RevGalpals Friday five

so this week the five are your thoughts on that movement from darkness to light. Tell us five ways in which you are anticiping, or your life is moving towards light, joy, hope--new things: new ideas, new hobbies, new people...and so on.

1 the end of Honors yr at uni and the hope of passing all thats needed
2 Looking to Summer and the new people I will meet on placement and sharing in Christs light
3 Looking forward to a summer with our boys, cycling, painting and exploring in the freash air
4 Starting probation at Ness Church and knowing their joy of faith
5 Exploring differnt ways to worship in my life and a closer time in Christ.

Mhairi and Larry the Sheep

For 10 days now we have had 2 sheep (Larry and Mhairi) in our garden and I couldnt get in touch with the farmer, then yesterday a few of their family turned up too. Ive enjoyed having them in the garden hearing them bleeting and eating the grass which is sprouting up. I was a little concerend they would lamb what would I do? even the info google gave me didnt really reassure me.
Anyway, today the farmer and his dog arrived and after a bit of a chase around the garden, then through the woods and paddock soon the 7 sheep were on their way back home. I was impressed which the farmers ability to calmly get them back, carrying one in his arms that was not sure which way to run and still all the while whistling to his collie. I really enjoyed watching every minute and I told the farmer they were welcome to the grass here anytime.

It all reminded me of the parable of the lost sheep. what really struck me was how this farmer had searched, woods ,fields and paddocks to find these sheep to carry then to saftey, good grass and his watching care again. I had thought the farmer had not bothered looking. So if this is what the farmer does to look for his sheep how much more will our Heavenly father hold out, watch and go out for us. so it helped me today to remember Im never forgotten perhaps I go off to other distracting places, not in my fathers presence.

Oh it turned out it was 2 girls we had with lambs on the way!!

Words

Words take on a different meaning than perhaps they were first intended.I read this in exploring christians spirituality class yesterday.


I don't know where I'm goin
but I sure know where I've been
hanging on the promises in songs of yesterday.
An' I've made up my mind, I ain't wasting no more time
but here I go again, here I go again.

Tho' I keep searching for an answer
I never seem to find what I'm looking for.
Oh Lord, I pray you give me strength to carry on
'cos I know what it means to walk along the lonely street of dreams.

Here I go again on my own
goin' down the only road I've ever known.
Like a drifter I was born to walk alone.
An' I've made up my mind, I ain't wasting no more time.

Just another heart in need of rescue
waiting on love's sweet charity
an' I'm gonna hold on for the rest of my days
'cos I know what it means to walk along the lonely street of dreams



I explained that times are longing for God , for his strenght as I know the road alone without Christ. Waiting on Loves sweet charity?
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16...what love

So I was asked who wrote the words Id read and I said Whitesnake a rock band ..are they a christian band? erm no I really dont think so. Its all about stepping along in faith really.

Education, Education, Education

Today has not been a good day for me. I have spent the day between feeling angry and crying because of an essingment result! Im annoyed as I had worked hard on this report and for the first time in a while had enjoyed an assingment, thinking it was a good piece of work. Im discovering Im not an academic as my grammar is not up to it and for now my heart is not in it. I miss painting ,I miss getting chalk under my fingernails and mixing worderful colours.

Tonight I am thankful to God that he loves me "the average" and I give thanks to God that I still look and see his colours in nature that remind me Im loved and makes me yearn to lift my chalks.(dissertation first!)

So that was my day, then once home and had a look at Hilton Church's Blog and this was posted...its cheered me up that Im not the only person who is thinking about the pitfalls of acedemia.

Happy Mothers Day !?!

Its been a good mothers day chocs, flowers and the dishes done what more could I want? So I think this video is guite appropriate for today, you have probably seen it but it does make me smile for the things I say to my children and the things I can hear in it my mum said to me.



Mothers day is mostly a day of celebration of the care and love that a mother has shown to her child.However, for many people this is not day of celebration, because mum has left or died or been too ill to be there or a mum who has been unable to know how to love.
Perhaps as a church family it would be loving and healing to consider all kinds of mothering and grieve with those who are hurt because of the mothering lost or being unable to become a mum, alongside the thanksgiving for love recieved

John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another,even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

Thinking of change:how bad how good does it need to get?

Friday Five

Over at RevGalPals Blog they always have a friday 5. This week its 5 things that are good in my life and 1 thing I can do without, so here goes

The good
the quite times with God
a patient hubby who makes me laugh
a friend that I can share anything with
children that make life full
looking out the window to fields,hills,trees and sun (well this morning anyway)

The thing I could do without
the housework !

Splash!

On getting home last night I was excited to open the a birthday parcel from amazon, it was a good end to the uni day and a good start to the evening. The decision after dinner was, do I read what I have to read for uni? or do I open the new book "Barefoot Disciple by Stephen Cherry"? I went to my room feeling a bit naughty to read the first chapter Christlike wisdom. Id been reading at uni most of the day ,pages of words that I couldnt pronounce and with dictionary at hand but this book was like jumping into a paddling pool on a hot day.
The first chapter is on humility somthing I stuggle with taking the self out of decisions.
Here's 4 points I soaked in, in my 20 minutes of splashing in that pool


"the journey of discipleship involves crossing the boundaries of our comfort zone again and again"

"we are true disciples when we latch on to Jesus way of life by being open to the adventures that God has given us"

"learning from scripture, learing from Christs traveling companions and learing from our own experiece on the journey, that we open ourselves to being constantly renewed"


and on being humble Cherry quoted Wothington

"Being humble, then, is like trying to catch air in our hands. The faster we close our fingers around it,the faster the air spurts away. The slower we close our hands , the slower the air spurts away. But if we hold our hands, palms up, arms out streached , then the air will come and rest on them. To experience humility, then is not to grasp or strive towards it , but to rest as we seek to bless others. When we are moved from within, a humble spirit can descend upon us like air on the open hand."