A Simple Tool to Help You Make Sense of Life
According to the experts, writing in a journal can help you reduce stress, increase creativity, solve problems, and manage conflict. I’ve also found it to be an incredibly helpful tool for making sense of our personal histories. In this season of New-Year reflection, here are four key themes a journal can help you track to
What Was That First Christmas Like? This Might Give Us a Clue
I was struck with wonder recently on a cold, rainy night in London, when I came across a dozen angels—made of thousands of pulsing lights, hovering above Regent Street. It’s the most jaw-dropping Christmas display I’ve seen. It got me thinking about what that very first Christmas was like, and the sense of awe that’s
Why Believe? In the End, Christianity Rises or Falls on These Two Things
Some days I wonder why I’m a Christian. In a secular age, it isn’t great for your career; in some countries, following Jesus can sign your death sentence. With so many spiritual alternatives, why believe? I got thinking about this recently. A memory of a close call in the Dominican Republic helped bring my reasons
Do You Trust Me? One Woman’s Wrestle to Trust God with the Unexplainable
If you’ve seen or gone through a deep grief, you'll probably know the battle that takes place between your head and heart, while you’re trying to understand, come to terms with loss, and still trust God. Today I'm publishing an entry from someone's private journal - someone walking that wilderness, wrestling with God while learning
Burnout Begins With Weariness. Here’s How to Stop it Going Further
There is a cost to giving. At it's worst that cost is burnout—the emotional (and often physical) collapse of someone who has spent too long pouring out without filling up. Psychiatrist Robert Coles wrote about the hazards that come with a life of service and giving. It was the warning signs of burnout that really
What is the Gospel and What’s Your Role in it? Introducing the Awakening Project
Christians talk a lot about ‘the gospel’. We talk about hearing the gospel, believing the gospel, sharing the gospel with others. But what is the gospel? When I went onto the streets to see who could tell me, I got answers like: It's something to do with the Bible and church
You Are Known By Name
I have an embarrassing habit of forgetting people's names, even of people I've known for years (it’s pretty bad—you’ll laugh.) Since names are more than mere words, it’s a weakness I wish I could beat. Thankfully there’s Someone who knows you by name, and who will never forget it.
Heaven is a Symphony Playing All Around You. Here Are Three Ways to Hear it
Modern Christianity has been criticized at times for being about little more than “a ticket to heaven”. But it’s so, so much more. Heaven is where God is, and since God is everywhere, heaven isn't just 'up there' but touches earth too. Here’s some ways we can glimpse heaven's reality now…
On Death Row for 28 Years. Here’s How Anthony Ray Hinton Stayed Joyful
In 1985 Anthony Ray Hinton was charged with a double-murder, found guilty by a jury, and sentenced to death. But he was innocent. His sentence was overturned only in 2015—nearly thirty years later. What’s most astounding about Ray’s story is that he faced those 28 gruelling, unfair years with joy. How?
Eight Lessons to Learn From the Life of Billy Graham (1918-2018)
A college dropout farm boy from North Carolina finds faith, starts to preach, travels the world, meets dictators, becomes a confidante to presidents, becomes a media entrepreneur, catalyses dozens of global ministries, and ends his days as the most influential and best-loved evangelist in history. Such is the Billy Graham story. After years of ill