Growing up we constantly used the acronym ‘YOLO’.  The letters stand for You Only Live Once, and we usually said it before we did something stupid.  My friends and I would take our bikes in and around the town and jump off things, but we made sure to say ‘YOLO’ before we did to attempt to justify our careless abandon for our…

Today I came across an interesting article in The Guardian.  The article claimed that Bill Gates is the biggest private owner of farmland in the United States.  Another article corroborated the claim but added that some of this land is used for growing potatoes, and the potato fields are so vast they can be seen from space.  What does Bill Gates, who…

This week I’ve noticed rainbow flags appearing everywhere I look.  I was greeted by one at the front of my Sainsbury’s local and it reminded me that our nation is celebrating Pride Month again this year.  The rainbow represents the LGBTQI+ movement.  The acronym represents lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and/or questioning, and intersectional communities.  The + acknowledges the existence of other…

A few weeks ago I referred to a book of daily readings “Reading between the lines” written by Glen Scrivener.  I have continued to very much enjoy each day’s reading – let me summarise one recent reading. Have you ever wondered why a rainbow is so called?  We could, perhaps, describe it as a rain-arc or a rain-dome – but it is…

In many ways, social media is a fantastic tool.  Just this past week I had photos pop back up on my Facebook feed that enabled me to travel back in time to only a few years ago and relive my son’s newborn days.  It was a fantastic surprise, and social media is such a useful way to preserve precious memories online, rather…

This week I’ve finished reading Navy Seal Chris Kyle’s autobiography.  As a professed Christian, Kyle talks in his book about his four tours in the Middle East.  Whilst there, he noticed a difference between those who acknowledged death and those who didn’t.  Some men, he says, never came to terms with the reality that one day, perhaps even that very day, they…

As I write ballot papers are continuing to be counted for many of Thursday’s elections.  I hope, if you were able, you exercised your responsibility and privilege to vote. The Bible contains several references to the choices you and I have before us.  Perhaps the one that comes immediately to mind is in Joshua 24v15.  Joshua is drawing near to the end…

As a birthday present this year, Gill bought me Volume 1 of ‘Reading Between The Lines’ by Glen Scrivener, which is a book of daily readings based on passages in the Old Testament.  I’ve only dipped into it so far, but already I’m discovering wonderful, refreshing truths – new perspectives on very familiar passages.  Let me summarise some thoughts on the creation…

These past two weeks I have been enjoying getting back into the gym. I’ve been training in the garden for the past year and so I was delighted to be in the warm and familiar environment of the leisure centre. But as I walked back into the gym I took note of a few things. It felt so good to be lifting…

Life can be disheartening sometimes, can’t it?  Particularly at the moment.  I’ve been talking to many people who tell me that they are finding adjusting to the new rules difficult.  Many have told me they feel it’s difficult even to hold a face to face conversation.  It is almost as if we need to relearn the basics of socially interacting again, and…