Pastoral care Archives - Brian Harris https://brianharrisauthor.com/tag/pastoral-care/ Tue, 05 Aug 2025 02:17:23 +0000 en-AU hourly 1 https://i0.wp.com/brianharrisauthor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/cropped-brianharrisauthor-favicon-1.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 Pastoral care Archives - Brian Harris https://brianharrisauthor.com/tag/pastoral-care/ 32 32 93416650 Refresh: Adam Raised a Cain – When our Children Break our Heart. https://brianharrisauthor.com/refresh-adam-raised-a-cain-when-our-children-break-our-heart/ https://brianharrisauthor.com/refresh-adam-raised-a-cain-when-our-children-break-our-heart/#comments Tue, 20 May 2025 22:00:00 +0000 https://brianharrisauthor.com/?p=5595 Today’s Refresh post will touch a raw nerve for some. Nothing impacts us like our family and children. When things go wrong, it is more than heart breaking. I hope that this post from February 2016 is of some small help. Refresh: Adam Raised a Cain – When our Children Break our Heart Don’t know […]

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]]> https://brianharrisauthor.com/refresh-adam-raised-a-cain-when-our-children-break-our-heart/feed/ 4 5595 The in and out dilemma: Should we magnify our differences? https://brianharrisauthor.com/the-in-and-out-dilemma-should-we-magnify-our-differences/ https://brianharrisauthor.com/the-in-and-out-dilemma-should-we-magnify-our-differences/#comments Sat, 28 Sep 2024 22:00:00 +0000 https://brianharrisauthor.com/?p=5040 By and large we live in a tolerant era – well, it’s tolerant until it isn’t. What do the things we both tolerate and exclude tell us about ourself and the time in which we live? And what’s the difference between tolerating something and embracing it? Should we go on about our differences, or focus […]

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]]> https://brianharrisauthor.com/the-in-and-out-dilemma-should-we-magnify-our-differences/feed/ 4 5040 Hear, Help or Hug: 3 Ways to Respond https://brianharrisauthor.com/hear-help-or-hug-3-ways-to-respond/ https://brianharrisauthor.com/hear-help-or-hug-3-ways-to-respond/#comments Sat, 22 Jun 2024 22:00:00 +0000 https://brianharrisauthor.com/?p=4918 It was a slightly unexpected and somewhat abrupt question, but afterwards its wisdom struck me. I was chatting to a friend about a difficult thing that had happened and he simply asked: “So what would you like from me? To hear, to help or to hug?” It set me thinking about my instinctive response when […]

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]]> https://brianharrisauthor.com/hear-help-or-hug-3-ways-to-respond/feed/ 1 4918 With a stake in the heart – learning from the past https://brianharrisauthor.com/with-a-stake-in-the-heart-learning-from-the-past/ https://brianharrisauthor.com/with-a-stake-in-the-heart-learning-from-the-past/#comments Sat, 13 Jan 2024 22:00:00 +0000 https://brianharrisauthor.com/?p=4625 I’m taking today’s blog in a somewhat different direction, and a bit of a warning is appropriate. I will be looking at some historic Christian responses to suicide, and what we can learn from them. While it is not meant to be, it could be triggering for some, and if that’s you, give this post […]

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]]> https://brianharrisauthor.com/with-a-stake-in-the-heart-learning-from-the-past/feed/ 8 4625 Because we all need six weeks off… https://brianharrisauthor.com/because-we-all-need-six-weeks-off/ https://brianharrisauthor.com/because-we-all-need-six-weeks-off/#comments Sat, 10 Dec 2022 22:00:00 +0000 https://brianharrisauthor.com/?p=4055 A good friend was chatting about his recent visit to the dentist. As his mouth was trapped in a permanently open gape the dentist was doing all the talking, and was running through the woes of the world. He kept going for a long time and then concluded, “with all that has been going on, […]

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]]> https://brianharrisauthor.com/because-we-all-need-six-weeks-off/feed/ 7 4055 The Bias that Blinds Us… https://brianharrisauthor.com/the-bias-that-blinds-us/ https://brianharrisauthor.com/the-bias-that-blinds-us/#comments Sat, 19 Feb 2022 22:00:00 +0000 https://brianharrisauthor.com/?p=3610 Most of us would like to be good listeners, even deep listeners – people who see beyond the surface of things to what is really going on. Jesus was one of those people. When asked a question he rarely answered it directly, but moved it to a different level or replied with another question. In […]

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]]> https://brianharrisauthor.com/the-bias-that-blinds-us/feed/ 2 3610 From Theodicy to Theophany https://brianharrisauthor.com/from-theodicy-to-theophany/ https://brianharrisauthor.com/from-theodicy-to-theophany/#comments Sat, 12 Feb 2022 22:00:00 +0000 https://brianharrisauthor.com/?p=3594 Ok, I admit the title of this post is not exactly catchy! But you are still reading, so let me quickly say why I think it is important. You probably know people who have suffered greatly – perhaps you are one of them. All suffering is hard to watch, but it is especially devastating when […]

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]]> https://brianharrisauthor.com/from-theodicy-to-theophany/feed/ 6 3594 When in a City under Siege: Ps 31 then and now https://brianharrisauthor.com/when-in-a-city-under-siege-ps-31-then-and-now/ https://brianharrisauthor.com/when-in-a-city-under-siege-ps-31-then-and-now/#comments Sat, 29 Jan 2022 22:00:38 +0000 https://brianharrisauthor.com/?p=3575 I came across Ps 31 in my devotions this week. Given its original context, it is a surprisingly hopeful psalm, and verse 21 seems especially apt for the complex times we are living through: Praise be to the `Lord, for he showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a city under siege. […]

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]]> https://brianharrisauthor.com/when-in-a-city-under-siege-ps-31-then-and-now/feed/ 4 3575 Every Brilliant Thing… Reflections on a movie https://brianharrisauthor.com/every-brilliant-thing-reflections-on-a-movie/ https://brianharrisauthor.com/every-brilliant-thing-reflections-on-a-movie/#comments Thu, 09 Mar 2017 22:00:13 +0000 http://brianharrisauthor.com/?p=2492 On a recent flight back to Perth, I watched a HBO documentary, “Every Brilliant Thing”. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but the brief blurb about it said “Adapted from the hit Broadway-show, and balancing sobering loss with cathartic laughter, this deeply poignant film recounts a life lived in the shadow of suicide.”  I guess […]

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]]> https://brianharrisauthor.com/every-brilliant-thing-reflections-on-a-movie/feed/ 5 2492 When wrestling with God: Jacob’s struggle, and ours… https://brianharrisauthor.com/when-wrestling-with-god-jacobs-struggle-and-ours/ https://brianharrisauthor.com/when-wrestling-with-god-jacobs-struggle-and-ours/#comments Sat, 12 Nov 2016 03:14:55 +0000 http://brianharrisauthor.com/?p=2350 Sometimes life does not go to plan, and you find yourself in a battle with what seems to be everyone and everything. In the midst of those seasons, it is easy to lose perspective and to succumb to the destructive trio of bitterness, cynicism and despair. Given that for most people it is not a […]

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]]> https://brianharrisauthor.com/when-wrestling-with-god-jacobs-struggle-and-ours/feed/ 5 2350