It seems to be a common belief that you must have a high degree of education to have any credibility. The opinions of skilled amateurs or anyone not taught at Universities are usually scorned. It amuses me because it was only academes who were taught to read and...
In the huge scheme of things, bookmarks do not play a very important role. People often fuss about a mislaid book but does anyone fuss about a mislaid bookmark? Any old scrap will do for a bookmark, a scribbled-out shopping list, a bird’s feather picked off the window...
More than 2,000 years ago, Jesus did not just stand up and say, "Let us pray" and launch straight into the Lord's Prayer. He gave the prayer half way through the Sermon on the Mount because He took time to draw the thoughts of all the people together before prayer. So...
An advertisement recently reminded me how important it is to make a will. The advertisement mentioned some quite dire effects that can happen to a family when a member dies without leaving a legal will. It seems that legal costs and added taxes could eat into what...
‘Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me’ is an old saying that has come unstuck. It is just not true and if you have ever been the target of harsh words, you know it. They really do hurt and they hurt badly. I am sure we have all felt at...
Every morning a wild magpie flies from across the hills and lands in a tree in the garden. There he waits. He waits until we come out of the house and see him. Then he waits until we throw tiny pieces of bread or food scraps to him. He catches each piece on the wing,...
It is a tough call to own a motor car that runs on LP gas* instead of on conventional petrol. It has advantages but the serious downside is that if you run out of fuel you are stuck. You can’t borrow a litre or two from a passing motorist or walk down to the nearest...
We built a pathway but just off to one side was the tip of a rock deep in the ground. We could not shift it. It looked as though we could not cover it with dirt to level out the ground without making it higher than the pathway. It seemed doomed to remain an obstacle...
I had just come in from a shopping trip to town and walked down the hallway shedding my town gear as I went. As I walked past the television, I flicked it on to catch the morning news, half listening as I went. The headlines staccatoed – there was a train disaster in...
Jigsaw puzzles have never been my thing. I am blind to the little clues so I empathise with the man reading the Bible when Philip said to him, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he replied, “How can I without someone to guide me?” Yet he was a man who knew...