faith? It’s Easier to Talk about It!
Friends!
“I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light.” – Helen Keller Friends! They shape our lives, whether we realise it or not. From an early age, our friends play a crucial role in developing our sense of self. Friends help tell the narrative of our lives. Friendships make…Continue reading Friends!
Endings …
“It is always important to know when something has reached its end. Closing circles, shutting doors, finishing chapters, it doesn’t matter what we call it; what matters is to leave in the past those moments in life that are over.” ― Paul Coelho – In February, my life partner-in-crime made the massive decision to resign…Continue reading Endings …
Scapegoats: Our Desperate Need to Blame Others
“The search for scapegoats is essentially an abnegation of responsibility: it indicates an inability to assess honestly and intelligently the true nature of the problems which lie at the root of social and economic difficulties and a lack of resolve in grappling with them.” – Aung San Suu Kyi – We find our Scapegoats at a young…Continue reading Scapegoats: Our Desperate Need to Blame Others
Mama Mia! God as Mother?
“Mother is the name of God in the lips and hearts of little children” – William Makepeace Thackeray The retail machine is gathering speed with the approach of Mother’s Day. If you have stopped by the consumer caverns recently you might have been overwhelmed with the amount of beautiful cards, fluffy toys, enough slipper options to…Continue reading Mama Mia! God as Mother?
Slow Down and Chew Your Food!
I used to eat fast. No, I mean it. I used to eat really fast. In fact, if you sat around our dinner table you would have noticed this terrible personal habit had become a family trait. We all tended to inhale our food. As a child, my parents worked busy and stressful jobs and…Continue reading Slow Down and Chew Your Food!
What can we learn from a Hobbit?
Roads go ever ever on, Over rock and under tree, By caves where never sun has shone, By streams that never find the sea … Our family is Tolkien possessed. My deep appreciation of the writing of this wonderful author has fortunately spilt over to my partner and children. So when Peter Jackson put the Lord…Continue reading What can we learn from a Hobbit?
Inside Ex-Gay: A Year On
It was on the 8th April 2015 that I sat down with Nathan Despott and Dean Beck at JOY FM and discussed my observations about the difficulties faced by LGBTI Christians as they interact in an often conservative religious world that, by and large, sees them as anomalies around the table of Christ. The programme…Continue reading Inside Ex-Gay: A Year On