Westy's Weekly Blog

  Prayers before meal times are becoming as scarce as hens teeth.   It used to be called, “Saying Grace”.   Okay, many Christians will still do that in the privacy of their own home – just don’t expect it in a restaurant.   I recall a lunchtime meeting many years ago, hosted by a friend.   As our food arrived he asked: “So John, do we ‘say grace’ or do we just scratch our heads for a bit?” I recall two instances where a prayer for God’s blessing on our meal met with interesting reactions.   The first was a women’s event organised by my wife, Merle.   It was some kind of “product party” where the ladies have the opportunity to suss out some new merchandise.   There were quite a few children there and Merle had prepared lunch for them.   She asked the kiddies to put their hands together and close their eyes while she gave thanks to God and asked for His blessing on the food.   Afterwards the company representative – a lady in her thi...

  À man I knew from my teenage years recently went to meet his Maker.   Apparently his wife had predeceased him by only a few years.   He was a little older than me and I didn’t know him so well but there was one particular memory I had of him.   It happened at a church youth camp.   I had looked on this bloke as a role model but was shocked by a rather scathing and derogatory remark he made about a young lady who was there and “unattached”.   I recall his remark because I was surprised some years later to hear that he had married that very same young woman.   I can actually think of two such marriages.   I’d overheard another chap also speaking in a very negative way about a young woman only to hear later that he too had married the woman he had belittled to others.   The wonderful thing is that both these couples were lifetime relationships that were a blessing to their families, their church and the community as they served together as h...

  The lift-out section in my Saturday morning newspaper had a two-page spread telling the story of an amazing woman who narrowly survived a terrorist attack.   Gill Hicks was going to work on the London underground on July 7 th 2005.   She and other passengers were unaware that a terrorist with a backpack of explosive had also entered their compartment.   On that train twenty-six people were killed that morning... in London’s worst terrorist attack.   The detonation was triggered just metres away from Hicks.   It seriously damaged her voice, lungs and hearing – she also lost both legs just below the knees.   The story was an inspiring story of grit and determination.   Gill Hick not only survived the explosion but, as an artist, has gone on to produce a show called, “Still Alive and Kicking”. My Saturday paper regularly features similar human interest stories.   The week before it was a story about the rescue of a team of men trapped in ...