I was caring for my 94 year old mother in Wales at the end of last year for a month. My Dad died some thirteen years ago and since that time, I have often heard my mum say that she is ‘lonely’. After 55 years of marriage with hardly any separation during all those years, you get used to having a companion with you all the time. So becoming a widow brought loneliness into her Read more about 92. Are you lonely as a leader?[…]
Some of you will be saying – what the heck is that? Acedia(from Latinacedĭa, and from Greekἀκηδία, “negligence”) according to Aquinas, the word describes a state of listlessness, of not caring or not being concerned with one’s position or condition in the world. Other words often connected with it would be – apathy, sleepiness, a state of restlessness and inability either to work or to pray. It is linked with sloth, being one of the Read more about 87. Is acedia a part of me?[…]
Jesus said, ‘I came to give you life and life to the full.’ How is that working for you? Are you really living or just passing the time? Do you ever think – there has got to be more to life than this? Perhaps for you, living life to the full means doing less! Is your life too full, with ministry and blessing others, who are finding life, while you are losing energy, passion and Read more about 85. Are you living life to the full?[…]
Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. John 21:20 A metaphor for our walk with God that I relate to well, is that of being on a journey. The phase in the journey of sanctification or becoming like Christ doesn’t have set formulas and routes but is a journey that follows the steps and person of Jesus for our personal transformation. That transformation involves a change of behaviour which Read more about 80. Enjoying close relationships?[…]
Do New Year’s Resolutionswork for you? I just googled ‘new year’s resolutions’ and do you know how many results there were? Almost 14 million. People are interested in seeing change in their lives and they see the beginning of the new year as a great time to turn over that new leaf, to have a clean slate to write on, and to hopefully overnight be a different person! Steve Errey in his blog writes, ‘Let’s Read more about 78. What’s on God’s agenda for you this year?[…]
You may have read John Maxwell’s book the 21 laws of leadership. As I was reading I began to recognise some of the laws or values or lessons that I live by as a leader and things that I desire to pass on to others. Here are 21 of them: Leadership is influence: If you want to know what influence you have, just watch when you speak – who listens? Watch when you share an Read more about 77. What leadership lessons have you learned?[…]
For the past decade, doctors and psychologists have been taking notice of the health benefits of reflective writing. They note that wrestling with words to put your deepest thoughts into writing can lift your mind from depression, uncover wisdom within your experiences, provide insight and foster self-awareness. Similarly, a recent news article discussed the benefits of confessional writing, where one is freed to “explore the depths of the emotional junkyard.” Journaling is process I personally Read more about 74. Time to journal?[…]
A few months back we had a coaching seminar at our retreat centre and leaders were learning the art of listening and asking questions. They found that listening is a lot harder than they thought it was. We find it a temptation to interrupt the listening in order to share our own ideas, opinions and answers to the one speaking. Over the years I have started to learn how to do this kind of listening. Read more about 70. Are you listening with both ears?[…]
In this age of communication and technology, its difficult to find ‘silence’. Our culture is addicted to words, music, mobile phones and the constant beeping of social networking. Silence can make some uncomfortable and the response generally is to fill the space with noise of one kind or another. In the midst of so many words and so much communication, we are looking for summaries, for people to be brief, to learn to skim and scan Read more about 69. Enjoying silence?[…]
This letter is an introduction to the attached document of “7 templates for your time with God.” These templates each have a different approach to spending time with God and include different spiritual disciplines. I want to encourage you to explore all seven over this next period of time and expect to meet God in a fresh way. One day Moses was tending the flock of his father- in- law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. Read more about 67. Had a God encounter lately?[…]