An Adventure in Ministry

This week is baby loss awareness week. It is a time when we remember all the precious lives that are no longer with us and encourage men and women to talk about their experiences. It is a time to remember, grieve and seek comfort. While this has not been my own personal experience, having journeyed through infertility for over 10 years and through my ministry working with women walking through infertility and baby loss, I have supported lots of people through the grief and pain that is experienced. This year I have had the immense privilege of being asked to speak at the town’s annual baby loss service and to help put together an evening that will help people to remember their loved ones and grieve their loss.  As I sat thinking about and preparing for the service, I was considering the comfort that God brings to us in our grief. One of the pictures painted in the bible about God’s comfort is the idea of us sheltering under his wings. This is something that I often come back to whe...

I have just returned from the most amazing weekend at the Riverbank conference, with women connected to The Salvation Army from all over the country. God’s presence was tangible, the worship was powerful and the teaching was Holy Spirit inspired. This is the second post in a series of what God spoke to me while I was there (You can find my first post here: Tales From the Riverbank: Singing at Midnight ) If you were there too I would love to hear what God revealed to you, I would love to include you on a guest blog post! If you weren't there I pray that a little of the riverbank will flow into your heart and you might just sign up to join us next year! On the Saturday morning of the riverbank conference we listened to Commissioner Debbie Horwood as she brought us truths about God’s great compassion, and there was something she said that completely and utterly floored me! She spoke about how she has been doing a deep dive on the word used for compassion in the Old Testament - the wor...

  This week as part of our Holy week celebration we, as a church will be participating in a passover seder, remembering the meal that Jesus would have had with his disciples shortly before he was arrested. Although my husband will be leading the experience and I will be at home looking after our daughter, I have been sourcing the food and helping with the preparation, and I have found it fascinating.  The passover festival is one that can be summed up as bittersweet. Bitter as they remember the Israelites time of slavery and oppression and sweet as they remember the freedom from it and their great escape. In fact bittersweet is a term that fits the Israelites well, and throughout the scripture we see times of bitterness intermigled with times of great sweetness. At the passover sedar the food that it eaten can also be described as bittersweet and at places, food are combined together to give exactly that experience. Bitter herbs called Maror (usually Horseradish) are dipped in...

  This week is the annual baby loss awareness week, where we remember the little ones we never got to meet and the lives that were never lived. While this has never been my experience personally as my walk through infertility has meant I have never been pregnant, it is still a topic so very close to my heart. I have so many friends and family members who have had experience of baby loss and I have sat with them as we have grieved the loss, not only of a life, but of dreams, and hopes too .   Some people choose to share their story of loss while others choose to grieve privately, and I am always surprised at how many people around me have walked through such tragic experiences. This morning as I was praying for those who will find this week a difficult one, God began to reveal something of his heart for them and the burden that they carry.   Psalm 34:18 says:   The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.   Maybe you are f...