A small quiz

Click on this and see if you can work out what biblical character it's talking about (and no, it's not Jesus). Drawings by Jess.

The lies we believe.

It turns out that we believe a lot of lies in our friendships with each other. These are just a few that need to be stamped upon and disregarded.

1. Everyone else has more friends than us, and therefore they don't need us in their lives.
2. No-one could/would ever fall in love with us.
3. We have to be busy to prove our worth.
4. Our worth and value are in the fun we have, the amount of friends we have, the amount of times we go out and do things with others.
5. We will not be as used by God as other people.
6. Other peoples friendships are better and deeper than the ones they have with us.
7. Everyone else is having more fun.
8. We can provide everything someone needs.
9. We need one person to meet all our needs.
10. Our mates have too many friends already and don't need us hanging around.
11. Being funny, clever, witty and articulate are the things to aim for in life, and if we are none of these things people won't like us anymore.

These are lies. They are not true, they are falsehoods, they are not in line with reality, they are big fat stinking lies.
For some of you reading this, you'll be thinking, clearly these are lies. For some of us, life isn't all that simple. I guess these lies all come from forgetting that our worth and value lie in the fact that we are beloved children of God, that He is the one providing the moments we live in each day, and that He calls us to live a life of love to all around us, rather than worrying about the lists of friends we have or don't have. True living is based around the brilliant example set out for us by Jesus himself. True living is reaching out to others, acting out of something bigger than self interest, submitting to someone elses ways of doing things. I want my mind to be renewed from it's lies, I want to believe and act on the Truth. I want to keep stamping out the lies.

Ceryn and Jess

One of the best things about my job is that I get to work with lovely Relay Workers. Here they are in action at a training day on Saturday. I love them very much.



I particularly like the sign above Ceryn in this one :-)

Sundays

Things to do on a sunny Sunday.
1. Sleep a lot.
2. Go out and have fun with friends in country parks.
3. Eat good food in pubs with roaring fires.
4. Get reminded of reality at Church.
5. Eat toasted teacakes in front of the TV.

For when our hearts weap glorious.

"For when our hearts weep glorious
relieved of all this miserable
roll down canyons careless we
echoing with glee and goodness
forming visions in the scampering dust
and skimming frisbes made of sunspots

For when our hearts weep glorious
weightless of all bitter slump
sparkling as a beach we all
then burrow through the sighing waves
to play see saw with driftwood and shells

For when our hearts weep glorious
for when our hearts shout what a hoot
for when our hearts skip round and round
for when our hearts beat lots and more
then there we race in radiance
and all those dreams are then and now
and after that there is no fade
For when our hearts swoop without fall
outshines all
the one who paid"
(the outstanding Stewart Henderson)

The socks, my teachers...

My socks are teaching me a lot at the moment. I thought I'd share these things with you. I've just bought some of the most comfortable pairs of socks in the world. These are made from a special wool that is ridiculously soft, my feet are happy and cosy and everytime I walk around the house I rejoice in my socks. I realise that I'm a bit too much in love with my socks. This is also expressed in my choice of bed linen. I have the most comfortable bed linen you can imagine, soft brushed jersey cotton, very strokeable and which makes me smile when I wake up because it's so wonderfully comfortable. I'm starting to think I like my comfort a bit too much.

This has brought me to think of the bigger things of this world, the longings I have and whether I am going to live to have them fullfilled in a short, unsatisfiying way in this world right here, right now. Or whether I am going to step out into the rain and head for the best place of safety, security and wonder imaginable. My longings for comfort, my longings to be loved, to be needed, to be warm and at peace are good longings, but socks won't ever fullfil them (nor for that matter will all the other things I try). Only one person can and does and will fully on that beautiful day when the new creation gets put in place and we are finally free from the sin that hurts us and the people we love. I love my socks and the fact that I can rejoice in the one who made them. But He is better than them and if all else, socks included, were to be taken away then He would still be enough. (note to self: believe this more.)

Traumatised

I've done it, I've watched the end of the West Wing. I cried at every one of the last 6 episodes. I think I need trauma therapy. There is no more to be watched. I'm very sad right now. (possibly in both meanings of that word). The West Wing was beautiful for many many reasons, the wonderful dialogue between characters, those impossibly long sentences that no-one would ever get away with in real life. The characters that the writers clearly cared about, referencing back little details across series, knowing how to wrap everything up perfectly in the end. It was a series with hope, belief that maybe you couldn't change the world but that it's worth trying. And possibly it got a bit cheesy and far fetched and unrealistic but it left you with a sense that integrity, loyalty and genuine honesty were to be fought for and valued.

It had much to say about team life, especially in the first 4 series, on loyalty to the team, on encouragement, getting each others backs, brotherhood and perseverance in believing in people. It was funny, witty, far fetched, deep, a little bit too naive but with a strong sense that there are things in this world worth fighting for. Every British attempt at drama (with the possible exception of hustle) feels slow, dull, concerned with the worst in people, content with writing characters that all lie, cheat, deceive and have little redeemable qualities. It's much easier to write characters who are immoral, cheaters, unloyal and nasty.

It's so much harder to write convincing stuff about people who are deeply flawed but who also have redeemable qualities, who care about each other, who remain faithful. It's hard because it seems cheesy, but to do it well leaves you with some hope that decency towards each other is really possible, that we can be loving, faithful, loyal and retain some integrity in this world. The hope of redemption is always there. We need to hang on to that. And for bigger reasons than the hope that the human race all gets a bit nicer towards each other. Redemption is only found through one man and our hope is that we are being transformed into His likeness, that we can exhibit the brilliance of his selfless love in our lives. That's not naive or cheesy, that's reality.