At the time I had my first child I was a solicitor, a job for which I’d studied and trained and got qualifications. You’d think that those negotiating and persuasion skills I’d acquired on the job would have equipped me for parenting. Have you ever tried negotiating with a toddler? It becomes very clear who’s Read more
I live an incredible life. I’m shockingly blessed, getting to visit amazing places and encounter marvelous people. I’m privileged to walk with people as they come back to the Lord or encounter him in a personal way for the first time. Believe me, I’m grateful for my life. But it’s not always easy. For every Read more
My name is Kate. I’m 32 years old. I’ve never had sex. When I was young, I always imagined I would be married by 25 and have a brood of kids. Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew to “make disciples,” and I thought it would be cool to take that verse literally and have Read more
I was in New York City 15 years ago, when the United States suffered the worst terrorist attack of its history. I remember that horrible day as vividly as if it were yesterday. September 11 was a Tuesday bright with sunshine, which meant that you could easily see the plumes of smoke and ash as Read more
As a serious young Christian, I had lots of questions about the Bible. The Garden of Eden for example: If it was such a perfect place, why did God allow Satan in? My mother explained that Satan sneaked into the garden without God knowing. That answer didn’t satisfy. I told Mum I thought God was Read more
On 27 August, six Danish MPs boarded an aeroplane in Copenhagen. Our intention was to visit Australia and the tiny Pacific island state of Nauru – a country that depends on the money it receives for hosting the internationally criticised Australian offshore detention centre for asylum seekers. The delegation consisted of MPs from six different Read more
In our dreary world full of incredible people making claims to leadership, finding the occasional hero or heroine can’t be a bad thing. So why begrudge the Catholic Church its idiosyncratic ways of creating people for believers to admire – the saints? Mother Teresa of Calcutta – that’s what it was called when she lived Read more
Our daughter turned eight this week. She is a bright, happy and curious little girl with lots of friends. She’s in the bilingual unit at Westmere Primary. Cool principal and gifted teachers. Awesome, engaged whānau. After school, she logs on to Study Ladder. She nails the homework fairly quickly, but it doesn’t take long for Read more
When I first arrived at the shelter for unmarried, pregnant women in Washington, D.C., to start my position as a live-in housemother for the Missionaries of Charity (Mother Teresa’s Sisters), I wasn’t quite sure what to think. The home was a lovely house located in a ritzy upper class neighborhood, complete with a white picket Read more
I’ve been studying psychology. Before one tutorial, the lecturer made a careful point of being solicitous of the emotional welfare of anyone who might be triggered by the upcoming discussion about IPV (intimate partner violence.) That was fine. But then blah, blah, turn right onto gender constructs, via genetic engineering, blah blah and all of Read more