Create in me a clean heart, oh God and renew a right spirit within me. Relieve me of my resentment. Release me from resenting those who post pictures of family gatherings and no-longer-allowed “social bubbles.” Release me from resenting the people “not taking things as seriously” as I think they should. Release me from resenting…
Today is International Women’s Day, and there is so much that I could say, but I think I will sum up my thoughts with a story of something that happened to me in my first month as a pastor. I began my job as a lead pastor in my church when I was 27. I…
If you read my post last week, you’ll know that I decided not to give up a specific material item for lent this year. Today I have a lent update. I have decided that, this year, I have a lent necklace. This necklace has a story. At my 35th birthday supper, my husband nervously handed…
I’m a lent latecomer, full disclosure. I knew people who practiced lent growing up, but my tradition didn’t. I only came to appreciate lent – the season leading up to Good Friday and Easter in the Church calendar – in recent years. I especially value the practice of fasting that accompanies lent. I have found…
The first time I met Walt Collins I was 27 years old and sitting around a table with six people who were interviewing me for the role of Lead Pastor at Mount Hamilton Baptist Church. In his late seventies, it was clear Walt was there to represent the seniors of the church. In particular I…
Two year ago, my children and I read “The Long Winter,” by Laura Ingalls Wilder. This book is part of the famous “Little House on the Prairie” series, and features the adventures of a family settling the American frontier in the nineteenth century. We had read all the other books in the series and were…
This week I had my last day as a 42 year old. If you have ever read the famous “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,” you may remember (spoiler alert) that the book concludes that the answer to “life, the universe and everything” is: 42. As the calendar turned on my 42nd birthday would I now…
In the last few years, I have come to understand the term “gaslighting.” Gaslighting is a practice of manipulation. It is when someone makes another person question their own experience, sometimes to the point of making them question their own sanity. For example: “That didn’t really happen that way!” or “You thought I hurt you?…
This weekend in Canada, we celebrate Thanksgiving. I love thanksgiving. Every year, my heart feels full of thankfulness. I feel thankful as we dig into turkey and some delicious dessert my friend has baked from scratch. I feel thankful on top of the ferris wheel at the Rockton Fair as I think “What joy there…
The last six months have not been easy. I could do a recap of all the things, but let’s be honest: we know it all already. We’ve lived it. 2020 has been brutal. And what is really hard? We’re not done. This reality seemed to hit people hard the last couple weeks. As the cool…
Leanne Friesen 