Author Archives: deandondavidson

There is a lovely invention in the game of golf that I am convinced was inspired by the Holy Spirit, even if it isn’t recognized by the Rules of Golf: the mulligan. For the non-golfer, let me explain. A mulligan is the blessed reprieve after your first drive slices so spectacularly that it lands threeContinue reading “Golf and Grace, Part II – On Mulligans and the God of Second Chances”

With a big out-of-town wedding yesterday, I must admit that it ended up being a rather late day for me, and that when the alarm clock screeched out the message that it was now time to get up and get moving, it was not the most welcome sound in the world. I confess, dear reader,Continue reading “The Theology of Alarm Clocks – On Waking, Watchfulness, and God’s Call to Rise”

This week has involved a lot of time spent sitting behind the wheel of my car. Between normal ministry stuff, a very sick aunt in Kitchener, and wedding and rehearsal in Brantford, I have spent more than the average amount of time in the car. It got me thinking about the holiness of some ofContinue reading “Holiness in a Traffic Jam: Prayer at Red Lights”

There are saints whose names are written in stained glass and history books. And then there are saints whose legacy is marked by the faint squeak of metal hinges and the stubborn pinch of fingers caught where the chair folds. These are the saints of the folding chairs. You know them. They’re the folks whoContinue reading “The Ministry of Folding Chairs – Unnoticed Work That Makes Community Possible”

I sometimes suspect that God gave us seasons not only for the farmers and their crops, or for those who like to keep an orderly calendar, but also for the poets, the preachers, and perhaps even the comedians. Every shift in the weather is a new sermon, if we are only willing to listen. AndContinue reading “Praying with the Seasons – How Fall Leaves, Winter Silence, Spring Blossoms, and Summer Heat Invite Us into God’s Rhythms”

Dear friends,If you’ve turned on the news lately, you may have found yourself tempted to crawl under the bed with a thermos of tea and wait for the Second Coming. Wars, disasters, political squabbles that make kindergarten playgrounds look positively civil — sometimes it feels like the world has taken a wrong turn and isContinue reading “Finding Hope in Hard News – How Christians Live Faithfully Amid Overwhelming Global Challenges”

This past Sunday was the first Sunday in September. It was the beginning of a new Fall season in our parish, and — as we do to celebrate such momentous occasions in the life of many a parish, we began that season with a potluck lunch to bring people back together. I love potluck lunches,Continue reading “The Church Kitchen as Sacred Space – A Reflection on Dishwashing, Potlucks, and the Quiet Ministry of Hospitality”

If there’s one thing most of us can agree on, it’s that forgiveness sounds lovely in theory and feels terribly awkward in practice. It’s like exercise: we all nod politely when someone recommends it, but when the time comes, we find about 93 reasons why today is not the day. Forgiveness is hard because itContinue reading “Why Forgiveness Feels So Hard (and Why We Need It Anyway)”

All through the year, I have a visitor that is regularly in attendance on my back deck. It is a black squirrel that I have often described as the fattest squirrel I have ever seen. My nephew doesn’t like it when I say that though, and says, “You shouldn’t fat shame that poor squirrel.” PuttingContinue reading “The Sermon of the Squirrels – Creation’s Persistence and God’s Provision in Unlikely Teachers”

Dear reader, if you’ve known me for very long, you will know that I am very much a creature of habit. I like to structure my life with very set schedules and familiar patterns. In that familiar pattern, Saturday is Laundry Day; the day when the beds are stripped, and the towels are taken fromContinue reading “The Eschatology of Lost Socks – What Laundry Day Can Teach Us About the Kingdom of God”