Simplicity, Accountability, Purity…
I was chatting to a 40 something year old who was reflecting on his 15 years of marriage. ‘When we said “I do” we had agreed that it meant not only an unqualified “yes” to each other, but also a commitment to a future of simplicity, accountability and purity. We saw those as three key building blocks for the journey ahead. It’s working really well for us.’ I’ve thought about the conversation since. What are the key ingredients for a good marriage – or, for that matter, a good work relationship, a deep friendship or whatever? I’m...
Read MoreA Spirituality of Simplicity
Can less be more? Or, in the world of church and Jesus following, can fewer services, ministries and activities help us draw closer to God? It may sound counter intuitive, but let’s play with the idea and see where it leaves us. It is actually a relevant question. After all, Covid shut downs have seen most churches run significantly fewer programs, and it is important that we ask if that has been to our spiritual detriment, or if in some strange way, it has helped us become a little more like Jesus. If the former, we should probably get back to business as usual as quickly as possible,...
Read MoreBlending Amish and 21st Century…
OK, so I accept some will think this is one of my sillier blog posts, but I recently wondered if it might be possible to navigate life part Amish, part 21st century. Of course a whole lot of qualifiers need to be thrown in, and I realise the thesis would never stand up to serious scrutiny, and those in the know will want to correct me on endless aspects of Amish life. But I am a big picture person and I really just want to explore if its possible to opt out of our overly complicated 21st century lives periodically and travel back to a simpler time – and in doing so to find sufficient...
Read MoreWhen Confidence is a Curse..
Swamped as we are with endless courses aimed at enhancing our self esteem and confidence, it might seem passing strange to suggest that confidence can be a curse. But it can! True, lack of confidence can also be a curse, but for a while ponder the other side of the equation – for although our many self esteem courses might suggest that the absence of a worthy self image is a wide spread problem, the hard evidence suggests otherwise. David Brooks in his book The Road to Character notes that in 1950 when asked if they considered themselves to be a very important person, 12% of high...
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