What a Little Girl Named Phoebe Can Tell Us About Ourselves
A few weeks ago I spoke at a secular conference for childless couples—an audience of men and women wondering what to do with their lives now they may not become parents. After I’d spoken, a woman approached me in tears. “I’ve been wondering all day why I came,” she said, “but now I know. I needed to hear about Phoebe.” How ironic that it was a story about an unborn child that made all the difference. But what’s true of Phoebe is true of you too. More…
Bring The Making of Us to Your Small Group With This FREE Leader’s Guide and Personalised Video
Are you part of a reading group, book club or church small group? I hope so, as I believe they’re a powerful tool for personal growth. Having discovered that people are using The Making of Us in such groups, I decided to write a 7-session Leader’s Guide to help facilitate discussion. And then I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to record a personalised video for your group too? Both are FREE and available for you now. More…
A Conversation on Finding Your Deeper Identity and Purpose
When you can’t become who you want to be, you can still become who you’re meant to be. And the person you’re meant to be is so much bigger than you’ve dreamed. In the last few weeks I have done dozens of radio interviews across the US, UK and Australia sharing lessons like this from my book The Making of Us. Here is one of my favourites. In this far-reaching conversation, Susie Larson and I discuss the difference between primary and secondary callings, how fixating on our past achievements can blind us to what God is doing in and through us now, how to leave a legacy, and more. I hope you get as much out of this conversation as I did. More…
The Story of the Church is Deep and Rich, and Full of Heroes Like These
Failing politicians. Falling church leaders. We could do with some new heroes right now. Thankfully, the deep, rich story of the church is full of them. Here are four early faith heroes to know about, the simple thing they did to change the world, and how work like theirs led to the very institutions you and I take for granted today. More…
This One Question Can Help Focus Your Life on What Really Matters
Pick up a typical self-help book and it won’t be long before the author tells you to Follow your dreams. As a dreamer, I love this advice. But not everyone is a dreamer. What do you follow then? It seems to me there’s a more important quest for both dreamer and non-dreamer alike, which is to pursue what matters most. But how can we unearth what that is? In the busyness of the everyday, how can we discern what we should focus on? Here’s a question that can help. More…
Why and How to Do a Mini Pilgrimage
This year as many as 300 million people will go on a pilgrimage. What’s interesting is that this figure has been rising every year for the past decade, and it’s not only religious people who are doing it. Why are so many everyday people feeling the call to make a ‘meaningful journey to a sacred place’? In this post and video I’ll explore some answers, plus give you four steps to plan a mini pilgrimage of your own. More…
Busyness is a Bully, Comparison is a Tyrant. I Say, Enough
Busyness is a bully at the best of times, stomping around, wanting the playground to itself, chasing peace away first, then patience, kindness, joy, and self-control. But this bully becomes a tyrant when it teams up with comparison. Here’s how the two work together. Let’s say ‘enough!’ to their lies. More…
Marry Your Trial with Your Talent to Bring Something New into the World
I made a number of discoveries while writing The Making of Us, one of the most impacting being that the trials of life can release our best gifts into the world. All it takes is some creative merging of those trials with our God-given talents. In this short video I unpack the idea with some examples to help you start thinking about what this might look like for you. More…
Discover Who You Can Become When Life Doesn’t Go as Planned
When life takes one too many unexpected turns, do you find yourself saying, “I don’t know who I am anymore”? In the wake of shattered dreams, do you wonder how you will keep going—and if you’ll ever find purpose or joy again? Part pilgrim’s journal, part call to reflection, The Making of Us reminds us of the beauty of journeying into uncertainty, the freedom of letting go, and the wonder of losing our identity only to discover who we really are. More…
May I Read My Book to You? Listen Now to The Making of Us Audiobook!
What makes us who we are? How do we adjust when things don’t go as we hoped? Can we recover if we make a choice that’s less than perfect? In The Making of Us I explore these questions and more by telling a story of two friends walking through the rugged beauty of England’s north. May I read some of this story to you? The Making of Us releases on March 19 (April 16 in Australia) in paperback and now in audiobook too! Here are the first two chapters for you to listen to FREE. I can’t wait for you to hear the bit where God shows up in the motel room. And when I get to walk on the clouds. And when the seals start singing. And when I start to discover there’s more to us than our job titles. Go on. Take a listen. More…
