Refresh: When we are seen…
The Bible gives us many beautiful insights into God. One of the finest is in Gen 16:13 when a distraught Hagar, having encountered God at a time of deep danger, says simply: “You are the God who sees me…” The God who sees me…. and invites us to see others as well. This Refresh post from Oct 2022 explores this important topic. Refresh: When we are seen… Have you ever felt invisible? If it’s especially bad, people don’t notice you at all, if a softer version, they sort of see you, but have placed you in an inaccurate and limiting box. You know there is...
Read MoreLife – and 7 other L Words…
It’s one of Jesus’ most popular claims, “I am come that you may have life, and life in all its fullness” (John 10:10). The implication is clear. Follow me, and you will find the life that is most truely life. Now given that Jesus was the speaker, we shouldn’t be too quick to assume we know what this means. After all, the same Jesus said that if we want to find our lives we must be willing to lose them (Matt 10:39) and that the first will be last (Matt 20:16), and that the way is narrow, and only a few find it (Matt 7:14). These are puzzling ideas – deeply...
Read MoreRefresh: Limiting Beliefs – Things that Hold us Back
One bad experience often becomes two, three or four, not because it needs to, but because it impacts the way we think about ourself, undermining our confidence and restricting our willingness to try again. This Refresh post from June 2023 explores the hazard of limiting beliefs… Refresh: Liming Beliefs – Things that Hold us Back I was recently talking to someone who felt God had let them down badly. The marriage hadn’t gone well even though they felt they had done everything right. Of course they had indulged in a few little squabbles and minor bouts of selfishness, but nothing...
Read MoreChef or Ingredient. Which are You?
It seemed a strange question at the time. “Chef or ingredient. Which are you?” The more I have pondered it, the more I appreciate its relevance. What’s it getting at? I guess behind the question is the probe, “Are you essentially a pawn in someone else’s game – there because in some way you add something to it (a tasty additional ingredient) – or are you in control of the game, deciding what goes in, and what is excluded.” Most of us would say that it depends on the setting. Sometimes we are more chef than ingredient, other times more...
Read MoreRefresh: On Full Stops and Commas
This post from May 2022 is one of my favourites. It notes the difference between a full stop and a comma. The one signifies an end, the other, a brief pause. Confusing them can see us giving up prematurely – as I so nearly did with my writing. The post tells the story. BTW, while this 2022 post notes 6 published books, that number is now 7 (thanks to my 2024 book, Stirrers and Saints), and hopefully it will keep growing. Refresh: On Full Stops and Commas Let me start with a brag, and follow it with a confession. I won the English prize at school. True, that was not far off 50 years...
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