Category: Uncategorized

The spoil heap

February 16, 2024

We are experiencing the sharp pain that comes from losing a family pet and, along with the grief, something deeper. The death of an animal stirs up things that are usually hidden. Like an archaeological excavation past events are brought to the surface, fragments of a broken past that have been buried in the pit of our being. However painful, I have found it is better to go through these, sift the dirt and find the residue of events that shattered too quickly. … More The spoil heap

Pray, do and say

January 19, 2024

I took a break from blogging with Fiveminutefriday friends as the wave of festive celebrations, carol concerts and outings broke over me, and it is difficult to get back to the discipline of sitting down to write every Friday but here goes for today’s prompt SAY. I was listening to one of our team teaching on … More Pray, do and say

Sisters under the Rising Sun by Heather Morris

October 10, 2023

This is the sad but inspiring story of a group of women in the POW camps in south east Asia under the control of the Japanese during the Second World War.
I found the book difficult to read. Although the story is told in an upbeat way, the hardship and the cruelty are overwhelming. I admire Heather Morris for having the strength to delve into these difficult stories and to research the background to the novel so thoroughly. It was also helpful in a complex and constantly changing situation to have the focus on a few strong characters. … More Sisters under the Rising Sun by Heather Morris

Celebrating work

July 14, 2023

My writing has been on the back burner for weeks. I created the matching cover for the third novel, which is about returning refugees. A week will come when I have time to publish but at present it is an exercise in frustration at not having the time or headspace. If we look at the failures in the work that we do, never enough time, not enough energy, frustrations and blockages. For some health limitations that translate work into a different thing altogether of just keeping going, somehow, trusting that we will be healed in eternity. God bless us all in our work. … More Celebrating work

Quick time

June 2, 2023

Well, my five minute Friday friends, I am in the USA this week staying with my brother and his wife at their home in twin cities and then at their cabin on the north shore of Lake Superior. They are hikers, who have completed the Superior trail in stages and, back home, walk 5 miles … More Quick time

What a gift!

January 13, 2023

We can change the script of our lives. We do not have to accept everything that happens to us. We have agency and can make the world a better place but only if our hearts are full of love. … More What a gift!

Silent testimony

October 21, 2022

Two plays The Crucible by Arthur Miller, and We Make Our Mark by Journeyman Theatre and All Together in Dignity ATD Fourth World raise uncomfortable questions about ‘testimony’. Our times dictate the testimonies we record, and whose voice we give weight to, but all voices are of immense value. … More Silent testimony

Coffee and ink spots!

April 2, 2022

The coffee bean has a split in the middle, perhaps to remind us that all things in life come with a good side and a bad side. It depends how you use them. I find that is particularly true of personal gifts. Anger can be a righteous passion for change, campaigning for Fair Trade, and rights of workers, or it can be an uncontrolled indulgence that hypes us up when we should be resting. Coffee is a choice as well as a personal preference! … More Coffee and ink spots!