Posts

Featured Post

Welcome!

-
Above All Love: A Foundation of Faith Dear friends in Christ, Welcome. This space exists for one reason: love — the love of God poured out in Jesus Christ, the love we are called to extend to one another, and to the world. There are many voices clamouring for our attention. Here, you will find the rhythm of one heart seeking to follow the way of Love — a faith rooted not in tradition for its own sake, but in the living, active, self-giving love at the heart of the Gospel. Three truths have become my anchors. The first is the Living Word. Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh. Apart from Him, the true God cannot be fully known. In Jesus, we see the face of a God who is Love, and whose Gospel is the path of Peace. The second is the Gift of Grace. Salvation is found by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, for the glory of God alone. Grace is a gift — unearned, freely given, and life-changing. The third is the Way of Love. It is our joy and our calling to follow Him. Thou...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mencap Gateway Bronze Award – Week 14 Weekly Evidence Checklist

-
Image
1. Volunteering – Walk for Autism Completed previously. ✅ 2. Fitness – Nature Walk Evidence: Getting outside and connecting with nature is something I find genuinely grounding. 3. Hobby – The Digital Parish & Daily Office This week's hobby evidence continues to come in the form of prayer, though using the Northumbria Community Office less. I've been documenting my faith reflections here on the blog as I go, which ties in beautifully with this Digital Parish project.  4. Personal Challenge Previously submitted. ✅ 5. Lifestyle – Sensory & Advocacy This covers a lot of ground, and this week felt particularly full in the best way. On the sensory side, I'm continuing to manage daily regulation using my Squiggle Society and other art supplies, fidgets, and planned sensory snacks. The Finch app has also been a really helpful tool for keeping up with routines — small steps, but they add up. Currently on a 90 day streak.  This week I also started doin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Simply Fellowship — Episode 5: The One Who Came Back

-
Image
WELCOME Welcome to Above All Love. This is Simply Fellowship — the Good News, quietly told. This is a gentle space. No pressure, no performance. You don't have to have it together to be here. You don't have to be healed, or feeling anything in particular today. You're welcome exactly as you are, wherever you are reading this. If you need to move, or step away and come back later — that's completely fine. There's no right way to be here. Just be here. HYMN We begin with a hymn verse. Read it slowly. You might want to sit with each line before moving on. Breathe on me, Breath of God, Fill me with life anew, That I may love what thou dost love, And do what thou wouldst do. — Edwin Hatch PRAYER Loving God, Thank you that you do not wait for us to be well before you notice us. Thank you that in the middle of our years — in the middle of our waiting, our weariness, our half-lived lives — you are not absent. Revive us today, not in some distant future, but here...
Post a Comment
Read more

🏅 Week 13 – Mencap Gateway Bronze Award Update

-
Image
🏅 Week 13  This is my weekly evidence check-in for the Mencap Gateway Bronze Award. Week 13 has been a big one — not just for the award, but for our family. Here's a round-up of everything covered this week. 1. Volunteering – Walk for Autism 🚶 Evidence submitted and completed previously. Nothing further to add — this section is wrapped up.  2. Fitness – Nature Walk 🌿 This week's fitness evidence is a nature photo.  This week's highlight: We had a caravan holiday with the family at an autism-friendly caravan site!  Time outdoors, time together, and a change of scenery — exactly the kind of nature activity that covers this section beautifully. 3. Hobby – The Digital Parish & Daily Office 📖🙏 Continuing with daily prayer but not exclusively Northumbria Community Office anymore though. I'm also documenting reflections here on this blog. This is an ongoing rhythm that feeds both the spirit an...
Post a Comment
Read more

Simply Fellowship — Episode 4: The Road to Emmaus

-
Image
    WELCOME Welcome to Above All Love. This is Simply Fellowship — the Good News, quietly told. This is a gentle space. No pressure, no performance. You don't have to have it together to be here. You don't have to be hopeful, or certain, or even feel particularly faithful today. You're welcome exactly as you are, wherever you are reading this. If you need to move, or step away and come back later — that's completely fine. There's no right way to be here. Just be here. HYMN We begin with a hymn verse. Read it slowly. You might want to sit with each line before moving on. Abide with me; fast falls the eventide; The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide; When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me. — Henry Francis Lyte PRAYER Loving God, Thank you that you walk beside us even when we do not know it is you. Thank you that you ask us questions and listen to our answers, and do not tell us off for getting things wrong. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Weekly Progress Report: Mencap Gateway Bronze Award (Week 12)

-
Image
It’s Sunday again, which means it is time to check in on my progress for the Mencap Gateway Bronze Award . This week has been a whirlwind of advocacy, emotional deep-dives, and family time. Here is the breakdown of my evidence for Week 12. ​1. Volunteering: Walk for Autism ​ Status: Completed. I submitted the final evidence for this section last week. It feels great to have this milestone officially ticked off! ​2. Fitness: Nature Walk ​ Evidence: ​ Highlight: I spent some quality time at Newhailes Park with the kids this week while Sarah and Solomon were at a hospital appointment. It was the perfect opportunity to get exercise in and enjoy the fresh air. ​3. Hobby: The Digital Parish & Prayer ​ Activity: Daily prayer using the Northumbria Office has fallen by the way a bit. But, I dip into prayer, particularly about family health and peace in the world.  I have been in touch with a ministry about a pos...
Post a Comment
Read more

Simply Fellowship — Episode 3: The Woman Who Lost Her Coin

-
Image
WELCOME Welcome to Above All Love. This is Simply Fellowship — the Good News, quietly told. This is a gentle space. No pressure, no performance. You don't have to have it together to be here. You don't have to be eloquent, or certain, or spiritually sorted. You're welcome exactly as you are, wherever you are reading this. If you need to move, or step away and come back later — that's completely fine. There's no right way to be here. Just be here. HYMN We begin with a hymn verse. Read it slowly. You might want to sit with each line before moving on. Depth of mercy! Can there be Mercy still reserved for me? Can my God his wrath forbear? Me, the chief of sinners, spare? — Charles Wesley PRAYER Loving God, Thank you that you are the one who searches. Thank you that when we are lost — even when we don't know we are lost — you have not stopped looking. Help us today to hear the sound of that search reaching us where we are. And may we know that when we ar...
Post a Comment
Read more

Beneath the Rubble: Hearing the Voices of Palestinian Christians

-
Image
In the heart of the Holy Land, a community that traces its roots back to the very first disciples is crying out. Pastor Munther Isaac of Bethlehem recently issued a poignant challenge to the global church: "We are broken... Are you listening?" ​To understand the reality of the war and the yearning for peace, we must look beyond the headlines and listen to the people living it. Here is a collation of voices—from high-ranking clergy to the children of Gaza—speaking their truth. ​🏛️ From the Pulpit: The Moral Compass ​The spiritual leaders of Palestine view the current conflict not just as a political crisis, but as a profound theological test for the world. ​ Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac (Lutheran): "Gaza is the moral compass of the world. We either side with the logic of power and ruthlessness... or you side with the victims of oppression and injustice. It is a simple choice: you either support a genocide, or you cry out: No!" ​ The Patriarchs and Heads...
Post a Comment
Read more