Author Archives: vincentsmithauthor

Taking inventory

Posted on May 11, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

I remember my boss once telling me it was time to take inventory. I had no idea what inventory meant so he explained that it was a time when you made a list of everything that you had – from … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Life's journey, Remembrance, Self assessment, Taking stock | Tagged | Leave a comment

Salt of the earth

Posted on May 9, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

Sodium is an extremely active element that always links itself to another element. Chlorine, on the other hand, is the poisonous gas that gives bleach its unpleasant smell. However, when sodium and chlorine are combined, the result is sodium chloride … Continue reading →

Posted in Discerning God's Will, Faith, Faithfulness, God in us, Judgementalism, Kindness, Kingdom of God, Knowing God, Living Life, Power for good, Salt of the earth | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Six degrees of separation, but only two from God

Posted on May 9, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

According to the concept known as the Six Degrees of Separation everyone can be connected to everyone else by no more than six steps. To test this a magazine asked Ben Ghaly, an Iraqi immigrant, to nominate who he would … Continue reading →

Posted in God, Jesus, Knowing God, relationships, Six degrees of separation | Tagged | Leave a comment

Love God, and do what you like

Posted on May 8, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

In one of those famous Charlie Brown cartoons Charlie stopped at Lucy’s psychiatric help stand and said: ‘My trouble is I never know if I’m doing the right thing. I need to have someone around who can tell me when … Continue reading →

Posted in God, Guidance, Life, Life's journey, Living Life | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Are you the man who fed the sparrows?

Posted on May 8, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

Some years ago, a Scottish minister told his congregation about a dream he’d had in which he’d died and was standing at the so-called Pearly Gates, proudly telling Saint Peter about the sermons he’d preached and the great churches he’d … Continue reading →

Posted in Judgement, Kindness, Life's journey | Tagged , | Leave a comment

It’s often little things that cause big problems

Posted on May 7, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

Do you remember that tragic accident when the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded before the watching world, seventy three seconds into her flight, claiming the lives of all seven crew members. The cause of the explosion turned out to be the … Continue reading →

Posted in Mistakes, Power, Power for evil, Power for good | 1 Comment

We are only as good as the person who writes our speech

Posted on May 7, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

Richard Daly, the tough guy mayor of Chicago during the Vietnam War, was a hard man to work for. When one of his speech writers asked for a raise Daly refused and told him he should feel privileged to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Life's journey, Pride | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Just the end of the prologue to the book of life

Posted on May 7, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

An old friend phoned me once to tell me his ninety year old father had died. His dad was a wonderful old man, whose life had been spent doing those two things Jesus said true spirituality is about – loving … Continue reading →

Posted in Death, Faith, God, Life, Life's journey | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Miracles are not necessarily a contradiction of nature

Posted on May 7, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

One of the oldest conflicts between faith and reason is whether you can believe in miracles and still be considered rational. Miracles are usually seen as contradictions of the laws of nature. But Augustine, one of the great philosophical minds, … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith, Miracles, Natural laws | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

A reality our hearts long for

Posted on May 5, 2015 by vincentsmithauthor

Malcolm Muggeridge, while filming a TV series for the BBC on the life of Christ, was struck by the reactions of all sorts of people to the sacred sites and shrines in the Holy Land. He wrote: ‘Beneath the Church … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith, God, God shaped holes, Shrines | Tagged , | Leave a comment