Because you can’t spend 5 days waiting for 2…
Is most of your week spent hanging out for the weekend, insufferably long hours in the office slowly ticking away while you wait for the magical 5pm Friday moment when you are free to go and enjoy life?For many people work is a drudge, a necessary evil that provides the money to keep food on the table. It’s the story of the man asked why he was digging a hole: “I’m digging the hole, to earn the money, to buy the food, to give me the strength, to dig the hole.” It’s a sad way to live a life – how awful to wish away 5 out of 7 days each week. There are those...
Read MoreRedeeming Work: Job, career, or calling?
A significant portion of our life is engaged in ensuring that we have a roof over our head and food on the table. Some of us are able to work in such a way that life’s basic needs are just taken care of, for others it’s a pathway to wealth. But how do you view the work you do? Is it a job, a career or a calling? The answer given is a likely indicator of how satisfying you find Monday to Friday – or whatever days you dedicate to earning your keep. If you say ‘job’ it is probable that you are acutely aware of how many hours are set aside performing the activities your...
Read MoreWhen God writes straight with crooked lines…
Ever heard someone’s story, scratched your head and thought – ‘that doesn’t make sense. Surely this story is not over yet’? Sometimes you get to hear the sequel, sometimes not. When it’s not, you simply have to trust that God is fully competent, and makes God sized decisions based on significantly fuller knowledge than you or I will ever have access to. But on those occasions when you do get a glimpse into the next chapter, it helps you to trust a little more. In my recently released book When Faith Turns Ugly (Paternoster, 2016) I interview Becky Oates...
Read MoreOn turning 59…
I turned 59 on Wednesday. It’s an awkward kind of a birthday 59 – it feels like an unspecified space. When you turn 39 or 49 people joke, ‘almost 40’ or ‘almost 50’. But 59 is different. People politely say, ‘I would never have guessed it’ – as though you are about to enter territory too sad to fully acknowledge. Whatever, I had a ball on Wednesday, and am feeling remarkably positive about life. As I look back on 59 years, I feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude and delight… life has been a far more enjoyable ride than I ever...
Read MoreDeveloping a personal plan: Reeb’s From Success to Significance
It’s the marking time of the year – oh joy. Actually sometimes it is a joyous occasion, when a student greatly exceeds my expectations or highlights something I have not thought about before. True, it can take a fair few essays before I read one in that category, but it happens just often enough to keep me hopeful… perhaps this time. Today I was marking the personal formation plans that students in my ministry formation class have drawn up, and I’ve gotta say, there were a fair few heartening moments. Some of them used Lloyd Reeb’s book From Success to...
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