Seeker

6 today! That's the age of Seeker blog. Should I celebrate? Or not? Well, to keep going for 6 years is an achievement, so I'll give myself a pat on the back.  I am pre-scheduling this post for 2 May 2015 as I expect to have other things on my mind on this day. (I may tell you about that next week.) The ability to schedule when a post is published is one of the more useful skills acquired in the blog learning process. If you have seen any of my posts published at 6.00 am there is no need to admire my early rising abilities. I probably wrote it the day before - or even a week before and scheduled it to publish automatically at my chosen time and date. I had no idea what I was doing or why I was doing it when I started this personal blog 6 years ago today. I think the main conscious motivation was wanting to learn how - I really do like learning new skills - and I enjoy writing. The unconscious motivation was (and is) far more complex - and none of your business. Yes, I am a...

News of yesterday's death of an inspiring and great African-American woman Maya Angelou  (1928 - 2014) has caused me to revisit some of her writing. I will not give a potted biography - her official site has one here . If you know nothing about her then I recommend starting with 'I know why the caged bird sings' , an autobiography of her early years, first published in 1969. When I read it in 1970 it had a profound effect on me. I was then a newly qualified social worker struggling for the first time with a case involving child sexual abuse and incest. Her book helped me to see a little of the child's point of view, as well as understanding more about racial and gender discrimination. And yet somehow it is a hopeful book, especially in the light of all she achieved since her first 17 years which that book is about. Here are some of my favourite quotes from Dr Maya Angelou: "Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to ar...

I seem to have taken an unplanned blogging break. It's almost a month since my last post. I did manage a short post about the courage of disobedient women in my regular slot on 14th May over there but not here. I have sadly neglected this space. Has anyone missed me? No I have not been ill. No I have not been lazy. Yes, I have had a lot to say, so many interesting thoughts going round in my head. Yes I have often wanted to post in the last few weeks, but sometimes other things take priority. Things like our daughter's wedding at the start of this month which was a great joy, but as a matter of policy to protect the privacy of others I don't generally post details of family matters. What did we do to recover from the wedding? We did a tour of WW1 Flanders battlefields. Now that has provided a great deal of material about which I hope to post in due course. I don't apologize for my absence. If I feel guilty about it, it's a false guilt. Blogging is not a du...

I'm feeling so sad to hear of the death yesterday of a great Christian preacher, teacher and writer - John Stott. I owe so much to his ministry, especially in my earlier years. He might not have approved of this way of praying, but may he rest in peace and rise in glory! I'll post more personal reflections on this in the next few days. Meanwhile here's a link to his official memorial site that's recently gone live.  http://www.johnstottmemorial.org/

The internet is awash with programmes for instant analysis of almost anything you care to mention. What sort of writer are you? What sort of parent are you? What is your personality type? What is your learning style? Which celebrity are you most like? You know the sort of thing. Many of them are out there as bait to persuade you to buy something, after you've answered their quiz qestions. Or you are asked to enter a small sample of your prose writing and an automated system congratulates you and flatters you by saying 'you write just like...' (naming a successful published author), hoping you will spend money on a 'Write Better' programme. Well, I for one, won't. I blogged here about one of those programmes that instantly assesses your personality type from a small blog sample. The result was surprising. Autolycus had a better idea and tried several and varied samples from his blog post, with a variety of always flattering results. Which only goes to prov...

I like challenges. Is that why I started blogging? I don't know. Now for today's challenge.  Thanks to Darren Rowse here's my attempt to respond to his 7 Link Challenge . The Church Mouse has done it here . Lesley's Blog has done it here . It's time I had a go, so here goes. Link 1: My First Post My first post on 2 May 2009 was the most boring. I was dipping a toe in the water to learn how blogging works. I was recovering from flu, so lacking energy to garden which was what really needed to be done I started a blog with a post called 'The Blog Begins' . That was a scary moment, but I was encouraged that within 5 days 2 other bloggers commented - The Church Mouse and Autolycus . Thanks to them I decided to persevere, if only for my benefit (and the challenge of course.) Link Two: The Post I most enjoyed writing I've enjoyed writing every post - I wouldn't do it otherwise - after all I don't have to and I'm not trying to earn a li...

Add caption On 1 January 2010 my thoughts turn to new years and new diaries. As I use a church diary  that starts in Advent (that is before Christmas) my diary already has several weeks use, so I'm not starting a new one, only a new year and decade! My greatest excitement over a new diary was the day I began to write in a 5-year page-a-day lockable diary given to me for my 14th birthday. It was the most treasured gift of my teenage years. I wrote in it at the end of the day (usually in bed) most days of the following 5 years, recording my thoughts and feelings about what had happened and what I hoped for or dreaded. It was a record meant for my eyes alone. Did my parents or siblings ever find the key I wonder? I hope not! Several decades later I remember only a little of what I wrote - I destroyed the diary sometime during my twenties - an action I now regret. It might have made useful reading for me when my children were teenagers. Since then I have kept an occasiona...