<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Michael Parker]]></title><description><![CDATA[readawhile]]></description><link>https://www.michaelparkerbooks.com/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Fri, 10 Apr 2026 16:05:04 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.michaelparkerbooks.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[Looking up and wondering if]]></title><description><![CDATA[The beginning of 2026 was the point where I could relax and forget about all the jottings on the calendar for December and the build-up to Christmas, but life gets in the way, and it’s kind of a situation normal again. I often tell people that if you want to put a smile on God’s face, just tell Him what your plans are.   I was looking forward to going to Atlanta again for our great-grandson, Elliott’s 2 nd  birthday, and to see the new addition to his family, who is due in April. Boy or girl?...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelparkerbooks.com/post/looking-up-and-wondering-if</link><guid isPermaLink="false">697f6b9a8a90df02727d5433</guid><pubDate>Sun, 01 Feb 2026 15:11:13 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Michael Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Out With The Old, In With The New.]]></title><description><![CDATA[End of year blog 2025   Today is the last day of 2025; time to reflect, to look back, and to look forward. My year has been a mixture of highs and lows, although I prefer to think of the latter as ‘not so high’. There are two significant highs, one of which was my trip to Atlanta to help celebrate our 5 th  Great grandson, Elliott’s first birthday. The other was a long weekend in Prague to help our Grandson, Adam, celebrate his 40 th  birthday. Both events were helped by the addition of...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelparkerbooks.com/post/out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6955067d7fd864ff7fe092f5</guid><pubDate>Wed, 31 Dec 2025 11:29:21 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Michael Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Highs and Lows of my November]]></title><description><![CDATA[How quickly time flies. Here we are, just four weeks from Christmas, and it’s time to get the decorations out, write and post the Christmas cards, and come up with what and how you want to spend the time. But this blog post isn’t about my plans, but how I’ve got through the four weeks of November, and whether I’m on the road to becoming a best-selling author. That last part is a given: there’s no way I’ll hit those heady heights, but I will keep trying.   I had the misfortune to be scammed...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelparkerbooks.com/post/highs-and-lows-of-my-november</link><guid isPermaLink="false">692c7e762bc8fd382e6dea16</guid><pubDate>Sun, 30 Nov 2025 17:33:38 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Michael Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[On a Wing and a Prayer]]></title><description><![CDATA[Writing a monthly blog post isn’t something I look forward to each month because it is probably the least productive of anything I do that’s connected with the written word. If I had thousands of ardent fans who hung on my every word, it would be different, but the truth is, it’s only family and friends, maybe some neighbours, who actually read my blog. But it is what it is, so I press on and try to deliver something meaningful and interesting.   Looking back through my diary, there are the...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelparkerbooks.com/post/on-a-wing-and-a-prayer</link><guid isPermaLink="false">690772ca064f940c713ff26d</guid><pubDate>Sun, 02 Nov 2025 15:09:14 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Michael Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Highs and lows, ups and downs]]></title><description><![CDATA[Once again I failed to produce a monthly blog post in July, but there were reasons for that; much to do with my state of mind and my...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelparkerbooks.com/post/highs-and-lows-ups-and-downs</link><guid isPermaLink="false">68d551ec6a8b844fb5158fbe</guid><pubDate>Thu, 25 Sep 2025 14:31:38 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Michael Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Intrepid Traveller]]></title><description><![CDATA[I usually write my monthly blog post early in the month, but on July 1st, I will be travelling to Atlanta in Georgia, USA. I’m going over...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelparkerbooks.com/post/the-intrepid-traveller</link><guid isPermaLink="false">686013544cc67cb11b8ae45c</guid><pubDate>Sat, 28 Jun 2025 16:14:49 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Michael Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Fun, Family and Fans]]></title><description><![CDATA[How does the song go? ‘Where do I begin?’ Looking back on the month of May, there has been a lot going on in my life, one way or another....]]></description><link>https://www.michaelparkerbooks.com/post/fun-family-and-fans</link><guid isPermaLink="false">683efe3f2a0c8d5ba9488795</guid><pubDate>Tue, 03 Jun 2025 14:00:48 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Michael Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[On the up and up]]></title><description><![CDATA[My April blog   The month of April started with a fraud alert from my bank and their decision to block my card, which meant a...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelparkerbooks.com/post/on-the-up-and-up</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6819e0050ac880cb1663e3df</guid><pubDate>Tue, 06 May 2025 10:21:22 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Michael Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[A 50/50 month]]></title><description><![CDATA[Blog post for April 1st.   As a Christian, I have faith that God will keep an eye on me when the going gets tough, but I think He took...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelparkerbooks.com/post/a-50-50-month</link><guid isPermaLink="false">67ebc2284f5e777645013f8f</guid><pubDate>Tue, 01 Apr 2025 10:46:11 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Michael Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[A Spanner in the Works]]></title><description><![CDATA[Writing a monthly blog shouldn’t be too difficult, and it’s not as if there was a deadline to meet other than a self-imposed one. My...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelparkerbooks.com/post/a-spanner-in-the-works</link><guid isPermaLink="false">67d85456420d75c357fb47c7</guid><pubDate>Mon, 17 Mar 2025 17:01:23 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Michael Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[And so the year begins.]]></title><description><![CDATA[January 2025 blog post   How time flies; here we are again at the start of a new year probably filled with hopes of renewal, revival,...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelparkerbooks.com/post/and-so-the-year-begins</link><guid isPermaLink="false">679e053ca443c4661437ba47</guid><pubDate>Sat, 01 Feb 2025 11:43:28 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Michael Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Leading up to Christmas]]></title><description><![CDATA[Leading up to Christmas   Those of you who follow my monthly blogs will know I missed last month (November). But here I am almost at the...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelparkerbooks.com/post/leading-up-to-christmas</link><guid isPermaLink="false">67702bbe7fd626be6c0d65f9</guid><pubDate>Sat, 28 Dec 2024 16:54:27 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Michael Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Life is full of surprises]]></title><description><![CDATA[Life is full of surprises   October started with me looking ahead to the most significant date for the month, which was our boy John’s...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelparkerbooks.com/post/life-is-full-of-surprises</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6722144180f06a9e7407d76a</guid><pubDate>Wed, 30 Oct 2024 11:18:48 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Michael Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Life on the edge]]></title><description><![CDATA[Michael Parker’s September blog   The month of September has contained much of the usual stuff for me like gardening, walking the dog,...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelparkerbooks.com/post/life-on-the-edge</link><guid isPermaLink="false">66f970cfbc667f539bc20ab1</guid><pubDate>Sun, 29 Sep 2024 15:28:21 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Michael Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Living a Fuller Life]]></title><description><![CDATA[August blog   The month of August was certainly busy for me, one way or another. There were good moments and not so good moments: a trip...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelparkerbooks.com/post/living-a-fuller-life</link><guid isPermaLink="false">66d0b8c2c893b2d65da2eef1</guid><pubDate>Thu, 29 Aug 2024 18:17:53 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/90fd3c_64d4842555c94f388becb8bbb1bea987~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Michael Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Giving birth to kids and books]]></title><description><![CDATA[I sat down almost an hour ago to start writing this blog post but got caught up in a merry-go-round with PayPal’s website pointing me to...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelparkerbooks.com/post/giving-birth-to-kids-and-books</link><guid isPermaLink="false">66a904854b2b5d1747ded187</guid><pubDate>Tue, 30 Jul 2024 15:30:17 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Michael Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Accident]]></title><description><![CDATA[The dictionary definiton of the word  'Accident' is 'An unplanned interruption to a planned sequence of events'. And that is how I would...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelparkerbooks.com/post/accident</link><guid isPermaLink="false">669794c60201eb3928aa8018</guid><pubDate>Wed, 17 Jul 2024 10:04:54 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Michael Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Retreats, repeats and looking back.]]></title><description><![CDATA[A month gone already and at times I think I have packed a million things into those four weeks, but I’m a writer so I lie. Not really,...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelparkerbooks.com/post/retreats-repeats-and-looking-back</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6683d633317c6412695c7f1a</guid><pubDate>Tue, 02 Jul 2024 10:34:29 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Michael Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Ducking, diving and falling over]]></title><description><![CDATA[June blog post Yes, I know; I’m slipping. No blog post for a couple of months, mea culpa; I think I’m on a downward spiral...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelparkerbooks.com/post/ducking-diving-and-falling-over</link><guid isPermaLink="false">665c84ff0c231673aa999f8e</guid><pubDate>Sun, 02 Jun 2024 14:51:04 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Michael Parker</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Extending the family business: my March blog post.]]></title><description><![CDATA[The observant among you will have noticed that I missed out a blog post in February. This was deliberate because I was having the kind of...]]></description><link>https://www.michaelparkerbooks.com/post/extending-the-family-business-my-march-blog-post</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6602b398ec9eabe7be6a141e</guid><pubDate>Tue, 26 Mar 2024 11:40:52 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Michael Parker</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>