Words from Muddy Pearl - Writers
What He Would Have Missed
When I read the temptation story of Jesus in our present day I immediately notice something: He was isolated. He was hungry, He was weak, and He was alone. There were no disciples to hear His teachings, no children to hold on the knee, and no lepers to heal. There was no one to see, no one to […]
Living in the age of Corona paradoxes
We live in the age of Corona paradoxes: I’m bored I’m busy I’m frightened I’ve not got time to think I must stay home to save lives I must leave home to save lives I feel guilty as I sit enjoying the afternoon sun in my garden I feel frustrated as I stare from […]
Blossoms and Blackbirds
As we experience ‘Lockdown’ because of the Coronavirus, an encouragement has been the blackbirds’ song. The apple tree, resplendent with blossom has filled the view from my bedroom window. There, amongst the branches, blackbirds sing their hearts out. No matter how I feel the blossoms are beautiful and the birds keep singing. Life has slowed […]
Be My Certainly
I don’t think Jesus’ disciples were afraid of the water that day, or even the wind that was so contrary. I believe the fear came when they were unable to recognize the object moving towards them (because it’s the unfamiliar that moves towards you in the familiar that brings the fear.) They knew the water, […]
A Way of Life That Works
Daniel sits on the commuter train to London, he balances his laptop on his knees, scrolls through his schedule and the 50 emails that have come in since yesterday, and sighs. Life is busy and feels overwhelming. He feels caught in a swirl, a slave to circumstances and other people’s expectations. You ‘should’ do this. […]
Grant Smith at Blackwells
We look at the world and there are so many problems and we think we can’t do anything. I wrote the book because that’s wrong. We can do something. On Thursday 18th July, we had our Scottish launch of Grant Smith’s The Accidental Social Entrepreneur at Blackwells Edinburgh. It was a brilliant evening, following on […]
What I’ve learned about relationships
Mark Greene, author of Probably the Best Idea in the World, reflects on 7 things he has learned about relationships. 1. I’m not nearly as good at them as I used to think I was. And I’m not being self-deprecating. Ask my children. Ask my friends. Don’t ask my co-workers. 2. Love is the key […]
Six ways to protect your privacy online – and why it matters
If you’re like most people, you’re probably not overly concerned about online security. Maybe because your various email, social media and other frequently-visited sites haven’t (yet) been compromised, you think it won’t happen, or perhaps it has and it was little more than an inconvenience. The real horror stories generally happen to other people. Anyway, […]
The medium is the message: the spiritual impacts of social media
“With great power comes great responsibility” (Uncle Ben, Spider-Man) The internet, smartphones, social media, instant messaging and other related technologies have had a dramatic impact on the way we communicate over the last 20 years, and therefore fundamentally how we relate to one another. Since we are relational beings, made in the image of a […]
God’s Lavish Love
Six years ago, I was pulling on wellies, ready to tramp through a squelchy field to speak at the early morning New Wine Bible studies on these verses: The Lord bless you and keep you The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you The Lord lift up the light of […]
