No wonder I’m drawn to palm trees! It’s not just the vacay vibe my Minnesota/ Saskatchewan prairie girl craves, it’s much deeper than that. In my faith tradition, palm leaves symbolize victory (along with peace/ wholeness & eternal life.) I waved them in Sunday school on Palm Sunday as a little girl without knowing fully what it meant- but it was fun to jump around and have fun!

2024? Like it or not, we are here. I say, out with the old and in with the new! What do I mean by that? It’s not just new years resolutions that we more often than not fail to keep . No. I am digging more into the root meaning of the scripture found in Isaiah 43:19.

They say art is both objective and subjective. Objectively, you can look at a piece of art and state the facts: The objects in it, the colours, texture or medium used to create the art. Subjectively, one can read into an art piece given the emotions it evokes or in my case, the prophetic insight it conveys deep within.

The war in Isreal is heartbreaking.🇮🇱🙏 With all that’s going on in the world, the pain, the suffering, the wars, divisions…There is a verse in the Bible that has stood out to me these past few years as a reminder of the gift of lament.
“. . . Teach your daughters how to wail; teach one another a lament.” — Jeremiah 9:20
If I hadn’t learned the biblical gift of lament yet, my soul would be tormented by the devastation. The images. The what ifs. The cognitive dissonance with what should be to what is.

I grew up reciting the Lord’s prayer which starts out “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed by Thy Name…”.

What is His name? Is “God” a name or is it a title embodying His character, nature and missional focus as the Bible references Him as the “I Am” (Yahweh) in the Exodus story, (Exodus 3:14-15). Likewise, the Bible depicts God’s character in various names which unpacks His nature in a variety of ways.

The theme for the upcoming Women’s Journey of Faith is “Grace Filled Dance”. A curious theme. Bold. Creative. Celebratory. If you are in the Saskatoon area, I invite you to join me at the “Grace Filled Dance” conference on April 28th-29th 2023 held this year at Circle Drive Alliance Church. I look forward to seeing Lori Hartshorn again as our emcee and hear from Clara once again as keynote and others who are gracing the WJOF stage this year. Tickets are available at Kennedy’s Parable or through WJOF (click the link below) Hope to see many of you there!

Tim and I went see this movie tonight- Loved it:) Born in 1970, I grew up hearing about the hippies- radical "Jesus Movement"- or as Time Magazine called it a 'Jesus Revolution" (in California and beyond) Mom and dad had much of the music from that time period but haven't really learned much about how it started/ leaders involved/ people affected, controversies etc. Although this was just a glimpse of that, I appreciated a ton of the story lines portrayed within.

It was pure joy attending and presenting at the sold out book launch event for “Courage, Change and Faith” Friday night. The lead author of the book project is a dear friend of mine- Betty Mutwiri who along with 12 other co-authors who contributed to this inspiring work. I’ve known her since we were both young moms and new to Saskatoon in the 90’s. She was one of the key founding leaders who stepped out in faith with me to launch Women’s Journey of Faith in 1999 and served side by side in that faith adventure during its formative years. As we both have moved onto other faith stretching endeavours, it has been awe inspiring to see her leadership capacity and influence expand to many sectors of society- health, education, business, and diverse faith communities. She is also key influencer in the Sisterhood Ministry based out of Saskatoon as a consultant and contributor to the Rooted mentorship arm of that ministry which I am a part of!

When it comes to the news, we tend to fall into one of two camps that are not healthy:

• Being addicted to the news or being in the know of all the news. Be it gossip or in the media- there is a overarching fear of missing out. I get it, sometimes it is easier to be fixated on things outside of ourselves to avoid what is going on in our own hearts.

• Ignoring the news, or adamant not wanting to hear anything that’s happening in the news because it is so bad. As a result, they can live in a bubble of self protection and lala land.

Hopefully, we can be in a third camp of consuming news that is appropriate for our soul and capacity to be in the world and not get sucked in by the world. May we have eyes and ears to hear the heartbeat of humanity in order for us to have empathy, compassion and wisdom to know how, why or if we should respond.News agencies would bode well if they interspersed their story lines with more good news stories. When we are fixated on the drama, the trauma, the evil atrocities, we will keep looking for them and their shock factor. Rather, I am finding for my soul care- there is a balance. Celebrating the miracles all around is good news. Family, friendships, service, sharing, caring, LIFE.

Have you been asked what you believe? (including your Statement of Faith or your Worldview?) It’s important to know who you are to have a greater sense of indentity and purpose in this world. This helps us to navigate the terrain of life and all the complex issues we face personally, as a family, in our relationships and in our world. The old saying “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything” is so telling. Although I have been growing in developing a faith and growing perspectives all my life, it wasn’t until I had to write a paper on my personal statement of faith in fulfillment for my seminary degree in 2020 that pushed me to articulate what I believe and why.

I believe humanity is created in the image of God. (Genesis 1:26-27) . At hostile junctions in time like today, It’s healthy for us to reflect that we began this life- forming, feeling, sensing, growing in the miraculous womb of a woman. This to me confirms the basis for true equality. The abortion debate stirs up passion on both sides of the fence. As I witnessed protests in 2019 at the release of the movie Unplanned (The thrust behind my blogpost in July that year), or the protests happening right now as result of overturning the 1972 Roe Vs Wade decision in the US placing the decision back to the states, I wanted to write an share a verse that is meaningful to me in regards to God’s care and concern for us all. Having that decision overturned on Friday, June 24th 2022 in the USA has created much discord, grief AND celebration. If we don’t see the womb as sacred, we will struggle now and into the future if anything can be sacred anymore. I don’t know about you, but let me tell you a bit of my own journey with grief, celebration in regards to my own womb: