Poema 006: Sarah Bessey on The Altar Of Creativity (& The Spirituality Of Doctor Who)
Today Sarah Bessey, author of ‘Jesus Feminist’ and ‘Out Of Sorts’, joins me on the podcast. We talk about writing and creativity as ways we interact with the divine, and express ourselves spiritually – as well as the spirituality of the TV show Doctor Who.
Poema 005 : Matthew Schmitt on The Table Setters & Loving Your Enemies
Today I’m joined by Matthew Schmidt, co-founder of The Table Setters, a new organisation running diversity workshops, and doing consulting that helps to develop culturally integrated lives in churches, schools & businesses in the US.
Matthew and I talk about issues of race and equality in the US today, and the challenge of what it really means to love your enemy.
What Is Grace To You? A Blogging Challenge
Grace.
What does that word mean to you?
For some, like me, it can mean something deeply spiritual. For others, it can be used to describe a beautiful ballet. For others, the attitude or character of a person. It’s truly amazing how so many people can have different interpretations, and stories, relating to one word. And this coming month, I want us to explore this subject, and this question, together.
Poema 004 : Kyle Strobel on Harry Potter & The Christian Way Of Power
Today, theologian and author Kyle Strobel joins me to talk about the challenging topic of what true wisdom is, and Christianity in relation to the concept of power, how this has been misunderstood and abused, and about what Harry Potter can teach us about true Christ-like character.
Book Lessons 2: Why You’ve Gotta Do The Work
The journey to my first trade book, ‘Mosaic Of Grace’ being written and published, began back in 2012. I was at the time, building a new friendship, with a fellow writer and poet, Joy – who is now a dear friend of mine. One topic which came up often in our conversation was grace. I’d been reflecting on it a lot, hearing a few sermons on the subject, and Joy had written much poetry around the subject.
It began to dawn on me that this subject desperately needed more exploration, that we needed more people talking about this subject. And as I reflected on the topic more, some more ideas came to my mind, different aspects of the topic of grace, which I wanted to explore.
So in the next 8 months or so I began to plan, and then write, the first draft of ‘Mosaic Of Grace’. By August 2013, the draft was done.
Poema 003: Shane Claiborne On Executing Grace & The End Of The Death Penalty
The inspiring author, speaker and activist Shane Claiborne joins me today. He talks about his most recent work in campaigning for the end of the death penalty in the US.
Shane passionately and with great wisdom shares about how the death penalty is about more issues than justice – it’s about race, equality, restorative justice, and above all, about grace.
Poema 002: Max Strom on Healthy Breathing & Why There Is No App For Happiness
For my first Poema interview I welcome Max Strom. Max is an author of several books, including A Life Worth Breathing and ‘There Is No App For Happiness’. Max is passionate about us all having a holistic, healthier rhythm to life, and teaches healthy breathing exercises and routines, including some yoga-based exercises, and speaks about this internationally, including the TED conference.
Poema 001: What Is Poema?
In this first episode of the ‘Poema Podcast’ (formerly James Talks), I unpack the scriptural roots of ‘Poema’, and explore the idea of our lives as divine works of art, and us as co-creators with God of the life He calls us to.
Book Lessons 1: Why Dreams Come True, Not Free
Not all us may not have had our wildest dreams come true, but many of us will have experienced something we desired for a long time becoming a reality, a long-held desire becoming reality.
A job. A relationship. Becoming a parent.
Or, for me, having a book published.
Right now, I’m building a team to launch my first trade book, (you can join the team yourself here) I’m working with marketing people and my publisher. I’m having to promote the book and it’s message.
It’s a dream come true, but it’s not like how I imagined. What I’ve found, is that the actual process of promoting and launching the book and its message is not just a process to help the book. In fact, it’s not even about the book at all.
No, this process is about my own growth.
5 Steps To A Daily Writing Habit In 2017 (& An Opportunity For Free Accountability)
How we begin something has a direct impact on the outcome. Think about it. When you wake up, and how you begin the day impacts what the rest of the day looks like. If I get up and immediately hurt myself, or something intrudes on my routine, that sets the tone for a bad day. When I was commuting, if I was up late, then I’d end up missing my bus, my train, and the result would be arriving at work late.
How we choose to begin anything will ultimately impact the outcome.
So as a new year dawns, it marks a great opportunity to begin again. To start something new. To face a new challenge with a fresh perspective. Which in writing terms, means finally getting around to managing a daily writing habit. Honestly, I’ve been a writer for over a decade and I still struggle with this. No matter how far we are on the journey, we all need that support
So here’s 5 practical steps you can take today to build that writing habit – and an opportunity to get the support you need.