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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

  • 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?”

  • Social capital

    The term “social capital” has become popular among social analysts to explain the value of community, connectedness and a sense of belonging.

  • I hate goal setting

    I’m highly structured and organized, but I hate setting goals. I hate SMART goals, SWOT, SOAR and any other goal-setting tools. I find them boring, exhausting and frustrating.

  • None of us knows how long this will be

    The title, None of us knows how long this will be, could be the latest newspaper headline. However, it was believed to have been written when Jerusalem was under Babylonian attack in about 586 BC.

  • How many partners will you have?

    Recently I discussed my forty plus years of marriage with a young person. He said he couldn’t imagine being with one person for that length of time.

  • The truth found in jigsaws

    My husband, Ross, likes doing jigsaws, and the Covid-19 shutdown has allowed him to complete several. As I like to find spiritual parallels to earthly activities, I’m sharing three spiritual truths from jigsaws.

  • Survival of the fittest

    In the avalanche of articles about the Coronavirus, from time to time, an article surfaces regarding the sacrifices of younger people for older more vulnerable people.

  • The unexpected challenge of spare time

    I read this on the internet where it was posted anonymously. “After years of wanting to thoroughly clean my house but lacking the time, this week I discovered that wasn’t the reason.”

  • On taking photos

    I grew up in a household where my parents were always keen to take photos on holidays and at family events. I remember my mother had a Box Brownie camera and she took photos of the TV when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon! Photo taking is a nice tradition and I inherited the habit.