The school exam season has arrived for our eldest grandson and granddaughter; for him, it is A-levels and for her GCSEs.  One might imagine that things are about to get a little fraught in their household.  Our granddaughter has perfectionist tendencies, where she views anything less than excellent as some sort of failure.  Over the past two days, she tackled … Read More

My wife, Jean, received an unusual gift chosen by our daughter-in-law on Mother’s Day – a cactus plant in a ceramic pot.  You may wonder if this prickly offering in some way reflected how Jean was thought of, but I assure you that it did not.  She is known in the family as someone who struggles to keep pot plants … Read More

I wonder how you view change.  Perhaps you think of it in terms of circumstances that you need to handle, to cope with.  Maybe you imagine that change is something that needs to be applied to other people with whom you struggle, or to those who are not yet Christians and need to respond to the gospel message.  Perhaps your … Read More

Do you have paintings on the walls of your home?  For many years, we didn’t, mainly because we lacked the spare money to afford such things.  But, more recently, we have been able to acquire quite a few from house clearance auctions.  I am particular about where to display these, such that after last redecorating our dining room, the walls … Read More

I wonder what comes to mind by way of an answer to this question.  Maybe your first thought is to try to figure out where I am coming from in posing it, or perhaps you have a sense of purpose such that you are very conscious of a particular target that you are aiming for now – an aspiration or … Read More

The original Greek word for the gospel is represented in English as ‘evangel’, from which are derived the familiar terms evangelist, for a preacher of the gospel, and evangelical, as theology that is centred upon the need to receive personal salvation.  The word gospel is generally understood to mean ‘good news’; we refer to the good news of the gospel.  … Read More

I appreciate that ‘under orders’ is a military term, with which those who are civilians might not readily identify.  But then, we find that military analogies are not uncommon within scripture – see 2 Timothy 2:3,4.  If we are committed to Jesus’ lordship in our lives, then we most certainly should count ourselves as being under his orders.   Authority This … Read More

Resting on the windowsill in my study is a picture frame with five windows of varying shapes and sizes.  This is old and a little tacky, and I would happily have disposed of it long ago, but for the fact that it is populated with photographs of our daughter and son when they were very young, and these evoke memories … Read More

When out for my early morning walk today, I came across something that delighted my heart.  The day started rather cool, but bright.  Despite the low temperature, there were some white daffodils in bloom beside the path.  I love flowering bulbs, not because they provide the first signs of new life after the drabness of winter, but because of their … Read More

Our eight-year-old granddaughter came into my study the other day and, after considering a painting that hangs here, asked what it was about.  We acquired this particular picture as part of an auction lot some time ago; it isn’t one that Jean or I like.  You might wonder then why we have given it house room.  The quality of the … Read More