by David Hayward | Oct 8, 2017 | David's Letters, I'm confused
We can swim in the Atlantic Ocean here but it’s quite cold. There are at least 3 kinds of people: Those who stick their toes in and run back to their towels. Those who go in just below their groin and hang out there.’ Those who go in all the way over their heads to...
by David Hayward | Oct 2, 2017 | David's Letters, I'm confused
You have the cradle. You have the fairy tales. You have the church. You have the stories it wants you to believe. For some, they leave the cradle but keep the fairy tales. For some, they throw out the fairy tales but stay in the cradle. For others, they leave both...
by David Hayward | Sep 24, 2017 | David's Letters, I'm scared
Lisa and I and our three grown children had about a week together. So we decided to go for a vacation. We did the Cabot Trail of Cape Breton. Absolutely stunning! We enjoyed incredible views, waterfalls, camping, hikes, good food and drinks, but mostly the love of...
by David Hayward | Sep 17, 2017 | David's Letters, I'm sad
Is it okay to grieve the loss of something that wasn’t good? Of course. Any kind of grief must be respected. The feelings of sadness we might feel for losing anything at all is valid. Why is this? Partially, it’s because the things we lost were a part of a situation...
by David Hayward | Sep 10, 2017 | David's Letters, I'm confused
In the year 2000 Lisa bought me a Taylor acoustic guitar… a 210 CE cutaway with pickups, to be exact. The most beautiful sounding guitar I’ve ever played. I had been playing for years… songwriting and singing in the church for most of my life… performing as well as...
by David Hayward | Sep 3, 2017 | David's Letters, I'm sad
The other day a person on Facebook posted a video of the Pentecostal revivalist A. A. Allen healing a boy at a tent revival meeting. The boy had a rare disease that caused him to be born without bones in his legs. The video claims he healed the boy and he could walk....
by David Hayward | Aug 13, 2017 | David's Letters, I'm scared
This letter is short and sweet. My argument is simple: Get help! What I mean is: use whatever resources are available to you to invest in your own personal growth. When I got last year’s taxes done, I saw in black and white (and red) exactly how much I invested in my...
by David Hayward | Jul 26, 2017 | David's Letters, I'm okay
When I was visiting my family earlier this month it dawned on me that my personal growth and spiritual growth are not two separate things, but exactly the same thing. I grew up with my understanding of “God” being pretty much identical with my understanding of...
by David Hayward | Jul 5, 2017 | David's Letters, I'm confused, I'm scared
Lisa and I are going on a much-needed vacation to visit my family in Toronto where we will just relax, eat, drink, and be merry. We will navigate around difficult topics like Trump and Fox News. But we’re experts so we are not worried about it. We’ll have a great...
by David Hayward | Jun 18, 2017 | David's Letters, I'm confused
Most of us were taught to only read, learn, and think what was handed to us. We were to digest and regurgitate what was fed to us. We were only to expose ourselves to that which was recommended. I clearly remember like it was yesterday when I was a country pastor of...
by David Hayward | Jun 3, 2017 | David's Letters, I'm scared
I was invited to a Toastmasters meeting last Tuesday night. I went. But not until after a bunch of trying to decide and coaxing from Lisa. I was nervous about going. I didn’t want to get trapped into some arrangement I was unhappy with. Lisa pointed out that my life...
by David Hayward | May 22, 2017 | David's Letters, I'm okay
As most of you probably know, I’m an artist. I don’t just cartoon. I also paint and draw. I’ve been doing it since I was a kid. Now, I always used to draw and paint and just enjoyed it. I thought I was doing it just for the pleasure of it. Yes, as an artist, I get...
by David Hayward | May 14, 2017 | David's Letters, I'm sad
I got a message from someone this morning. I’ve only met her many times. I know her son. But we haven’t talked in years. So I found it strange and out of the blue to receive it. Here’s part of the message: “I remember when you left the ministry and I appreciate the...
by David Hayward | May 7, 2017 | David's Letters, I'm okay
Last night Lisa and I went to a party. There were tons of people there. Many of them were from the last church I pastored. Lisa and I agreed that it was awkward at moments, uncomfortable almost always, and strange to say the least. But the one thing we did agree on is...
by David Hayward | Apr 30, 2017 | David's Letters, I'm confused
So today I want to share a powerful dream I had the other night, then try to walk through it together with you to maybe unlock its meaning. It’s powerful to me because it involves the symbol of father. Here’s the dream: I am sitting across the table from two guys....
by David Hayward | Apr 27, 2017 | David's Letters, I'm confused
This is a video I made over 3 years ago specifically for TLS, but a year ago or so I opened it up for others to view. It’s not viral or anything, but on about a weekly basis I hear from someone who has really benefited from it. So I thought I would share it again with...
