The New Season

My first football match of the season is this saturday. After missing the first match of the season due to a family commitment and the team getting a win I will be fighting to get a starting place. With that in mind I need to get my fitness up to scratch so i’ve just got back from a little run. I can’t wait to get back on the pitch, it’s one of my real releases and i love the banter with my team mates. I’ll await the call from the manager.

Cake or Death Live

Oh yes, after lots of searching the net i’ve just managed to get my hands on 2 reasonably priced Eddie Izzard stand up tickets for December.

Creative Prayer and Worship

It was really good to have Jenny Baker come and lead a session last night on creative prayer and worship. It was part of Rooted a course that i am running jointly with Amanda and it was great to see this older group of young people really engaged with the subject matter. It’s evenings like this that make me realise that the Church is in good hands.

Finishing Well

Something that i’ve always been told and have tried to apply to my life is to finish things well, whether it be a job, project etc. I realise that this isn’t always possible but on the whole i have been able to do this when things have come to an end.

Well tomorrow I am going to be finishing up a mentoring relationship with lad who i started meeting with last June. It’s only been a short time meeting as part of the hope of getting him back into mainstream schooling but it we have shared stuff together. Well due to a number of issues of miscommunication and doubling up of support it has meant that it is right for us to stop meeting. I am thinking today about the best way for us to finish so that he doesn’t feel dropped by me and that we both look back positively.

Books

I have just got back from Roy’s big book give away. Picked up a couple of nice numbers. Thanks Roy.

De-railed

Today is my monthly retreat day. I have had some good time today to journal and to read. I am continue with to authors who challenge and inspire me, Merton and Tom Wright. I am just about to finish Wright’s book ‘Simply Christian’ which is something i wish i had read some years ago when working in East London. It is a great book of foundations of the Christian faith. I would love to someday write material in an more excessible way for young people picking up upon much of these thoughts.

The day however has been derailed slightly by me taking phone calls. I always struggle with this one on retreat days. I do honestly sign up to turning it off or at least not picking up but am aware that those answer phone messages will need returning tomorrow. I think however i need to be content to do that from now on. A good lesson learnt. My mind is now spinning from the conversations had.

Please God open my ears and eyes to you this day

I was right

After saying in my last post that I wasn’t feeling hugely great physically it turns out i was right. At the end of a busy weekend the sickness finally hit. Was completely wiped out yesterday and although back doing stuff today still not 100 per cent. Hopefully once this is shifted i’ll be back to feeling ‘normal’ again.

It’s not always good to be right

Still Here

It’s been a hectic start to the new academic year hence my lack of posting. We have had our fantastic new gap year students starting work with me, a residential last weekend, all the normal programmes etc starting up, writing a schools project on faith and violence, a new joint discipleship venture starting last night and the weekend holds an open fun day at church (bouncy castle, cake, face painting etc) as well as preaching Sunday morning on Mission Shaped Church. In amongst all that Jo has started up doing some nannying work. Hopefully life will settle a little after this weekend.

The good thing is that life is good, I am encouraged which was not the case just a few months back before having some time off over the summer.

I am however struggling with just feeling physically fatigued a lot of the time and not just when i’ve been busy. Maybe my new ginseng supliment will help otherwise it might have to be a rare trip to the docs for a check up.

Facing the Truth

Facing the Truth - Eddie Askew (from Many Voices, ONE VOICE)

Lord, love can hurt!

I feel the pain which Peter felt

as he heard your question.

“Do you love me?”

But, Lord, you know it. You can see it.

Here I am giving time, now, to reading and prayer.

Every day. Well, whenever I can.

Sorry about yesterday, there was just so much to do.

It seems unfair of you to ask, Lord.

Of course I love you.

Look at all the work I do.

So busy, running hot with righteous sweat,

as I dash from one commitment to the next.

And still you ask.

Lord, what do you want?

I plan and work and organise.

My spiritual cheque book stubs can prove it all.

I give my time, my mind, my energy.

And in the evening, home at last,

collapsing in my easy chair,

I know I’ve done a lot for you.

I can’t do more to prove I’m yours.

My love? But it’s all there, Lord

I’m trying to show you…

Lord, help me to make a quiet place, a space

where you and I can meet at peace.

Where I can sit and wait and listen.

A calm where loving eyes can meet and interlock.

Not frantic in haste, a brief handwave from passing cars.

But in the slow contentment of two friends together.

Maybe no need even to speak the words “I love you.”

You know I love you. Because I give you time.

And then, Lord, when I plunge back into the busyness

it looks different.

Because I don’t need to prove I love you.

And I can do it with the joy

that comes from having been with you.

Creator of Beauty

Back in the saddle today properly after the events of the summer. Arrived back from the Isle of Wight on Sat after a good break and now am back in full flow for the coming term.

I was leading our sunday service youth work yesterday morning and I was using some ideas and pics from the brilliant Spikyheaded on how we want to be remembered. I used the pic below and the phrase ‘creator of beauty’ has really stuck with me. I’ve been thinking about the creators of beauty who have inspired me over the summer.

There have been many friends who are creating wonderfully messy beauty all over the place, people helping others to create beauty and also those things I have read, listened to, photographed and watched. Here are a few:

Heima (simply stunning on every level)

The new Sigur Ros album

Time with family

Eddie Askew - Many Voices, One VOICE