What I’ve been thinking about lately
What gets in the way of joy? Some thoughts on fear, guilt, and “fleshly desires”
Friday, after a full day of work and a couple of juicy conversations with faraway friends, I headed to my hammock, tucked under two giant maple trees in my newly landscaped backyard. The late afternoon sun peeked through pinholes between the canopy of leaves, bouncing...
read moreConscientious Disruptor: What it means to grow up Mennonite
When I was a young teenager, our family arrived at our tiny rural church for a special evening service to find a sign on the door. “It is illegal to gather here,” was the essence of the message. “Those who worship here will be tried for heresy and...
read moreWhat I learned about leadership and holding space from a floating unicorn
I was sitting at the beach with my journal recently, while on a private writing retreat with a friend. It was a perfect summer morning, with the kind of blue sky painted with white clouds that makes the world seem a little easier to navigate. I was alone on the beach...
read moreWhat’s the poetry your heart wants to sing? And how might it liberate us?
György Faludy decided, at age nine, to become a poet because he was afraid of dying. Lying in bed at night, in terror of not waking up in the morning, he resolved to create a world with words where he could feel safe, a world of his creation that would live on after...
read moreWhen you hold space for someone with mental illness
(Trigger warning: suicide) The first time it happened, I was five months pregnant with our first baby. It started with panic attacks. My then-husband was starting a new job with greater responsibility and, coupled with the expectancy of fatherhood, he was feeling...
read moreThe conditions for deep and meaningful friendship
I remember the day clearly. I don’t remember the date, but it must have been a warm summer day, because I was wearing my favourite turquoise summer dress. I was walking home from church pushing a double stroller with a toddler and infant inside. I was glad that my...
read moreWhen shame-brain meets the mistake monster
I cut off someone in traffic recently. It was completely my fault. I wasn’t paying enough attention and drifted into the other lane when mine was suddenly blocked off for construction. The moment I realized what I’d done, though, shame-brain quickly tried to find...
read moreWhat came first – the trauma or the patriarchy?
Sometimes you don’t know that you know something until you hear the words come out of your mouth. That’s how it was when I said these words a few weeks ago, while teaching my Holding Space Coach/Facilitator Program… “Trauma is the soil in which the patriarchy has...
read moreTips for social media engagement
Not sure how to engage in healthy conversations online? Here are some tips: If they didn’t ask for advice or fixing, don’t assume that they want it. If you don’t want advice or fixing, go ahead and say you don’t want it. If you weren’t there, don’t assume you know...
read moreWhat if we claim (and honour) sovereignty in our relationships?
Up until a dozen years ago, I’d only encountered the word “sovereign” in reference to God and I assumed it had something to do with being all-powerful, all-knowing, in control, and holy. I later encountered it in relation to nations, but, because I’d been raised with...
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