Writer Lucy Mills talks about her book 'Undivided Heart' and the importance of asking questions.

Emily: Lucy, first of all, tell us about yourself.

Lucy: I am a writer. I have written two books, but I also write feature articles, prayers, worship resources, the odd poem or two. I am also an editor, I oversee the editorial team at Magnet, which is an ecumenical Christian resources magazine, so that's an interesting role. I am married to a Baptist minister, and I am quite involved in church, otherwise I am a very creative kind of person, I like to think deeply about faith and life and that's reflected in things I write, especially in my books.

Emily: Tell us about 'Undivided Heart', give us a quick snapshot of what's it all about.

Lucy: The clue is in the subtitle really. Finding meaning and motivation in Christ. I've always been fascinated in why we do things and how this relates to our faith, so I'll be thinking about how our minds work and what makes us do things. Then I will take that over and ask what does this mean to me as a Christian. This book looks through the things that drive us, the desires we have, the labels we wear, the things we define ourselves by, and then takes it into the biblical narrative and ask where we find ourselves in that story.

Emily: Within the book you ask some really big questions like: why we do what we do, what makes us who we are and what could make us more. What brought you to start considering some of these questions in the first place?

Lucy: To be honest, I always have the tendency to ask those sort questions. Life fascinates me, I am intrigued by how the world works, what makes us tick, what influences our behaviour, and like I said I am interested in how we ask those questions in the context of our faith. So asking why we do what we do might lead to asking, is that a good reason to do it? Is that what God wants of me? Do we need to change what we are doing? Although they sound like abstract questions, and we can get a bit bogged down in them, if you think about them in that way, they can have quite an impact on our lives.

Emily: Why should we be asking questions like this?

Lucy Mills

Lucy: I think asking questions is a natural healthy thing to do. Not only does it nurture our curiosity, but it also deepens our understanding. I think it's hard to grow if we never ask questions. If we never seek wisdom because we can conduct our lives on auto pilot, so the things we do, we do because we've always done them, and the habits we make, they affect the way we live. In the book I use an example of a ball rolling down a groove, so track it back, and you will find out that it's the ball that has actually made the groove. So asking these questions can take us outside of ourselves and make us think 'Okay, is this really what I need to be doing and can I live differently?'

Emily: One of the areas you touch on in the book is desire, and that the desire we have can sometimes can healthy and sometimes unhealthy. Tell us more about that.

Lucy: In a sense we always have desires, then it gets hitched to the wrong thing. God gives us an identity beyond all the other stuff in our lives and we are prone to, like I said, label each other and to put each other into certain categories, and define ourselves by certain things like our jobs or our relationships. Sometimes, those things aren't clear in our lives and we have to ask 'who are we then?' 'What is it that I want?' and if our primary identity is to be in Christ, then we need to make that the only thing that matters, and everything else kind of falls away.

Emily: Why do you think this book is key for today?

Lucy: I think there is an awful lot of noise in the world, and an awful lot of options. We are in front of so many choices, so many voices especially when we are in a digital age, when you have all the voices and opinions flying around on social media. I think social media and communication can be a really good thing, but it can also be really overwhelming. So it's good to be able to take step back from that and say "why am I doing this?" Am I doing this because I think it will make people to like me more? Will they press the like button because I said this? Or, am I doing this because I really want to live compelled by the love of Christ, I really want to find myself in him and share him with that world?

Emily: If anybody wants to find out more and get a copy of your book, how can they do so?

Lucy: The first place to go is to my website which is: www.lucy-mills.com. It will tell you all about the contents, also where to buy. It's published by Darton, Longman & Todd and distributed by Norwich Books & Music and it's widely available online and also bookshops. So, come to my website, probably your first place.