5 minutes with Naomi ...
- Tell us a little about you
I have lots of ideas. I love to write and speak. I’m married to Darren and we have three sons. We lived in Nepal for six years, through seven monsoons and civil war. We worked as physios, and we counted the days of rain, and we loved the local church, and I home schooled our three boys. We’ve been back in Australia for ten years now, and I’m still aware of how much those years continue to shape my thinking and responses.
- What's your favourite bible passage & why?
Jesus said, “Love each other as I have loved you.” (John 15:12) I find it impossible, of course (even to love my family well), but it reminds me, daily, of the relentless, sacrificial, grace-filled love of God for each of us. And as people who follow Jesus, therefore, we don’t really want to sit around, as comfortably as we can. We want to walk out the door, and down the street, and to the ends of the earth, to love each other as he first loved us. And that will look different for each of us, but perhaps, the more we pause and consider the depth of God’s love for us, the more we will want to love, in response.
- How do you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus?
On a good day, I pray and read the Bible. Today is a good day. But there are days that are hard. So I try to let everything in my day remind me of Jesus – whether it’s the hard things (through which he gives us strength), or the boring things around the house, or the beauty of the first daffodil, or the peace after an argument… what do all these things tell me about a God who loves us, who redeems, who forgives, who waits, and who promises us a place to come (where we will never feel fearful, or exhausted, or angry, or impatient, ever again).
- What would you like the next generation of Christian women to know?
That they’re loved, that they’re known, and that they’ve been given gifts to honour Jesus, in a myriad of different ways. So use them.
- What's one thing that you love about your local church?
I can walk in the door and sit down and breathe. I love the teaching and the honesty of the people. They reveal how they really are, and they point me to Jesus… and I go away feeling deeply encouraged to be the ‘scattered’ church.
- What did you learn about God at a time in your life you found hard?
That he is close to the broken hearted.
- What are you passionate about?
I’ve just written a new story. It’s all about a wide, open valley, where the animals are known and loved and fed by the Zookeeper. He walks with them and talks with them and reminds them that they can play wherever they want to, in the valley, but the one place they can’t play is on the other side of the sparkling river, in the dark forest. Do you think they want to?
- What do you enjoy doing when you rest?
I pull out weeds from our garden. And while I weed, I think up new ideas, and stories! Fortunately, we have a lot of weeds, so that’s good news for the stories…
To find out more about Naomi, visit her site here
