What Makes You Happy? Whatever it is, it Points to Something Greater
What makes you happy? The smell of baked bread, seeing adversity overcome, viewing the world through a child's eyes or sinking into soft pillows at the end the day? Here are a few things that make me happy, and why I believe everyday joys like these point to something greater still.
This 7th-Century Saint Can Help You Discover Your Gifts
Saint Hilda was a woman ahead of her time. A profound teacher, patron of the arts and spiritual guide to both peasant and king, the story I love most about her is her interaction with a farmhand named Caedmon. As Hilda helps Caedmon test his unexpected calling, we too can learn how to discover our
Where is Home for You? It May Not Be Where You Live
Where is 'home' for you—that place where you feel you most belong? Is it the house where you grew up? Is it your current home? Is it just being with your loved ones, wherever you are? As you'll read and hear, when the topic of 'home' was given to me by Radio 2 producers, it
044 What to Expect in 2015 (plus a Funny Cartoon)
Welcome to 2015! If I was to choose a phrase I'd describe 2013 as a year of planting seeds of opportunity and 2014 as the year those seeds flowered. In this post and podcast I want to gather some of those flowers together (including freebies you may have missed) and give you a heads-up on
043 How God Redeems Broken Dreams
Dreams. We all have them. As a teenager they keep us awake with excitement. As a 20-something they start shaping our decisions. By our 40s we may have seen them spring to life, or perhaps watched some die. The dreams of two families died in Sydney this week. Thankfully, God can recycle such tragedies into
Advent: A Window on Our Lives
The period leading up to Christmas is traditionally called Advent. Advent is a time of waiting and preparation as we 'wait' for the Messiah's birth and prepare for his promised return one day. A recent experience helped me see that Advent also reflects the whole of our lives.
An 11th Commandment?
We all know the 10 Commandments. Well, this week the producers of BBC Radio 2's Pause for Thought segment asked me to come up with an 11th Commandment. I came up with this, but not before discovering an endearing fact about early morning presenter Vanessa Feltz!
A Christian Take on a Jewish Festival for Secular People
Here was my task on BBC Radio 2 this morning: to speak as a Christian about a Jewish festival to a secular audience. No pressure! As Jews around the world observe Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, this weekend, I suggested this Jewish holiday has value for us all. Here's the audio and transcript.
042 Three Ways to Focus Your Life, with Tony Campolo
None of us want to reach the end of our lives and feel we've achieved little. Listen to my conversation with speaker, sociologist and prolific author Tony Campolo as we talk about his life, work, influences, and the three things we can do to focus our lives and leave a profound impact on others.
041 The 5 Love Languages with Gary Chapman
I recently went to Australia to be with my mother as she started chemotherapy. I went on that trip hoping to provide some practical help, and I did. But my mother really wanted something else. As you'll hear in this interview with Dr Gary Chapman, the reason why is love languages. And they affect more