Rugby - House and garden

< 7th June 2006 | Index | 21st June 2006 >

We talked for a while about houses, partly because the roof next door is still being built and we could see it through the window. Chris wondered what sort of house is implied by the Greek word translated 'mansion' in the New testament (Jn 14:2 - in my Father's house are many mansions). To us it sounds like a rather grand home, almost a small palace, but it seems it might just be a word for a room within a house.

Rachael immediately said, 'Funny you should mention that...' She explained that she'd had a dream in the last few days in which she was inside a dilapidated house. Some of the tiles were missing from the roof and the window frames were rotten. She said to Father, 'Shall I repair this house and make it usable again?' But he said to her, 'No. This is man's house and it has to fall down before things can move forward. Look! Where the tiles are missing you can see the blue sky - and that is mine.'

Chris thought that the dream referred to the Church, which men and women keep trying to build but which may get in the way of what the Almighty is trying to do.

John explained that for him it spoke of an individual's life, that we can indeed construct it by our own efforts, but that what we really need is for him to make our lives the way he wants them to be.

Something else that came out in conversation was that a house in good condition prevents us from sensing the natural world outside, but once we stop repairing the house it begins to deteriorate, slowly at first but then faster and faster as the weather gets inside. Once tiles are missing from the roof the rain brings down ceilings and the timbers start to decay, and in just a few years the house can go from essentially usable to a complete ruin. We were not created to live in houses, we were created to live in the Garden and walk with Yahweh. He wants to bring down the shelters we have made and restore to us that simple, trusting life with him in the Garden.

< 7th June 2006 | Index | 21st June 2006 >

Eaton Ford - Shops and balloon

< 31st May 2006 | Index | 13th June 2006 >

We talked for a long time this evening, and the topics were wide ranging and apparently not particularly 'spiritual', yet it turned out in the end that the Holy Spirit had guided us to cover a particular area of life in some depth and we took away his insight on the topic.

We began by talking about shopping and supermarkets, and how the little shops in town have been closing in the face of competition from Tesco, Lidl, Waitrose, Rainbow etc. We realised that people's needs change over the years and they might use Tesco when they have a young family, but a smaller shop when they're older.

The idea of one little lie getting out of control also came up in conversation, and we considered how people sometimes construct a bigger untruth to hide the first, and then a third, and how this process can cascade out of control. It's human nature to hide what is unpleasant and ignore what is dangerous. This is reflected in today's dreadful news story about motorists driving round a child injured in a hit and run road accident. people don't want to get involved. But how do they explain themselves later? This event was almost like the Good Samaritan parable where they all passed by on the other side.

We thought about the story of the lion and the lamb in the new creation, lying down together. In all of these things the Spirit of Christ seemed to be telling us to look beyond the outside and be concerned with the inside. he wants us to recognise that there's a process going on, but it's what is inside or underlying the outward events that is important. There are actions but there are also motives, and the motives are more important.

John's fishtank is beautiful; it contains fish, corals, a shrimp, hermit crabs, a complete ecosystem. But it's small and needs pumps and filters and care to keep it healthy and stable. But natural systems are so much larger, for example coral reefs or forests. They keep themselves clean and balanced.

As the conversation moved towards seeing the application of these things in the spiritual realm, we understood that we need to do things like prayer and Bible reading as a result of knowing Father and wanting to know him better. Doing them as a chore or a ritual is no good and is certainly not what Father requires. Even good things like these are empty (Ecclesiastes) if the reason for doing them doesn't spring from Father. The motives for everything must be our love for him and for one another, that's where the life is. There is no life in anything or anyone else.

We saw our need to be open to the possibility (certainty?) that we are wrong about things, but also realised that we're very good at kidding ourselves!

Val asked Chris to share the waterfall picture that he'd sent to the Koinonia Life list. John pointed out that people standing nearby will get damp even if they're not directly in the falling water, particularly if they're there for a long time. This is a very good point, the water spreads out as a drifting mist and affects anyone in the vicinity.

Val interpreted a tongue. The Spirit said, 'Rest in me, you are safe, don't be afraid'. His words to us through Val were comforting and reassuring, but once again there was the sense that he does everything necessary and we just stay in the right place.

And right at the end of the evening Rachael shared a picture of a hot air balloon. This really summed up the thrust of the meeting. We were in the balloon and as we moved along through the air we were able to look down at the other people being busy on the ground. We just floated along peacefully with no effort. We are guided and moved by his Spirit; but we must be in the right place if this is to happen (for example, in the basket of the balloon).

< 31st May 2006 | Index | 13th June 2006 >

Rugby - Slaves and children

< 23rd May 2006 | Index | 7th June 2006 >

We talked about adopting children, and the Spirit showed us that we are adopted children, but this is not our natural state. However, because we are adopted we inherit from our adoptive parent (Father) instead of from our natural parents. This is a total replacement of everything we once had, we inherit the heavenly possessions, not the earthly ones!

'Going' to church can become nothing more than a habit, we adapt to the style and regularity in the same way people adapt to their spouse. We learn to fit, to accept one another's foibles, needs, and limitations. Church is a social thing, yet it is really much more than a social thing. We need to begin to live in the knowledge that Father will take church life and do the unexpected, the miraculous. It's not just about meeting, it's about Him dealing with us, pouring out real life, and light, and living water.

We make mistakes in life, we all make them! But we can learn from them.

Val sent an e-mail about Jesus praying for us. This is such an amazing thought! We can pray for ourselves, we can pray for one another, but Jesus himself is praying for us! We are his people, he cares about us, he knows what we need, he knows and understands the Father's plans for our lives.

Rachael told us that when she was driving to work, she pulled up at traffic lights and the car next to her was playing some loud music. As it drove away she caught a few words, 'God knows'. It was not a spiritual song, but those words certainly spoke to her. He knows all about us, his love makes us feel full, complete, joyful, peaceful, everything we could ever need is available in him.

Gal 4:1-11 - We do that, we go back to the old, familiar ways. We inherit everything but then become a slave to the old ways. These are traps, we all fall into them all the time. We can learn by listening and taking the words to heart, or like the Prodigal Son we can learn by trying our own way, finding it painful or disppointing, and then coming back to Father for a comforting welcome. Like the Prodigal we are no longer slaves, but sons! HalleluYah!

< 23rd May 2006 | Index | 7th June 2006 >

Eaton Ford - Honey and lavender

< 7th January 2005 | Index | 31st May 2006 >

The idea of honey came up right at the start of the meeting, and we thought how honey is mentioned in various places in the Bible. Samuel came to mind, where Samson finds honey in the lion's carcase, and also Revelation where the scroll tastes like honey but then turns sour in the stomach. There was also a verse from Proverbs which points out that honey is sweet, but too much can make us unwell.

Rachael had a picture of a field of lavender in the breeze, all the stems swaying and moving together. Together, all the little heads of lavender filled the air with a sweet fragrance, a fragrance rising up to Father in heaven. The wind is like the Holy Spirit, only when we all respond to the Spirit can we sway and move as one.

Chris was strongly impacted at the thought of the fragmented church here in St Neots, divided, separated into denominations and other groups that occasionally work together in some ways but have no real family life together. It's only as we love one another that we'll begin to care about one another, not just as individuals but more widely as groups of his people. The sweetness of love for our brothers and sisters is the only way forward. This harmonious love in his family is the fragrance he desires. Like the heads of lavender we will only move as one if we are moving with the Father's Spirit. It's the fruit of the Spirit that makes living as family possible - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

< 7th January 2005 | Index | 31st May 2006 >

A new member of the family! (SQ)

Yesterday I met Meredith, my first grandaughter, indeed my very first grandchild. What an experience!

A grandchild is such a precious gift, new life. Even if I live to a very ripe old age I'm unlikely to be here for more than another forty years, but little Meredith may still be here in a hundred years time. OK, maybe that's not entirely likely - but it is possible and an awesome thought. What will the world be like in a hundred years time? We don't know, cannot know. Oh, there'll be a blue sky. Some days the sun will shine, some days it will rain. Volcanoes will erupt and earthquakes will rattle the land. People will fall in love, fight with each other, struggle with all sorts of problems, bring up children, complain they are short of time, starve to death, get excited when their team wins, die in accidents, win prizes, become famous.

But what will the world be like? Would someone born in 1906 have guessed in their wildest dreams that people would visit the moon, that I'd be typing this into a computer, or that this blog would be visible to almost anyone in the developed world within a fraction of a second of publication?

No, Meredith lives in a world we cannot predict except in the broadest terms. So broad that we must admit our ignorance. It was a heart-warming experience to hold her in my arms, to smell her milky breath, see her yawn and stretch. Meredith knows almost nothing of this world yet, but she is learning already. Sights, sounds, touch, taste, smell, all sending a meaningless jumble of signals to her little brain. Already it will be integrating and processing the input, recognising patterns and noting responses. How amazing, a human being in construction.

Within a mere couple of years she'll be walking and talking and understanding so much. Amazing! Maybe if I'm still blogging I'll post another photo in 2008.

And, wonder of wonders, another grandchild is expected in June so I shall get to see this early stage again and wonder at another new life.

I'll keep you posted!

A photo gallery (SQ)

I've just added a photo gallery to the website. I could have built a gallery here on the site, but I chose to use Smugmug instead. Smugmug is just one of several good photo management tools available online, it's flexible and convenient, fast, and provides unlimited storage. I particularly value the way it automatically produces a series of image sizes, and it also makes uploading new images extremely easy and efficient.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I say it depends on the picture and it depends on the words! I hope these photos are worth something to you. I hope you enjoy viewing them and exploring them. Feel free to download them, modify them, print them, use them in websites or in any other way you wish for non-commercial purposes. Under the Creative Commons licence you must contact me if you'd like to use them commercially.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

I use Smugmug to store and manage my online photo collection because of its excellent facilities.

Visit the collection and browse around, there's probably something for everyone. The collection is small at the moment but I shall add more images as quickly as I can.

And while you're reading this I should mention the Wikimedia Commons. This marvellous website is a source of images available for anyone to use free of charge. Copyright information is provided for each image, but they're all available for personal use and many of them for other purposes too. Type a subject into the search bar (part way down the left-hand side of the page) and you'll usually be treated to a good number of relevant images.

It's a wonderful resource and it's getting better every day.