A reflection by Nana Gwen on the phrase ‘no longer’ and how faith in Christ transforms our lives from darkness, slavery, and striving into freedom and light.

“A good cook should be able to use whatever ingredients are to hand and make a feast fit for a king.” That was my sister Doris's motto, acquired by her stint as a Defence Force Cook. Doris had undertaken to teach me how to cook.  Teaching me to cook left her frustrated and me feeling like an Emu trying to be a swan.

A family of four, Dad, son, Mum and daughter, strode along the jetty into the setting sun. There was a purpose in their stride and the set of their shoulders. Father and son marched ahead, while mother and daughter brought up the rear. All were laden with crab-nets, fishing rods, buckets of food, bait and bags.

A reflection on mosaic art, broken pieces, and how God’s love restores what feels rejected, inspired by creativity, faith, and a life of service.

It’s still very clear in my mind, the day I walked into the Pain Clinic at Flinders. I was in my early twenties, and I immediately felt unsettled. The walls were rotting and peeling, and I felt squished and oppressed from the low ceilings and tight spaces. It was as though everything about the corridors and waiting area was designed to be as uncomfortable as some post-modernist Foucauldian institution.

Today is Wednesday. Which means it's Cleaning Day in the Writer's Cottage. It is also Christmas Eve. So, I am cleaning on Christmas Eve. Which is very - normal.

Digital photography has changed the way we snap our photos.  My wife takes photos, many photos and I cry, ‘The cost, the cost, the cost!  What about the cost of film and development?’  But she laughs, and says, ‘This is the digital age, don’t you know.’ and continues on her way happily snapping.  If the snaps aren’t good she just deletes them and that is that. 

A heartfelt reflection of the masks we wear to hide our pain, and how God calls us to live unmasked and truly known.