Jesus was crucified between two criminals. Even while he was dying, one of them – known as ‘the unrepentant thief’ – joined in with the crowd hurling insults at Jesus, scoffing and cursing him. But the other one – known as the penitent thief – was different. What did he see? What did he […]

Had we been in the crowd watching Jesus die, we would have heard him utter seven powerful statements from the cross. Remarkable words, not only due to his suffering, but because they conveyed deep meaning. No one Gospel records all seven. But why did he say what he said? Why are these last words so […]

So there I was, sitting in the cafeteria in Morrisons Supermarket, drinking coffee and reading a book. To be honest with you I was sitting at the back of the cafeteria, at a table obscured from the rest of the store by a pillar, because I was fed up with people ‘giving me that look’ for […]

I was sent home from hospital a month ago with strict instructions not to do anything – well nothing strenuous that is – in case it triggered another heart attack!? Now to be honest, at first, I though that this was rather a jolly good whiz! All I was allowed to do – and Julia […]

One of the questions that I am never asked, but which I sense is on everyone’s lips since my recent heart attack, and the news that I am to have heart bypass surgery, is ‘Are you worried about the possibility of dying on the operating table?’ Well, of course, I am a bit anxious, even […]

Since I had my recent heart attack my life has literally been on hold. Having been discharged from hospital around 10 days or so ago I have heard nothing at all from the hospital … until today that is?! I was sent home with a small sack full of drugs – I think I actually […]

Just over a week or so ago I was woken early one morning with what I thought at the time was bad indigestion. I had this really annoying pain right across my chest. I had had it before a few times, off and on, during the previous ten days or so, but it usually wore off […]

One of my favourite films is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the 1989 fantasy-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the third instalment in the Indiana Jones franchise. In the film, set largely in 1938, Indiana searches for his father, a Holy Grail scholar, who has been kidnapped by Nazis, and for the Grail […]

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 4,200 times in 2013. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 4 trips to carry that many people. Click here to […]

In 1865, a young American clergyman names Phillips Brooks journeyed on horseback from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. At the end of his journey he attended the Christmas Eve Service at the Church of the Nativity in Manger Square. The experience moved him and, although he returned to America, the memory vividly remained within his heart. In 1867 […]