Everyday Life

We had to say goodbye to our gorgeous golden retriever, George, after he had been a large part of our lives for nearly fifteen years.

After avoiding it for two and a half years I tested positive for Covid. Research shows that people over 60 are more likely to suffer Covid brain fog so you know what to blame for this!

If a friend is someone with whom you have a close, loving or intimate relationship, then I can count my friends on the fingers of one hand.

I was born with eleven toes. Was that God's mistake?

Or God in the detail?  Which one's for you?

Even when we're old and grey there is one hand we can cling onto.

It's the way that you wear it. Does what you wear matter?

From New York gang member to travelling evangelist via NYPD.

If you were an animal which one would you choose to be?

Was Simon zealous about hygiene? Are you a shade or sun person? Listen in to find out more!

Each day brings a fresh chance, a new beginning.

And other untruths we tell ourselves.

You can't rely on popularity. One day you're the favourite, the next you're the villain. Are there any exceptions to the rule?

"Do you want to get well?" That's a strange question to ask an invalid but often our response to questions is unexpected.

Long before the Beatles sang it a tax collector in Jericho discovered that money isn't always the answer.

Is happiness something we can find? And if so where do we look?

Bindweed in the garden is notoriously hard to get rid of. Left on its own it can kill plants or reduce growth but just cutting off the shoots won't help. The roots go deep and spread. Rather like those negative thoughts we have about ourselves. 

Something a little different. Two scriptures and two monologues from Mary, mother of Jesus.

We know violence isn't the answer but is it ever justified?

If we miss our mothers or never knew them, or if it seems we’ve lost them to a fog of dementia, we can turn to God safe in the knowledge that his love is stronger, that his compassion and forgiveness greater, that he will never forget us.

If I were called Tiffany would I be a different person now?

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Whatever you're giving up for Lent don't give up hope!

As Russia invades Ukraine and thousands of people flee their homes I'm thinking about an earlier refugee, and how he might have been treated.

Storm Gladys is coming. That was my grandmother's name and if this storm is anything like my Grandmother, you'd better watch out!

“To be a writer is to embrace rejection as a way of life.”

So said a famous American writer but do lots of rejections make you immune to pain?

We all do it.

My ancestral home is a castle. Or a dilapidated house in a village depending which branch of the family tree you follow.

In Wales we have our own patron saint of love but we also have a lot of other saints, perhaps where you might least expect to find them.

Advice #1: getting rids of weeds is a full-time job.

How Jesus tells us we can change the world.

Trying to not be shy is like asking a tiger to resolve to be rid of his stripes. So what's a more achievable resolution?

What difference does a baby born over two thousand years ago make to the world? To you?

The grungy chaos of birth, and an heroic young woman

On Thanksgiving morning we woke up to the news that 27 people had died trying to cross the English Channel. What should our attitude to them be?

Kathy Kallen sang that in 1954 - no, I don't remember her but I do remember the song - but have we lost the art of appreciating the small things of life?

Are you frustrated by the news you hear every day? It's so unremittingly bad. What can we do as Christians? What would Jesus do?

Church in its best version is family, the sort of family you'd choose for yourself. 

When children in the first world go to school hungry. What can we do?

From Elsa to CS Lewis, thoughts on autumn and letting go.

We owe a lot to people like Dr Martin Luther King who followed their dreams and made life better for us all. But what about our own dreams?

Are you a good pray-er? I don't think I am.

What will you leave behind when you're gone?

A cross made of driftwood and old rope, a window made of discarded glass. Beauty out of rubbish.

When your experience of fathers is bad how do you relate to  Father God?

Or just coincidence? How easy do you find it to trust God?

How I became a Christian in 8 minutes.

Does God really want us to enjoy ourselves?

A bit late in life but I finally realise that it IS good to talk.

Sometimes your emotions get the better of you despite your best intentions.