In Praise of Serendipity, God’s Sneaky Surprises
You know those happy coincidences or unexpected discoveries that take us by surprise? We call it serendipity. Not all serendipity is chance, accident or coincidence. A good deal of it is in fact divine. Like my miraculous little encounter as I stood, with aching legs and blistered feet, among the back pillars of Durham Cathedral
Everything in This Cafe is Free—Just Like God’s Gifts
Imagine walking into a cafe, ordering a flat white and a piece of cake, sitting down at a table while they're brought to you, and then, after enjoying your morning tea, you go to pay the bil
Guilty Pleasures: Should I Or Shouldn’t I?
When BBC Radio 2 asked me to talk about guilty pleasures, it wasn't my obsession with 80s soul and funk music, or my tendency to eat Nutella from the jar, or the sneaky flavours I sometimes add to my coffee, that was my deepest concern. It was my habit of sitting in coffee shops for
We are More Than Our Greatest Success or Worst Failure
Frank Sinatra will forever be remembered for the song My Way, even though he hated it. The same thing happens to celebrities and politicians all the time as one song, controversy or policy failure becomes lodged in public memory. But there is more to them than that. And there is more to you than others
Redeeming Generation X
Cynical, nihilist, commitment-phobic, dispassionate. Perhaps no age-group in history has had more negative labels attached to it than Generation X: that often ignored 'middle child' generation between the Baby Boomers and Millennials. As a Gen-Xer myself, I want to shout "We're better than you think!" But as I share in this BBC Pause for Thought
What a Cold Pint of Beer Can Tell Us About God
I've never had much of a taste for beer. I know some see beer as such a societal menace, it's not worth talking about too. But keep this in mind: the first breweries were started by Christians to provide a healthy alternative to either drinking dirty water or getting drunk on gin, and the very
048 Finding God in Unexpected Places (5 Great Stories)
Elijah searched for God in a whirlwind but found him in a whisper. Jacob found him in his dreams, Moses in a burning bush, and Mary Magdalene looked for him in a tomb but found him standing behind her. God always seems to turn up in unexpected places. Here are five contemporary stories to show
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.
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
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.