More than Writers

      Superstition has it that hammering a coin into a felled or fallen ancient tree and making a wish can rid you of illness and bring you fortune. The image at the top of this post, photographed on a walk, is from one such tree. It lies on the ground near the ancient clapper bridge, Tarr Steps, which crosses the River Barle in Somerset. When I took the photo, God’s name stood out in sharp relief from the other coins. It made me wonder whether the person who hammered in that particular coin did so with hope, with faith — or perhaps with both. Hope and faith are closely related, but they are not the same thing. Faith is rooted in trust — trust in the character of God. It rests in who He is, regardless of circumstances. Faith says: God is good. God is present. God is faithful — even when we cannot yet see how things will unfold. Hope, by contrast, leans toward tomorrow. It carries expectation. It looks ahead to the fulfilment of what has been promised. If faith i...

 As I’m subbing in on the MTW blog today, I thought I’d share what might be an unpopular opinion. :) I’m pro AI. Now, before anyone starts lobbing rotten vegetables in my direction, let me clarify a few things. I don’t think it’s okay to produce and sell an eBook generated by AI in fifteen minutes. I don’t think it’s right to submit articles or research papers that have simply been spat out by AI. I don’t think it’s okay to send marketing emails (see Paul Kerensa’s recent Facebook post) claiming you’ve read someone’s work when it was actually AI that read it. And I’m not entirely convinced about the idea of having an AI executive assistant either. (Someone I know has just “hired” one.) But I also don’t believe the problem is AI. I believe the problem is people. There will always be people willing to take shortcuts. People happy to claim credit for work they haven’t done themselves. People willing to cut corners and publish shoddy work. And that’s not new. Like most technological ad...

I am currently writing a book of adult stories based on the readings of the Church of England for each Sunday of the year. It’s complicated. Some of the stories come readily and they are the ones I did first, so now I’m working through the more difficult ones. This week I’ve been studying the Samaritan woman at the well and I couldn’t see how to write a story about her and Jesus – I still can’t, but that woman has been living in my brain all week. I was trying to see the situation through Jesus’ eyes and it wasn’t working, because Jesus understood the woman, he knew everything about her and exactly how she was feeling. I didn’t. How could I know what it was like to have been married five times and now be living with a man who wasn’t my spouse?  Then I realised that she had no friends. Anyone she had a relationship with had left her or rejected her, she was ostracised by the local women, and she had to depend on a man who could walk out on her at any time. She was rejected and lonel...

On the one hand, we’re in the season of Lent, where, at least nominally, we’re supposed to be giving something up, which all sounds a bit serious and sacramental. On the other hand, if the daffodils, primroses and crocuses are anything to go by, we’re definitely heading towards Spring. The evenings are lighter for longer, and the mood – well, mine anyway – starts to lift.  Even if we haven’t got there yet in terms of the vernal equinox, the meteorologists tell us Spring has sprung: a season for joy and lightness; a season for celebration of the return of warmer weather, lighter evenings and even the occasional trip outside without a coat. Sometimes, life can feel a little ‘mixed up.’ A little paradoxical. Despite what the news feeds try to tell us, life is not all bad all the time. In my experience, most of the time, life is lived in-between despair and euphoria. There are things in our lives, about ourselves, that we’d like to change – or have God help us change – but usually, eve...

    Photo by Nicolas DC on Unsplash There’s a well-known phrase: “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.” When it comes to the wasp, I’d rather it be as far away as physically possible—but sadly, no. My cunning enemy found me in an unexpected location: the beautiful country of Slovakia . And at a time I’d least expect—at breakfast. Having breakfast outside, I noticed the wasp buzzing around but didn’t pay much attention. It was quite warm, so I’d taken my shirt off and was sitting there in just my T-shirt. When I went to put my shirt back on, the little blighter had slipped in, stinging me on my upper arm by surprise. Most people would brush it off. A moment of shock, irritation, maybe even anger, but after the pain eases, the moment passes. Not for me. Antihistamines don’t even touch it. The redness slowly crept up my arm which, if not dealt with, would lead to swelling, my arm getting tighter and tighter, causing blisters until… But where’s the bar? Where’s...

Why do we feel compelled to write? To give insights into someone else’s world, e.g. by writing stories set in another culture? To persuade people to change their point of view? To share a vision? Perhaps we are fascinated by human behaviour, or - quite simply - enjoy creating a great story? Whatever writing we do, we will really want to make it convincing, so will need to make the ideas in it joined up, in other words, make good connections between them. I’m spending a lot of time pondering John’s gospel at the moment and constantly marvel at its coherence. He wove the things that Jesus said and did together in to his narrative, carefully making theological connections, so the book he produced ‘feels’ very spiritual. In this blog, I want to share some ideas about spiritual connections in relation to journaling and poetry. Journaling was the way I learnt to process the emotions evoked by what was happening around me, especially in difficult times. Trying my hand at poetry soon fol...