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Yesterday’s news: Catherine, Princess of Wales, completed the Three Peaks Challenge – climbing the highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales in twenty-four hours – to raise awareness of cancer charities. Catherine said, ‘Every year hundreds of thousands of people hear the words that no one wants to hear. What follows… tests every part ofContinue reading “Wellbeing, Resilience and Quality of Life”

Yesterday morning at church, we were thinking about the story of Philip and the Ethiopian… Philip, recognised to be a wise, godly man is appointed, by the church in Jerusalem, to distribute food fairly to the poor and needy in the local community… operating an early foodbank. …Philip unexpectedly meets an Ethiopian eunuch, financial expert,Continue reading “When Differences Aren’t Barriers”

Last week I read Psalm 119. I paused at ‘Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.’ These are words I’ve known for years. I remembered the old Amy Grant song: Thy WordIs a lamp unto my feetAnd a light unto my path When I feel afraidThink I’ve lost myContinue reading “Thy Word”

Enjoying Tim Bennett’s ‘Seaside Homes and Fishing Boats’, about Overstrand in the early 1900s… Remembering Reinhold Niebuhr’s ‘Serenity Prayer’: ‘God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.’ …Winston Churchill, then the First Sea Lord of the Admiralty, oftenContinue reading “Letters From Overstrand”

A few days ago, I heard a story I keep returning to… There was a police raid in Champigny-sur-Marne, a suburb east of Paris. Searching the home belonging to an aunt of a suspected drug trafficker, they found 20 kilograms of cannabis resin, luxury designer clothing valued at hundreds of thousands of euros, and €7,000Continue reading “Discovering the Picasso”

On Monday at John’s funeral… Six of his friends entered carrying John’s coffin. There were a few tears. ‘The Bare Necessities’ from The Jungle Book – one of John’s favourites – started playing. Everyone smiled. Look for the bare necessitiesThe simple bare necessitiesForget about your worries and your strife… Many aspire to such a simple,Continue reading “A Mass of Contradictions”

Epilogue: A speech or piece of text that is added to the end of a play or book, often giving a short statement… after the play or book finishes.’ (Cambridge Dictionary) Yesterday was John’s funeral. Pakefield Church was packed. Sharon, the vicar, opened with: ‘Thank you for joining us today, not only to say goodbyeContinue reading “The Epilogue”

Each year I read through the whole Bible. I’ve done it for many years. I start Genesis on January 1st. I finish Revelation on December 31st. I’m now reading Psalms – the central book of the Bible. Today I read the central chapter – Psalm 118. The central verse of the central chapter of theContinue reading “Right in the Centre”

On the Beach: This weekend, on Lowestoft beach, was our annual First Light Festival with music and performance, arts and workshops, over 24 stages and venues… Folks from out church were involved in wellbeing sessions, hosting the ‘Soul Space’… It’s the ‘First Light’ Festival because, Sunday was the Summer Solstice. As the most easterly pointContinue reading “Seeing First Light”

Listening to Phil Coulter songs last week. I discovered ‘Scorn Not His Simplicity’, that Coulter wrote in 1969, shortly after the birth of his first son, who had Down syndrome. See the child with the golden hairYet eyes that show the emptiness insideDo we know, can we understand just how he feelsOr have we reallyContinue reading “Scorn Not His Simplicity”