And after the vacation it’s back to work!

It’s been a return to the final research papers of the three students whom I am supervising. We’ve spent many hours on the exhausting correction of ‘jots and tittles’ so that the style conforms to that of the American APA format: commas, full-stops, colons, brackets, underlining, indenting, referencing. Is it worth it?

Among the Kampala experiences, was that of browsing the bookshops looking for suitable titles for the ISP library. In 'Literature, Criticism, and Style' was this wonderful poem.....

In the interest of safety it's best to keep an eye on the road surface in Bunia. If not, you're as likely as not to turn your ankle on a protruding rock or in one the gullies carved out by the flow of water. Or you'll get your foot entangled in the gunky black plastic bags and other debris that are constantly being cleared from the ditches. Then one morning, when the atmospherics are just right, you happen to look up and are delighted to see that the road that trails off into the distance is surrounded by layers of distant hills. There's beauty above ground level.

A little light summer reading/viewing

A novel is one of the most powerful ways to get over a point of view, to present a theme, to convince of a truth. It can be a means of allowing you to walk in someone else's shoes. And there's nothing like a good plot that keeps you guessing as to how the conflict will be resolved and enjoying a long, guilt-free read during the summer holidays.

Reflections on teaching an Old Testament Survey Course

What is God like? Do we Christians really have the right picture of him and, therefore, the right expectations? Sometimes we want to cosy up to God and that's not appropriate. But didn't God himself give us that expectation by sending Jesus to be his rep, his likeness and show us the human, compassionate, caring, nice side of God's person and nature? So how do we integrate into that picture the realisation of the Old Testament persona of Jehovah?

You know, for the 5 years that I was at the International Office in Bristol, I felt that I was sat on the bleachers. It seemed that God had taken me out of the game and had sidelined me. It was so hard to sit and watch the game instead of being involved in it. What had I done wrong? Why couldnít I be back in Africa as were others? What was I achieving in an office?