I've been enjoying reading the new book by Adrian Plass and Jeff Lucas called "Seriously Funny". It is a very clever title because a lot of the book covers some very honest outpourings of the heart and expressions of vulnerability and there are other passages that made me really laugh as I pictured the scene. I suppose I am about half way through the book and there have been several things that have really stood out for me.

One was in dealing with the issue of grace. I hope I can convey the gist . There are 3 ways. One way is the rocky, mountainous path of the law. Another way is the swamp of licence - looks ok on the surface but go that way and you will sink and suffocate. Right down the middle runs the narrow path of grace - a way that springs from the undeserved kindness of God annd is individually designed for each person who needs it. The example used is the woman caught in adultery. Jesus didn't dispute the law or condone what she had done - but he did find a typically ingeniious and authentic way to rescue her from the consequences of her sin. Grace, they say, is creative, relational, constructive, surprising and redemptive. AND EACH OF US IS RESPONSIPLE FOR OFFERING IT TO THE PEOPLE WE ENCOUNTER.

What a wonderful description of grace. But the challenge is that it is not just us that receive it - we must also dispense it.

I can thoroughly recommend the book

I wandered into the local parish church in New Alresford this week and was amazed to find in a corner a small display of 2 ancient stones. One was from Ur of the Chaldees, complete with incription and the other was from the Palace of Nebuchadnezzar and contained an incription with his name on it. It was like suddenly being transported back over 3000 years to 2 pieces of biblical history. Ur was where Abraham came from and Daniel would have walked in Nebuchadnezzars's Palace. They may have even see these stones?

I can remember when I was young seeing a TV science fiction film that was based on the idea that stones absorb memories just like a digital camera (which wasn't even dreamt of then) and if only you could find a way of replaying the memories recorded it would be amazing.

Wouldn't it be great if you could do that with these 2 stones.

Jan and I spent a few days away recently and ended up one afternoon in Wickham down near Portsmouth. One of the buildings that we visited was an old mill that was now an antique shop in a maze of rooms. The thing that fascinated me was the amazing wooden structure of the old building with huge beams and timbers. It was then that I discovered that the mill owner had bought a job lot of timbers from the dismantled American frigate Chesapeake and had constructed the mill from them. The Chesapeake was a famous American naval boat that had survived many battles but was finally captured in 1812 and eventually ended up in the breakers yard. But that wasn't the end, and now 198 years later the timbers are still being used and providing a very atmospheric building.

It was great wandering around and looking for where the mast's were stepped in and the slots cut in the timbers for other purposes than they were now being used. You could also see the scars of previous battles and the marks of gunshot on the timbers. It is even said that the very planking of the flooring still shows the stains of battle.

I always think it is wonderful in the church when you see someone who has given years of their life in some occupation or other and then respond to a fresh calling from the Lord and there is a new lease of life and enthusiasm. And a new purpose.

I'm fascinated by archaeology and the study of the past. I'm equally fascinated by family history and the study of our previous generations and how they lived and coped with life. So it‘s been really interesting to see those two things combined in a programme recently called something like History Cold Case Files. A team of forensic archaeologists and medical experts work together on an archaeological find to try and piece together the person's life and history and circumstances. One of the programmes was about a skeleton found buried in the centre of a castle and another was from a pauper's grave in London. It was amazing to see how modern forensic techniques could accurately analyse their diet, diseases, nutrition or lack of it and even accurately facially reconstruct their faces to almost lifelike reality.

It also struck me the tremendous amount of respect that each scientist had for the person who was now represented by a pile of old bones. But what struck me most was that these bones often told the story of horrendous wounds and injuries and abscesses and bone deformities that would have been painful in the extreme for many years not just days. There were fierce wounds that obviously the victim had somehow survived because there was fresh bone growth. Most of these injuries or diseases were inflicted by their fellow mankind.

It made me realise how for granted I take all the medical research and advancement that has made many of these things a thing of the past. When I get toothache I take a pill or some antibiotics and it is gone. Vitamins and minerals keep our bodies healthy. Our bodies are the most miraculous and amazing things that exist on this planet. We are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made.

The daft thing is that most people seem to think it all just somehow evolved. Now that does take a leap of faith into the dark.