Category Archives: Uncategorized

This morning I read about ‘the armour of God’. As a child I was told of adventures of knights in shining armour going to battle. As a teenager I was challenged to defend myself with the shield of faith, wield ‘the sword of the Spirit, the word of God’. Getting older I tried to understandContinue reading “Soldiers, Gardeners and Elephants”

Over the weekend I encountered three families that live with dementia. Three good, ordinary people, who’ve lived good ordinary lives, married for many years to good, ordinary spouses, producing good, ordinary children… have minds now that are no longer good or ordinary. I know each of their three spouses well. This unplanned, unexpected dementia ofContinue reading “One More Step Through Dementia”

At our weekly ‘Singing for Wellbeing’ group we often sing old songs that we remember from our youth. Brogan, our guitarist, is a massive Beatles fan – so we often include a Beatles’ song. This week it was ‘Yesterday’. YesterdayAll my troubles seemed so far awayNow it looks as though they’re here to stayOh, IContinue reading “Yesterday”

Yesterday morning there’d been a frost and the sky was clear. As I walked along the beach there was a lone swimmer in the sea. Usually swimmers are in pairs or small groups for safety reasons. So why was he alone? Perhaps his friend hadn’t turned up… perhaps he’d fallen out with his friends andContinue reading “Perhaps…”

On Tuesday at our church home group we read Psalm 139. David writes about – probably sings about – a God who knows everything. It starts, ‘You have searched me Lord and know me,’ later continuing, ‘Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.’ God’s knowledge extends far beyond theContinue reading “The Limits Of My Knowledge”

This morning I read Paul’s words, ‘If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.’ It set me on a rambling musing… pride, boasting, achievements… weakness, embarrassment, failure… On Tuesday night Scotland beat Denmark 4-2 and qualified for next summer’s football World Cup finals. The TV news has replayed allContinue reading “Boasting About Weakness”

I’m reading Rudyard Kipling’s ‘The Jungle Book’. Mowgli’s been brought up in the jungle by a pack of wolves. He’s captured by monkeys who, ‘…began twenty at a time, to tell him how great and wise and strong and gentle they were… ‘We are great. We are free. We are wonderful. We are the mostContinue reading “I am Wonderful!”

I was chatting to my friends Steve and Wendy yesterday. Write about ‘Rage against the machine,’ said Steve. I know that was the name of some American rock band… In the late eighteenth century new technologies were being introduced to the textiles industry. The jobs and livelihoods of skilled workers were being threatened by machinesContinue reading “Rage Against the Machine”

Last night someone said: ‘Growing Old is Compulsory. Growing Up is Optional.’ I’ve heard the saying, in different forms, many times over the years… attributed to Walt Disney, Robin Williams, Bob Monkhouse… It suggests: Growing Old is Compulsory: [MS1] Growing old is about the passage of time, As our bodies get older we experience aches andContinue reading “Growing Old… Growing Up”

I was brought up in a church where we sung traditional hymns. Our Sunday morning ‘Breaking of Bread’ services were unaccompanied – Dad led the singing. Since then there have always been ‘new songs’ with ‘new music’. Some have become popular and then quickly forgotten – in many cases that’s probably a good thing. OthersContinue reading “Goodness of God”