Refresh: 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...
Read MoreTowards a Theology of Personal Development (7): Guided by Hope
Perhaps there is no word in the English language as depressing as “hopeless”. It’s the word we attach to seriously lost causes, or the resigned and despairing verdict we pronounce when a desired dream is clearly not going to eventuate – “It’s hopeless.” We might add, “So let’s give up now. Carrying on only makes it worse.” Yet hopeless is not really part of the Christian vocabulary. In Rom 15:13 Paul prays: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power...
Read MoreRefresh: Because Our Habits Form Us…
What are 5 habits you’d like to change? And 5 you’d like to keep? Because our habits shape so much of what we do, it’s important to check we are cultivating the right ones, as this Refresh post from Jan 2022 reminds us. Hope it’s helpful. Refresh: Because Our Habits Form Us Though I no longer remember her name, I remember the enthusiastic student teacher in my primary school teaching us about habits, and how important it is to form good ones. “A habit sticks with you,” she proclaimed. She wrote the word HABIT on the chalk board, systematically then rubbing out one...
Read MoreTowards a Theology of Personal Development (6): Formed by Disappointment and Failure
I always try to discover which parts of my books most resonate with readers. I was intrigued to find that in my latest book, Stirrers and Saints, the chapter on being formed by disappointment and failure has sparked many conversations. The podcast on the topic is also popular. The idea that we are formed by winter, and that it is a season to embrace rather than flee from, is a little counter intuitive, but once accepted, it’s really rather liberating. I’ve participated in a fair number of staff selection interviews, and a question I now routinely ask is, “Tell me about a...
Read MoreRefresh: Conscious Incompetence – On Knowing What We Don’t Know
It’s strange to think of humility as one of the markers of future success, but it is. Without it, we don’t realise how much we still have to learn, and we miss cues which could set us on a better path. I enjoyed re-reading this post from April 2022, and hope you do as well. Refresh: Conscious Incompetence – On Knowing What We Don’t Know It was only a few sentences in a podcast I recently listened to, but it set me thinking. The speaker suggested there are four stages in the journey towards competence: Unconscious incompetence Conscious incompetence Conscious...
Read More