Read Ecclesiastes 3:1 – ‘For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.’ For many children and young people, this is the last week of the summer term. Some students may have finished their university careers or will soon be enjoying a summer break. Others, depending on their stage of…

Following retirement from his post as England manager Sir Gareth Southgate was asked what he would do next. He said that he wanted to spend time thinking about that, and shortly afterwards he was asked to give the Dimbleby lecture in 2025. As I listened to him delivering that lecture, I felt it was a most…

Several years ago, I recall singing a hymn that included a phrase about prayer, “Take it to the Lord and leave it there.” For some time, I assumed it meant that having prayed about something once, it was no longer necessary to ask God again. This misunderstanding came to mind during a recent daily Bible…

On our recent trip to Italy, we stayed in Sorrento, the home of limoncello. (Lemon flavoured digestif). The UK supermarkets would have us believe that lemons are all, more or less, a standard size with shiny yellow peel. However, the lemon groves that adorn the Sorrentine peninsula produce some fruit the size of melons, with…

These Alone Are Enough Take my heart, O Lord, take my hopes and dreams Take my mind with all its plans and schemes Give me nothing more than Your love and grace These alone, O God, are enough for me Take my thoughts, O Lord, and my memory Take my tears, my joys, my liberty…

Today’s thought for the day is brought to us by Sue Griffiths www.ellel.uk “The Most High … is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful”. Luke 6:35-36, NIV I am reading Luke’s Gospel at the moment, and every morning as I read, I am being bowled over by…

Read John 6:41-51 Have you ever worked for one of those managers who says, “My door is always open,” yet when someone actually needs to speak, the diary is full, the meeting has moved, or the moment never quite arrives? A parent may tell their children, “You can always come to me,” but then the…

One of the distressing items that sometimes comes up on the news is a report on a medical facility where standards have fallen far short of what is required and harm has occurred to individuals whilst they are vulnerable, sick and in need of professional care. This “thought” is not intended to undermine the serious…

Improvements to hearing over the years have undergone considerable changes, from the need to shout (still an option) to the use of ear trumpets, and now to modern digital aids linked to mobile phones. However, there is a significant difference between hearing and listening. I recall an occasion when my wife asked if I had heard the…