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.

Eden Zoo

Monkeys, trees and friends

Catching up with friends is always good. Whether it is walking and talking looking at trees at the arboretum or monkeying around at Bristol Zoo. No man, or indeed woman, is an island we all need friends and family to love us and to support us in what we are doing. Even God realized he could not live alone and chose to live in community with Jesus and the Holy Spirit as part of the Trinity. God extends the hand of love which He reaches out to humanity asking for us to live in community with Him. Some of us fully embrace His out stretched arms, others turn and run the other way or simply fail to see Him. You can be the most loving person in the world but what use is that love if you cannot share it with another? You can be the funniest person in the world, but what use is laughter when you have no one to laugh with? Love and laughter are better shared. So too are tears and heartache. Spirituality is about drawing close to God and sharing our love, our laughter, our highs and our lows and all our longings with God. But there is also something about sharing it with others. The church is the community of God. It is the people rather than the building. It is the church's responsibility to offers the hand of God to those who do not know Him. But yet so often it fails to do this. I long for a church that embraces the outcast, that is in touch with the real world and wants to get their hands dirty. Am I living in a dream world? Or is this a vision of the Kingdom of God?

I have been blessed this last week by monkeys, trees and more importantly some very good friends. I have laughed at the monkeys, stood in awe at the trees and have shared these experiences with friends who have also hugged and loved me. So where is God in all of this fun and friendship? He is right there with me. Enjoying the monkeys and the trees and embracing the friendships. I guess I should mention that the tree and the monkey friends are actually all female ministers - I also managed to speak to another three this week either in person or on the telephone! We are all trying to work out our callings in light of our femininity. We are all trying to be ourselves in a church that is dominated by male leadership but yet filled predominantly with females. A church that many men feel is effeminate. What can we bring to the church or perhaps more importantly what can we bring to those who feel rejected by the church, those who feel they don't fit in or those who feel the church is irrelevant? We bring ourselves - women who are searching for God's heart in our daily lives. Women who want to serve to the best of our ability. Women who are prepared to stand up and say, 'I am a women minister, called by God equipped to serve His church.' Two of us are still looking for a church where we can serve God and work out that calling.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF JO

Welcome to the world of Jo where spirituality and hilarity hold hands. Well at least that is the aim. Humour has always been important to me and whilst I am not a stand up comedian I do like to make people laugh. Humour can be enjoyed by all. Young or old, rich or poor and what ever our ethnicity. However what one person finds funny another does not. Humour can cause offence but it can also cross divides. Humour helps to build relationships. Indeed it is intrinsic to humanity. Where would we be if we couldn't laugh at ourselves on occasions?


But what of spirituality? Spirituality can be many things to many different people. It is not exclusive to the Christian and nor should it be. Spirituality is a search for something deeper. Be that God or something else to fill the gap. In the world of Jo spirituality is a search in which I endeavour to connect with God. I do this in many different ways but it normally involves prayer and reflecting on Scripture or perhaps a Christian book. Worship, nature, art, and interaction with friends are also important in my own spirituality.


Spirituality without humour seems dull to me. Why paint a picture with only half of the colours in the paintbox? Colour brings a painting to life and in the same way humour brings spirituality to life. In the world of Jo humour is painted a vibrant pink. Sometimes it just decorates the edges but most of the time it is the colour of the flower that is bursting into bud in the foreground of life.


I like to laugh and in the world of Jo spirituality and hilarity are inseparable. Humour is one of the ways that God uses to get my attention. Humour draws me closer to God. It reminds me of my humanity and that I am made in God's image. God likes to laugh and I like nothing better but to laugh with him. Not just a gentle chuckle but a full blown giggle and on occasion a real belly laugh. I hope that this blog will help you to explore your own spirituality and to laugh with me as I journey deeper in my own exploration of spirituality and hilarity. It may even be fun!