Because sometimes, God's grace in our lives, starts first with an ugly story.
It was 9.05am (exactly) on Wednesday, March 17th (St Patrick’s Day) when my phone rang. I didn’t know then just how important that phone call would be. On the Sunday before, I had gone shopping with my mum. One of mum’s great joys has always been buying clothes and PJs for her grandkids, so on…
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Several years ago, I found myself in the middle of a battle that I didn’t ask for and certainly didn’t want. Without going into all the details, I found myself face-to-face with a ‘mud-slinger’ – the kind of person who (when they feel threatened) throws every accusation they can think of, in order to deflect…
Read MoreMany years ago, I knew a man who fell off his bike and broke his arm. This man believed that sickness and disease have no place in a Christian’s life and so when faced with the reality of a broken limb, he’d loudly declare that it WASN’T broken but that he’d ‘been healed in Jesus’…
Read MorePicture the scene: A group of friends had just been through the worst few months of their lives. They were tired, ragged, worn down, exhausted and yet also in complete shock and jubilation. Their best friend (who also just happened to be the Messiah) had been horrifically murdered by the State, had then miraculously and…
Read MoreIn the late 1990s, I was living in the US and will never forget one sunny Sunday afternoon, chatting to a lovely pastor, who was full of grace and Godly wisdom. He also happened to be building a bunker in his backyard and was gradually transferring his life savings into gold coins, so that he…
Read MoreOver the last couple of days, I’ve been thinking about the faithfulness of God. It sounds like a heavy thing to be mulling over, but it all started at the beginning of the week when I received a notification on Facebook, suggesting I look back at my ‘Facebook memories’. As I curiously flicked back 8,…
Read MoreI’m not quite sure how I missed it, but recently it dawned on me that since living in my new home, I’d never actually received a water bill. I was sure I’d registered the house at the beginning, but nothing had ever come through. Initially I didn’t think much of it, but I took a…
Read MoreAre you a cheapskate Christian? Bit of a strange question, eh? But let me explain. Recently, I’ve been reading through Genesis and Exodus and seeing just how overwhelmingly gracious God is with us. Time and time again, I am reading about his loving kindness, his patience, his mercy, his forgiveness. Even in the New Testament,…
Read MoreIf you’ve seen the movie, ‘The Shack’, you’ll probably remember the scene, where standing on a hill with God, Mack, the hero of the film sees line after line of lit up, glowing forms on the horizon. As Mack looks more intently, one of the figures walks toward him and he discovers he knows this…
Read MoreHave you ever had a defining moment, where everything in your relationship with God changed? Shifted in some almost-intangible way? It might have been the moment when things finally ‘clicked’ for you, the point someone prayed for you? Or it might have been a dream, a vision, or particular church service or experience. But somehow…
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Ugly Grace 