THE ENCOURAGERS LIFE

For all of my life I have not been the ‘average,’ woman.  To each person that may mean something different so, I would like to clarify my perspective.   When I was growing up I thought womanhood was about; Dolls Having boyfriends or male admirers Gentleness Quietness Fertility Being good at stuff but not sharing about it. Knowing how to dress Knowing how to style my hair and do the whole makeup thing   And I didn’t fit.   I hated dolls and they still creep me out a little bit.   I was often mistaken for a boy because I was always covered in nature or doing, ‘boy activities.’   In fact I have often worked in male dominated environments.   Environments that woman are a rarity. This didn’t allow boys to find me datable or attractive and I became a, ‘good time girl,’ rather than girlfriend material.   And the worst thing was, I let them.   I wanted to be loved and adored but I met men that preyed on that desperatio...

  From my days as a youth worker I remember one particular night when the conversation went to Christianity. There was a great atmosphere that night. The usual group of guys were in and playing pool became the center focus. We laughed, played and chatted over their day and plans. One lad piped up and said, ‘I don’t think that I could become a Christian right now. I will just make too many mistakes. I just know I couldn’t do it. So I will wait and hopefully I will be able to be one when I am older.’ When I look back at the conversation it hurts. The boy hasn’t become a Christian and I  feel, it’s a testimony of a living a half life.  Its an example of having something inside you, call out, but yet you feel you aren’t worthy or capable of answering it. Therefore it simply doesn’t happen. How many people have had the same experience? Unrealised dreams? Untapped potential? A yearning never fulfilled? All because they looked at their lives and thought, maybe one day I will be ...

  Moses’ story is vast and complex and holds a wealth of treasures within it. The escape from genocide. The dance between mother and foster/adoptive mother. The tug of his family to his privilege and circumstance.   From murder and desertion. To wandering homeless. To marrying in to a new life.   To then returning to the scene of a crime. To being the leader that God appointed for the Exodus. To delegating and creating a structure in which to serve the community he led in to the desert, destined for the Promised Land.   Moses is a success story out of tragic beginnings. Death. Murder. Separation. Pain. Anguish. Loss. Injustice. Fear. His story is littered with negatives, but yet hope reigns and people are appointed to aid Moses’ survival.   Hope for change. Hope for freedom. Hope for new beginnings.   Moses story can encourage us all if we know what to look out for.   There is one part of his ...

  Part 2 - Answering the Call I have lived my life in a parallel and in some seasons I still do. One side is full of heartache.  Not feeling worthy of life, happiness and purpose.  On that side I would feel like I was an annoyance, hindrance and that I was completely useless, taking up valuable oxygen on the planet.  The other side was the opposite.  Something deep down inside, told me that I was worth something.  And those thoughts, that voice, was continual and a complete contradiction to everything I was feeling and facing.   Those that have lived that way can back me up in this because this living condition can be toxic and I personally feel it claims many beautiful, intelligent and extraordinary people in our society. Living with these two dialogues left me feeling constantly like I was not enough, but chirping away was the other side telling me who I really was.  Often it wouldn’t be backed up with evidence.  It would feel lik...