I’m back in Sweden and the weather is fantastic – perfect blue skies, warm, sunny and in a word, glorious. It’s the sort of weather that makes Swedes think this is the perfect country and forget about the cold the rest of the year.

The reason I say I’m back in Sweden, is because I made an unexpected trip to England which explains why there hasn’t been a Curiosity Index for the last couple of weeks. My father, Roy, had heart valve replacement surgery and unfortunately a day or so later things turned critical and I flew to be with my mum and sister.

I left for the airport with a ticket and managed to get one of the last available seats. I got on the plane not knowing whether my dad would still be alive when I got off the plane in England. He was, and spent the next week in a coma. He steadily recovered and made substantial progress. I even briefly managed to see while he was conscious. I then left reasonably positive that Dad had survived the worst of it and was on the road to recovery.

Unfortunately yesterday things again took a negative turn and he’s back under sedation and back on a ventilator, poor old boy. I have a bag packed in case things worsen once more. My mum & dad love the Lord and are ready for Him to be in Jesus’ presence but we also love him very much and would enjoy the gift of his company a while longer too. If you are a person who prays, our family would very much appreciate some.

I wrote a few articles reflecting on some of these things and you can find links to them at the bottom of this article.

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You Should Read These

As per usual here are 7 articles that I think are worth you bookmarking, reading & thinking about.

1. TOUGH TIMES AND A CRY FOR HELP… Burundi once again battered by calamity
2. Church Planting & Disappointment. Another good & grounded article by Matt Simmonds
3. How do we apply the instructions for corporate worship in 1 Corinthians 14 in a multilingual setting? Stephen Kneale shares his thoughts in part in response to this article that I penned. I think context is everything and having the church body in view is key.
4. We can do better than recycling. We’ve misunderstood the 3 Rs as Jeremy explains
5. Reading Digitally in 2024. I agree with a lot of this by Craig Mod
6. Brad East and Samuel James in different ways (and with different films) have a crack at rehabilitating the Star Wars prequels. Good luck with that.
7. What does your family do together in the evening?

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You Should Look At This

Amazing Winners of the GDT Nature Photographer of the Year 2024

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You Should Listen To This

Another good song from CityAlight.

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You Should Watch This

If you’re a Netflix user, this looks interesting. If you’ve seen it, let me know what you thought.

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This Week’s Postings

1. I ask God to tell him he is loved
2. I don’t see what good worrying about it will do
3. When a day is like a thousand years
4. When we are weak

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From The Archives

I recognise that when I’m tired I’m a worse husband, a worse father, a worse leader. I’m less likely to exercise, less likely to eat well and often have significantly less self-control. As a result one of the best ways to grow as a person in all these areas of marriage, family life, work and faith is be more consistent with sleep.

It’s bedtime

Have a great week and if you see something you think deserves a spot here let me know