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…
I admit that I am often baffled at the reactions I see online to things we have been asked to do to help prevent the spread of covid. I am baffled by the outrage at wearing masks. I am baffled at the anger people express over being asked to keep a safe distance from people.…
Seven years ago I experienced the greatest grief of my life when I lost my sister to cancer. In the months and years that followed her death, I learned a lot about grief, as I stumbled my way through it. Because I am a pastor and had some training in grief counselling, I thought I…
I admit that what often holds me back from writing these days is the feeling that there is not much left to say. I mean, if you see me in person, I have lots to say (insert winky face), but when it comes to social media, it seems like there is always SO MUCH being…
When our building closed back in March, the wonderful folks who maintain it decided to do much needed maintenance. We have a child care centre that rents from us five days a week, so getting to work in those spaces is difficult. With the centre closed indefinitely, our property team went to work on a…
On June 1, I celebrate fifteen years since I started in the role as Lead Pastor at Mount Hamilton Baptist Church. (Yes, for those of you wondering, I started when I was 15…Insert polite laughter here for CLASSIC PASTOR JOKE!!!). But seriously, I started in this job when I was 27 and most days I…
When I started my Masters program, one of the first tasks we did as part of one of our courses was completing the Myers-Briggs personality inventory. One of the markers on this inventory is “Extroversion” or “Introversion.” When I did the test and met with the facilitator afterwards, I found out that I had scored…
I have the great blessing/horror of having kept very detailed diaries throughout my teen years. They are quite entertaining, but the truth is that when I read them, I spend as much time cringing as I do laughing. I have always been what you might call a “challenger.” I am the person who asks the…
