A decent Christian blog is as rare as hen's teeth I find. There are the good ones that are connected to magazines or projects or things like that but you would expect them to be good as they have entire teams working on them., I mean just a person, a Christian person, blogging. In case you were on the lookout. These are good. (It's only my opinion but, it's like the Oscars. I am right.) Tracing Rainbows Angela is a pastor's wife and teacher with loads of interests and thoughts on things. Very good at craft but not in a scary way. She is normal. I can't say anything better about anyone. A New Name Emma. Brave. Honest. Smart. (I think she would hate the brave bit) Documents her struggles with an eating disorder and writes movingly and wittily about mental health issues. She is also normal. KezzieAG Fantastic zest for life. Musician. Just makes me feel better about things. Love the way she does her outfits. Seems totally normal. Kindred of the Quiet Way Pen Wilcock. Author. Thinker. Theologian. Gives me pause. Would probably not want to be called normal.
Just in case you were looking, you know.More later on in the week
Hello. Sorry for prolonged absence but have been ill. Not too much detail but the word gastric may be helpful. Looking on the bright side - at least my rings aren't as tight and I may get away without taking my new work skirt back to get a bigger size. My whole week was messed up because I wasn't supposed to mix with anyone till 48 hours clear (Tad too much detail there possibly) That means a trip to Taunton (For business but never been, so was thinking might be good), a pensions seminar (mind numbing but important) taking minutes at a church meeting and a Comms team were all rendered impossible. Bah! I am not very good at being ill. I am bad tempered and full of doom. I never understand people who luxuriate in illness by snuggling and watching movies. That is my loss I think. I did catch up on Rev which we had recorded but that was quite depressing. I know it's supposed to be warts and all but good grief. And why were all the lady vicars such donks? Everyone was very good in it though. Especially Tom Hollander. Anyway, onwards. Above is my Mothers' Day present from the offspring. Just got round to framing it. I have to admit that I chose it.Still counts as a present right? It's from a site www.preditos.com which has stylish and in no way creepy scripture gifts and things. I grew up with scripture wall art either involving photos of puppies for Jesus or lonely harbours with seagulls swooping with a usually inappropriate Bible verse shoved somewhere in the top right hand corner. Well, as seagulls swooping round here is a sign to cover your head or your fish and chips, I think this site is nicer.
We are now officially in the middle of exam season again so quite tense here. However, revision (and my belly) allowing, the three of us are hoping to go for a meal Sunday night as it's our wedding anniversary. We are forgoing the romantic dinner for two because we have managed to sneak in a day away in London on our own in July so we are feeling generous. 23 years! And they said it wouldn't last. Well only my mother said that actually and to be fair she had been fed some duff information by one of HOH's exes.
Something to further increase my humility and to convince me that my pomposity (probably NOT a word) makes God snigger. I am always a bit suspicious of people who see God everywhere. Not the people who see him in Nature etc but those who say things like "God has used that pork sausage to bless me" You know the kind of thing. I am a bit old fashioned - in many ways. Indeed you should see my wardrobe. I feel comfy if a revelation from God is from scripture, backed up with preaching or a prophetic word and if possible followed by a cosmic sign - rainbow, finger pointing from heaven, audible voice that makes people fall to the ground in fear - that kind of thing. So when someone told me this week that something a nurse had said to them this week, just in passing, had been a word from God, I was a bit sceptical. I didn't point and laugh in their face or anything. Just a bit underwhelmed. Later on, while walking the pooch, I remembered something. A few years ago, I had a job I hated.I felt bullied by the boss. My self confidence was at rock bottom. Every day as I went to work, I felt my stomach tighten. I felt under so much pressure. However, we had bills to pay and a family to support and HOH was hanging in there in his job too, so I kept going. (While looking for something else) I remember one day being almost in total despair and saying to God. "You cannot care for me the way you say you do. I feel totally alone and abandoned. Have I failed you in some way that has made you leave?" and lots of other self pitying stuff. In my defence though. I really did feel that I had been abandoned and had "lost" the love of God in some way. The place I worked had a radio and they played a song by Plain White Ts. It had the line... "Oh what you do to me.... what you do to me." I think you had to be there to understand but I knew, it was God. No really. I knew. God could not get to me any other way so he used a cutesy little pop song to tell me how he felt about me. I went outside into the car park and cried like a baby. Not long after that I found something else. I may smile uncertainly at people who count the number of times their dog barks in the night as a sign that they are to lead the singing in the worship but I think once again, I am aware that I don't know it all.
This is one of my favourite films of all time. It is one of the films that HOH and I fell in love to. I am not going to go through my favourite bits as we would be here all day. Just one bit leads on to what I wanted to say. There is a scene where Steve Martin is trying to impress astronomer and super brain Daryl Hannah with his scientific knowledge (Why am I so afraid of her? It's not as if she is a rocket scientist or anything.Reply.. Actually she IS a rocket scientist.) Anyway after mouthing off for a few minutes he has to admit he doesn't know the answer to a question. She smiles and graciously replies "Well we don't know everything then do we?" Sometimes I feel like I do know everything. Not in a big me up kind of way but in a jaded sort of way. When you have been a Christian for a long time, you can sometimes feel that there is nothing new under the sun. Almost like you are too old to learn anything (and not in a good way) So God kicked my butt a couple of times this weekend (In a majestic, Godlike kind of way) and I thought I would tell you things I had learnt and not noticed before. Firstly have started reading Pen Wilcock's The Road of Blessing. One chapter in and loving it. Will talk about bit more when I have finished. But one line really made me think. She talks about the feeding of the five thousand and casually says that the miracle was actually done by the disciples. Jesus blessed the loaves and fishes so obviously there is the God bit but the disciples gave it all out. They were the people who made it happen. As they did as Jesus said and began to give the bread out they will have felt and seen the miracle happen between their own fingers. Challenges me a bit about my role in making God's will happen. AM I spending too much time whinging and not enough time asking God what he wants me to DO about it. Secondly, at church on Sunday, Andy spoke on The Last Supper - specifically about the washing of feet. After some rather unsavoury talk about verrucas and fungal infections, he pointed out that Judas was invited to the supper and, as he didn't leave until later on, Jesus would have washed his feet. Knowing what he knew - Jesus still did that. I never noticed that before. I dunno what was going on here. Jesus giving Judas one last chance, even though he knew what was in his heart? Jesus' humility being shown as an example. Or as a lesson to us about judging? Jesus still prepared to serve someone who was a betrayer, a sinner. Not to cast him out but to accept him with all the others? All this has made me quite cheery. I am aware that I don't have it all sorted but I love that fact that there is still loads of help out there for me and that God still shows people things that they need. Anyone who knows me knows that I can do with all the help I can get.
