Tag: dailyprompt
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The Glasses
What super power do you wish you had and why? Me:So this is the superpower? Super-Me:Yes. Me:A pair of glasses? Super-Me:You were expecting a cape? Me:At least something more dramatic.Flight. Strength. Deliverance. Super-Me:No.Just sight. Me:I already wear glasses. Super-Me:Not like these. Me:What do they do? Super-Me:They let you seewhat people are carrying. Me:Their thoughts? Super-Me:No.That…
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The Mystery of Grace
What’s a mystery from your own life that you’ve never solved? My father is ninety-six and still does not know why his mother left. He was seven years old. There was an argument in the kitchen. Plates and condiments went flying. His mother stormed out the door and walked up the road to stay with…
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Through Other People’s Eyes
List the people you admire and look to for advice… I have written a blog post every day for just under 400 days. That is long enough to form a habit. It is also long enough to notice that even a good discipline can start to repeat itself. So, starting today, I am adding a…
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Democracy Sausages
Do you vote in political elections? In Australia, voting is compulsory. If you do not vote without a good reason, a notice eventually arrives in the post asking you to explain yourself or pay a fine. So, for obvious reasons, I vote. But I would vote anyway. There is something wonderfully ordinary about election day…
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The Compass, Not the App
What gives you direction in life? I used to think direction meant knowing where I was going. Now I think it means knowing what I must keep facing. In the old days, we followed a map. We unfolded it across the steering wheel, argued about the best route, and tried to imagine the landscape before…
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The First Quote
Do you have a quote you live your life by or think of often? There are too many quotes to choose from. Some stay with us because they are beautiful. Some because they are useful. Some because someone we loved used to say them. And some because they arrive at a particular moment and never…
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Travelling Through Different Phases of Life
What is your favourite holiday? Why is it your favourite? When I think about my favourite holiday, I can’t narrow it down to one trip. What stands out instead is how each holiday reflects a different stage of life. Our next one will be Vietnam. We have been before, travelling from Hanoi to Ho Chi…
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The World Becomes Larger Again
Have you ever been camping? We love camping. Not because it is always comfortable. It isn’t. Sometimes the ground is hard, the toilets are basic, the weather turns, and the wildlife is more determined than expected. But camping gives us something we find harder and harder to come by: simplicity. No distractions. Limited device use.…
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When I feel most productive
When do you feel most productive? In a recent reflection on circadian rhythms and work, Lisa Leong makes a simple but important point: not everyone does their best thinking at the same time of day. Some people are sharp early. Some gather speed later. Some can make good decisions in the morning but should not…
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This Is How I Mean It
What are your favourite emojis? In years to come, what tales I’ll tell future generations — or anyone who will pause long enough to listen. Because all young people should know what shaped their world, and which small yellow faces were involved. “Call that communicating?” I’ll say. “You should have seen us before emojis.” They’ll…
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The Conversation I Keep Returning To
What topics do you like to discuss? This blog began as a way of paying attention. After church on Sunday, I often found myself still thinking about the sermon while the rest of life moved on: lunch, emails, conversations, Monday’s work. Writing gave me a way to sit with the message a little longer. It…
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On Risk and Honesty
When is the last time you took a risk? How did it work out? The last time I took a risk was a couple of days ago, when I wrote in my blog about a time I should have said no. Writing about it felt risky. Not dramatically risky. But still, it was a risk…
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When a Bold Step Was Needed
I have made cautious decisions all my life, which is probably why this one still catches me by surprise. When I was minister on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, there was a persistent idea that surfaced every now and then. There had once been a drive-in theatre on the beaches and, after it closed, one entrepreneurial leader…
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When I Should Have Said No
Write about a time when you didn’t take action but wish you had. What would you do differently? When I was in theological college, I worked on weekends as a student minister in a church. My senior minister was very conservative, authoritarian, and very forceful in his opinions. At the time, we were building a…
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When Power Wants Glory
What makes you nervous? What makes me nervous is the old human hunger for power, now armed with new tools. We are living in a time when authoritarian rulers reach for glory without regard for the human cost. Sometimes they collude. Sometimes they turn on one another. Either way, ordinary people are crushed beneath their…
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Letting the Day Wear Off
How do you unwind after a demanding day? First, I come home and take the dog to the local forest for a while. It is not really a forest. It is a park. But people call it The Forest, which makes it sound much more impressive. I throw the ball for her to catch. Not…
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On Being Rushed
Jot down the first thing that comes to your mind. I froze. Not because I had nothing to say, but because I had no time to let the thought become itself. I had just finished yesterday’s blog and thought I might begin circling today’s, the way I sometimes do. When that happens, I like to…
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One Sunday Morning
Describe a random encounter with a stranger that stuck out positively to you I met him in Tanzania when I was there with an international team working with the Lutheran church on a project for training preachers. On Sundays we were sent out to different churches around the region, which meant each of us needed…
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Growing Into Leadership
Describe a decision you made in the past that helped you learn or grow. I have never been drawn to the idea that leadership is mainly about confidence. Confidence can be useful, but on its own it is thin. I have never been a “fake it till you make it” kind of person. When I…
The Afterword 