Considering hardships when life is not hard
The title of my latest book, Facing Cancer with Faith, may mislead people into thinking that it will only be of interest if you have cancer or if you have faith. Admittedly, it is written very much from a Christian viewpoint, and therefore if you’re not Christian and are not interested in hearing anything about…
New Book – Facing Cancer with Faith
Cancer has been a big thing in my life for more than six years. It put me in hospital for nearly two months at the beginning of 2010, and has reared its ugly head again twice since then. Each occasion has involved a roller coaster ride of emotion whilst going through the painfully slow process…
Do Not Worry
This post is now incorporated with 22 other similar ‘reflections’ in my book, Facing Cancer with Faith. In the ‘Cancer and Me’ chapter I posted back in August 2015 (No 37), I finished by referring to the anxiety that was afflicting me at the time. I took the decision to defer publication of this follow-on…
When You Choose to Suffer
One day during my stem cell transplant, probably while I was waiting to feel rubbish, I remember chiding myself that I chose this. I was in pretty good health when I came into hospital, and yet I’d decided to come to hospital and be made sick, and then to be off work sick and unemployed…
The Two Words that Change Everything
This post is now incorporated with 22 other similar ‘reflections’ in my book, Facing Cancer with Faith. There are two words in the Bible that, for the Christian, make a huge difference – a huge difference to the way we live, our motivation, our strength in suffering. If someone were to ask me to sum…
The Cross – The Shocking Symbol of Christianity
First published 24 April 2015 The cross is the primary symbol of all branches of the Christian church throughout the last 2,000 years. It is referenced throughout the world in many different ways. Some Christians wear it as a badge to quietly let people know their affiliation. Some Christians make the gesture of the cross…
I’ve Had Cancer and I Am Not Angry With God
First published 15 April 2015 This post is now incorporated with 22 other similar ‘reflections’ in my book, Facing Cancer with Faith. When I first heard about Stephen Fry’s now infamous outburst against God in a recent interview on Irish TV, I admit that I dismissed it as the ranting of a celebrity amateur atheist.…
Spending Too Much at Christmas – What I Said to My Kids
First published 21 December 2014 This is what I wrote on the private blog I have for my kids last year… There are a couple of things I worry about at Christmas if I’m honest. One is that as a family we’ll lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas – which is that Jesus…
Does God Punish Nations With Storms?
First published 5 October 2014 In my last post I was thinking about the reaction David Silvester received recently to his open letter accusing UK Prime Minister David Cameron of bringing God’s judgment upon the nation. In the letter he said that, “The Scriptures make it abundantly clear that a Christian nation that abandons its…
Why Is It Offensive To Speak Of God Punishing?
First published 27 September 2014 David Silvester is a local government councillor near Oxford in the UK, until recently representing the UK Independence Party. At the beginning of 2014 he (in)famously said in a letter to the Henley Standard, “Since the passage of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act, the nation has been beset by…