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At Snettisham yesterday ( for Gary who likes empty beaches) in one direction there were Kite-boarders, but between Snett and Hunstanton there are 9.5 miles of mostly empty beach. Only Heacham 4 miles from Snett, and even there the beach is mostly empty!
Empty enough for you???
A few more pics to prove I wasn't cheating!!!!
As I was leading/ preaching at the Evening Service today I was left with a choice this morning- to go to the morning Service, or to go for a walk....
Over the last couple of months I have learnt a lot about myself, and where I would probably have chosen to go to the Service a few months ago, this morning I went for a walk. No surprise for anyone to find that I went to the beach Snettisham this time. This proved to be the right choice- the tide was in ( I'd already checked that) and the weather was beautiful... I walked and prayed and collected sea-glass, and watched the kite-surfers/ boarders... there were about 30 of them flying (literally in some cases) up and down the sea front, quite a spectacular sight...my camera died before I could get any decent shots... ah well...
Arrived home to find that Chris had cooked a superb roast dinner- lamb with all the trimmings- and wonderful roast potatoes...yum... Paul then loaded up the dishwasher- so by the time the evening service arrived I was feeling very relaxed.
I am pleased to say that the service went well, I was aware of Gods presence with me, and felt strengthened by my time alone in the morning...I took a full script- not something I usually do but didn't want to get lost- but all was well, people were most encouraging after the service, and I feel as if I have made a great step forward along the road to recovery...
The insight into my need for the morning was crucial- I had too often done the expected thing without taking into account the pressure that this might place me under- there are of course times when the expected thing is the right thing, but today I had the choice and chose to do something I knew would feed me spiritually...and am wondering why it has taken me so long to recognise that this is an OK thing to do! I suspect this is a valuable lesson for future ministry where running on empty for long periods leaves many good ministers suffering from burn out.
At the end of the sermon I offered people the choice to sit and pray during the hymn "Take my Life and Let it be", everyone responded, and I was able to join them in prayer... We finished by singing Love Divine, followed by this prayer:
Mother/ Father God, as you finish your new creations, may your love course through our veins, may the goodness of Christ pulse through our bodies, may the power of the Spirit flow through our souls, and may the wonder of God fill our minds.
We place ourselves into your hands this week and ask that you would take our lives, and let them be filled with your life. Amen
It has been a strange day on many levels....
Today I dropped Joanne at Ely Station, she is travelling to Leeds to celebrate her 18th Birthday with her boyfriend who is studying there... tomorrow they are going to York for the day, and have plans to eat at a restaurant by the river... she has grown up so fast!
Jonathan, Jo's twin has been out all day putting the final touches to his Drama group's scenery- their A'level exam is next week, he talks a lot about moving to Lancaster in October... he is planning to work through the summer, to earn some money for voice lessons in addition to his Theatre Studies course.
Today I talked to Emma about her future plans, she is enjoying teaching and has an interview regarding more instrumental teaching next week. She is a young adult, making her own way in the world...
Paul's new girl-friend and her children came to visit today, she is lovely and the children are very sweet, both Louise and Paul have been through some tough times in former relationships- they are both now studying and trying to turn their lives around- we pray that they will... we really liked her, and pray that she felt comfortable here.
Chris has been preparing for his interview at Cliff College on Tuesday- it seems that everyone is moving on.... including me; I received details of my District interview this week- it is set for 24th March, there are only two of us Candidating, and we are both from the same course...please pray for Anne and I as we prepare.
As for Tim he has been working on his boat, he and Jo have a coaching day next Saturday- this will be the last full season they sail together....
There is a time for everything- when we came here we expected that it would be for four years, we are well into that fourth year- and although the Circuit have extended the post giving us a safety net, I sense that we are moving on...
I am preaching for the first time since being signed off with depression ( 3 months now) on Sunday evening, at our main Circuit Church... feeling a little nervous but OK... trying the sermon out on the bloggy world first:
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Isaiah 55:1-9, & Luke 13: 1-9
We live in a suspicious world- a world where we are encouraged to look for blame- our TV screens are filled with adverts telling you how to claim your rightful compensation…. When accidents or atrocities happen we look to find the root of the problem…
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Sometimes we come to the conclusion that they simply got what they deserved, if the teenagers hadn't’t been at the rave if they Haydn’t taken that bad batch of they’d still be OK… as it is they all died…
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If the company had taken the health and safety regulations seriously then its employees wouldn’t have perished in the fire….
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We look for blame, for cause….and sometimes rightly so…
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But sometimes tragic accidents occur that are nobodies fault…. Hurricanes hit defenceless coast lines… yes they could have been better protected but who can stop the wind…
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We find no answers to our questions about wars and famines, about suffering and disease…
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People had come to Jesus with concerns- they wanted to hear that those Pilate had killed were guilty of sin that caused their deaths… without it they were senseless killings, and surely the world should not operate that way…
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…and yet Jesus points out that it does, and that if we were all punished according to our deeds there would be no hope…in fact he calls them to repentance, to leave their quest for blame, and to consider themselves, to turn their lives around and to live for God….
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When we come with our questions about injustice, about war, about suffering we need to hear these words from Jesus… to consider ourselves…
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His call is a call to look inside our own hearts, to view ourselves with honesty, and to repent of our selfish ways…
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We may complain about global warming- yet use electricity and fuel in selfish ways…. We may complain about Third World poverty, yet insist on love prices in our supermarkets… we complain about the young people in our town and yet cannot be bothered to do anything for them, we complain and yet we are part of the problem… and it goes much deeper and broader than that…. When we look for sin in others we are hiding from ourselves, does our mask of righteousness shield us from acknowledging our own sin?
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Jesus makes this point through the parable of the fig tree- though masked in leafy promise- the tree bears no fruit- the land owner has had enough- this tree has been given ample time to produce fruit and yet there is nothing- not one solitary fig….
The gardener steps in- one more year sir, I dig around it, I’ll feed it, I’ll nurture and care for it… give this tree another chance…another year…
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Now I am no gardener, but having read up a little I understand that fig trees need care, they need the right amount of fertiliser and water, too much or too little and there will be no crop… Now this is something I do have experience of- as a young girl I "helped" my mum with her house plants, one of them seemed to be wilting badly, so I watered it, the next day the same, and the day after...In the end I had killed it with kindness- it was swimming in water, poor thing was crying out for a snorkel...not so with God:
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Jesus pictures God as the expert gardener in John 15- the one who cares for the vines, for the fig tree in this case, the one who knows how to coax it into producing fruit, knows the food it needs, knows how and when pruning is needed….
I was struck by the fact that the tree needed to do nothing but receive , to drink in the water, to take up the nourishment from the fertiliser, to stand and to trust itself to the gardener through sun and rain alike…
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The gardener will tend and care for it, help it to produce its best …
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This invitation to receive is echoed in Isaiah;
Come and buy- without money without price… you who are thirsty, you who are hungry, come- drink, come eat….this food God given is freely given, if only we have the humility to receive it. …
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To receive means acknowledging our need, our thirst, our hunger, it means acknowledging that we cannot supply ourselves with all that we need…a challenge to us in the rich west, where material blessings abound, and often provide us with a respectable mask for an impoverished soul…
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Now I don't know about you but I find it hard to receive, I feel as if I should be one who gives, we acknowledge our need of Gods help and strength... but so often try to go it alone. We are hindered by a sense of pride, a sense of self righteousness... but we soon find ourselves running on empty.
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The challenge in this passage is to learn to be, to receive, and in receiving we will gain the strength to give, we will become fruitful, we will fulfil our promise...
Hear some of Jesus words…
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Man cannot live by bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God- we need God’s word to nourish our souls, to challenge and equip us… to help us to be whole people, not simply full of leafy promise, but live and vibrant producers of spiritual fruit.
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Are you hungry, is your spirit weak? - The invitation is clear, Come receive- place yourself into the gardeners’ expert hands- receive nourishment- be strengthened and live.
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Hear Jesus invitation:
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If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me as the Scriptures have said, streams of living water shall flow from within them.
Are you thirsty, is your soul dry? - The invitation is clear “Come receive- place yourself into the gardeners’ expert hands – receive this water and live!
Lent offers us a unique opportunity each year to examine ourselves, to look beneath our respectable masks, to hunt below the leafy promise of our lives and to consider our souls…
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The invitation remains- come and receive, Jesus has interceded for us, has promised to feed us inwardly the Holy Spirits life and strength will flow into our lives, if we are willing to come…
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The cost is only to our own respectability- that we will have to lay down, if we are to come and to receive…
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The price has been paid, in full, Jesus life poured out for our sake. Because of His love for us, he gave himself freely yet not without cost… for us he sweat blood in the garden, for us he suffered unimaginable pain….because love compelled him, and compels him now to still call out to us… come receive…today…there is still time
it is not too late…
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Lay down your masks, come out from under that leafy camouflage, choose life today
Hear Jesus invitation again:
If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me as the Scriptures have said, streams of living water shall flow from within them.
By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive… we live in a time when the Spirit has been given- and all we have to do is ask… ask and we shall receive…
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Followed by the Hymn "Take my life", with an invitation to receive prayer/ sit quietly and pray...
It's all a matter of taste.
Name five things you like a lot that some close relative or significant other did/does not like. This could be food, movies, hobbies, music, sports or whatever springs to mind.
1. Dogs- when I was a child we always had dogs, from mongrels to Dalmatians and even a Bassett Hound, Tim (Hubby) has never been keen.... but after 25 years of marriage I've talked him into adopting a greyhound...yay, company for my walks!
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2. Pasta- I love Italian food, but I can't tempt Christopher (son) beyond Pizza ( not truly Italian)...... He eats Jacket (baked) potatoes when the rest of the family eat pasta!
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3. Still on food now- Joanne (daughter) does not like Indian food, but unlike Chris she does not substitute the Indian with potatoes.... instead she usually cooks pasta!
.This fussiness didn't hold sway when they were younger- we operated an eat it or go hungry policy- but providing a. we have some and b. it is not intended for another meal and c. they cook and clear up- I've become more relaxed over time!
4. Fish- live fish in an aquarium that is- almost everyone else in the house would like an aquarium.... not me I'd move out!!!
5. Last but not least, and not so light hearted, I wish my mum could share my faith- it is a topic we avoid, she knows my vocation and often says I wish I could believe, but there are so many hurts and barriers holding her back. Still I pray- and God is able to do so much more than we could ever ask or imagine...
a friend told me I have no **** clue,
about her pain, her trials, her life...
and she is right!
yet nor does she know mine....
we try...
to hold each others pain...
and though we have no clue,
we love all the same...
...and through love, we catch a glimpse
of Your pain...
transformed
to love
and life
for us...
Not a meme that is weird, but a meme about why I am weird.
RULES: People who get tagged need to write a blog post of 6 weird things about them as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names:
I'm considering myself tagged by Mary-Beth being the 4th person to respond to her post!
I have a feeling that it might be easier to write an meme about 6 things that aren't weird about me, but here goes;
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1.I am terrified of live fish- especially if they are out of the water- my family went mackerel fishing once on a holiday to Cornwall, they had to take me back to shore!!! But I don't have a problem with eating fish.
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2. I occasionally suffer from a memory glitch that finds me sitting on the left hand side of my (British) car and wondering where the steering wheel is....I claim that my mind temporarily returns to Texas in search of warmth in my defence!
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3.I am usually meticulous about spelling and grammar, but all sense leaves my head when it comes to commenting on blogs or e-mailing folk my fingers cannot keep up with my brain...and sometimes it seems they have a mind of their own! Also for blogging I rely on the spell checker- that produces some odd results- but then Mike and Gary read my blog and help to put things right!!! Thankfully the spilling and grimmer problem does not spill over to assignments....
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4. Not so weird really but I would happily live without ever eating meat or watching the TV again , not that they are connected but I guess they are part of a quest for a simpler life.
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5. I love the beach ( not so weird), but prefer it in the winter or early spring/ late autumn when no-one else is there, and I love storms, feeling the wind and sea spray on my face....you can keep sunbathing, just let me walk in the wind and hear the waves and I'm a happy person.
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EDITED TO ADD: 6. I am so used to doing Friday 5 mme's for Revgals, that I totally failed to notice this tag asked for 6 wierd things.... thanks to Gary for pointing that out, is that auto-blogging?
Now to tag a few people: Gary ( that shouldn't be too difficult Arch-druid should it????), Sarah, Mike, ( that's the ERMC folk ), then Tim Abbott, and Susan.
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