About Aukje

I am a Jesus Follower, or at least I like to think I am. Jesus says some pretty challenging things even without considering the time and cultural differences between our respective journeys on this earth. While at times I have wondered at what point I am on the continuum of being in intimate relationship with God, I have settled on knowing that God loves me 

where I am, and continues to patiently work on me to get me to where He wants me to be.

I have this love/aversion relationship with labels. I love for things to be figured out, tidy, and orderly. I would love to say, “I am a (insert label of choice), which means, I am (insert defining characteristics)”, but I don’t fit into those boxes neatly. I am less and more, which makes me feel odd. Yet, I suspect I am not alone in this, and maybe that is the ‘norm’?! 

LOL! (Head thrown back, mouth wide open, laughing uproariously!) 

It seems so preposterous. 

To describe my life’s journey without labels…

My family immigrated to Canada when I was five years old.

I grew up in the church, experiencing various expressions of it over the years.

I moved to Japan for 13 years upon the completion of my formal education 

and taught English conversation, eventually joining a church plant team.

We moved back to Canada to raise our two boys.

I studied for Spiritual Formation and Spiritual Direction, 

then started my own practice. 

Which brings me to the here and now: 

Loving God and my neighbour as myself (I made great strides on that one once I discovered I need to love myself first!), 

loving nature (not the bugs), reading too many books at the same time, 

while dabbling in cross-stitch, puzzles and experiments with plants.