Rev Joan is often reminding us to count our blessings.  This I try to do but during this lockdown I have found it more difficult as I think many others have too. However, since the snow and ice have disappeared it is much easier to count my blessings.  The snowdrops and crocuses are lovely, and…

As I look back over the last year, I have found myself repeatedly saying sorry. The truth is that life hasn’t worked in the way that it ought to work and I know that I have made mistakes along the way, in part, because I have found the whole process of working in an alien…

A sense of humour is an asset at any time but especially so when times are drab and dreary, colourless, hemmed in with restrictions. At such a time, where is it possible to find something to raise a laugh, a chuckle or just a grin ? Going back in time, one can recall the antics…

There are times when our focus on God is distorted by our human overlay. In other words, we mould the message to suit what we are feeling. A recent sermon (Transfiguration Sunday) gave me the stimulus to share this experience which I have never shared before. It was 1982. I was 22, my mother was…

Based on Matthew 14:22 – 36 Which took more courage?  To leave his home and livelihood to follow Jesus or to step out of a boat onto a deep, rough sea to get to Jesus?  This is what Peter did.  I’m not sure I’d have had the courage to do either.  Of course Peter had…

Genesis 2:4-7 “When the Lord God made the earth and the heavens – and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the Lord God had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground,…

During the pandemic, and before, I’ve been working in a specialist area of a primary school. We’ve had a lot of lovely moments and perhaps another time I’ll write some more about those, but for now I’ll stick to one or two. Children are incredibly resilient, and those I work with have been nothing but…

God writes the music for our lives. Our role is to follow His lead—humming, harmonising, blending and singing in tune. Serving the Lord, like singing, can be stirring and rewarding. But when we are set aside by illness, or replacement, or retirement, the interludes can be frustrating and unfilling. When God says to “Come ….rest…

We first visited our manse at the beginning of 2013, the house had stood empty for quite some time and the garden was a bit of a wilderness, the house itself was a bit of a throwback to the 1960’s but one of the big selling points for us was the view across the fields…

Based on the book – Finding Jesus in the Storm  (The Spiritual Lives of Christians with Mental Health Challenges) by John Swinton. John Swinton is professor of practical theology and pastoral care at the University of Aberdeen and founding director of Aberdeen’s Centre for Spirituality, Health and Disability. He worked as a nurse for sixteen…