Lent 2014 - 6th March: Laughter

I like to laugh, big belly laughs that I can't stop. Silly things make me laugh. I don't really like jokes as such, it is more situation humour that makes me chuckle. I like to banter and tease folk and I like for them to do the same back. For me the world is a dismal place without laughter. I haven't laughed as much as I should have recently. Life has been stressful but c'est la vie. My husband John and I took a trip to London to see a show recently and came across Chalie Chaplain. Photo opportunity or what! Well it made me laugh. I thank God for the simple pleasure which is laughter.

Lent 2014 - 5th March: Memories

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. This year I will try and do a quick blog every day. More importantly, my aim is to appreciate and give thanks for the simple things in life that give me pleasure. For today here is an old photo of me and mum on Juniper Hill, Stroud. We often use to walk from the Uplands, were we lived, up Folly Lane and either we would turn right down into the Slad Valley or left to Juniper Hill, along Wick Street and back. Mum and Dad loved to walk and so do I.

Simply pleasures of memories. 

Full to the brim.

Overflowing with laughter,

Squeals of delight.

Fun in remembering

Times gone by.

Thoughts of a lifetime

Of you and I.

© Revdjo 5/3/14 

Streams of Living Water part 2

The words of the following hymn have been with me all week:

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

On Tuesday I conducted the funeral of Joyce McDonald who finally went home to be with her heavenly Father. We sang this hymn at the beginning of the service. At church on Sunday I found myself singing the hymn again. The words continue to resound, in particular the second verse. Saturday night I could not sleep, I was also a little hot so I opened the window. There was a small brook outside that had swollen because of the amount of rain we have been having recently. It was raining and I could hear the rain hitting the brook and the brook flowing faster than normal. It was a reassuring sound and something else to listen to other than my husbands snoring. I felt God say to me, 'focus on the brook, focus on me'. It is easy to loose sight of God and to stop listening to his voice. It is easy to be distracted from our faith. 

Is it time for you to listen to the brook and to feel God's Holy Spirit again in the gentle breeze? 

We have an awesome God.

 

The Desert of life

The desert lies before
Its vastness open wide.
I long to find the answer
An oasis in my mind.

The sun it beats upon
Everything it can find.
My soul thirsts for reassurance
In its solitary confines.

The arid search for justice
Beckons forth once more.
Step by step I travel longing
For the promised door.

I trust that I will find it
That darkness cannot last.
The breaking of a new dawn
Opens up at last.



© Revdjo 6/12/13

I'm just me

I'm just me

Living on the edge

Listening to the voices

Seeing all the pain

Feeling the emotions.

I'm just me

Sitting in the gutter

Close to the margins

Watching life

Whistling a tune.

I'm just me

Can't you see me?

I've been watching

Waiting for a moment

Quietly whispering.

I'm just me

Really a nobody

Gazing at the stars

Silently praying 

For you to see...

©revdjo 1/12/13

I am a Weary Traveller

        

I visited a pub called 'The Weary Traveller' recently. The events of the day and subsequent weeks have culminated in this poem. I hope you enjoy it. May you travell well in your journey of faith. 

I am a weary traveller

I wander far and wide

Searching for an answer

To the pain inside.

What's this love of which you talk of                     

Can I find it in the gutter?

Is this grace really opportunity 

Or something that you mutter?

I am a weary traveller 

I've journeyed many miles

Sat beside the fireside

Reflected in the hours.

I desire to find the meaning

To the mystery that is life.

Do I surrender to God's mercy

And accept him in my life?

I am a weary traveller

Weak and on my knees

As the embers give their last glow

I hear the gentle breeze...

'You are a weary traveller but

There's no struggling required.

Relax, take off your boots

I know that you are tired.'

The travelling is over

The road no longer tread

I've finally met my maker

And I rest my weary head.

©Revdjo 24/11/13