10 November

Today’s the day when in 1944 lyricist Sir Tim Rice was born. Best known for his collaborations with Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber on Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar and Evita, and his work with Sir Elton John to create The Lion King, he has also appeared regularly on TV and radio. He co-founded The Guinness Book of Hit Singles and appears in the film About A Boy in several real clips from the gameshow Countdown where he acts as the adjudicator. He remains outstanding as a great wordsmith and communicator.

All of us will speak thousands of words today. They might not be as carefully thought out as Tim Rice’s lyrics, but we would be wise to ask God’s Spirit to watch over our speaking. This prayer from psalm 19 helps us to do just that:

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.