Author Archives: vincentsmithauthor

Missing the obvious

There’s a story about Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson on a camping trip. In the early hours of the morning, Homes wakes Watson and asks him what he can see. Watson says: ‘I see millions of stars.’ Holmes then asks: … Continue reading

Posted in Childlike faith, Faith, Speculation | Tagged | Leave a comment

‘Come to me and I will be your friend.’

They call loneliness ‘the great modern plague.’ The extended family with networks of relatives close at hand became the nuclear family, which is increasingly being replaced by the single parent family, or the single person living alone. We are also … Continue reading

Posted in emptiness, Jesus, Loneliness, Love of Christ | Leave a comment

The real test of our life’s philosophy

George Bernard Shaw, just before he died, wrote: “The science to which I pinned my faith is bankrupt. Its counsels, which should have established the millennium, led, instead, directly to the suicide of Europe. I believed them once. In their … Continue reading

Posted in Death, Life, Living Life, Meaning in life | Tagged | 1 Comment

‘How much do you need to be happy?’

A survey of New Year’s resolutions discovered that of people with above average incomes: thirty three percent want to retire before age sixty five: twenty two percent want to get out of credit card debt: fifteen percent want to make … Continue reading

Posted in Contentment, Happiness, Money, wealth | Tagged | Leave a comment

‘Some people look at the way the world is and say, why?’

When I was young I shared with most young people of my generation a great admiration for John F Kennedy. We were idealistic and thrilled to his inaugural speech: ‘Ask not what your country can do for you; ask rather … Continue reading

Posted in Determination, Seeing the possibilities | Tagged | Leave a comment

Turning things right side up

One of the most puzzling things about Jesus’ teaching was that he constantly took the accepted standards of the world and said they don’t work; and then turned them upside down to show what does work. The people whom Jesus … Continue reading

Posted in Abundant life, Christlikeness, Jesus, Life, Living Life, Standards, Uncategorized, Values | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

‘One string – and Paganini.’

Nicolo Paganini was one of the greatest violinists of the nineteenth century. His most memorable concert was in Italy, performing before a packed house, when suddenly one string on his violin snapped. He never missed a beat but continued to … Continue reading

Posted in Faith, Faithfulness, God, God in us, New Life, Perseverance, Transformation | Tagged | Leave a comment

Consider the postage stamp

One of the things I’m always grateful to my parents for, is that they always taught me that I didn’t have to compare my abilities to those of other people. All I needed to do was to do my best. … Continue reading

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Amen

The word ‘amen’ is a most remarkable word. It comes from the Hebrew of the Old Testament and has been called the best-known word in human speech. The word is directly related to the Hebrew word for ‘believe’ or ‘faithful.’ … Continue reading

Posted in Certainty, Faith, Faithfulness, Promise | Leave a comment

Broken hearted clowns

A man suffering from chronic depression once visited the famous English physician Doctor John Abernethy, who prescribed a visit to the London playhouse to hear the comedian Grimaldi: ‘He’ll do you more good than any drugs,’ he said. The patient … Continue reading

Posted in Happiness, Weeping | Tagged , | Leave a comment