Mental Health

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The Kaleidoscope 

Diverse Conditions Abound

Healing Empathy

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Written for 'Poetry has the power to heal' prompt for World Mental Health Day.

A Highland Theological College graduate and non-conformist follower of Jesus living at the crossroads of neurodiversity and faith. Writing on the wild grace of the Gospel.

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Dear Friends, 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. My ministry does not happen behind heavy church doors or within rigid institutional walls. It happens in the quiet, ordinary spaces of life where we learn to walk together at an unhurried pace. This is 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 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 Gift of Grace I believe salvation is found by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Grace is a t...
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Describe your take on the Charlie Kirk murder: I have held off judgement as whatever happens he was human and I refuse to speak ill of any dead. I agreed with him on some things and strongly disagreed on other things. I will let God be his judge, not me.  None the less I always have questions: Was it weird Netanyahu said it wasn't him?  Why this one killing got so much attention when it is daily, even hourly in the USA?  What's in the files?  Why wasn't the flags even at half mast for the senators murdered only months before for example?  Thoughts about the service I admittedlly only saw bits of:  Horst Wessel effect? Pyrotechnic show? Political rally?  Were some people just acting?  Mega church concert? Is revival, as some claim it is, not more than some nice songs and words?  Isn't revival conviction, repentance and fruits showing, social reformation?  Can God not also use it for good even if some of these speakers, as some may claim, ...
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Charles Spurgeon: On War and Christians

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  ✦ ✦ ✦ "Long Have I Held That War Is an Enormous Crime " The Forgotten Voice of Spurgeon Against the Unrighteousness of War Compiled from the Sermons & Addresses of C. H. Spurgeon · Charles Haddon Spurgeon — the "Prince of Preachers," whose sermons filled the Metropolitan Tabernacle week after week with thousands of listeners and whose printed words reached millions across the Victorian world — held a view on war and Christians that modern conservative, fundamentalist, and evangelical readers would find startling. He was, in the most direct and unambiguous terms, opposed to war. Not cautiously skeptical of it. Not quietly troubled by it. Opposed to it — on Christian grounds, from the pulpit, in print, again and again across the breadth of his ministry. Laurence M. Vance, who has studied Spurgeon's writings on the subject at length, has noted that "Spurgeon considered the spirit of war to be absolutely foreign to the spirit of Christianity" and tha...
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The Gate of The Year (God Knows)

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The poem, originally titled "God Knows" and written by Minnie Louise Haskins in 1908, is most famous for its opening preamble. ​Here is the full text: ​The Gate of the Year ​And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: “Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.” And he replied: “Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.” ​So I went forth, and finding the Hand of God, trod gladly into the night. And He led me towards the hills and the breaking of day in the lone East. ​So heart be still: What need our little life, Our human life, to know, If God hath comprehension? In all the dizzy strife Of things both high and low, God hideth His intention. ​God knows. His will Is best. The stretch of years Which wind ahead, so dim To our imperfect vision, Are clear to God. Our fears Are premature; In Him, All time hath full provision. ​Then rest: un...
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Week 7 — Weekly Mencap Gateway Post

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  Mencap Gateway Week 7 Evidence Checklist Sunday check-in · approx. 5 minutes   Sunday reflection on advocacy, faith, community, and daily life Here's this week's evidence checklist and reflection. It's been a full, tender week — plans changed, ideas grew quieter and warmer, and small acts of advocacy continued behind the scenes. As always, progress isn't always loud. Section 1 🚶 Volunteering — Walk for Autism Evidence:   This week's advocacy and visibility work for Walk for Autism: Fundraising link posted on the   No. 6 One Stop Shop Facebook group   to reach a wider local audience. Used the   @highlight   feature to boost the post's reach and engagement. Section 2 🌿 Fitness — Nature Walk Evidence: Pictures of walk around the Scottish Bird Gardens in Lauder. Section 3 📖 Hobby — The Digital Parish & Daily Office Activity Daily prayer using the   Northumbria Community Office , with reflections on faith and life on this blog. This week also ...
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Take Heart A Catechism By David Holdsworth  Authors Note: There are many good Catechisms available. But, somewhere along the line Christians in many parts of the church at large seem to have lost this age old practice of simple instruction in the format of questions and answers. In no way is this little contribution meant to take away from good Catechisms already written, but rather to be a compliment to them. This is a simple way for me to share the good news with others. It is my hope that you the reader or listener may find biblical help from the simplicity of the good news. I have included biblical proofs as standard so you may go and examine the scriptures (and indeed your heart) for yourself. Pax et Bonum. (1) Q. What comfort may be found for the believer? A. A heart that need not have trouble or fear. One that can rely on God in troubled times and that can glorify His name.  Proofs. John 14:27, Psalm 46:1, Psalm 50:15 (2) Q. What message does scriptures give to those st...
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Micah 5:2 “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” King James Version (KJV)
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"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey." — Zechariah 9:9 The crowds spread their cloaks and waved their palm branches, expecting a conquering warrior on a warhorse. Instead, heaven's King rode in on a borrowed donkey — not with a sword drawn, but with arms open wide. This was no political revolution dressed in armor; it was a divine rescue mission wrapped in humility. The same hands that flung stars into the sky held no weapon, sought no palace, commanded no legion. He came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. Every expectation the world had of power and greatness, He quietly, deliberately turned inside out. No crown, no throne, no army — just a donkey and a King who came to give His life for the world. He still turns the world upside down. Will you? *Image via Instagram: @saltandlightwords Two w...
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