Tuesday 24th December

Happy Christmas Eve!

Traditions.    We love them dont we?  I think nearly every family I know has its own special Christmas traditions - mostly passed down through the generations and recreated lovingly each year in homes up and down the land.  Some are held in common by all of us - leaving a carrot and a mince pie for Santa and Rudolph.  Stockings.  Christmas trees. Turkey.   Other traditions are more personal and unique to a particular family.   When I was a kid one of the best parts of Christmas was watching Dad set fire to the

Christmas pudding. ( to the brandy, not technically to the pudding itself )   Some families always go to midnight church services.  Or wait to open presents until after lunch. ( never understood how anyone can wait that long!!)   Or go for a walk on Christmas afternoon.    Lots of people will watch the Queen at 3pm.   now theres a tradition which has been going for a while.

A few years ago I decided we should start a new tradition at Christmas.  Something which would help us to remember that our family is a Christian one and that for us, Christmas is about Jesus.   So I decided that we would make a birthday cake for Jesus and sing Him happy birthday on 25th December.   This year we have a heart shaped cake.  We shall decorate it today,put a candle on it ready for Wednesday.  I hope that at some point in years to come my boys will remember this as being a special part of Christmas and will carry on the tradition in their own families.

Good traditions serve to cement people together.  To emphasise certain important values and create memories.   In this age of increasing individualism and family separation I think it is more important than ever that we make every effort to maintain those element of our family culture which give us identity and add to our sense of belonging .

Recently Ive had cause to think a bit about church traditions and the value ( or lack of value) in them.  After many many years away from a traditional denomination I now find myself becoming involved with the Anglican church again.  And it has been interesting to come back to liturgy and ceremony after years of a more liberal expression of my faith.  Ive really enjoyed some aspects of it but found others very

uncomfortable.  And Ive found myself wondering how the traditional churches can hold onto what is good in their traditions whilst continuing to be relevant in an ever changing world where means of communication are constantly developing.   We cant put new wine in old wineskins but we probably can put old wine in new wineskins.  Better minds than mine are working on ways in which to preserve the good and still make way for the new and potentially better/ more relevant.   So I offer no comment really other than to say these things have been on my mind of late

As we wait those last few hours before we can collapse into bed and know that its all done and dusted bar the eating and drinking and giving and receiving (and washing up) I hope that all you do this Christmas will be rooted and grounded in love.That your food will be lovingly cooked, your gifts gratefully received, the fun and conversation and walks and Christmas films all thoroughly enjoyed.  But above all I pray God's richest blessing into all of it.  May 2014 be a year when we all increase in awareness of Him, draw nearer to Him and learn to love Him more.   I pray that He will be close in your trials and exalted in your joys. Thanks for reading the blog this year.   Merry Christmas and lots of love xx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO17DIeI7Ec

Monday 23rd December

Oooh even Im starting to get excited now!!!   Yesterday Ben came bounding into the bedroom first thing shouting '' Mummy it's Christmas eve's eve's eve!''  He is bursting with excitement.  Josh is tearful and grumpy with excitement.  Sam is ever so slightly annoying with excitement .  Im not sure Keith realises its Christmas yet....  but then it isn't Christmas Eve until tomorrow.   That's when it dawns on most men isn't it?   Hee hee hee.

I watched the last episode of The Bible on channel 5 last night.  Which covered the crucifixion through to Revelation and really was pretty well done.  If you didnt see it this time round Id recommend you try to catch it online or bookmark it when its repeated.  It's good to see the word of God fleshed out by actors - they bring a new interpretation to well known words and stories and make you think about things in new ways.

One of the things which really struck me about last nights episode was the love Jesus showed at every opportunity.  The director opted to have Jesus kiss Peter on the forehead when he appeared in the upper room after His resurrection.  He showed Jesus thanking Simon for carrying His cross.  And at the end Jesus appeared bodily to John on Patmos and told him that there would be no more tears or sorrow or death in His kingdom.   It was a very loving moment between Jesus and John beautifully portrayed.  I was very struck by the fact that Jesus was primarily motivated by a huge and overwhelming love for people.  For us.  For me.

Sometimes we find it hard to believe we are loved.  Life has a way of persuading us otherwise.  But if we could only catch a glimpse of the look in Jesus' eyes as He watches and waits for us...... if we could only catch the tone of His voice as He speaks to us.....  if we could only stay still long enough to feel the warmth of His breath on our faces as He leans forward to kiss us....   well, then we would know that we know that we know that we are loved.

So this Christmas why not take a moment to stop and look into the face of Jesus.  Listen to what He has to say and open up to the hug of God.  There is nothing better in the whole world than knowing the favour and love of God.  And as we know so well  God loved the world so extravagantly and passionately and wonderfully that He gave His only Son as a love letter, a message of hope, an example of Godliness, a way out, a sacrifice for sins, a gateway into the presence of God, so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have life wrapped up in the love of God forever and ever  ( paraphrase mine :-) )

sunday 22nd december

Yesterday I read something about the achievements of the Pope in 2013.   It made for incredibly positive and hopeful reading.  Everything I've heard about Pope Francis since his installment or enthronement or

whatever it was, has been great.   He hasnt been afraid to speak out ( and speak sense) on the big issues, and yet he has time for the ordinary people,  posing for photographs, letting children play on the platform when he is speaking, selling his Harely Davidson for charity  .  I mean how cool to have a Pope who owns a motorbike let alone a Harley!!!  
http://distractify.com/people/reasons-why-pope-francis-is-the-person-of-the-year/

Living in Northern Ireland and being a Protestant, saying you like the Pope is a deeply controversial thing.  Unless you live here it is really hard to understand just how deep the Catholic Protestant divide goes and how much mistrust, misunderstanding and downright bigotry exists here, ingrained in the psyche of generations of Irish from North and South.  It really is reminiscent of the attitude which tolerated and promoted apartheid or justified slavery in days gone by.  That same deeply held belief in the inferiority/error/demonisation of the other.  It's sad.    It is changing, very slowly.  And I truly hope that Pope Francis, in his Christlike attitude and behaviour, will help sectarian Protestants and narrow minded Catholics to re-evaluate.   He seems to be a good and Godly man.   As does the new Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.

I absolutely love what the Archbishop did at the Metropolitan Police Carol Service

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10525801/Gospel-according-to-the-boys-in-blue-Welby-retells-Christmas-story-as-police-drama.html

Surely in these two men we see a demonstration of what its all about.   And, as I read on a comment about the Pope article, if you like these guys - then you are going to love Jesus  :-)

The Pope and the Archbishop are just ordinary people like you and I who are taking the opportunities afforded to them by their position to be the voice and hands of Jesus in the world.  We too can be the voice and hands of Jesus.  We dont have to have an international platform, or the eyes of the world media on us - in fact it must be so much harder for them because of the scrutiny of their every move and word.......
No, we just need to take the opportunities afforded to us by OUR positions - our positions in our families, our churches, our workplaces, our schools, our towns or cities - and be the voice and hands of Jesus.   I dont think we need to go out of our way to create opportunities really.   If we are willing then God will send them along.

Lord, this Christmas as we are busy with family and friends and eating and drinking I pray that we will not miss the opportunities You send along.  Help us to be kind.  Help us to be wise in our words and generous in our attitudes.   Let us be Your voice and Your hands to our families and friends in our places of work and in our churches.  We want to be a blessing as You intend for us to be.   And for all the places in the world where sectariansim and conflict are rife may the Prince of Peace reign.   Bless the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury as they lead two major expressions of Your church on earth.   Amen

saturday 21st december

Me to Ben ( aged 8)    ' Ive got to write my Advent Blog and I cant think of what to say.  What shall I write about?'

Ben  ' Write about God's present'

Me ' Thats a good idea!  What shall I say about God's present?'

Ben ' That its the best present you could ever get in the whole world ever'

And we could pretty much leave it there I suppose.

But it got me thinking about presents.  Of which there are now copious amounts under the tree and about which the boys are getting hyper excited.  Much poking and prodding and guessing going on.  And sorting into piles.

I love presents.  Not the getting of them so much as the giving of them.  I love finding something which is just the right thing for the right person.  Something I know they will love. Or something they need and will use.  This year my Dad was looking for shoes, exactly the same as the ones he already had.  Which of course arent made any more.  So I went searching online and found the perfect pair.  Right size, right colour.  I was so chuffed.  And so was he when I sent them to him ( about three weeks ago, cos there didnt seem much point in making him wait till Christmas when he actually could be wearing them now).  And of course there will be much delight on Christmas day watching the boys open presents which I know will be just what they want.   It's fun.  Making other people happy is fun.

I wonder if that's how God feels every time He answers a prayer or gives us a gift ( spiritual or practical).   I wonder if He feels really thrilled when we are really thrilled.  Like any parent I guess He must delight to see His kids happy with what He has given them.   And lets face it He has given us so much.  Before you go to bed tonight try counting your blessings.  Bet you wont be able to list them all before you fall asleep.

Of course the best present Ben referred to was Jesus.  Nobody I know would dream of giving away their only child as a present - yet that is what God did.   He truly is a wonderful, life changing, life saving, life enhancing best present ever.   This Christmas let's not forget to say thank you.

Friday 20th December

We have arrived at that dirty time of year.

I was driving today and found myself having to constantly wash the windscreen as every vehicle in front of me threw up muck from the road and deposited it liberally across the glass.  It was lightly drizzling, just that annoying sort of not-really-proper-rain, making the roads wet enough to throw up spray.  But the sky was quite bright - and the combination of a dirty windscreen and brightness can be rather dangerous.  So the washers and wipers were in constant use.

Ive just bought my first pair of glasses.   Im wearing them now as I type.  I didnt really think I needed them, but Keith arrived home with a pair not long ago, saying that he had had his eyes tested and now needs glasses for close reading/fine print.   I tried his on.  And suddenly that tiny writing became a whole heap

clearer!!!!   My turn to indulge in some specs.


So the thought for today - if you havent worked it out already - is about seeing clearly.

We are all on a journey ( I hate that analogy - its such a cliche.  But sadly for the purposes of this illustration Im going to have to say it!)  Sometimes we are driving along in nice weather and we can enjoy the view.  More often than not we need to focus on where we are going and how to get there, on the other people on the road with us and the distractions in our vehicle.  Sometimes we are driving through bad weather.  The road throws up mud and muck which obscures our view.  Or perhaps, imperceptibly, our ability to focus has declined.  We think we are seeing everything clearly, but in fact we have lost definition.  Clarity. Acuity.

We need to be able to see clearly.  Vision is crucial - where there is no vision (revelation) the people perish ( or cast off restraint   )  (Prov 29.18)  If we cant see where we are going we are either going to drive off the road or come to a standstill.  Either way we won't reach our destination

So how do we keep our windscreens clean and our eyes focused?   Well we need the washing of water by the word

Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.…( Eph 5 ;26)

Both the written word and the ' now' word of God are a crucial factor in the cleaning process.  But its not just enough to deploy the washers, we need windscreen wipers too - to apply the water to to affected area and remove the dirt.  As I was driving today watching my windscreen wipers doing their job it occurred to me that the wipers are people - pastoral people - those who travel with us and who work for us to help us apply what God has spoken.  The input of others who are outside, looking in, impartial, who care and who can help us is vital.  We cant do this on our own.

And every now and then we need to subject our vision to an ' eye examination'.  Perhaps just check out with someone that the way we are seeing things is in focus and still in line with God's will and His word.  That the way we are going is the right way.  Once again pastoral input and wisdom from those who know us well is

so important.   We need to be accountable and open to correction.  If we need glasses then we should put them on and wear them!  If we dont, then our vision will gradually deteriorate and one day we will wake up realising that everything is a blur and we have missed out on much of the detail God wanted us to see along the way.

Jesus came 2000 years ago not only to die for us and pay the price for our selfishness, greed, pride and rottenness, but so that He could be the channel for the release of the Holy Spirit into the earth.   He is the one who imparts, maintains and sustains our vision.  As we approach a New Year let us take a while to check that the windscreen is clean and we have our glasses on.

Lord, thank you for your Holy Spirit who is ever active, working on our behalf, speaking, leading, guiding.  I pray that as we approach a new year He would have free access to all areas.  That He would increase vision, impart new vision, give direction and sharpen focus in our lives.  That we might travel safely and not miss any of the joy of the journey.  Amen

Thursday 19th December

So its the final countdown ( can you hear the background music?)   The kids are getting excited.  Presents are wrapped and already being poked at.  Christmas parties are well underway and Im doing my last stint at work today.  Schools break up tomorrow.  Even the weather has decided to get in on the act - cold and blustery although no snow as yet.

We are looking forward to next week.  We are all hoping to have a lovely time - time off work, time with family and/or friends, time to lie in and watch telly and eat too much.  We might be hoping that Santa brings us some much longed for gift or that we get to see someone we haven't seen for ages.   We are designed and created to hope for things.

The hope of the righteous brings joy  ( Prov 10:28)

Hope is a strange thing.  its not the same as being wishful.  I can wish to wake up tomorrow looking like Marilyn Monroe but it aint gonna happen.  However I can hope that by Easter I might be able to fit into that new outfit if I lose a few pounds and keep up the fitness regime.   Hope has a realistic end goal and some way of getting there.  Wishes are flim flam and fairy dust usually

  The Bible says that ' hope deferred makes the heart sick'  ( Prov 13 ;12)    in other words, if we have our eye on an achievable and reasonable goal but for some reason we are not making any progress towards it, then we get our hearts broken.  Or we get depressed.  Or we become ill.   It is important that our hopes are fulfilled - so its important that we are hoping for the right things.   And if our hearts are sick and we cant quite

work out why - maybe its because we are hoping for the ' wrong' things.  Maybe our expectations are faulty - because God is not a God of disappointment.

Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
    on those who hope in his steadfast love,  ( Ps 33:18)

You arent going to go far wrong if you believe in , trust in, hope for God's love.    Of course we only need to hope for it when we are not currently experiencing it.  When God seems distant and prayers go unanswered.  When all is opposition and difficulty and hardship.  Those are the times we need to hope in His steadfast love.  Reach out for it in full expectation.  Actively pursue it, wait for it, watch for the signs. 

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.   (1 Pet 1;13)   

Of course ultimately when all is hopeless and heaven is brass we have one promise which above all gives us hope - the  hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began ( Titus 1;2)

Advent is traditionally a time not only of looking forward to Christmas but of looking forward to the day when Jesus comes back.   To a day when we can put off this life and put on eternity.  Dont know about you but I cant wait - there's only so much housework and sock washing a body can take in a lifetime!  So lets fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith and as we approach a new year let us resolve to hope for the fulfillment of the Godly desires of our hearts.

Lord, show us where we have faulty expectations and unrealistic dreams.  Adjust our hopes to be in line with what you have planned for us and then help us to stride out towards those goals with hope in our hearts.  As we wait for you to come again let us never lose hope in your great love for us.  Amen

Wednesday 18th December

Last week was the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.   I have a friend who is very interested in Jewish festivals and she was talking about it when I visited her - which made me realise that I didnt have the first idea what it is about.

In a nutshell it is a festival to celebrate the fact that 2,500 years ago the temple in Jerusalem, which had been under Syrian control, was won back by the Jews.  They had been instructed by their Syrian overlords to worship idols and eat the flesh of pigs which had been sacrificed in the temple.   Both of which were anathema to the Jews.   So a small number of them started a rebellion which eventually resulted in the Temple being won back . Jewish troops were determined to purify  it by burning ritual oil in the Temple’s menorah for eight days. But to their dismay, they discovered that there was only one day's worth of oil left in the Temple. They lit the menorah anyway and to their surprise the small amount of oil lasted the full eight days.

This is the miracle of the Hanukkah oil that is celebrated every year when Jews light a special menorah known as a hanukkiyah for eight days. One candle is lit on the first night of Hanukkah, two on the second, and so on, until eight candles are lit.

On Saturday I was watching The Bible on channel 5 and the episode covered the story of Daniel.  He was another Jew who refused to bow to an idol at the command of a foreign oppressor.  He and his friends showed amazing courage and tenacity in refusing to compromise their faith - they faced fire and lions rather than disobey the express command of God to worship Him only.

It strikes me that in our day we are in the same position as the Macabees in 500 BC or Daniel in the days of Nebudchanezzar.  We are living in a culture which, for the most part, has overthrown God and is demanding that we worship other things.  So where are the Daniels and the Shadrachs Meshachs and Abednegos of our day - the ones who are standing up and saying no.  Who are prepared to lose it all in order to stand up for God's rule and reign?    We long to see miracles, but perhaps miracles only come in response to us being sold out for our cause.   

Christmas is a time when we refocus and remember once again to keep the first things first.  New Year is a time for reaffirming our resolve to love mercy and to do justly and to walk humbly with our God.  Lets be encouraged by the example of those who have gone before us - those who have resisted the invasion of the ungodly and have been prepared to die rather than bow down to idols or make unrighteous sacrifices.