On Valentine's Day...
Pete and I trekked down to Bristol to see Beth Orton at Colston Hall. She was brill!
The support, Clay Hill, were great, the singer had a beautiful voice, and they had a very cool guy playing double bass and the scissors (which featured in a song called 'beard', inspired by seeing lots of people with wierd beards at a festival. Brilliant!).
Beth Orton was fantastic. She has the most gorgeous voice, and great songs. She played a lot of new stuff, which was great. For the old stuff it was just her and her guitar - marvellous. And she's nuts - in between songs she told corny jokes, and was generally quite random.
Colston Hall's really nice - having only been to standing gigs in students unions, the CIA and places like that, it was great to be in a non-smoking, sitting venue without the smell of pot and the random drunk guys falling about the place. And they sell coffee and ice cream!! man, I really am getting old...
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Saturday, February 11, 2006
On the second half of Exodus...
Reading thru Exodus 20-40, a few things have really struck me.
20-33, God has redeemed His people, and now calls them to a holy life. He gives the Israelites specific commands, including having no gods before Him, and not making graven images. The people are afraid to hear God speak, so tell Moses to go speak to God, and then pass on what He says. So Moses goes up into the mountain, and he's away for ages.
And the people get restless. While God is telling Moses how the people are to give their silver and gold for the building of the tabernacle, they are giving their gold to Aaron, to make them a graven image. He makes them a false god, an idol. God Himself spoke to them in ch 20, yet here they are in ch32 worshipping a golden calf, offering it sacrifices, giving it credit for redeeming them from Egypt.
So God tells Moses what the people have done. He tells Moses to stand back - He'll destroy the Israelites, and just make a people for Himself from Moses. Moses pleads with God, not on the basis of any worthiness in the people, but rather on the basis of His glory, and His covenant. Firstly, His glory - what would the Egyptians think of a God who redeemed His people only to kill them in the wilderness? Secondly, His covenant - God cannot go back on His word to their ancestors.
So God says ok, I won't destroy them. I'll give them the land I've promised them. BUT I won't be there with them. (In this bit you get the dreadful reference to God blotting people out of His book, 32v33, reminding us there's more than just temporal things at stake here). The Israelites at last seem to get it. They mourn. God has promised them a land flowing with milk and honey, but if He isn't with them, they won't be satisfied (33v15,16). Which really struck me - do I long for God more than material comfort? Does the thought of Him removing His presence terrify me?
So God promises to go with them. And they respond by abeying everything He has commanded with regards to the building of the tabernacle - in ch39,40 there are loads of references to the people and Moses doing all that God commanded. And when they do that, God comes and dwells amongst them, in the tabernacle. They make a house that is fit for the King. Now under the new covenant, God dwells in me. Am I fit for the King to dwell in me? Do I pursue holiness in my life, to bring Him glory?
I've loved studying Genesis and Exodus over the past few months, seeing how God sets a people apart from Himself, not because they are worthy, but because He seeks to show Himself as glorious to the whole world, and to show grace and mercy to these people. And when He redeems this people, He calls them to live lives worthy of the One who redeemed them, and continues to provide for their every need. God hasn't changed, He still saves people according to His grace, and for His glory. He still calls us (me!) to a holy life, to show the world how great our God is. What a massive challenge!
Reading thru Exodus 20-40, a few things have really struck me.
20-33, God has redeemed His people, and now calls them to a holy life. He gives the Israelites specific commands, including having no gods before Him, and not making graven images. The people are afraid to hear God speak, so tell Moses to go speak to God, and then pass on what He says. So Moses goes up into the mountain, and he's away for ages.
And the people get restless. While God is telling Moses how the people are to give their silver and gold for the building of the tabernacle, they are giving their gold to Aaron, to make them a graven image. He makes them a false god, an idol. God Himself spoke to them in ch 20, yet here they are in ch32 worshipping a golden calf, offering it sacrifices, giving it credit for redeeming them from Egypt.
So God tells Moses what the people have done. He tells Moses to stand back - He'll destroy the Israelites, and just make a people for Himself from Moses. Moses pleads with God, not on the basis of any worthiness in the people, but rather on the basis of His glory, and His covenant. Firstly, His glory - what would the Egyptians think of a God who redeemed His people only to kill them in the wilderness? Secondly, His covenant - God cannot go back on His word to their ancestors.
So God says ok, I won't destroy them. I'll give them the land I've promised them. BUT I won't be there with them. (In this bit you get the dreadful reference to God blotting people out of His book, 32v33, reminding us there's more than just temporal things at stake here). The Israelites at last seem to get it. They mourn. God has promised them a land flowing with milk and honey, but if He isn't with them, they won't be satisfied (33v15,16). Which really struck me - do I long for God more than material comfort? Does the thought of Him removing His presence terrify me?
So God promises to go with them. And they respond by abeying everything He has commanded with regards to the building of the tabernacle - in ch39,40 there are loads of references to the people and Moses doing all that God commanded. And when they do that, God comes and dwells amongst them, in the tabernacle. They make a house that is fit for the King. Now under the new covenant, God dwells in me. Am I fit for the King to dwell in me? Do I pursue holiness in my life, to bring Him glory?
I've loved studying Genesis and Exodus over the past few months, seeing how God sets a people apart from Himself, not because they are worthy, but because He seeks to show Himself as glorious to the whole world, and to show grace and mercy to these people. And when He redeems this people, He calls them to live lives worthy of the One who redeemed them, and continues to provide for their every need. God hasn't changed, He still saves people according to His grace, and for His glory. He still calls us (me!) to a holy life, to show the world how great our God is. What a massive challenge!
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Observations on waiting rooms....
I spend quite a bit of time in waiting rooms, and I've noticed a few things...
The music is generally inappropriate (eg. in the GP surgery, "There may be trouble ahead" was playing one time - I mean please, that's not gonna help anyone! Another time they were playing "dead in the water" by David Gray. Again, hardly helpful.)
The magazines are at least four years old, and yet are in remarkably good condition.
When old ladies who know each other meet in the waiting room, they have the same conversation - "Oh, hello love, how are you?" "I'm good thanks, you?" "Yeah I'm well". What??? If you're in the waiting room, then you shouldn't be well! If you are well, stop wasting the doc's time!
In the waiting room for the psychiatrist, they have magazines like Ok! with pictures of stunning, skinny women - please guys, your patients are largely neurotic and insecure about their self-image - don't leave that around for them!
In the dentists', they have a poster advertising organ donation. Is my dentist really that lethal??
Kids are the only people who make eye contact with you in the waiting room. Everyone else keeps themselves to themselves, in case
a) in the GP surgery, you have something contagious,
b) in the psychiatric unit, you are a psycho and will kill them.
Receptionists are generally (not always, but generally) confused. This manifests itself in inability to book appointments, to work out who sees which doctor next, etc.
Old people have no shame. They will happily talk loudly to the receptionist all about what's wrong with them.
I spend quite a bit of time in waiting rooms, and I've noticed a few things...
The music is generally inappropriate (eg. in the GP surgery, "There may be trouble ahead" was playing one time - I mean please, that's not gonna help anyone! Another time they were playing "dead in the water" by David Gray. Again, hardly helpful.)
The magazines are at least four years old, and yet are in remarkably good condition.
When old ladies who know each other meet in the waiting room, they have the same conversation - "Oh, hello love, how are you?" "I'm good thanks, you?" "Yeah I'm well". What??? If you're in the waiting room, then you shouldn't be well! If you are well, stop wasting the doc's time!
In the waiting room for the psychiatrist, they have magazines like Ok! with pictures of stunning, skinny women - please guys, your patients are largely neurotic and insecure about their self-image - don't leave that around for them!
In the dentists', they have a poster advertising organ donation. Is my dentist really that lethal??
Kids are the only people who make eye contact with you in the waiting room. Everyone else keeps themselves to themselves, in case
a) in the GP surgery, you have something contagious,
b) in the psychiatric unit, you are a psycho and will kill them.
Receptionists are generally (not always, but generally) confused. This manifests itself in inability to book appointments, to work out who sees which doctor next, etc.
Old people have no shame. They will happily talk loudly to the receptionist all about what's wrong with them.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
The gift of older, wiser Christians
This afternoon I had the real privelege of meeting up with Colin and Glenys Jones. He was the pastor in my parents' church during their courtship, he married them, and pastored them for the first few years of marriage and when me and my sis were small. It was so good to meet up with them, twenty years after, and to share how God has been so good to us. They can testify to God's faithfulness in their lives, and so can I. And it's just brilliant spending time with older, wiser Christians, to learn from them, and be encouraged by them.
God is so good, giving us older Christians who can teach us and help us. I was reading in Exodus 18, when Moses's father in law Jethro comes to see him. He looks at Moses's situation, and as an outsider, and an older man, is able to give Moses really good advice. Praise God for the wisdom that comes with experience and time, and can be of so much benefit to us young'uns!
This afternoon I had the real privelege of meeting up with Colin and Glenys Jones. He was the pastor in my parents' church during their courtship, he married them, and pastored them for the first few years of marriage and when me and my sis were small. It was so good to meet up with them, twenty years after, and to share how God has been so good to us. They can testify to God's faithfulness in their lives, and so can I. And it's just brilliant spending time with older, wiser Christians, to learn from them, and be encouraged by them.
God is so good, giving us older Christians who can teach us and help us. I was reading in Exodus 18, when Moses's father in law Jethro comes to see him. He looks at Moses's situation, and as an outsider, and an older man, is able to give Moses really good advice. Praise God for the wisdom that comes with experience and time, and can be of so much benefit to us young'uns!
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Today is St Dwynwen's DayDwynwen - the patron saint of Welsh lovers - lived in the 5th Century, one of 24 daughters of King Brychan Brycheiniog. The legend of Dwynwen tells of a Welsh maiden who fell in love with a prince, Maelon Dafodrill, who intended to wed her. But their marriage was not to be.
It is claimed Dwynwen had wanted to become a nun. She turned to God for help and dreamt that she was administered a sweet drink, which immediately saved her from Maelon's attentions. When the same drink was given to Maelon he was turned into a statue of ice.
Again she prayed, she was given three wishes - the first was that Maelon be unfrozen, the second was that she should never marry, and the third was that God should answer all requests made by her on behalf of lovers. That is why she is known throughout the country as the Patron of lovers in Wales.
And Pete gets full marks for turning up at my door this afternoon with a lovely bunch of flowers :) What a sweetie.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Silly me...
I've been reading Exodus for the past week or so, and seeing how God had a purpose for Moses's life, how He prepared him for it, sent him away to have a quiet 40 years as a shepherd in the desert, then came to him personally. God Himself came and spoke to Moses, told him the whole plan of redemption for the Israelites from Egypt, and told him he was going to lead them out. God tells Moses His name, Yahweh, the LORD, who is and always was and always will be. He tells Moses He's going with him. And what does Moses do? He has a mare and says 'no thanks, send someone else!'. So God tells him again, I'm in control, I'll give you the words to say. And Moses still isn't buying it. So God is angry with Moses, but shows grace, in getting Moses's big brother to come with him to Egypt. So eventually, Moses goes.
So I've been meeting up with a friend in church for a few months, we've read thru Genesis together, and now we're studying Exodus. We keep seeing God's immense power, His sovereignty, His grace, His trustworthiness, His love for His chosen people. And we see again and again how stupid people are - how slow to trust God, how slow to learn that He is faithful. And this past week we were talking about the bit I've just described, Exodus 1-4.
We talked about how God has a plan for our lives, and are we willing to go where He sends us? Do we trust Him, do we want to live for Him 100%, do we truly understand that His way is best? Do we want nothing more than to live a life that brings glory to God, or like Moses, do we hesitate when God calls us out of our comfort zones?
And here I've been, feeling sorry for myself because I have to stay on meds for another year, because to be honest I hate my illness, I want an easier life, sometimes the fight is just too hard. Being told I have to stay on meds as I've had so many episodes reminds me that this is my lot. Deep down I hope that I'll wake up one day and it'll be gone. But really what I'm saying is that I don't like the way God's doing things in my life. I want comfort, and He gives me this. (By the way, He also gives me many, many blessings which make the illnes much easier to bear).
So God calls me to a life where I have to trust Him for everything, where times are hard, but He uses them to bring me closer to Himself, and to minister to others in similar circumatances. So why do I complain??
Like the Israelites, I'm slow to learn that God is altogether good, trustworthy and faithful, that He loves me and has a plan for my life that is for my good and His glory.
I've been reading Exodus for the past week or so, and seeing how God had a purpose for Moses's life, how He prepared him for it, sent him away to have a quiet 40 years as a shepherd in the desert, then came to him personally. God Himself came and spoke to Moses, told him the whole plan of redemption for the Israelites from Egypt, and told him he was going to lead them out. God tells Moses His name, Yahweh, the LORD, who is and always was and always will be. He tells Moses He's going with him. And what does Moses do? He has a mare and says 'no thanks, send someone else!'. So God tells him again, I'm in control, I'll give you the words to say. And Moses still isn't buying it. So God is angry with Moses, but shows grace, in getting Moses's big brother to come with him to Egypt. So eventually, Moses goes.
So I've been meeting up with a friend in church for a few months, we've read thru Genesis together, and now we're studying Exodus. We keep seeing God's immense power, His sovereignty, His grace, His trustworthiness, His love for His chosen people. And we see again and again how stupid people are - how slow to trust God, how slow to learn that He is faithful. And this past week we were talking about the bit I've just described, Exodus 1-4.
We talked about how God has a plan for our lives, and are we willing to go where He sends us? Do we trust Him, do we want to live for Him 100%, do we truly understand that His way is best? Do we want nothing more than to live a life that brings glory to God, or like Moses, do we hesitate when God calls us out of our comfort zones?
And here I've been, feeling sorry for myself because I have to stay on meds for another year, because to be honest I hate my illness, I want an easier life, sometimes the fight is just too hard. Being told I have to stay on meds as I've had so many episodes reminds me that this is my lot. Deep down I hope that I'll wake up one day and it'll be gone. But really what I'm saying is that I don't like the way God's doing things in my life. I want comfort, and He gives me this. (By the way, He also gives me many, many blessings which make the illnes much easier to bear).
So God calls me to a life where I have to trust Him for everything, where times are hard, but He uses them to bring me closer to Himself, and to minister to others in similar circumatances. So why do I complain??
Like the Israelites, I'm slow to learn that God is altogether good, trustworthy and faithful, that He loves me and has a plan for my life that is for my good and His glory.
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