Jack

Here is Jack and his mummy Danielle.  Born safe and well 

6lb 9oz on 22 September at 3.55am.

Excitement!

Excited, excited, excited, excited! Today I am excited at the thought of seeing my grand-son for the first time tomorrow. He was born today in the early hours. His mum, Danielle, was so exhausted she cannot remember the exact time or indeed how much he weighed. As yet he has no name - but he is surely already loved.

Psalm 139:1-18, 21-24 ( NRSV) reads:

O Lord you have searched me and know me.
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.
You search out my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
O Lord, you know it completely.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your head upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
if I take the wings of the morning
and settle in the farthest limits of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and you right hand shall hold me fast.
If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light around me become night,"
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mothers womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes beheld my uniformed substance.
In your book were written
all the days that were formed for me,
when none of them as yet existed.
How weighty to me are your thoughts,
O God!
How vast the sum of them!...

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
see if there is any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

I thank God for my grand-son's safe arrival. Induced one month early because of complications. I thank God for knitting him in his mother's womb; in that secret place where God breathes life into humanity. I thank God that He knows all our ways and that He walks by the side of us through the hard times in life. I thank God that He walks behind us taking care of our past and watching our backs. I thank God that he walks in front of us leading the way and directing our path. I thank God for the excitement and expectancy that new babies bring into the world. Creation is awesome! God is awesome!

Holiness and hope

'Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that your formally had in ignorance. Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."'

1 Peter 1:13-16 (NRSV)

It is my desire to be holy and to live my life like Christ. Alas I often fall short of this goal. God in his grace forgives me when I muck up and get it wrong. I hope that my spiritual life grows deeper in Christ and I hope that my life continues to reflect that. My hope is in Christ. At the start of every movie or television program the director shouts, 'Action!' and the actors and actresses burst into life. I hope that I am preparing my mind for action. Both in my academic study and in my personal life. I am waiting for the director to shout 'Action!' once more so that I can begin the show and start my ministry in its fullness wherever that may be.

The photograph is of my grand-daughter Ella-Louise who will be one on the 15th September. Her life is only just beginning. As is my grand-son who is due to be born around the same time. For him the cry of, 'Action!' is about to be shouted for the first time. What will my grand-children's lives turn out to be like? What kind of world will they live in? Will they be obedient children? Or will they go off the rails? I pray that they may know the love of Christ and his hope for their lives. That too is my prayer for you on this day.

Two by Two

Waiting

Today I am stuck in the waiting room. Waiting for college to start. Waiting to find the church to which God has called me. Waiting for the washing machine to finish. The third one is less important but nevertheless part of my life. Why do we dislike and indeed struggle with waiting so much? No one likes to have to wait at the supermarket checkout we all want what we want now. In an instant. Instant coffee, fast-food, microwave meals, buy-now pay-later.... Now, now, now, now, now! And so the postmodern world was created. What happened to planning and cooking meals from scratch and saving money to buy the things we want? I can't say that I am a great fan of ready made meals. I actually enjoy cooking and the relaxation it seems to bring as I mess around in the kitchen. Nor do I like instant coffee but alas I have to admit to my sins - the occasional take-out and not seeming to be able to save any money. I guess not working means that saving for a rainy day is out at the moment. It is well and truly raining! 

I am a post-modern woman. I want everthing now, not tomorrow. I try not to be impatient but I guess I was kind of made this way. I am a product of my enviroment. Like most post-modernists I like different forms of media and I like to have my senses bombarded with information. I can't just sit in front of the TV I have to be doing something else at the same time. Be that reading a book, chatting, texting, emailing... Most evening I sit in front of the TV watching a film whilst conversing with cyber-space on the Internet. Perhaps this multi-tasking is a woman thing, but no, my husband is sat on the other sofa doing the exact same thing. We are even known to instant message each other -jJust to reassure one another that we are there. Sometimes we even manage to talk! So why then in the age of post-modernism and mass media do we expect people to sit on uncomfortable pews and listen to a monologue of preaching? Is this really the way forward? For someone who has not been brought up in a church environment surely this is a strange and unusual experience. What is the answer? Cafe church? Seek-friendly church? Church in a pub?

What should church look like? I guess church is all about the people. Indeed church is the people. The church is the body of Christ. But didn't Jesus spend most of His time with the poor and needy of society, the hurting and the lost. As I wait for the things that are important to me I cannot help but ponder these questions. What does God have in store for me? Am I listening and am I able to look outside the box? My brother's collie has recently had some puppies which he keeps in his barn. I went to see them the other day (I couldn't resist another cuddle). They sit patiently waiting to be fed in the expectancy that someone will come long and do so. They wait in expectancy that some day they will end up in the right home for them. Can I be patient? Can I learn and be fed by God's word whilst I wait? I continue to wait with expectancy.