Author: Rod Marshall

There was a time, before I trusted in Jesus' knowing better than myself, when everything worldly seemed up for grabs. It was a time of exploring our coming-of-age freedoms. For me, this included a girlfriend. Latterly, I realized that … Read more

New global weather patterns make their presence felt and impose the requirement to change the way that we do life or else suffer the consequences: drought, wildfires, floods, and landslides, in addition to war, famine, and plague. … Read more

On the first Saturday of this month, after a year off, I was again being dressed up as Father Christmas, although this year, his white beard was more mine than in past years, and it seems that he gets a little less spritely every year … Read more

Informed by the news media these days, I am led to be praying for the nations of the world where bad things are happening, trusting that God has got this. Today, I felt the need to pray for my own nation, England. It seems to me that … Read more

Recently, I listened to an episode of the BBC series, A History of the World. It described an amazing sculpture, The Throne of Weapons. In 1992, an Anglican bishop, Rt. Rev. Dinis Sengulane, one of Africa's greatest peacemakers, … Read more

The festival of Sol Invictus, the "Unconquered Sun", on December 25th, was a time when the sun god, Sol, patron of Roman soldiers, was feted. It was a celebration inaugurated by Emperor Aurelian in 274 AD. Houses were decorated with … Read more

I saw an advertisement recently on a recycling website for a television sofa where the spelling was out of place. It read, "Loves Eating". They had put the space after the "s" instead of before! A simple mistake to make, but it made me … Read more

I was slow in getting out of bed, shuffling my feet towards the kettle. I had a headache. With the kettle warming up, my youngest daughter demanded that I make her a packed lunch for her to consume. I was not at my best, and I was left … Read more

I chat with God. I talk; He listens. It is called prayer. Thankfully, as I talk, I do not get to see His facial expressions, the odd shake or nod of the head, the smiles, the sadness, the waving of the arms, and what I think must be an … Read more

It was a sunny day, and I was finally on my own for a while. So, here I was, hiding from the sun in the garden under a new parasol. You must understand that it was just to test it out to see if it was functional, because when I had found … Read more