The Best Me January is a very confused month. On the one hand, ‘time to treat yourself! Book a holiday! Schedule in time-out. Nurture, regroup, recover.’ On the other, ‘Time to discipline yourself. Rein in all the excess. Work harder, achieve more, be The Best You.’ So what is ‘The Best Me?’ Our culture traditionally offers two answers to this question. The first is to focus on physical change aka Getting A New Body (through fitness, diet, surgery or whatever). …Read More
One from the archives… This year. You can have Hope. Whatever you’re facing; (and even if you’re refusing to face it). Not a wishy-washy sense that everything will be okay. Not a feeling or a temperament. Not a stake in something that can be torn away. Hope. Not something you work up by yourself. Not dependent on those around you. Not about your house or your health or your happiness. Hope. Not for other people. Not for when you’ve earned it …Read More
1. “You are worried and upset about many things. But only one thing is necessary” (Luke 10:42). Look at the context of this passage. Martha is wrapping presents, stuffing turkey, decorating the tree, baking mince pies and keeping the whole show on the road. She’s feeling neglected and stressed – but her solutions aren’t helping. She doesn’t need a spreadsheet – or even a special reading plan. Just one thing matters – time with Jesus! Whatever our surroundings, the Lord …Read More
Thanks so much to Sharon, for this wonderful advent meditation for those suffering from mental illness. She writes; …. I suffer from depression, a symptom of my schizoaffective disorder, and, if I’m honest, I find these few weeks leading up to Christmas difficult. As I write, I am sitting in my kitchen. It’s mid-morning, but it’s dark, with heavy cloud pressing down upon the house. The low pressure makes me feel claustrophobic, and part of me just wants to go back …Read More
Last week a reader emailed, to ask if I would write a post on involuntary childlessness. She said, ‘We as a Christian couple haven’t been able to have children, but not by choice… It’s not what we wanted but it’s where we are… I just want folks to think a bit!’ Glen and I have had some experience of this, but I wondered if anything I wrote would sound glib, given that we’ve now had Ruby and adopted a wee …Read More
James Cary is Mr Podcasts and I was fortunate enough to be inquisitioned (is that a thing?) by him for The Inquisition Podcast. Listen in here as I talk about my story and the difference Jesus makes. And do subscribe to the Inquisition — a fab new podcast. Share…FacebookTwitterTumblrPinterestGoogle+StumbleUponDiggemail
It’s the last in our series on the Trinity. And to round it off, here’s a wonderful guest post from Glen… “Remember guys,” said the youth leader, with wide-eyed, hyper-Haribo, youth-leader enthusiasm, “the Spirit is NOT an it. It’s a He!” The lesson the youth leader wanted to teach is the lesson he needed to learn. He knew that the personhood of the Spirit was important. Technically. But that didn’t change the way he related to the Spirit. He knew he should call …Read More
I’m thrilled to have a guest post this week from Lucy Rycroft, who’s just written a wonderful series of Advent reflections called “Redeeming Advent” Thanks Lucy! Where is the Light of the World? December is not far off, and already I’m feeling anxious. There’s so much to do, so many presents to buy, so many conversations to have, so many relationships to navigate. I can’t keep up with my current to-do list, let alone the fifty-thousand additional jobs I …Read More
Glen comes home to find me, face-down on the sofa. The house looks like we’ve been burgled. The kids are hollering and trying to find a comfortable sitting position on my spine. ‘How was your day?‘ I mumble into a cushion. ‘Yeah, fine. Couple of meetings. Finishing scripts for new Christmas videos. Skyped someone in the States. Wrote my talks for the conference and sent off a manuscript. Sent off the funding applications and did a session on Trinity with the …Read More
In the last post we thought about how God is not primarily a law-giver or an abstract ideal of goodness. He’s an eternal Father. We know this because Jesus — in all His grace — reveals Him to us. Here’s how: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. (1 John 4:9) Loving Fathers give their children gifts. But the gift of Jesus is unlike any other. He’s given to us in …Read More
