Greetings! My name is Paul Ashby. I live with my wife, Carmel, in Derby, UK, and the Lord has blessed us with four children. We both made a total commitment to the Lord when we were teenagers and before we knew of each other, so God is our first priority and our family is our primary responsibility. Carmel is now a Nurse Practitioner, and where possible, we work together in whatever God calls us to do. God has guided me through many distinct phases of work and ministry.
1 - Engineer: In 1974 I graduated from Imperial College London in Physics, and designed medical radiographic equipment. After a career which included producing the first Doppler ultrasound imaging equipment manufactured in the UK, I responded to God’s call to offer for the ministry of the Methodist Church, and was trained at Bristol. 
2 - Missionary and Physics Teacher: After training I went with my family to Zimbabwe, as chaplain to Thekwane High School and Head of Physics. Unfortunately, we were caught up in Zimbabwe’s troubles, and in 1985, gunmen martyred our headmaster and his wife, Luke and Jean Khumalo, and shot other staff. We were grateful to have escaped with our lives.
3 - Church Minister: On return to the UK I was appointed minister to Methodist churches in Highworth and Shrivenham (nr Swindon), where I learned much from the people there. People came to faith and we experienced growth in many areas of church life, so that both churches were rebuilt to serve growing congregations and a developing work with both young and old.
4 - Bible College Tutor: In 1993 I was appointed to Cliff College in Derbyshire as Old Testament Tutor. It was a privilege to be at the pastoral and academic centre of College life, eventually as Senior Tutor. As well as teaching Old Testament and Hebrew, I also taught new students how to study the Scriptures, and developed the College’s teaching in Pastoral Studies, Prayer Ministry and Counselling.
5 - The challenge of illness: I left Cliff College in 2003 because of ongoing unresolved back trouble. After much surgery, my spine is now pinned together, and morphine is fed continually into my spinal column to relieve chronic pain. I also have heart problems, and had a successful heart triple by-pass operation in 2004. Since then I have had to battle with a variety of other health issues, but by the grace of God, I am active though somewhat restricted in mobility.
6 - God’s call to a new work: In 2005, the Lord gave me a vision for this website, and it has now become my life’s work, though I receive no income from it. It would have been impossible to do this had I continued in my previous work! From its inception in 2005, the site has grown, and it is now used by around 4,000 people every day, worldwide. This is amazing! It is surely the Lord’s doing, for I have never written before.
7 - Tragedy and growth: In August 2010, my eldest son died suddenly from an undiagnosed heart condition, one year after being married to Laura. The tragedy has deeply affect our family, but we have been supported by many wonderful friends. I have found it exceptionally hard to keep the website going since that awful day, and have only been able to post devotions previously written (thought revised). Nevertheless, the Lord has given me strength to persist, and I sincerely hope that towards the end of 2011, I will be able to return to writing new material again. We pray that the devotions on this site will then bless even more of God’s people!
‘All things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose’ (Romans 8:28)
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