climbing hiking camping

There’s an interesting article in today’s Times (Can’t link to it as you have to pay to see it- that’s a whole other set of thoughts!) The article by Daniel Finkelstein notes the recent survey that indicated for the first time that over 50% of the nation ‘has no religion’. He points out (correctly in my view) that this may be a reflection of someone automatically saying in the past that they were ‘C of E’ (ie they went to the local church for funerals, weddings and Christmas) and now felt freer to say they had no firm belief. Finkelstein goes on to point out the high level of faith still attributed to political power- for example, of our last four Prime Ministers, two were kids of clergymen and one a Christian socialist who read his Bible every night. (Thus, Cameron was the exception, in case you were wondering...). And, again in the article, they key role church and Christian charities take in our nation’s welfare. I’m not as pessimistic about the Christian faith in the UK as the sta...

At the age of 17, I heard God speak to me. Your views on this will depend on who you are and what you believe. For me it was a very real moment- the only time (so far!) I have heard God audibly speak to me. His words were ‘Ralph, I want you to go to India.’ I responded by trying a few Christian agencies, but nothing materialised. At college I met my future wife. Roh is of Indian origin. I reasoned India had come to me – I didn’t have to go anywhere! And then, nearly 30 years later, Roh and I are in a Christian meeting. The leader of the meeting calls anyone to the front who has a heart for India. We went forward, expecting to be praying for the country. The next thing we know, someone (who doesn’t know us and is not aware of the back story) is prophesying over us and sending us out to India! We went there a few months later with some experienced missionaries. I expected, because of the call in my youth, that there would be some longer term relationships established. And that’s just wh...

As you take time out over the summer, always remember to take a good book on holiday with you. And as you travel yourself, here are a few travel books to keep you company: 1.        A Time of Gifts – Patrick Leigh Fermor A young man walks from London to Constantinople between the two world wars, discovering a land and people that were soon to be lost as Nazi Germany began to take control. Beautifully written and fascinating history. 2.        Solomon Time – Will Randall A teacher takes the opportunity to travel to the Solomon Islands. Totally out of his comfort zone, he falls in love with an entirely different way of life. Lots of humour and some great descriptions of a beautiful, hidden paradise. 3.         News From Tartary – Peter Fleming The older brother of James Bond writer Ian travels with a companion through some of the hardest and least travelled lands, from Peking to Kashmir, back...

The welcome poster is from Coventry Cathedral. I put it up as a Facebook post originally and it gained a lot of comment and interest- so here it is on the blog. I hope and pray our church is like this. We probably need to improve, but I hope we're on the way. I love the welcoming language. I love the categories of people mentioned. And I love it that on Facebook, a couple of friends who admit they no longer have their Christian faith of old, both said they'd go to a church like that!

I love the London Marathon. I've run it twice. I didn't love it at the time though! The last six or so miles are hard. You have run out of all energy, your body wants to give in. But you keep going. As you run into The Mall on that final mile, there's thousands of people cheering you on. It's that which gets you over the finish line. People you will never meet, cheering you on by name (assuming your name is on your shirt!) The noise. The applause. It gets you there. I love this short clip from the BBC of runners helping each other. Lets do the same in the race of life. Don't give up. Keep going. And for those of us with a Christian faith, the Bible says there's a great cloud of witnesses cheering us on over the finishing line. This is how a modern translation puts it: "Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra sp...

On Wednesday 22 nd March, a terrorist drove down the pavement of Westminster Bridge, crashed his car and then ran into the Palace of Westminster. He killed four people, including a policeman. The media was full of the story. 24 hour news coverage meant it was never off our screens. Many of the comments after the attack were angry. Some were more measured. Some sounded statesmanlike, especially from Andrew Neil . One of the things Andrew Neil said was that terrorism would never prevail, because there were thousands upon thousands of Keith Palmer’s (the policeman killed) in our country. I  did a bit of research, and within minutes, I had found them. I could fill this page with them. People who, on March 22 nd 2017 were serving our nation, helping our children, promoting good, and in the over-used phrase of mugs and t-shirts, ‘carrying on’. There’s the fun day at Ashton for the Community Family Support Programme. On the same day, the ‘Eggstravaganza’ day at Honiton for early year...

Feeling reflective and fallible today. This is a repost that says it well. I live Between the Times. Between my birth and my death. Between my salvation and a final day. Between the morning and the evening. I live Between Each Breath. Between the gulp of air inhaled before the start of a new journey. And the sigh of fatigue at the end of a long day. I live Between the Arms. The loving mother at the day of my birth. The caring child as I slip into eternity. I live Between the Times. And every precious second given to me. Tells a story. Of Life. Love. Pain. Passion. And finally. Of Glory. ©Ralph Turner 2014