As I write this, my son John's band, Rogue Poet, are practising. If you look at the, admittedly poor quality, video of a recent band practice below you'll see my middle son, John, on the drums. If you go directly downwards from where John's drums are - through the carpet, underlay, floorboards, joists, ceiling and stippled paint, you'll find me directly below!!
They've just finished practising the song Indie Kid - the track featured on the video - and they're now into the next track. Don't know what it is, but there's a lot of bass and drums, and my study walls, ceiling and I are literally rocking along with them.....but I love it!!!
I've got the first ticket given to the band for the official end-of-tour aftershow party of The Cribs at the Brixton Jamm where Rogue Poet been invited to perform on 22nd February....This will be brilliant exposure for them. Can't miss that - I'm feeling like daddy-cool (and daddy-roadie, daddy-taxi, & daddy-pacify-the-neighbours)!
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Beauty treatments
Some miles east of my home town, Ampthill, there is an establishment called Henlow Grange. It's one of those places where you can go and really get pampered. Even the thought of going there turns me cold but, for a lot of women, it's something akin to paradise!As I described what's on offer to our congregation on Sunday morning, I'm sure that a number of our ladies went all doey-eyed and open-mouthed, whilst tilting their heads slightly towards their shoulders (O.K., preacher's exaggeration.....but not much!!).
How do you react to their website advert which promotes, 'a Laconium, herbal steam chamber, two fitness studios, a state of the art Rasul mud chamber and thalassotherapy pool.' And, to cap it all, we're enticed by the news that, 'You may also experience the legendary wax bath treatment, exclusive to Henlow for over 40 years. During the treatment, warm paraffin wax is smothered all over the body to exfoliate and condition the skin to reveal a silky smooth layer of skin!'
Sounds like some kind of refined medieval torture to me but, if it rocks your boat, you can give it a try and book in for a luxury day of pampering and relaxation......if you've got a spare £240 in your piggy bank, of course!
Just imagine what it would be like doing that for a year!! Well, that's what Esther - along with 126 other beauties - went through in preparation for her audience with King Xerxes. You can read about it in the Old Testament book of Esther. It was a kind of Miss Ancient Near East beauty contest, with the winner becoming Mrs Xerxes!
John Ortberg in his book, When The Game Is Over It All Goes Back In The Box, skilfully uses this story to warn us of the dangers of our shadow mission. He writes, 'Just as we all have a mission - a way of contributing to God's kingdom that we were designed and gifted for - we also have what might be called a shadow mission. My shadow mission is what I will do with my life if I drift on autopilot. It consists of the activities toward which I will gravitate if I allow my natural temptations and selfishness to take over. Everybody has a shadow mission.'
Esther's shadow mission was the lifestyle of the palace with all of its advantages, which must have been quite an exciting prospect for this young lady. But her mission was to be a part of God's plan to redeem the world, which meant risking her lifestyle...and her head...by brazenly importuning the king, inspired by the vision-casting words of her cousin, Mordecai: "Who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"
What about you & me? Are we where we are simply through random circumstances? Or are we where God has led and placed us? And, as we enter 2008, are we fulfilling his mission....or our shadow mission?
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Music that inspires - 1
I don't mind admitting to being a person for whom tears often flow freely. I find myself deeply moved by listening to certain music, witnessing people achieve special landmarks...and watching romantic films (usually curled up on the settee with the 3 'c's: Carole, Coffee & Chocolate!) I will share some of these moments over the coming weeks.
The first 'moment' is the performance of Con te partiro/Time to say goodbye by Andrea Boccelli & Sarah Brightman. It's said that Sarah Brightman heard Andrea Boccelli singing this on a CD whilst she was in a restaurant. She loved it and asked for the name of the singer and song determined to follow it up. And the rest, as they say, is history! It's a beautiful song, sung from the heart by two immensely talented artists. I find this version, from 'A night in Tuscany', particularly moving. The popular English translation is below.
Sarah:
When I'm alone I dream of the horizon and words fail me.
There is no light in a room where there is no sun
and there is no sun if you're not here with me, with me.
From every window unfurls my heart the heart that you have won.
Into me you've poured the light,
the light that you found by the side of the road.
Time to say goodbye.
Places that I've never seen or experienced with you.
Now I shall, I'll sail with you upon ships across the seas,
seas that exist no more,
it's time to say goodbye.
Andrea:
When you're far away I dream of the horizon and words fail me.
And of course I know that you're with me, with me.
You, my moon, you are with me.
My sun, you're here with me with me, with me, with me.
Time to say goodbye.
Places that I've never seen or experienced with you.
Now I shall, I'll sail with you upon ships across the seas,
seas that exist no more,
Both:
I'll revive them with you.
I'll go with you upon ships across the seas,
seas that exist no more,
I'll revive them with you.
I'll go with you.
You and me.
The first 'moment' is the performance of Con te partiro/Time to say goodbye by Andrea Boccelli & Sarah Brightman. It's said that Sarah Brightman heard Andrea Boccelli singing this on a CD whilst she was in a restaurant. She loved it and asked for the name of the singer and song determined to follow it up. And the rest, as they say, is history! It's a beautiful song, sung from the heart by two immensely talented artists. I find this version, from 'A night in Tuscany', particularly moving. The popular English translation is below.
Sarah:
When I'm alone I dream of the horizon and words fail me.
There is no light in a room where there is no sun
and there is no sun if you're not here with me, with me.
From every window unfurls my heart the heart that you have won.
Into me you've poured the light,
the light that you found by the side of the road.
Time to say goodbye.
Places that I've never seen or experienced with you.
Now I shall, I'll sail with you upon ships across the seas,
seas that exist no more,
it's time to say goodbye.
Andrea:
When you're far away I dream of the horizon and words fail me.
And of course I know that you're with me, with me.
You, my moon, you are with me.
My sun, you're here with me with me, with me, with me.
Time to say goodbye.
Places that I've never seen or experienced with you.
Now I shall, I'll sail with you upon ships across the seas,
seas that exist no more,
Both:
I'll revive them with you.
I'll go with you upon ships across the seas,
seas that exist no more,
I'll revive them with you.
I'll go with you.
You and me.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Joan's Thanksgiving Service
This afternoon was Joan's Thanksgiving Service following an earlier Committal Service. Joan was an amazing 86 year old woman, and a number of people shared their vivid memories of her with us. I baptised Joan in May 2002 at the tender age of 81. The heating had broken down, the water was freezing, but nothing was going to stop Joan following her Lord and Saviour through the waters of baptism. Below is the short message that I shared towards the end of a moving service....
As we draw to a close, I would like to share a few brief thoughts with you from a verse of Scripture that I read out at the beginning of the service:
‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead’ (1 Peter 1:3).
I know that Maryla chose this verse because the night before Joan’s fall, which led to her hospitalization, Maryla attended a talk by John Polkinghorne at the Open University’s Institute of Physics. Afterwards he signed a copy of his Advent book, Living With Hope, followed by this verse, a verse that became a great strength for Maryla over the difficult days that were to follow.
And, talking about following, look at the words that follow and reinforce this verse:
‘Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.’
Peter must have been absolutely broken following Jesus' crucifixion. His hopes, and the dreams of the other disciples, too, had been cruelly dashed and, to make matters worse, he had never had the chance to make his peace with Jesus after he had betrayed him, denying knowledge of him 3 times, just as Jesus had predicted that he would. That look of Jesus and the crowing of the cockerel were images that had burned themselves deep into Peter's subconscious, and now he was bowed down with the twin burdens of hopeless despair and raging guilt.
And then, on that amazing Sunday morning, there had been shouts, the sound of running feet, and Mary Magdalene arriving breathless at the door. "Jesus' has gone. His body isn't in the tomb - it's empty. Someone must have taken him, but who and why and where we don't know!!" And so Peter and John had left Mary catching her breath whilst they retraced her steps, racing to the tomb, their minds awhirl with speculation. John was the fitter of the two and outpaced Peter to arrive first. It was just as Mary had said. Peter lumbered up and ran straight past John who was standing in the doorway looking at the strips of linen that had once encased Jesus' body. In the semi-darkness Peter stared at the wrappings. He turned to find John now at his side. And in the cold light of that dawn hope began to awaken!
And over the coming months, the early church began to understand, with increasing conviction and anticipation that, if Jesus had indeed risen from the dead, then those who were spiritually 'in Christ' were also assured of sharing in resurrection and eternal life.
So it’s no wonder that Peter, writing here as an old and much wiser man, begins the main body of his letter: 'Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead' (v.3).
A new birth. Many people feel just like that when they trust in Jesus and the Holy Spirit comes to live in their hearts and lives. At her baptism, in May 2002 and at 81 years of age, Joan shared briefly, but deeply and movingly: ‘To come to Christ has been a long and thoughtful journey. Having reached the end of that journey, I have experienced a peace which I am unable to put into words.’
Of course, the journey actually continues. The Biblical word ‘salvation’ encompasses having been saved, being saved, and to be saved…the future tense that Joan is now experiencing.
That’s why Peter can write that we have a 'living hope', not a dead hope. The atheist, Robert Ingersoll, wrote, 'For whether in midsea or among the breakers of the farther shore, a wreck at last must mark the end of each and all!'
If I believed that then I would be a much glummer Plummer!! That’s a dead hope....but Peter talks about a living hope, because he worships a living Saviour, the same Saviour as Joan who now lives – ‘with Christ, which is better by far’, as the apostle Paul expresses it!
Peter knew that he’d let Jesus down….and on the shore of the Sea of Galilee early one morning, the resurrected Jesus came to him and assured him of his forgiveness, bringing peace to his soul. Joan asked that we might pray for her forgiveness of sins at this service, which we will do in a little while, but we pray assured of her peace of soul, too, in the near presence of her Saviour and Lord.
A final thought. Someone shared with me the words inscribed on Ruth Graham’s tombstone and I immediately thought of Joan. Ruth had been drawn to these words ever since coming across them on a noticeboard at a building site. Her stone reads simply: “End of Construction. Thank you for your Patience.”
Now, like me, can’t you just imagine Joan sitting at the Saviour’s side and, with that familiar glint in her eye, speaking those same words to us, gathered here this afternoon? “End of Construction. Thank you for your Patience.”
'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.'
As we draw to a close, I would like to share a few brief thoughts with you from a verse of Scripture that I read out at the beginning of the service:
‘Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead’ (1 Peter 1:3).
I know that Maryla chose this verse because the night before Joan’s fall, which led to her hospitalization, Maryla attended a talk by John Polkinghorne at the Open University’s Institute of Physics. Afterwards he signed a copy of his Advent book, Living With Hope, followed by this verse, a verse that became a great strength for Maryla over the difficult days that were to follow.
And, talking about following, look at the words that follow and reinforce this verse:
‘Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.’
Peter must have been absolutely broken following Jesus' crucifixion. His hopes, and the dreams of the other disciples, too, had been cruelly dashed and, to make matters worse, he had never had the chance to make his peace with Jesus after he had betrayed him, denying knowledge of him 3 times, just as Jesus had predicted that he would. That look of Jesus and the crowing of the cockerel were images that had burned themselves deep into Peter's subconscious, and now he was bowed down with the twin burdens of hopeless despair and raging guilt.
And then, on that amazing Sunday morning, there had been shouts, the sound of running feet, and Mary Magdalene arriving breathless at the door. "Jesus' has gone. His body isn't in the tomb - it's empty. Someone must have taken him, but who and why and where we don't know!!" And so Peter and John had left Mary catching her breath whilst they retraced her steps, racing to the tomb, their minds awhirl with speculation. John was the fitter of the two and outpaced Peter to arrive first. It was just as Mary had said. Peter lumbered up and ran straight past John who was standing in the doorway looking at the strips of linen that had once encased Jesus' body. In the semi-darkness Peter stared at the wrappings. He turned to find John now at his side. And in the cold light of that dawn hope began to awaken!
And over the coming months, the early church began to understand, with increasing conviction and anticipation that, if Jesus had indeed risen from the dead, then those who were spiritually 'in Christ' were also assured of sharing in resurrection and eternal life.
So it’s no wonder that Peter, writing here as an old and much wiser man, begins the main body of his letter: 'Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead' (v.3).
A new birth. Many people feel just like that when they trust in Jesus and the Holy Spirit comes to live in their hearts and lives. At her baptism, in May 2002 and at 81 years of age, Joan shared briefly, but deeply and movingly: ‘To come to Christ has been a long and thoughtful journey. Having reached the end of that journey, I have experienced a peace which I am unable to put into words.’
Of course, the journey actually continues. The Biblical word ‘salvation’ encompasses having been saved, being saved, and to be saved…the future tense that Joan is now experiencing.
That’s why Peter can write that we have a 'living hope', not a dead hope. The atheist, Robert Ingersoll, wrote, 'For whether in midsea or among the breakers of the farther shore, a wreck at last must mark the end of each and all!'
If I believed that then I would be a much glummer Plummer!! That’s a dead hope....but Peter talks about a living hope, because he worships a living Saviour, the same Saviour as Joan who now lives – ‘with Christ, which is better by far’, as the apostle Paul expresses it!
Peter knew that he’d let Jesus down….and on the shore of the Sea of Galilee early one morning, the resurrected Jesus came to him and assured him of his forgiveness, bringing peace to his soul. Joan asked that we might pray for her forgiveness of sins at this service, which we will do in a little while, but we pray assured of her peace of soul, too, in the near presence of her Saviour and Lord.
A final thought. Someone shared with me the words inscribed on Ruth Graham’s tombstone and I immediately thought of Joan. Ruth had been drawn to these words ever since coming across them on a noticeboard at a building site. Her stone reads simply: “End of Construction. Thank you for your Patience.”
Now, like me, can’t you just imagine Joan sitting at the Saviour’s side and, with that familiar glint in her eye, speaking those same words to us, gathered here this afternoon? “End of Construction. Thank you for your Patience.”
'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.'
Friday, January 4, 2008
American dream
For some time I have been following the progress of Barak Obama. And now I am finding myself increasingly caught up in the fervour and fever of the American Presidential election. I eagerly awaited the results of yesterday evening's Iowa caucus and, when I learned of Obama's victory, I was really excited. Then, when I listened to his victory speech I was riveted.
I can't wait for New Hampshire next week!
UPDATE: Tuesday 9th January.
"Surely we've not got another 9 months of this?"
No, Carole's not pregnant, but these were her words to me when I got back into bed at 4.30am this morning and told her about the latest Stateside poll upset. The big mug of tea presented to me in the study just before Carole went to bed earlier had resulted in the inevitable when, at 4am, I made my way to the bathroom! Afterwards, I took the opportunity to creep downstairs and turn the TV on to the CNN Channel, just in time to see the beaming face of Hilary Clinton before she launched into her victory speech (after about 40 'thank you's'). The Obama bounce had been well and truly cushioned! What a fascinating race for the White House this is turning out to be!
The Kramer Hide, Priory Country Park Bedford
I can't wait for New Hampshire next week!
UPDATE: Tuesday 9th January.
"Surely we've not got another 9 months of this?"
No, Carole's not pregnant, but these were her words to me when I got back into bed at 4.30am this morning and told her about the latest Stateside poll upset. The big mug of tea presented to me in the study just before Carole went to bed earlier had resulted in the inevitable when, at 4am, I made my way to the bathroom! Afterwards, I took the opportunity to creep downstairs and turn the TV on to the CNN Channel, just in time to see the beaming face of Hilary Clinton before she launched into her victory speech (after about 40 'thank you's'). The Obama bounce had been well and truly cushioned! What a fascinating race for the White House this is turning out to be!
Wildlife sightings.
- 3 little egrets roosting in trees opposite the hide.
- The incredible sound of a magnificent corvid roost dispersing.
- Pair of muntjac browsing on the spit opposite.
- Large pike ‘breaching’ several times.
- Kingfisher; cormorant fishing in front of hide; gadwall, shoveler & teal.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
At play
I had a surreal experience early this evening. I’d been over
We adults need to play more, to let go from time to time and not worry about what sensible grown ups think as they look down their noses at us! Carl Jung once wrote concerning himself, “The small boy is still around, and possesses a creative life which I lack. But how can I make my way to it?” One of the answers he found was to play! Get those beta-endorphins flowing…do something playful today!
One of my New Year’s resolutions is to play more…..watch this space!
- 7 bullfinches (2 male & 5 female) feeding amongst the brambles.
- A stoat amongst the lime trees near The Rezzy which I managed to ‘charm’ to within 5m where it scampered up a tree and sat on a bole staring at me before descending and disappearing into a bramble thicket.
- Close views of a female green woodpecker in the children’s playground stabbing the turf in a search for food.
- A flock of 23 fieldfares and 17 redwings in the Bunker Field.
- A female muntjac with well-grown fawn in Bunker Field copse.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Nature is going frisky! Birds were singing everywhere during a walk around Ampthill Park with Carole early this afternoon. The exceptionally mild weather and sunny intervals were having their effect. Long-tailed tits chased one another around our heads; a male great spotted woodpecker bounced up an ancient oak branch before drumming his equivalent of "I'm the king of the castle"; grey squirrels played a dizzy game of tag around the trunks. No doubt the freezing weather forecast for the end of the week will pour the proverbial cold water on it all!
Nature is going frisky! Birds were singing everywhere during a walk around Ampthill Park with Carole early this afternoon. The exceptionally mild weather and sunny intervals were having their effect. Long-tailed tits chased one another around our heads; a male great spotted woodpecker bounced up an ancient oak branch before drumming his equivalent of "I'm the king of the castle"; grey squirrels played a dizzy game of tag around the trunks. No doubt the freezing weather forecast for the end of the week will pour the proverbial cold water on it all!
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