Posts Tagged ‘Love’
Time To Ditch Fear & Join The Movement Of Love
The world as it is now, is one where fear, division, hatred and violence seems to be winning. America is divided over gun control, immigration, refugees, much of which has been fuelled by…and is fuelling…the rise of Donald Trump.
And here in the UK, the EU referendum and it’s result has not only divided a nation, but exposed a hidden cancer of racism and prejudice in parts of our nation.
Much of the West in living in a culture of fear, scarcity, lack, division and hatred.
It can’t go on this way. It’s not meant to be this way.
And there is a different way.
The path of love.
Read MoreWhy Jesus Would Welcome Refugees…& Eat With Donald Trump
I’ve always been reluctant to blog about politics. Because politics can be so divisive. We’re all entitled to our own political perspectives and opinions, and I’d never want to force anyone – or even be seen to be trying to force anyone – to agree with me. Nor do I want to create an “us v them” mentality. That’s just unhealthy and deconstructive.
We’re all in this together. Whatever our beliefs.
I have no interest in being divisive. I’m for reconciliation, community, inclusivity – with those I agree, and disagree with.
Today there’s something I felt, to be true to who I am, I simply had to share. So if you disagree with this post, I’ve got no problem with that. We’re still friends.
All of which brings me to the topic at hand.
Donald Trump, prospective Republican candidate for President. And why I believe that – despite his politics of fear, exclusion and, frankly, hate – that as Christians, we should be willing to eat dinner with him.
Read MoreChristopher Reeve & Why You Are A Superhero
I’ve always loved superheroes. As a child my hero was Christopher Reeve’s incarnation of Superman (left). I wanted to be him. His ideals, his values, his belief in our ability to be better as people. And of course, his super powers.
Now of course, as an adult I know I don’t have ‘superpowers’ like comic book heroes.
I’m just a writer. I’m just me, with all my insecurities, and imperfections. I’m not perfect. And a lot of the time, I think I’m nothing special.
Don’t we all?
But I was watching a superhero movie today, about Spider-Man – an ordinary guy who gets powers, and still has all his insecurities, fears and imperfections despite that.
And I felt God speak to me quietly, and tell me that I do have a superpower.
Writing – as only I can write. Being me.
Read MoreHow Will You Be Transformed in 2016? #OneWord365
Each year is a season. Each year, we undergo a process of transformation, of some kind. We’re never the same person departing the year as we were walking in. Whether we’re intentional or not about this process, transformation always happens. For good, or for ill.
Ironically, the word transformation was one I chose for my ‘OneWord365’ for 2015 (I’m going to talk more about One Word 365 and how it’s impacted my life, and how it can impact yours, in the podcast on Wednesday.
There’s no doubt my life as a whole, and especially my perception of life, faith, spirituality, and creativity, has transformed in 2015. And as happened in previous years, the word I chose has become true in many more ways than I could have foreseen.
But what I’ve learned is we are always in a process of transformation. Whether we like it or not. The choice we have is not whether we’re going to be transformed, but how.
Read MoreLetter To Me: Rhiannon Hall
In 2014 I ran a series of guest posts by writer friends, all writing a letter to themselves – either a past self from their present self, or to their present self from their future self.
This inspired my friend Rhiannon Hall, who wrote a letter to herself, and shared it with me. I loved it so much, I got her permission to share it here.
Rhiannon’s is a powerful, moving & courageous letter. So here it is:
Dear 37 Year Old Rhiannon Hall,
First, breathe.
I swear that I remember sitting there starting to reading this… I know you feel that tightness in your chest and you think you are about to cry because you want answers and life seems so complicated and scary. Just do us a favor and breathe for a minute.
Then read on. (And I know you are now fully crying and that’s okay.)
I am proud of you for getting where you are at the moment you are living in. 2015 changed a lot of things for us, didn’t it?
You risked so much to become whole and truly live your authentic life.
Read MoreSurrendering The Final Word
I can screw up. A lot. I’ve said and done things I’m not proud of. I’ve got regrets. And I’ve had to hear and reflect on some harsh truths in my time.
It’s so easy for me, as a writer who tries to be honest, and who writes material to encourage and help others grow, to give the impression you have all the answers.
But many of us, whether we’re writers or not, love to the have the final word. And we’ll keep on responding in discussions – online and offline – just to make sure we do.
Which, as we all know deep down, is not a healthy approach to life.
Experience has convinced me there’s a better way. Surrender.
Read MoreFear Can’t Dictate – Love Always Wins
I didn’t blog last week. In light of recent events in the world, I felt it was right to be silent, out of respect of the days of mourning set aside for the victims of the violence – in France, and in Lebanon too.
I felt a particularly strong sense of despair at these attacks. For a number of reasons – the more vulnerable place I’m at in my journey, having a good friend who lives in Paris. Like many of us, I needed time to process it all.
As I reflected, two words keep coming up for me in light of those attacks.
Fear. Love.
And right now, fear seems to be winning.
But I choose to say something different today. I say that love wins. And ultimately, it always will.
Read MoreSpilling The Blood Of Our Wounds (#OutOfSortsBook)
Do you ever feel out of sorts?
The feeling that underneath the veneer of ‘togethered-ness’ you give to the majority of the world around you, you are ready to fall apart.
And that sense that all the certainty of what you believed – whether atheist, agnostic, or someone of faith, something doesn’t make sense? That there’s more than the certainty you once knew.
Or maybe, if you’re a Christian like me, that all the rigid rules, doctrines and beliefs you once held sacred just don’t fit with the material reality of your life?
Me too.
I’m pretty good at the whole, “I’ve got it sorted” routine. Sometimes, even, it’s a little true. But in the last few years the veneer of certainty has gone.
The more I’ve spoken about the way my faith is evolving, the more voices of disagreement I hear.
Read More‘James Talks’ Bonus Episode – ‘The First Word’
Hey friends, welcome back to the blog. I hope you’ve been enjoying my new podcast, James Talks. The first episode, ‘You Are Not Alone’, went out on Monday and I’ve been so encouraged by the response so far – thank you.
And today, as a special bonus, there’s another new episode – ‘The First Word’, which is live now!
Today I talk about what I believe the most important word, the word where our lives should all begin – and end.
Grace.
I talk about how grace
Read MoreA New Season: A New Podcast – James Talks
Welcome back to the blog. I’ve been away a while, but now I’ve returned – and I’ve some great new work & new opportunities to share with you.
I’ve always thought creativity is like life, and that’s because we’re all designed to create. Not just artists, but all of us. And not just in our work, but our lives too.
We’re designed to create a life.
And as life moves in seasons, so does our creative work. It moves organically, naturally into different stages, where it becomes natural to move to new challenges, projects and mediums.
For me, this means that today I’m launching a podcast. It’s called, very simply ‘James Talks’.
James Talks will be a weekly podcast where I’ll talk about spirituality, creativity, and identity. About what it means to discover our true identity & live the kind of life we were made for. And about the creative process, both in our work and our lives.
The first episode, ‘You Are Not Alone’ is out right now, and to celebrate the launch I’m releasing two episodes this week – a second episode will go live on Wednesday. Subsequent to this, James Talks will go out once a week on Wednesdays.
You can listen and subscribe to it on iTunes, or follow it on Podbean. I’ll also be posting links to
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