A random collection of thoughts, musings, rants, lists, descriptions and arguments about an eclectic mix of subjects
I was introduced to this song today by my friend and colleague Eddie who was leading worship this morning. We were talking about Christ the King, and how his life and death and resurrection means that we are saved, and this song is just so beautiful and sums up everything Jesus is to me. I hope you find solace in this as much as I do.
With God’s blessing, here is “I’m justified by Grace” by Jeremy Smith and found on dumbrocks.com.
Peace and love
Pamster xx
Grace and peace
Pam x
I came home today to see these pigeons having a little water bath in a puddle outside next door.
They were so cute!
The way they opened their feathers was fascinating, and both me and Bennie (the dog next door) watched them for ages. I caught myself at one point as I realised that I was stood watching two pigeons bathing in a builder’s puddle, but, sometimes, you have got to do what you need to do to make the most of a moment haven’t you?
Grace and peace
Pam
My friend Jane offered an absolutely brilliant sermon this morning on the subject of the Transfiguration of Jesus. She spoke fabulously about those moments of change that we all experience, but somehow either fail to immerse ourselves in them, or try so hard to capture them that we don’t really experience them at all.
One of the things that she talked about, and which has stayed with me all day, is this quote:
“Never doubt in the dark what God has told you in the light”
Victor Raymond Edman
I have been coming back to it throughout the day, and no doubt there is more reflecting to be had further still, but my immediate thought was how much I needed to hear this! There have been moments of change in my life that have made the darkness feel all the more profound. I’m sure many of you will have had similar experiences too, where the dark times feel overwhelming and where you feel that you are suffocating because it all crowds in and blocks the light? Well those are the times when we need to hold fast onto what we have heard God tell us in the moments of light. Not the dazzling bright white lights like we have in the transfiguration, but in those everyday moments where God reveals himself to us in the faces and the actions of those around us. It’s the things that we know to be true about ourselves – that we are loved, we are worthy, we are valued, and so on – but it’s the things that are the first to go from our minds when we are in suffocating pitch blackness.
And we need people like Victor Raymond Edman, and my friend Jane, to remind us that even when we do find ourselves in those dark places, hold fast, and remember what God our Father tells us; that we are loved. If we were not loved, he wouldn’t have sent his son Jesus to bring us back to himself. If we were not loved, he wouldn’t bother with us and he would leave us to our own messes and injuries.
Please join me in praying for those who are actively seeking peace all around the world where violence and hatred bring about the darkest of darknesses to millions of people. Pray that they also never doubt the peace and love of God which is beyond all our understanding, but which keeps us all in his heart and mind. Pray that the light of Peace and Wisdom and Love and Grace break into their darkness wherever they are.
Amen
Some days you’re on top of the mountain, and others you’re marooned on the open plain. Wherever you find yourself today, know that you are loved and you will thrive again. It might not be today and it might not even be tomorrow, but one day the battle of today will be far behind you .
My prayer is for all who feel that life is an endless mountain climb or a flat montonous plain. Your time will come.
Grace and peace
Pam x
Grace and peace
Pam
January is traditionally a time of gateways. The Roman god Janus, from which January gets its name, famously has two faces as he looks both backwards and forwards at the same time. He looks back at the old year and he looks ahead to the coming one. Figures of Janus were often buried under the doorsteps in Roman buildings to symbolise that liminal space of the doorway, or gateway, and to remind people that whilst they are stepping over the threshold or through the gateway, one foot makes that transition to the inside whilst one foot remains outside. At the moment of passing through the doorway, you are neither inside nor outside, but both at the same time.
And so my question tonight is what sort of gateway are you approaching at the moment? Maybe it’s a time of life thing where you are neither young nor old yet, and you are somewhere in the middle. Maybe you are on the cusp of a life-changing event that moves you from one state to another – marriage, or divorce? Approaching parenthood or grandparenthood? Coming to retirement? Applying for promotion in your job where you are no longer one of “us” but one of “them”?
Maybe one of your new year’s resolutions has been to address an aspect of your lifestyle that you want to change, and as things stand at the moment, you are still a smoker even though you haven’t had a cigarette for a couple of days. You can’t call yourself an ex-smoker yet because you still have it in your system, and you might still have that one last one before you finally throw away the pack. Same goes for trying to lose weight or get fit; you can’t say you are thin yet because you’ve only just begun your diet, but you are on your way to your goal of being slimmer because you have taken steps to eat differently or to exercise more. Each of these examples are those liminal spaces where we can be either or neither, or both at the same time, and by making the commitment to change, or to undertake these different activities, you have stood in that gateway space of having one foot in and one foot out.
This picture that I’ve used today was taken this afternoon at the foot of the steps at the edge of the churchyard at St Peter’s Church in Blackley. It shows gateposts that have stood for probably in excess of 100 years (the gates were more than likely taken away and melted down for ammunition in the war) and you can see that there is nothing in between them. It truly is a gateway because it offers the chance to pass through smoothly.
However, I chose it to illustrate this post because it shows that some gateways have challenges that continue on behind them. In this case, just through the gateway is a small set of steps. They lead onto the path that leads up to the church itself, and what you probably can’t tell from this photo is that the path is quite steep and it can be a struggle to not puff and pant as you climb it. And the point I want to make is that though gateways themselves are liminal spaces where we are suspended in that could be/might be state, once we move through them, the struggle to continue on with our journey goes on too.
But there is hope.
Once we have passed through, and we have our feet firmly planted on the other side of the gateway, then even though we might struggle to climb the steps, catch our breath as we walk the steep and slippery slope ahead, the path ahead will always be straightened for us if we step out in confidence and faith.
This particular path leads straight to the heart of the church in Blackley, and it passes over the graves of those who have lived and worshipped God here for centuries. There has been a Christian presence on this site since around 1320, and the first chapel was built in the mid 16th Century (source: British History Online), so you are in good company as you pass through these grounds.
My prayer tonight then is for all of you who are either at the gateway or approaching the gateway to a significant event, that you have courage to face what’s on the other side, and that you don’t get lost in that liminal space as you move forward. For all of you who have made the commitment to change something about your lifestyle this January, keep going.
Grace and peace,
Pam
Today, more than any day so far this month, I am thankful for the gift of love.
It has been a bit of a tricky day, what with one thing and another today, and the gift of love is what has carried me through it.
Love comes in all shapes and sizes, all forms and in all sorts of ways and today I am so grateful for the love I have received and for the love I have witnessed being shared by other people. I was at a funeral where the room was absolutely packed to the rafters with people expressing their love for a baby who was born sleeping, and the wave of love that carried his parents was almost tangible to anyone who was there. Then I was in a funeral meeting for a lady who reached the end of her life at the grand old age of 92, and who has so many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren that the family couldn’t add them up. She loved them all, and the love that her family showed for her during our conversation was just amazing to witness.
I had lunch with a friend who I love dearly today, and it’s probably going to be a long time before we see each other again now because of different things going on, and again, the gift of love between us has been wonderful to be part of.
And tonight, feeling a little buffeted by the winds of emotion today, I was on the receiving end of love from my son’s girlfriend (and if he hurries up soon I will be able to call her my daughter in law!) when she kept me plied with tea as I shared a bit of my day with her and got upset.
Love in all its forms is a wonderful thing. Yes it can cause the deepest pain and grief when the person we want to show love to is not there receive it, as with the funeral families I saw today, but without it, we are stripped of something which is at the core of our humanity.
As a Christian I believe that God is the source of all love, and that we are all held by him through every step of our lives. I believe that the love we show each other is only possible because we are loved by him first, and painful though it is, love should be celebrated to the fullest of our capability and strength.
Grace and peace,
Pam x
Today’s thankfulness is for what this video shows – that it’s not just humans who show compassion for each other, but animals do too. This buffalo looks so proud of himself for helping his little mate who was stuck upside down on the ground, and I can’t help but smile at him.
Advent is a time of preparation, not just getting ready for Christmas which is the remembrance of Christ’s coming in the first incarnation, but also a reminder to us to get ready for his second coming, which could be any time sooner or later. I spoke this morning at St Chad’s about the need for us to make some re-evaluations in our lives and address those areas of our life that may be deadwood that need chopping out, and this video reminds me that not only do we need to prune out the dead stuff, but we need to water the living stuff too. And by living stuff, I mean the things that bring life and bear fruit, like helping each other, putting each other first, giving away stuff that is going to help someone else and so on. This buffalo made himself uncomfortable to help this tortoise, but he did it without hesitating. He went on bended knee to put himself in reach of the tortoise so that he could help him.
There’s something about that bended knee that strikes me as very much in the vein of preparation during Advent, and I’m thankful that this seemingly insignificant incident between a buffalo and a tortoise has given me pause for thought today.
Grace and peace,
Pam x
I’ve been a bit busy for the last few weeks, probably more than I have been for quite a number of years, and it has been BRILLIANT. I have loved every minute of it and feel that not only has my ministry grown throughout this time, but I have grown so much in confidence too. There have been a couple of downsides, such as one or two moments of illness, but I can put all of them aside because of the wonderful times I’ve had with my church family.
Today has been no exception and I was really happy to preach at both St Peter’s and St Mary’s churches today before being involved in the baptism of the cutest baby boy I think I have ever seen at St Chad’s this afternoon. It has been a glorious day and I am grateful for the chance to share the good news of Jesus with people around Blackley and Moston today.
But the thing that I want to share with you today about my biggest cause of thankfulness is the brilliant job my husband has done of decorating our little house for Christmas. He has been a busy boy while I’ve been out of the house and he knows that I’m not really a fan of putting Christmas decorations up, so he did it all while I was otherwise engaged. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE having the house decorated with all the festive greens and reds, but I just don’t like getting it all out, deciding where it’s going to go, putting garlands up and stuff like that. When I got back from the baptism this afternoon he had put up the garlands and lights in the hall and the living room, and was well into the process of “grottofication” with the rest.
I am so lucky to have him supporting me in many ways while I’m busy ministering outside the house, and in his way, he ministers to me by providing such a lovely warm welcoming atmosphere when I get back home again.
Our house isn’t really big enough to put up a Christmas tree – not if we all want to sit down to watch TV anyway! – and so he “made” a tree out of a garland and lights on the back of our front door instead. How wonderful is this?!
So today’s thankfulness is twofold; one is my ministry and the other is my husband.
Happy Advent 12 everyone!
Grace and peace
Pamster x
Mushy Cloud 