Prayers

Liz Slater manages to articulate her prayers so beautifully and clearly and says everything in such a way that I feel. I wanted to share them with you here, for things to think or pray about.  

Let us pray.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, you promised through your son Jesus Christ to hear us when we pray in faith. Thank you Father.

So we come to you now in faith with our requests. 

Father God,  we lift up our church, your people, to you. We pray for the clergy of all churches. bring all clergy towards you, especially those taking up new posts.. We pray your blessing on those who lead and organise services in church and those who enable services and coffee stop meetings online and those who have other responsibilities such as wardening or working in the offices during these difficult times. Give them strength and wisdom. Bless each of us, whoever we are, whether at home  watching or worshipping with others in church. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for our world. Help us to  understand learn from discoveries that are being made about links between the environment and the pandemic.  For example, where our over exploitation of the natural world has led to eco-systems being unbalanced and viruses spreading beyond their usual hosts. Where a reduction in air pollution during lock down has seen an increase in insect life. Help us to take this seriously so it does not get forgotten during the urgency seriousness of other immediate decisions needing to be made. Help us not to forget. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for our national leaders. Give them wisdom as difficult decisions need to be made. Help them to communicate with honesty and transparency.  Help them to work together with all interested parties for the common good of the four nations in the UK. We continue to pray for those who have continued to undergo anxiety about their exam results. Again,w e ask for wisdom as Sixth forms, Further Education colleges and universities struggle to honour promises of places.  Also for firms offering apprenticeships who may not themselves be sure of their own future.  Be with those those who,  in spite of everything, have missed expected places. Help those, whose remit it is, to be imaginative and creative, in their support.

We pray for the safe return to school for pupils, teaching and non-teaching staff.  Strengthen those who have responsibility for ensuring  safety on site, and trying to resolve problems like crowded lunchtimes and break times. We think of bus drivers coping with travel to school and we think of families concerned about transmission in school between adults in school and transmission from pupils into the home.  We think of parents who do not want to send their children back to school. Father there are so many anxieties and so much  stress. Father, we place all of that in your hands. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Father, in this year of bewildering disruption, disease and dismay, help us to look to you and not be overwhelmed because you are our strength, our shield, our rock.

We pray for the nations of the world. Help leaders as they cope with an increase in Covid cases again.

Help nations to work together more and to cooperate over prevention, treatment and vaccines. 

We pray for those whose future employment  and income is uncertain, those who must quarantine but who are short of income, those who will find it difficult to pay rent, landlords, whose main income is from renting accommodation and and those who rely increasingly on food banks

We continue to pray for Lebanon  for the people of Beirut, as they cope with food and power shortages as well as COVID19.

We pray for the people of Belarus as the outcome of the recent election are contested.

We pray for the rigours of North west China as people are being moved to re-education camps.

We pray for the people of Hong Kong as they seek to retain their freedoms.

For Californians as they confront hundreds of fire outbreaks.

And the preparation for fair and democratic elections in the USA

Strengthen Christians in all these situations so that they can support others. Keep us faithful in praying for then. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for all those who are sad because of family members who have died.  We pray for those who are not well....Comfort and strengthen all those we have give them your healing and your peace.  Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

And for ourselves- Lord, as we think of how you met and called your first disciples,we thank you that you meet us wherever we are and whoever we are. Help us to remember that you are the  God who notices, however ordinary or insignificant we feel. The God who meets us in our everyday lives at home, at school, at work.  Thank you that when we accept your unfailing love and amazing Grace, you become God with us, who walks with us throughout our every day lives of highs and lows, understanding everything that we feel. 

So we ask, for ourselves, that you will teach us to walk in the light of your presence,  to love with your heart of compassion, to trust in the word of your promise.  So that all of our being,  all our whole being praises you and we are able to proclaim with heartfelt joy, that HALLELUJAH!  OUR GOD reigns.

Merciful father, accept our prayers for the sake of your son, our saviour Jesus Christ.

Amen.

A pause for Advent 2019 #4

A pause for Advent is one of my favourite parts of preparing for Christmas, even though I stress a bit over what to write each time, hoping some inspiration will hit me.

Today, I am thinking of just the idea of a Pause.  Taking the time to sit back and count the blessings.  I am grateful for everything God does for me- I feel his presence with me and I know that I would be lost without his presence.  Jesus didn't stay a baby- he grew up and shared his wise teachings, helped countless people and then died so that those who came after him might also have the opportunity to live life in abundance- a life without fear, a life without being totally lost, a life where the awful things we do don't have to define us and to be our future. He came to save Me and You (if you choose to accept that) and every time I do something I regret- I know that it is not the end- I am not condemned for ever- I have hope and a chance to live the future with Hope and freedom. I hope you do too!

Things I am blessed by today:

1.  Beautiful sunshine,
2.  A warm house
3.  Peace and quiet
4.  Silence and Solitude.
5. The knowledge of good things to come.

God bless you this Christmas.

xx

A Pause for Advent 2019 #3

I've mentioned on numerous occasions that I created a tradition at my school of writing a song for Christmas for my KS2 Christmas performance. Over the last decade, I have created songs for the various parts of the nativity.  It's one of my absolute favourite Christmas traditions and I'm always really excited to do it.   It is an act of worship, writing a song for parts of this story which is so important to my faith, an act of giving and love to my children; to write a song especially for them and an act of creativity; to continue to use my skills as a composer and an act of fun- I love composing!  I would not say that these are great songs-they are very much aimed at my audience- the children and their parents but I hope that they are a different way of approaching each aspect of the Christmas story and you find something you enjoy in it or it speaks to you in some way. It's also become A Pause for Advent tradition that I share my song for one of the posts.  I'm not sharing it for praise (or indeed censure- though you are welcome to your opinions) but that the act of writing is a pause to think about a particular aspect of birth of Jesus and to use the gifts, skills or interests, whichever way you wish to look at it, to offer back.

This time last year, I heard a song called Mary did you know? which was used for the dancers for our Advent carol service at my old church.  This year we actually sang it for the carol service.  I remember thinking, "I like this song- I haven't written a song about Mary for my nativity, I will do that next year."  I even started writing some basic sketches for it in the Summer holidays this year, working out the first bit, the end and the basic accompaniment for the first bit. I recorded some of these improvisations and used these to begin typing up the notation for it into Sibelius, the music software I use.  But then I got stuck on the middle bit and abandoned it.

It came to October and I knew I had to get the song finished as I needed to be teaching it the first week back to my choir (this year, my song was a choir solo rather than the whole key stage.).
It was strange because I'd been stuck on the middle section but when I looked at the direct words from Luke's gospel, all of a sudden, I became unstuck and able to work it out.  Divine inspiration for sure!

My children learnt it really quickly and they really do sing out when singing it.
The last bit is sung as a solo by one child but alas, this recording was from when I hadn't chosen the soloist so it is all of them.
You can hear me singing it first and then you will hear my children singing it in the 2nd week of their learning it. They sing it much better now, 7 weeks on but I haven't had a chance to record them again.

Mary, you are chosen,

Mary, highly favoured,

Mary, you're the one.

Mary, be not afraid,

Mary, God with you,

Mary, chosen one.

You will be with child and give birth

To a son and name him Jesus

The son of the most high.

The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David.

And he will reign, his kingdom ever more.

Mary, the holy spirit will come upon you.

Nothing is impossible with God upon your side.

Oooh,

Oooh,

I am the Lord's servant, let it be to me as you have said.

(Words by chosen and adapted by me based on Luke's gospel. 

Melody and accompaniment by me.

Voices: Me and my children after.)

The words of this song are saying to me right now- Trust.  Trust that there is something better, that the bleakness of the past few days aren't the end, they can't be. That God is with us even at the hardest times and he calls our name and it's our choice whether we choose to hear or not. I trust, hope and pray for something better than this earthly existence.

This is my 3rd pause for Advent with Ang and co.

If you want to hear some of my songs from a few previous years (and don't feel obliged!), you can click these links to the posts:
The innkeepers rant
Feel the Christmas beat
Join in our story
Ring out the bells

Shepherds Swing

Love is all you need at Christmas time

A pause for Advent #2 Charlie Brown's Christmas- A children's story

Last Sunday, a week ago, I went to play my flute for the Advent Carol service at my old church.  Margaret Fowler, the minister there, gave a beautiful talk as part of the theme of the carol service: Once upon a time...  She has kindly let me share her ideas and words.

She began by saying that all good fairy tales begin with that familiar phrase and have done since 1400 and end with, 'They all lived happily ever after.'   Surely that is what all of us want in life- no one wants to hear that things end badly.

Charles Schulz was the creator, in the 1950's, of cartoons about Charlie Brown and his friends- they appeared in newspapers and were a huge success over the following decade.  The success was so much so that Schulz was asked by that famous old company, Coca Cola, if he would entertain the possibillity of producing a full length cartoon as a Christmas show- it would be sponsored by the company.

Schlulz agreed to this but said he wished to centre the plot around producing a Christmas play where Charlie wanted to tell the story.  He was insistent on the fact that the film had to reflect the TRUE meaning of Christmas.  Coca Cola agreed to this.

The story begins with Charlie Brown and the blanket-carrying-friend Linus talking- Charlie feels unhappy despite it being Christmas.  All the friends he tell this too don't seem to care and just share their glee about the exciting THINGS of Christmas they would be having and doing- food, decorations and presents rather than offering him support.

Charlie is given the role of Director for a Christmas play which all the aforementioned friends are in but they bicker and seem to miss the point of it all playing Christmas that is not really anything to do with Christmas- Fur Elise for the piano player for example.

Charlie still isn't happy and he and little Linus set off in search of a tree to use in the play thinking this will help.  All the others demand a fancy dress with all the best over-the-top decorations.  Amidst the bright pink fake and fluffy trees, Charlie finds and falls in love with a diminutive pine tree and takes it back in excitement.

Charlie's friends are scornful of its simplicity and the humble nature of the tree and mock him for messing up again- they desert him.  Linus alone remains.  Charlie, in despair asks plaintively, "Isn't there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?"

Linus simply replies, "Sure, Charlie Brown. I can tell you what Christmas is all about."

He stands there in the spotlight and begins:

 “And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the fields keeping watch over their flocks by night And lo,the angel of the lord came upon them and the glory of the lord shone round about them and they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, “Fear Not” for behold I bring you tidings of great joy  which shall be to all people for unto you has been born this day,  in the City of David, a Saviour which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.  And suddenly there was with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God saying, "Glory to God in the highest and on earth Peace and goodwill towards all men."

He relinquishes that much loved security blanket from the words, "Fear not,"  And he says to Charlie Brown- "that is what Christmas is all about."

It is a beautiful, humble moment.

Despite Coca Cola's acquiescence to Schulz's request, just before the screening of the cartoon for the first time in December 1965, the executives of the production company, who had come to watch it, were quietly aghast.  "You can't quote from the Bible.  It will be the end of Charlie Brown." It was too late to adapt though.  It screened as per his wishes and despite the fears, it was a considerable success, much beloved by all and it won many acolades and awards.  And this humble, central moment of scripture is acclaimed as to why the film was such a success- this tiny, usually nervous boy sharing with confidence, the true Christmas story.

Right at the end of the cartoon, we see Linus, who reclaimed his blanket after the speech gives up his blanket to wrap around that humble, mocked tree with all the other children who give decorations to adorn the little tree.

And the point she was making with her sermon was that sometimes, we are like Linus- we hold desperately onto things and do not want to let them go- this could be material possessions, wanting to be the best, past anger, resentment and even our belief that this couldn't possibly all be true- how could Jesus possibly have been real and been who he said he was- a Saviour.  But he came to help us let go f all these.  The Christmas story isn't just a fairy tale- it is a true story with hope, power and joy- that the Son of God came to earth and will be with us, should we choose to accept him, and despite the difficulty and despair of this life, he will be with us always. And our happy ending is that we will live in Heaven with Jesus forever.

My soul was uplifted by this wonderful sermon and I wanted to share it with you.  I've included the full cartoon here from Youtube.  If you don't have time to hear it all,  listen from 20:06 and hear the message from Linus.

With thanks to Margaret for her wonderful sermon and thanks for letting me share it.

This is my Pause for Advent with Ang Almond and co.

Happy Easter!

Were the whole realm of nature mine,

That were an offering far too small,

Love so amazing, so divine.

Demands my soul, my life, my all!

(Wesley).

He is risen indeed!  Hallelujah!

A Pause for Advent 2018 #4 My annual song- Love is all you need.

It has been a tradition on this blog for the past few years to share, on this, the 4th Pause for Advent, the song I have composed for my children to sing at our Christmas service/performance at school each year.  For me, it has become a tradition to do this- the ultimate aim being to have a complete nativity with songs to accompany each part of the story.  It is an act of worship, writing a song for parts of this story which is so important to my faith, an act of giving and love to my children; to write a song especially for them and an act of creativity; to continue to use my skills as a composer and an act of fun- I love composing!  I would not say that these are great songs-they are very much aimed at my audience- the children and their parents but I hope that they are a different way of approaching each aspect of the Christmas story and you find something you enjoy in it or it speaks to you in some way.

Last year's song was a joyous song, Ring out the Bells.  This year, I wanted an alternative for the song, Christmas is a time to love, which we sing almost every year at the end of our performance.  I wanted a more reflective song which reminds us of the true message of Christmas which is love.  I also wanted to look ahead to Easter as Christmas and Easter are connected.  Plus, since it was 100 years since the end of WW1 this year, I wanted to make a link to the sacrifice of the lives of many people within the song/service too. We also sang Silent Night just before this in the performance and the reader who followed it talked about the Armistice at Christmas in his talk.

Love is all you need,
Is all you need at Christmas time.
Love is what it's all about.
It leads to peace and joy.

Love is what the baby brought,
Put aside your feuds and petty thoughts.
Kindness is what we need to share,
To show our love and also show we care.

Love is all you need,
Is all you need at Christmas time.
Love is what it's all about.
It leads to peace and joy.

No greater love had man that this.
That he lay aside his life for friends.
And love each other as he loved,
The love that's freely given, the love that never ends.

Love is all you need,
Is all you need at Christmas time.
Love is what it's all about.
It leads to peace and joy.

It leads to peace and joy.
It leads to peace and joy.

I hope you enjoy it and  if anyone would like a PDF of the music, just let me know, I would be happy to share it.  I want to wish you all a very blessed, peaceful and merry Christmas if I don't do so again.

If you want to hear some of my songs from a few previous years (and don't feel obliged!), you can click these links to the posts:
The innkeepers rant
Feel the Christmas beat
Join in our story
Ring out the bells
Shepherds Swing

A pause for Advent 2018 #3: Imperfection

Christmas can be a time of strong emotions: euphoria, hopefulness, joy, excitement but also disappointment, anxiety, depression, loneliness and sadness, depending on circumstances. It can be particularly hard if dealing with bereavement, conflict or just being in a really lonely place. It is a time which urges us to "Keep up with the Jones'" and all those 'perfect' adverts, pictures, films and stories which can make us feel woefully inadequate.  Why is our Christmas experience not as perfect as anyone else's?  Why is everyone else having more fun, more presents, more invites, more laughs, more friends, more decorations or food?  We are just not perfect enough?

But the original Christmas was far from perfect!
It was hardly perfect that Governor Quirinius called for everyone to travel to their hometown at the height of Mary's pregnancy. Definitely not perfect that the toils and tribulations of that arduous journey meant that Mary and Joseph arrived so late in Bethlehem that they had to slog around all those inns and fail to find adequate accommodation. It wasn't great that Mary had to give birth in a stable without any support or suitable resources for a baby.  It was a disaster that the wise men got lost nad ended up in the worst place possible- the palace of the mad despot, King Herod, who definitely didn't need to know about Jesus- that secured the death of many infants later on.  It wasn't ideal that the shepherds had the life frightened out of them by the appearance of angels in the sky.  It wasn't perfect that instead of returning home to a stable homelife, that Mary, Joseph and Jesus had to flee as refugees to seek sanctuary in Egypt to avoid the consequence of the wise men's less than perfect navigational skills.
But despite all this, Jesus still came, grew up, died and offered freedom to all those who believe in him.  The crucifixion and the way Jesus died semed far from perfect to those who trusted and believe in him. This wasn't what the Messiah was supposed to do.  He was supposed to save them, free them from the tyranny of the Roman empire, to bring freedom and the gift of life. The cross seemed a complete mess-up; incomprehensible and pointless. 
But to a heart full of faith and belief, we are not called to be perfect but just to be ourselves and to know Jesus, just as we are.
For me this week, this means:
I am imperfect but I am loved.
I am grumpy and cantankerous at times, but loved.
I am exhausted but loved.
I am disappointed and disheartened in aspects of life but I am loved.
I am concerned about the future of this country and world, I am frightened of what we are doing to our Earth, but I am loved.
I have made countless mistakes (including having tantrum on a train platform after missing a train) but I am loved.
Avoid the trappings of the perfect Christmas; the need to impress or be the centre of attention and be there at the manger, surrounded by Love; knowledge of who you are and be imperfect.

This Pause was inspired by the welcome message by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York in the #FollowtheStar advent study.

Advent Calendar Day 24: The final present

I do so hope you have enjoyed my varied Advent Calendar this year. I found it quite liberating choosing generally one (or two) photos, writing very little about them, it elicited some lovely responses from many of you and for that I thank you most kindly. Thank you to Julie for prompting this challenge and to Ang for the Pause for Advent organisation too!

So, we've covered papier mache animals, brooches, choirs, carols, books, cup-snowmen, shopfronts, pantomimes, wisemen, hippos and much more, surely there isn't anything left to cover?

But no, there is...

The manger is empty. The animals sit expectantly.  We have waited long for the final gift, for the saving grace, for the child.  A child is always considered a gift and this one was long awaited.

Jesus was on his way from God!

Yes, it is Christmas eve and Jesus is coming!!

He brings hope, joy, peace and new starts for all!

Hurrah!

xxx

Eastingle

 I arrived at church on Good Friday not really knowing what Eastingle would be like.

Our church created the Eastingle service last year after people asked if there was an Easter version of Christingle.  If you know the premise of Christingle, you construct an orange with cocktail sticks, a red ribbon, candle, and dried fruits

All these packs of Hot Cross buns with a straw and three pieces of crepe-paper were upon the altar.

 After we sang 'Build your kingdom here', everyone fetched their Eastingle packs:

First, we added our purple flag to the bun.
Purple, because Jesus is God's King.
We read Mark 15 Chapter 22-32 and watched a cartoon of it, where Jesus was taken to the place called Golgotha.
We then read Mark 15-33-39 where Jesus was nailed to the cross with the criminals.

 We added our red flag:
Red because it reminds us of Jesus' blood, shed for us on the cross because he loves us.
We read Mark 16 v 1-7- "Jesus is alive" and watched the film remembering where the women went to the tomb and found Jesus had gone and was alive. We sang When I survey the wondrous cross.
We added our white flag:
White because it represents Jesus shining as the Light of the World.

 During a talk by our Youth Worker, she revealed a box she had brought which had some items in it.

 1. White candle - because light banishes all darkness.  When you put a candle in the darkness it gives light. On Sunday we will light a new candle to remember Jesus's story is more than birth and death.
2 Crown - Jesus was a King. Our purple shows this as does his welcome on Palm Sunday. The crown of a King turned into a crown of thorns. We know it doesn't end there.
3.  Bread and Wine:  Jesus said remember me with bread and wine. His disciples continued to remember him with that meal. We celebrate that meal at church.
4.  Holding Cross:  We give these to those who are christened or confirmed at our church.  'These holding crosses Say, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul and with all your strength and love your neighbour as yourself. People use holding crosses in many situations. They help us to pray and think when we can't find the words we need in a desperate situation. It fits in the palm of our hand to remember what Jesus did.
5.  Little purple box - It's a gift from Christ, his death. This is a gift from the church to you, to help you remember being here, we are passing the love of God onto each person.  It's something to share with others, leave it out.  (It was a chocolate egg!).

 We thanked God for the gifts he gives us and everyone took a small purple box.
We sang Shine Jesus Shine to finish.

 I confess to wondering what I'd think of the Eastingle but it was surprisingly moving and a really lovely simple way to think of Jesus' sacrifice at Easter.

"It is finished," He said. Now we wait for Easter Sunday and his return.

xx

A pause for advent 2014: 2. A poem of preparation

And to accompany my poem, a beautiful Advent song I heard: Waiting in Silence by Carey Landry.

Words and images are my own.


I'm linking to Ang's blog for A Pause in Advent with this post.

The sower

I am not a very good seed sower.  I planted seeds too late for them to blossom for my wedding last year and I've had rocket seeds for two months now and not planted until this Friday.  However, I did write a poem based on a study of the Parable of the Sower a while back.   Enjoy the terrible rhyming in places!

Here was a poem I wrote for the church magazine on what I learnt as a result of a homegroup study of Mark 4: 1-25, the Parable of the Sower.

The Evangelist, he knows and loves the word, God’s love is at his heart.

He longs the world to know Jesus, so he tells of Him near and far.

He, like a farmer, carries the seed, to tell, to share to sow.

To proclaim Jesus Christ and His death and rising so people can to him flow.

Some people hear the word quite quick, but Satan he is a sneak

He steals it away, tries to harden hearts and Jesus they wont yet seek.

The next who hear the truth of love dwell in places of difficult hardship.

They hear the word and at once rejoice, yet that seed, they will not stick.

For they have not persevered, prayed or learnt the Word of Him who they did seek.

So when come worries, grief and greedy desires, then out they start to creep.

Yet there are some seeds, they find a place where good soil is a-plenty

The number of followers and believers will grow to 100 x 120

“But what,” you cry, “is that excellent soil, that helps a Christian to grow?”

Then listen to God and stay with Him and you will surely know.

I will be able to share, rejoice, to shout, of Jesus Christ the King

If I read my bible daily and take my path from God’s Word that is within.

We have a fellowship in Church with bonds of God’s great love.

Our friends and teachers there we meet, to keep our minds on Him above.

But it doesn’t stop Sunday, ye, we can learn and grow much more mid-week

At home groups who share together the Bible,  so the Word starts to really speak.

Opportunities to meet and share the love add yet more vital nutrients.

We’ll stand firm in the face of difficulty as heavenly armour grows in defence.

Yet fundamental is when we speak to God, it helps our day prepare.

To ask for guidance, strength and courage: YES our daily prayer.

The Holy Spirit it binds all these and everyone it inspires

When evangelising, call upon Him to light your Christ-like fire.

But no Christian tree of any kind can survive without the sun,

It’s all because of God that we survive, so we must put our trust in the SON!

KAG 9/12/09

True good

I found myself thinking about Lord Voldemort in the shower yesterday morning. I've been rereading the Harry Potter series recently, maybe not a good time for it at Lent but it formed my thoughts for my Pause for Advent.

Lord Voldemort is the ultimate baddie. He's power crazy and wants to set himself up as God, never dying, all powerful, his name is forbidden, you mustn't say it or you get caught and punished. He wants to destroy those who are against him.  He has those who are his fervent followers who like to think they are not afraid of him, but they are. Lucius Malloy, a great follower and believer of his makes mistakes and Lord Voldemort is angry and wants to punish him. He makes his son do an impossible task and wants him to fail, even though Lucius has begged for forgiveness. And it struck me, EVIL never forgives. It wants to crush and destroy and punish. All baddies want those who fail to suffer, never truly forgives or trusts them.

But TRUE GOOD always forgives. True good always offers another chance if the perpetrator truly wants another chance to be saved from their fate and punishment.  God, by sending his Son to die for the World, wanted him to succeed and wanted to and wants to offer us another chance. Even if the one who needs forgiving only truly wants forgiveness at the last moment. Even if, like Severus Shape, you only see the light near the end, He always offers it. Forgiveness is offered. Willingly and lovingly. Jesus willingly and lovingly dies on that Cross every year, waiting for that heart.


True good, True God, always forgives

Compassion- my week.

The lovely Youth worker at my local church gave a brilliant talk for the sermon today.  She was talking about Jesus feeding the four thousand (and yes, I do mean the 4000, he did this after the 5000). In Matthew's gospel, Chapter 15, Jesus has travelled to the mountainside, followed by the lame, blind and all those who are ill and need and he takes the time, three days in fact, to heal them. Imagine it, three days of constantly looking after other people with very little break. And yet he did it, he gave his time and willingly.  At the end of the time, three days later, probably totally knackered, when he thought about those people, despite his own probably tiredness and need for solitude, his first words to his disciples were: "I have compassion for these people..." and then he worked that miracle, feeding all 4000 thousand of them with 7 loaves and a few fishes.

She also pointed out that this is the only miracle that features in all 4 gospels. Why?  Because it is important to us, a model we can follow, an ideal we can aspire to and lead us to action. Jesus as our model for action to help others! (incidently, we did all 141 of us in church, end up with a chocolate egg in the service, even though she only had 20 in her bag 2 seconds before...Miraculous!!!!)

Compassion is that which compels us to do something for someone else, motivated by a sincere desire to take them out of their current problematic situation or difficulty.  Yet compassion takes courage and effort and motivation to fulfill the thought/urge.  It's no good just simply thinking about it, you have to DO something about it!  Even if tired, even if I don't want to, even if I am afraid, I must do something about it. And yet, I fail to do so on occasions.

I thought about any situations I have faced this week requiring compassion.  I had a difficult situation at school to sort out, needing to talk to a student who had been incredibly rude to me, and I was supported in this by our learning mentor who supports children with behaviour issues.  She's amazing, and really knows how to clearly speak into a situation. I get muddled, I am not the most coherent person verbally, if speaking without notes in formal situations.  At the end, she said she needed to speak to the pupil's Mum, as she'd promised to tell her what we had discussed.  We had run into her lunchbreak and she got called into deal with an incident in a class.  She sighed and I felt compassion for her and how overworked she was. It was HER lunchbreak and she had helped me to talk to my student.  At which point, I offered to phone the parent.  She said not to worry about it, as I had my time out of class now and she said she'd do it. I said was she sure? She replied, "It's fine, not unless you want to,".  This was my cue, I should have assured her, reassured her and phoned the parent and I wanted to.  But I fell into my own insecurities about speaking coherently to explain and I somehow didn't take it up. I kicked myself as she phoned and oh how I wished I had taken that opportunity to lighten her burden. But instead, I chose to give in to my insecurities. And then I regretted it all day.

Another situation, is the one I have been feeling heavy-hearted about all week. It is to do with my Grandad.  He's very old and he's not well. I have been really worried about it and I have been so angry with myself for being so wrapped up in my life in recent times and the last 2 years that very seldom have I made regular visits to see him. This is no excuse, but a simple admission of guilt- when I am busy as I invariably am, I just can't see past what's in front of me.  I phone him and when I speak to him, I feel compassion, pity and a love for him but unless I do something straight away, then I fall back into absentminded forgetting. This Wednesday, I spoke to him and realised that he was still unwell like he has been for the last month.  I cried a lot and I spoke to my Dad, weeping down the phone, how could I call myself a Christian, if I couldn't even make the time for my own precious Grandad. I determined that NOTHING must make me lapse into absentmindedness or wrapped up in myself and I must go and see him.

Thursday went on, and of course I got wrapped up in work, everything went out of my mind as it always does and then it was about 5.30pm, I was just going to put up a display when I realised/remembered and my heart prompted me to action. If I am honest, I felt tired and my head said I wanted to go home.  But no, my heart said go.  I phoned him, and he said that I could come round.  I spent an hour and a half there till after 8 before he said I should be getting home.  But those 1.5 hours were so precious.   Somehow, despite not really wanting people to come round, he doesn't mind me, perhaps because I am so messy and scatty.  I made him laugh and smile despite his being tired and not well and he sincerely said, "Thank you for coming," and I knew he really appreciated it. He's a man of few words.   And for me, the lesson of this was, if compelled to act by compassion, Action must be instant, where possible or it won't happen.  As I walked down the street, I gave thanks to God for giving me that time, that free evening to use, for him being up to seeing me, I gave thanks for that guilt that made me take action- because I don't want to know I would have felt, had I not gone round. I shouldn't even need to feel guilt, I should by default, have been there with my Grandad.

 I don't know how you feel when you are approached by those charity workers in the street who seek to sign you up for regular donations? There are a good proportion of them who are really annoying and quite aggressive in their marketing.  I am always willing to talk to them if I have the time even if I don't sign up (and I haven't on many occasions).  A lot of times, they ask you to sign up at the time, and many people don't like that, it does feel like being forced into something (I agree).  Perhaps you want to prayerfully consider it first?  But for me, unless it's one that I have sat down and considered without being approached, I have often signed up on the spot. Because I know what I am like- absentminded and forgetful.  But there is often a feeling of compassion, that I do believe is God-prompted, to sign up, that this is something that I need to do. For me, I must Do something NOW! A while back, I actually ended up signing up for an organisation called Compassion- in Jesus' name which is an organisation that allows you to sponsor a child and you send and receive letters regularly.  As I stood there in the wet-sodden field, speaking to this man,  (who was a volunteer because he felt so compelled to support this organisation) I felt compelled to sponsor the child he showed me. The way he spoke about the organisation, I knew he really cared about it and knew I wanted to care about it too. As I agreed, the guy had tears in his eyes. He revealed to me I had been the only person all day in the pouring rain, who had signed up and he'd come from Kent for the day to do this and he was just about to leave to get home when I'd come up. As he said to me, "And now you have a little boy," I also had tears in my eyes.  I remember thinking that I somehow prefer girls in life- I always find them easier to understand, but I am so glad I have this little boy in my life.  And that brings me to another point- Jesus didn't have preferences- he just helped who needed help- he gave compassion to all those he met.  Universal compassion.

So, this is a rather longwinded way of saying it, but my aim through Lent is to open my heart, feel compassion and act on it, regardless of how tired or unwilling I feel.  I don't know that I will succeed or will find it easy but with Jesus as my model and support, rather than me just doing of my own volition, surely I can succeed.

And finally, I have a question for you:  Can I pray for you?  Is there anything you need support for, no matter how small or trivial you might think it is? I would be glad to pray.


Here's the reading from this morning if you want to read it:

"Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

29 Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down. 30 Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them. 31 The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.

32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way.”

33 His disciples answered, “Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?”

34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”

35 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. 36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people. 37 They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 38 The number of those who ate was four thousand men, besides women and children. 39 After Jesus had sent the crowd away, he got into the boat and went to the vicinity of Magadan."

Matthew 15, 29-39

This is my 2nd pause for Lent 2014, joining in with Floss and co over at Troc, bloc and recup.

A pause for Advent 2: Madness, lies or the truth?

"Logic!" said the Professor to himself.  "Why don't they teach logic at these schools?  There are only three possibilities.  Either your sister is telling lies, or she is mad, or she is telling the truth.  You know she doesn't tell lies and it is obvious that she is not mad.  For the moment then and unless any further evidence turns up we must assume she is telling the truth."

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, p47-8.

We were discussing what we believe and why we believe it in my home study group on Wednesday. The following came up, which I feel is important for Advent.  Knowing what you believe or even if you are not sure, thinking about it and knowing why you believe.  Taking this time to reflect on your beliefs:

Jesus is/was a real historical figure.  He existed and is not some mythical creation. He is talked of in histories by his contemporaries (including those who were hostile to him and his message) including the Roman writings of Tacitus (the greatest historian of Ancient Rome) , Seutonius, Thallus and Pliny, and the Jewish writings of Josephus and the Talmud.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080612050321AAp9n9I


But who is he?  He can only be one of three things.

a) a madman.
b) a liar and somebody evil
c) exactly who he said he was.  The Son of God.

If a) then, why have a million people followed him, a myriad of poems been written about it. Why was he not found out? Why did many people believe him and not others. Why was he not written about as such?

If b) he caused the death of millions of people who were persecuted because of him, why thus did they continue to follow him and believe?

c) If he is neither of the above, then he can only be exactly what he called himself.  He can't just have been a good man, because a Goodman does not lie about who they are thus becoming the cause of many deaths in his name, he would not have been good then. If he was a Goodman, then he must have been telling the Truth and he is who he said he was.

Relating to who we/I/you believe who he is, I was given a 'Daily celebration of praise' calendar by a Secret Santa at school 4 years ago.  The entry for today, December the 9th states:

"His life is the lught that shines through the darkness."  John 1:5 TLB
Jesus is the central personality of history, and whether Christmas is canned or canonized, packaged in ribbon and sold for profit or sanctified in a cathedral where humble souds worship, He is the inescapable Christ.  The fury of opposition to His praise seeks to ban pageantry and sterilize holy celebration to suit the antagonism of organized unbelief.
But Jesus keeps rising again.
Every Christmas turns out to be an Easter
Jesus is still the King of kings.  There's no getting away from it...anywhere!

(These words come from the Daily praise calendar from www.dayspring.com )

I hope you gave a blessed week!

xx