I want to be alone
As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone.
Thoughts of a Christian wean
Thoughts of a Christian wean
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- StoriesFrom time to time I write a story based on a passage in the Bible, but looking at it from a different perspective – generally through the eyes of a by-stander in the passage. I hope you enjoy them – select one from the menu on the left.
- A Soldier’s DiaryMonday 17th June Well, this is it! At last I am in the army, and today was my first day. I have decided to keep a diary of all my experiences, and maybe one day, when I am a national hero, I shall publish extracts. Today was mostly taken up with enlisting, and I am now an Enlisted Man. When the sergeant found out that I could write, he said that I would be an officer in no time! I am now sitting around the campfire with the rest of the men in my group. Although it is really quite late, we haven’t yet been shown where our bedrooms are. Tuesday 18th June I can’t believe it! No bedroom! I had to spend the whole night in the open air! I complained early this morning, and the sergeant explained that we would never have bedrooms. In fact, the campfire was a special treat because it was our first night! Well at least we started soldiering today. We were issued with our weapons first thing – a shield, a sword and a spear. We all went on to the parade ground to be shown how to use them. The drill sergeant…
- BraveryI’m brave. I always have been. I’m supposed to be brave. It’s what I was brought up to be, and it’s part of the job. People expect it of me. In fact, they expect it so much that I frighten them. I don’t even have to be brave to frighten them – they just assume that I am, and they are frightened. One look at me and that is it. Even the mention of me is enough. That means that I have a reasonably easy life, because I don’t actually have to do anything. I can be fast asleep and do my job at the same time! In fact, that is when I can be at my most effective, because when people see me asleep, they know that sooner or later I am going to waken up! I have had quite a bit of fun with that, pretending I am asleep, and just peeking at them through the corner of my eye, occasionally turning over and making the odd noise. It’s amazing how hard they try not to make a sound. You can sometimes hear them actually stop breathing! Everybody is brave to a certain extent. Bravery is really an…
- Caught!Like so many things, I learned it from my mum. “Don’t tell tales,†she would say, “good girls don’t tell tales.†And as I grew older I learned that bad girls don’t tell tales either. I knew how to keep a secret. I learned how to find a secret, and I learned that other peoples secrets are very valuable commodities. Silence is golden. Quite literally. Used properly, silence can give you all the gold you want. So I became a collector of secrets and gold. It was easy. Everyone has something to hide, and all you have to do is pick those with the most to lose. That narrows the field down a bit – go for the men with a bit of money, a bit of prestige. Watch them. Follow them. Sooner or later, they make a mistake, no matter how goodie-goodie they pretend to be. You just need to be patient, have a good eye, duck round a few corners, look in the right windows and you’ve got them. Then comes the diplomatic bit. Persuading them that you are very good at keeping secrets. In fact, it’s your job to keep secrets, you are sort of a freelance…
- Friends[dropcap]T[/dropcap]here was always six of us. Never any more than six, never less. Six of us going to school, six of us dodging it. Six of us at work, six of us off sick. Six of us keeping our noses clean, six of us bending the rules a wee bit. Well, ok, maybe more than just a wee bit, but nothing serious, and six of us always managed to stay out of real trouble with the law. We did everything together, and in the end that turned out to be our undoing. It was an opportunity that Jacob had spotted. A store with some nice gear in it. The doors and windows were bolted, so there was no way in there, but the roof was easy to get to and wasn’t overlooked by any other buildings, so we could get in that way. With six of us it would be easy. Three to go down into the store, the other three to stay on he roof with a rope and pull the gear, and the other three, back up. Then scarper. Easy. They say you can’t keep a good man down. We discovered that night that a poor roof won’t…
- The BloodI’m standing here, waiting for a man to die. It’s taking a long time, but I am going to see it through. I have to. This is one death I must see. He will be dead before the day is out, that’s for sure. He is covered in blood – his face, his arms, his legs – his whole body, where they whipped him. My dress is covered in blood, but it’s not his. Though, the more I think of it, I suppose it is. There has been a lot of blood today. Early this morning I saw a man wash his hands, trying to rid himself of it, even before it was spilled. Some of the crowd are yelling at him. “Save yourself! Save yourself!†Oh, wouldn’t they love that! What, just what, would they do if he did? I would love to see their faces then! He won’t, though. He can’t. He knows that. And he knows he must die. The lawyers and the priests have all turned up and are taunting him, insulting him. Passers-by join in and everyone laughs. But he isn’t laughing. A grimace is all he can manage as the pain racks him. Blood drips…
- The Prodigal Brother[dropcap]W[/dropcap]e have always been so different that I have often wondered whether we really are brothers. OK, we look like each other, but there the resemblance stops. There is only a couple of years between us, but we seem to be light years apart. And I don’t think it has just happened in these last few years – looking back, it has always been the same. Sure, there were times when we were young that we got on really well. There were times when we got into fights with each other, and times when we stuck up for each other. But I think that was more like school-friends than brothers. It wasn’t that side of it that showed our differences so much as the different ways we went about things. I don’t really remember much before school. I suppose I was too young to notice any differences before then – I was me and he was him, and that was all there was to it. I always wanted to be the best. I think I got it from Dad. Dad always had to be top guy, and I worshipped him. He was top guy, so I wanted to be up…
- PhotosOn the following pages you will find a selection of my photographs, and I hope you enjoy them. You can see a larger copy of each one by clicking on the thumbnail, and then scroll through them by clicking the arrow keys on your keyboard. Please note that, although the resolution of each photo is small, copyright still applies, and I would ask you not to use them without my permission. If you would like to see any of them in higher resolution, or would like to buy copies, please contact me.
- Snowdrops
- PlacesThe heavens proclaim the glory of God.The skies display his craftsmanship. (Ps 19:1, NLT) No matter how much we spoil the world we live in, it is still a truly wonderful, beautiful place! All around us we see the see the signs of mankind, but over it all we see God’s craftsmanship. I hope that my photos of places I have been to will tell you what a great work he has done! Select a place in the submenu.
- ChangesOut of bounds pictures are where the photos are manipulated in a way that the subject seems to be breaking out of the confines of the photo. The pictures below are the result of this manipulation. My thanks go to my son, Simon, who took the photos of the wild dogs while on safari this year.
- About Us[one_half][dropcap]H[/dropcap]ello! I am Libby, the sweeter of the pair of us, and I am deeply indebted to my truly wonderful husband for setting this up, because I don’t have a clue what is going on! I am not too computer literate, you see. On our wedding day I not only became a wife, I also immediately became a step-mother and a stepgran. It is definitely the way to do it – you miss the discomfort of pregnancy, the pain of childbirth, and the years of wondering if they will ever leave home! But that’s just part of the story – I also have to look after the wean on the right![/one_half] [one_half_last] [dropcap]H[/dropcap]i, I am Robert, and I have to admit that I am getting on a bit. That isn’t exactly true, though. The truth is that my body is getting on a bit, but my mind, as my lovely wife Libby often points out to me, is still very young. I think Libby’s actual word is “childishâ€! That’s OK, though, because I really believe Jesus when he said “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.†So, maybe…
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