On long-tailed tits (a devotional) 30th August, 2020. Out walking with Rupert and the dogs after ‘virtual’ church, coats on for the first time in weeks, sadness creeping in as summer peters out, and the long cold months loom. Daily dog walks will still be needed when this drizzle is replaced with downpours, and blue skies …
Mercies Unseen
An early walk with our two dogs and Jemima in tow, a soft breeze rippling the field of barley that’s not long to stand, an undiluted blue sky overhead dappled with benevolent clouds. The shelf-life of these carefree summer days is limited; the crop is soon to be harvested, autumn routines begin to encroach and …
Works in Progress
Picture in your mind dozens of caterpillars squirming inside cobwebbed sacks. Add these grey balls of entangled creatures down the length of a country path, drape them over the hedges and trees, so that you have the makings of a screen set for something a little sinister. Not exactly a go-to image for the glory …
Recovery – in Nature and in Us
Accepting help from the divine gardener? Six-thirty a.m. and peace and quiet is mine! I’m having my prayer time early in the morning before the rest of the family surfaces, sitting in my favourite red armchair, with a view onto a tree at the side of the house. As I read a Psalm and glance …
On the humble bumble (a devotional)
A new discovery on bumblebee behaviour has got me thinking… I think sometimes that as Christians we grow so familiar with a passage of scripture that it can lose its impact on us. We enjoy hearing a well-known verse in a different translation, as the meaning catches us again, like a joking friend who’ll pounce …
Birdsong (a devotional)
A member of one my adult education classes is in the high-risk category during this lockdown and has been told in a letter that she can have her window open a short way – the extent of her freedom (though if she owned a very spacious garden I believe she could use it at her …
Worship during Lockdown
I’m rethinking my perfect surroundings for worship - what's needed, what's desirable, and what we can manage without, for a time. Perhaps what I love most about my church (One Church, Dover) is our times of worship, when up to around 200 people are drawing close to God together, and singing out heartfelt praise. …
‘Gospel Voices’ is out there!
Just a quick update to let you know that Gospel Voices is now reaching customers. The lockdown had slowed things down but copies are getting through quickly at last! I would encourage you to order through my publishers, Faithbuilders. Thank you. I hope you enjoy!
Gospel Voices – obtaining your copy
December,2020 Gospel Voices is available from many outlets now: Faithbuilders, Waterstones, Blackwells and Scroll Eaters, to name but a few. I have some author copies at home too, so feel free to contact me... I love hearing from readers! Don't forget to leave a review on the website that you buy from. (If you buy …
Corona Crisis – a personal response
‘It’s the end of the world as we know it… and I feel fine.’ The words of R.E.M. in 1987, but I don’t agree. Firstly, it’s not ‘the end of the world’ – this time will pass, we’ll deal with the bruises to our sense of what’s right, our sense of security in this world, …
