Press On Journal

“While so many people treat prayer to “solve” their problems, the passenger sitting beside me on the plane had a different perspective. Prayer was not just a tool to reverse a troubling circumstance – because the flight attendant's situation was not likely to be changed – but prayer was the fundamental tool he used even when he didn’t expect any answer.”

“So we sat there in our camp chairs, with our whittled sticks, our almost empty water bottles, and a little bit of sand in our hair, remembering Jesus.”

“The times of life when we are dealing with grief or trauma, or sin, are vulnerable in ways that are similar to the process of labor and birth. When one of our loved ones trusts us enough to let us enter those vulnerable spaces with them, it is just as much a moment of profound privilege as when I am allowed to enter that birth space.”

“Ruth’s story is very much a tale of two halves. From the ashes of famine, bereavement and despair in Moab, arises a tale of compassion, cooperation and caring for others in Israel.”

“I feared rejection. I believed that love in our community was conditional. It had small print: terms and conditions which might prove unfavorable. If people knew the true me, I’d be labelled, marginalized and rejected.”

“This is the exhortation of Daniel in exile. He is an agent of God’s undying love and compassion for his children. Nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, and nothing could separate Israel from the love of God which was in the prophet Daniel.”

”A midnight rendezvous. A forbidden ceremony dabbling in the occult. Disguise, terror, criminality, and a death sentence. King Saul’s encounter with the Witch of Endor has all the components of a fantasy novel and yet, in reality, it is a poignant tale of a desperate king grasping for survival, and clutching only a thin, cold mist of despair. For all King Saul is rejected by God –and we must support the divine decision – it’s difficult not to sympathize with a soul so doomed. Surrounded by faithful warriors he may be, yet Saul cuts a lonely figure.”

“It’s worth taking a moment to step back from academicism to just live with our faith. We need to be okay stepping into the uncertainty, fear, and doubt that come with being constantly open to new ideas. And perhaps, once we move past those initial emotions, there will be joy. Joy that this is not all there is to the text we base our whole lives on; joy that there will always be something more, something new, something interesting; joy that we have been enabled to lead interesting lives because the text will continue to change to mirror our changing contexts and understanding.”

“This is a meal of fellowship: sharing thoughts, experiences, worries, encouragements, moments of doubt, moments of faith. Gatherings like this have the potential to deepen the spiritual connections between us, where we come to learn to trust one another more and more deeply, to be willing to be more real in the things that we discuss.”

“I want to talk about what happens when someone chooses to leave. I would like to share my experiences and the experiences of those close to me and highlight some things that have both helped and hindered this transition…. I do not believe that a shift in belief systems should equate to the breakdown of social connections, but all too often in our community, this has been the case. After watching countless families suffer, and struggle to communicate with each other, I hope these experiences will help us all to bridge the gap.”