
Perfect freedom
Perfect freedom DM 30th August 2025 There’s an interesting verse in the final Book of the Bible on the topic of heaven. In speaking about
I was picking up some Christmas decorations for church at one of those big Christmas shops, when I espied a huge inflatable dragon standing among the santas and snowmen and reindeer. Not having seen a dragon before in the cast of Christmas characters, I asked the attendant, who shook her head and smiled and shrugged her shoulders. I wondered if the local football team, whose clubhouse sits across the road, had planted its mascot; but the dragon was green, and theirs is red.
It was only when I returned to the car that I made the connection. In the twelfth chapter of the final book of the Bible, The Revelation given to the Apostle John, a picture is drawn of a woman giving birth to a male child; and horror of horrors, poised and waiting for the child’s delivery is a great red dragon. It’s a terrifying scene, and the situation looks hopeless for the mother and child.
But then more in the story is unveiled, and the child is not only safely delivered, but caught up to the throne of heaven. The dragon is thwarted, and by the end of the book, is hunted down, humiliated and caged forever. The Book of Revelation is a hard one. Most probably it’s a collage of colourful and dramatic scenes depicting spiritual battles, but the overall message is clear and unmistakable. In the end the Lamb wins. And that Lamb is none other than the child who was born for us at Christmastime.
Perfect freedom DM 30th August 2025 There’s an interesting verse in the final Book of the Bible on the topic of heaven. In speaking about
Faint praise DM 23rd August 2025 I knew that the smallest bone in the human body was located in the ear. In high-school biology, we
The Wigtown Whistler DM 16th August 2025 In a diary by the proprietor of The Bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland, irritating patrons are named and shamed,
Patience with progress (& vice versa) DM 9th August 2025 A recent article in the Australian Geographic tackled the hot topic of fingernail growth, which
Shelter DM 2nd August 2025 You can find the story on youtube and meet the central characters – Theodore Malgorne the lighthouse-keeper and Jean Guichard
Botany 101 DM 26th July 2025 I walked past the sandstone memorial today to mark the life of Joseph Banks, the first European botanist to
The Father’s Estate DM 12th July 2025 My son is getting married soon, and one of his friends, who owns a winery, has generously offered
The bargain DM 5th July 2025 There’s a smile that never fails to amuse me. It regularly appears on Antiques Roadshow every time someone, who
Oranges and lemons DM 28th June 2025 Whoever composed the rhyme, “Oranges and lemons, the bells of St Clements” was a cheat! Lemons and Clements