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Susan Barnes

Press Services International

Susan Barnes has been involved in pastoral ministry for over twenty years with her husband, Ross. They are now semi-retired and enjoy supporting a number of churches in north-east Victoria. You can find more of Susan’s articles at: https://www.pressserviceinternational.org/susan-barnes.html

  • Evidence-based Christianity

    Every day we exercise faith based on evidence. We sit on a chair without checking its structural integrity. We exercise faith in the person who made the chair and the evidence that other people have sat on it.

  • The Cinderella experience

    Once upon a time, a beautiful young woman falls on hard times as a result of a tragic death in her family. She is forced into manual labour. Then a complete reversal occurs. She fortuitously meets a wealthy, well-respected member of the community who falls in love with her. They marry and she is rescued from a life of poverty and hardship. They live happily ever after.

  • The many ways Jesus meets us

    Lately, I have happened across stories of ordinary, middle-aged adults coming to faith. These people had no real connection to a church or a believing community. I have found their stories fascinating and enlightening as God met them where they were.

  • Your story matters

    Sometimes we might wonder if our story is worth telling. We may have lived an uneventful life that doesn’t seem to have impacted anyone. We may have grown up in a Christian home, attended church every Sunday and came to faith without any fanfare. Yet everyone’s story is unique and worth telling.

  • God isn’t a helicopter parent

    ‘Helicopter parent’ is a term that was first mentioned in a parenting book in 1969 but it became more widely used in the early 2000s when American academic administrators became aware of an increasing number of ‘Baby Boomer’ parents being excessively involved in the lives of their older teenagers/young adults.

  • On slaying dragons

    Recently I started a creative writing course and I’m currently studying storytelling. The earliest stories predate writing and were told in mnemonic ways.

  • Cashed in your gift card yet?

    Shortly after Christmas, I heard that 20 per cent of all gift cards aren’t used. Apparently, all we wanted for Christmas was … nothing.

  • Three ways to increase your joy in 2021

    Is pursuing joy even a valid quest?

  • The uncomfortableness of Christmas

    This year Christmas may be uncomfortable, depending on where you live in the world.

  • Am I doing enough?

    About a year after becoming a mother, I went to a meeting for young mums. As an ice-breaker, the leader asked us to answer the question, “What is the minimum you have to do in the morning before you will go out?”