Thursday 24th December

So we've made it !  Christmas is here.  Stockings will be hung, Turkeys will be stuffed, veg will be prepped and those presents which we have hidden in hiding places long forgotten will be hunted for until way past midnight.  ( Try the sock drawer.  And the back of the wardrobe)

Today in the Hamilton house we shall be making Jesus a birthday cake - a tradition I started with the boys a few years back. And then tonight for the first time I think we shall be going to the midnight service at church.   I'm not sure if it is a good idea because we wont get home till after 1am and then we shall have to get the boys to bed and wait till they are asleep before doing the Santa thing.   So I might be wrecked by about 2pm Christmas day !   But I think it will be nice to welcome in Christmas with carols and prayer and focusing on Jesus.

Whatever you are doing today I hope you will be able to find a few moments to pause and take it all in.  The fact that the gospel is playing out across the land through our radios and televisions, in shopping centres and on high streets.  The fact that more people will tune in to listen to the Queen than will see any other television programme tomorrow and that she will once again be talking about the importance of her faith.   That social media is full of bible verses and messages of hope and

advent blogs like this one.   Christmas is still an amazing opportunity in our increasingly secular society for God's people to tell it as it is.   And despite what the media tells us,  people are every bit as hungry to know the truth today as they ever were.   As the days darken so our light will shine more brightly and be seen far and wide.

Thank you for following my blog this year.  Your support is so encouraging and it always amazes me that things I write strike chords in other people and help/encourage/challenge or bless.   I write this as a way for me to try to stay focused on Jesus in the run up to Christmas - but a wonderful by product is that I also get to connect with many friends around the world too.

Praying that your Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will be peaceful and contented and that you know the blessing of God in the midst of all you are doing.

Wednesday 23rd December

Ben crept into my bed yesterday morning for a snuggle and a chat.  He is ten.  And he is getting very excited about Christmas.   Or, in his words '  I've got butterflies about Christmas Mum.  I'm sort of excited and sort of scared as well'.   I asked why on earth he would be feeling scared!   He said ' In case its not as good as I want it to be and I don't get the presents I want.'    Part of me was amused by this brutal honesty, part of me was a bit miffed that he didn't trust us to provide him with a great Christmas.    And then I thought about how often I have had this very same response to God over the years.

We pray and ask for things.  Especially the big things, jobs, new homes, life partners, children  and we believe that God will answer us and give us the things we need and want.  And yet how often in
the back of our minds is there that nagging doubt that perhaps God wont answer us in the way we want?  Maybe He doesnt really love us quite as much as we hope He does.  Perhaps He isnt really able to pull it out of the bag at the crucial moment.  We try hard to believe that He is working everything together for our good and yet.... and yet....

Here's a challenging thought for you.   A friend of mine , in his mid forties, was diagnosed with MS this year.   We went to visit them at half term and took the time to pray for him, his wife an family.  Whilst we were praying I got the distinct impression that God was saying that the reason he has MS is BECAUSE God loves him.    Think about that for a minute.   That was a really tricky one for me to digest.   How can someone be afflicted with something degenerative and horrible because they are loved by God?

Well, what's the alternative?   The alternative is that either God doesnt love people who are sick.   Or that He does love them but He is not able to stop them from being sick.   Or that He loves them, and is able to stop them from being sick but chooses not to.    Now I think if you'd asked me I would have probably gone for option 3 and said that God chooses not to heal people for His own reasons which we don't understand and that if we pray sometimes we can ' change God's mind'.    But with my friend Ivan I'm pretty sure God was showing me something different.    God loves Ivan passionately.   And because He loves him Ivan has MS.     MS is going to afford Ivan opportunities with God that he would not otherwise have.   Ivan has a choice - go deeper into God.  Become a more compassionate and understanding person.  Do something of the ' sufferings of Christ' thing.  Or not.   But Im guessing that God knows which way Ivan will go and that He is taking him on a journey of discovery which will ultimately be for Ivan's good.

Now I know,  I know that some of you are yelling at me.  Yes, there's an enemy and we are in a fight. Yes sin and death have come into the world and mankind is fallen and we are all suffering the repercussions...... yes, I know , I know.    BUT  if God loves us, He loves us.  His love is pure, kind, overwhelming, generous, healing and peaceable.   If NOTHING can separate us from His love..... well that means nothing.   God loved Job and maybe BECAUSE He loved Job God allowed all sorts of horrible things to happen to him.  I don't think God used Job as a plaything to make a point and get one over on Satan.  That is not in the character of God at all.  He knows Satan's end from his beginning, He doesn't need to resort to cheap stunts.  I wonder if the only reason God allowed Satan to have free reign in Jobs life for a while was to afford Job the opportunity to have some of the most amazing and personal one-to-one God conversations recorded in the Bible.  By the end of his life Job was not only blessed materially, but surely he was blessed with a unique relationship with God.

I think God wants a deeper conversation with us.  More connectedness.  More opportunity to show His love and to receive ours.   We all know that we are so much keener to seek Him when we need Him and that it's easy to ignore Him when all is blue skies and plain sailing.   And sometimes God wrenches something from our hands because He has something much better for us round the corner or down the road.  At the time all we can see is the pain - but thats because we dont have an eternal perspective.

So are you scared this Christmas?  Frightened that God might not answer you or might ask something of you that you aren't prepared for?  As the angels said ' Do not fear'  - God loves you so much that He was born for you.

Tuesday 22nd December

I seem to have run out of things to say.  Ha ha ha

I can hear you cheering from here!  

So today I think I will spend a few moments thinking about those people for whom Christmas is going to be very difficult this year.   My Mum is one of many who lost her partner this year, and for her Christmas will be something to be endured rather than enjoyed.  I think of Pastor George who lost his wife in the autumn.  However much you try to put a brave face on things the first Christmas after a bereavement is really hard.

Then there are my friends who are sick.  Really sick.   Bill who continues to survive against the odds but with more pain and surgery and medical intervention than you would believe its possible for a human being to undergo.  He is currently on the waiting list for a kidney transplant.  Please pray that he gets one soon and that it really makes a difference.    Angie is 49 with two teenage daughters and is three and bit years into a cancer diagnosis which gave her three years to live.   She is fighting an amazing battle and despite tumours her bloods are still allowing her to undergo chemo against all odds.   For some people this Christmas might well be their last.  Let's pray that they have a fabulous time and that God extends their days.

Ivan was diagnosed with MS this year and it is taking its toll.  He is in his mid forties with three boys. He has access to treatment which should really help him - so Im praying that God adds His power to the amazing medical possibilities and brings wholeness and health again.   Kenny has ongoing serious problems with his spine and keeps being rushed to hospital to be put on morphine whenever his discs pop.    John suffers from schizophrenia.  It is well managed but it is still a crippling condition which affects every aspect of his life.  He doesnt know Jesus yet but is interested and open.  Im praying that God gets hold of him and helps and heals him.    James has developed severe allergies which are making his life a misery.   Other friends are struggling with depression.  SO many people find it difficult to receive the words  '  Happy Christmas'  because for them it won't be.  It will be a sore, difficult, sad time.

Im sure there are many people on your heart this year from whom you would like us to pray.   Why dont you put their names in the comment box under this post so that we can all join with each other to commit them to the Lord.

Lord we add our prayers to the pile and ask that Your will would be done and that Your kingdom would come in the lives of all those mentioned above and in the comments below.  Thank you that the very reason You came was to deliver us from evil, to comfort and heal us and forgive us our sins. You make all things new.  We bless the medical profession but look to You for wholeness and peace and joy.   May those who are dreading Christmas this year find hope and love in unexpected places.  Amen

Monday 21st December

I just watched Bear Grylls taking Barak Obama out into the glacial wilds for a day.   It was clearly a nicely orchestrated programme on the back of the Paris climate talks to make the President look like a mover and shaker in the whole debate.   And it did the job.  He came across as a nice and normal guy who takes his responsibilities seriously and who is proud of his record when it comes to addressing the issues which face the planet in these over carbonised days.

But none of that interested me anything like as much as the last two minutes of the programme where Bear asked if he could pray with the President.  And the President said ' Yeah sure'.  

Now there are many things about that which astound me.

1) Channel 4 showed it.

2) The President agreed not only to be prayed for but for that to be broadcast

3) The prayer was heard loud and clear and the President was clearly used to being prayed for :)

4) Bear had the wit and the guts to suggest it and then to do it.

5) What you didnt see on the show but you can see from this still picture is the camera man was praying too !!

The President of the United States  ( they call him POTUS dont they? ) is just a guy.  He is an ordinary bloke just like you and I doing an extraordinary job and Im very encouraged to know that he is open about faith being important to him.   When asked by Bear he quoted Lincoln who said that if you are an atheist when you take office you are sure to be humbled and be on your knees asking for help before you leave office.    Its encouraging to me to think that the guy responsible for the worlds biggest economy might , just might, ask for help from God in the decisions that he has to make and the direction in which he is taking the country.

But even more impressive than all that about Obama is Bear.
Bear was afforded an extraordinary opportunity.   He has had many, and Im guessing this was one of his more amazing ones.  I read his autobiography a while ago and its a good read.  He has lead a fascinating and challenging life.  Not an easy start.  Lots of struggles along the way.   But through it all he has grown and developed in his character - he appears to be a man of integrity.  What you see is what you get.  He has followed his passions and has ended up dining with presidents.  And when he gets the chance to pray with one, he takes it.   Whilst clearly impressed with Obama he was not star struck.  He knew that he had something to offer the President which the President needed more than a publicity shot and good PR.  He had the power and presence of God.  As do I.  As do you.

So, if you met a President, or a King, or a CEO or an MP would you ask if you could pray for them?
God is passionately interested in the significant people.  Those at the top need Jesus every bit as much as those in the dust.  They carry a great weight and they need Jesus to give them wisdom and discernment and strength and peace.

God has occasionally put significant people in my path.  Not Kings or Presidents yet, but leaders of all sorts.  And nearly always Ive had words of knowledge for them.   Ive delivered words to internationally known worship leaders, leaders of christian movements and organisations and many many pastors and ministers.   A couple of years ago at a Bible week a CEO of a very well known organisation was on stage giving a talk about the work he does and telling people how churches could get involved in the projects his organisation was running.   I looked at him and immediately I knew that he had a problem with his digestive system.   Very specific words - digestive system.   So after he had finished talking I went to the guy who was hosting him and said that I thought I had a word of knowledge would it be OK to give it .   I was ushered up to the speaker and told him what I felt God had said.  Without a blink he told me that his body was unable to digest fat and that it caused him hassles at work and made him very tired.  I offered to pray with him and he was more than happy for me to do that.  Then he said ' Oh, and whilst you are at it you could also pray for another issue.  Ive found a lump on my testicle and am going to get it looked at this week.  Maybe you could pray about that too.  If God is here to heal me I want everything He has got'.

What amazing humility.  Dont you think?  Not an easy thing to disclose to a complete stranger - and a woman!  But he didnt care what it looked like or being embarassed or any of that stuff.  He was just super hungry for God.  Which is why he ended up at the top of his business.  God blesses hunger and humility.

So, the moral of the story is......... well there are lots of morals arent there?    Be passionate about what you are passionate about and God will stand you before kings and presidents.    When He stands you before them remember to keep the main thing the main thing.  You might only have once chance - take it.    If you become a top dog yourself then stay on your knees and always be prepared to receive from anyone who offers you some more of God.  No matter what they look like or where they come from.  Expect God to speak to you and He will.

Sunday 20th December

Our Wifi went on the blink recently.  I have no idea why but it just kept shutting down and we ended up with no signal at odd times - usually when right in the middle of something online.  Like writing this blog.  It was very annoying.   You get used to having things on tap - power when you throw a switch, water when you turn the tap, lights , heating, energy.   When , for whatever reason, these things don't function.....  well, its very irritating.    And what makes it worse is the fact that most of us don't have a clue how these things work , so we don't know how to fix them.   If the power goes off I know how to press the button in the fuse box.  But if that doesn't work then I'm a bit stumped.  I used to have some idea as to how to fix the car if it broke down, but now that all engines are one big computer chip I am totally at a loss.

Anyhow, the internet was playing up.  So Keith phoned BT and ordered a new hub.  Which arrived fairly quickly and we all breathed a sigh of relief and looked forward to hassle -free surfing.   No such luck.  The new hub seemed to be no better than the old one.  Booooooooo.    Keith kept moving the hub round the house - wires trailing all over the place - trying to get a better signal.  In the end I went to Argos and bought a booster box.   And lo and behold! We now have a perfect signal  .  Yay!!

I have always thought that listening to God is a bit like being tuned into a radio signal.  Everyone has the ability to hear Him. It's just that not all of us are tuned in.   When we get saved God tunes us into His channel so that we can start to receive His messages of life and hope and direction.  The Bible suddenly starts to make sense to us.  We begin to recognise the Holy Spirit - what He sounds like and how He speaks to us.    But every now and again, just like my internet signal, we seem to lose the frequency.  Or we suffer from interference and we cant hear so well any more.  What is it which causes us to lose that vital connection with God?

Well the Bible tells us that sin is what separates us - so initially thats a good place to look.  Is there something in my life which is standing between me and God such that I cant hear His voice so clearly any more?   Am I being dishonest , unfaithful, jealous, proud, greedy, unkind, and all the rest.   If we confess our sins He is faithful to forgive us and wipe the slate clean again.  Retune us back into His frequency.   It's not usually the small daily sins which cause major interference - its the sin which sneaks up on us and convinces us that it's OK.  That we are right.  That there isnt a problem.   We are subtly de-tuned, just enough to lose the signal almost without our realising it.  We need to be vigilant and ruthless with ourselves if we want an open sky above us.


Sometimes I think other things can also block the channels.  Things outwith our control - external forces.   I remember spending time praying with a friend of mine who was a doctor and was suffering from some health problems.  In the course of the conversation with him it became apparent that he had many many dealings with death and the dying in the course of his hospital work.  And that this was affecting him adversely.   Death was all around him pretty much all day.  Like a dark fog it was stopping him from being able to receive all that God had for him.  We prayed protection and wisdom for him and he became aware that he had to wash himself spiritually clean at the end of every shift just to keep those channels open and flowing freely .   Sometimes its nothing like as heavy duty as that.  It's just stuff.  I remember when the game Tetris came out I got addicted to it for a while - and it most certainly de-tuned me.  My head was full of coloured cubes to the point where I could barely think of anything else.   I stopped playing.  And got my life and my hearing back  :)

God speaks.  All the time.  In many ways.  As we see in the Nativity story sometimes its through hosts of angels, sometimes its through dreams and visions.  More often than not its through the Scriptures.  But if we aren't tuned in no matter how  often we read the words we won't hear the message.    So this Christmas let's take time to listen.  And if we arent hearing anything let's ask God to tune us back in  and to deal with any interference which is blocking the signal.

Saturday 19th December

Today is the start of my holiday.  Yay!   I really need one right now.  Its been a very busy few months - not only have I been working quite a lot more hours than previously but I've also been getting up and hour and a half earlier every day because I've had to get Sam and Josh to their school bus in the mornings.  Keith used to do it but since he changed jobs that has now fallen to me.

So I'm tired.   The boys are tired too - especially this week as we have had a couple of very late nights  ( Church Christmas dinner on Wednesday and Star Wars on Thursday)  We are all looking forward to spending the weekend in our pyjamas doing nothing much.   We need a rest.

God says that we should rest.  He knows that we don't function well on non-stop activity.  Not only that, but if we don't have time to rest then we probably don't have time for Him either.  And we need that even more than we need downtime from work.  For me, one of the great things about writing this blog every day is that it makes me take time out to sit and think, to meditate if you like.  Even as I'm writing this my mind is engaged fully on what God might be saying today.  It's a time out for me - and it's really good for me.  Which is why I do it.

I remember years and years ago during a very busy time of my life when I just seemed to be going full tilt at everything seven days a week I woke up one morning and it was as though God was sitting on me.  His face right in my face.  And a very serious tone in His voice.  He just said ' If you don't stop it, you will be in serious trouble'.   I knew He was talking about my health and I knew I had just received a VERY serious warning.   From that day on I decided that I would have a day of rest every week.  Sundays were not the best days because at that time I was so involved in my church that Sunday was almost more busy than a work day.   So I made Saturday my day off from everything.  My day to walk on the beach and listen to music and chill.  Do nothing.  Sleep,  potter, rest.

In this last week before Christmas we are probably all going to be somewhat busy.  There is stuff to do.  Work to get through before Thursday afternoon.  Office parties, playgroup parties, school discos, social stuff to attend.  Then there is the day itself to prepare for.  The shopping and the last minute presents and the food prep.  Carol services and Christmas fairs and all sorts of stuff.... it can seem like a never ending list of activity.  And whilst it might be enjoyable and all part of the seasonal good cheer, it can also be exhausting.  And we crawl over the finishing line at 2am on Christmas morning just longing for a lie in and knowing that the kids will have us up at six.      Not ideal.   But pretty much how it goes for most of us.

So today I challenge you to stop.  To sit down with a cup of tea and do nothing.  To go back to bed or put your feet up with a good book or watch a Christmas film all afternoon.   Go for a long walk.  The beds can be changed another time.  The shops will still be open on Monday.  The world will not come to an end if the dishwasher isn't unstacked until later or the hoovering isn't done till tomorrow.   Cut yourself some slack.  Give yourself permission to breathe.  And take some time just to listen.  Because Jesus didn't come to be ignored.    Don't leave Him on the doorstep because you are too busy to stop and let Him in.   He wants to come in and have lunch with you today.   It's the most important date you will ever have.   Enjoy it.

Friday 18th December

Update on the Jesus stones.

You might remember that last year I posted about a little project our church decided to embark on.   We hid hundreds of painted stones all around the village and left them in workplaces , parks , schools etc for people to find.  Stones depicting the baby Jesus.   There was no message with them - nothing at all.  Just a painted stone and a sense of excitement as people we knew started to find them and talk about how they had found Jesus.  :)    I blogged about it in last year's Advent blog and that particular post was one of the most read of last year.

A friend of mine in Denmark picked up the blog post and thought it was a great idea so got painting stones.  And this year she and her church have been out hiding Jesus around the place. The church also hired a billboard with a picture of the stone and the words Have You Found Jesus?  They managed to do it anonymously , adding hugely to the mystery which is now buzzing round the town. She got in touch with me today to tell me that the local news have picked up on the story and written an article about the mystery of the Jesus stones.  http://m.dagbladetringskjern.dk/skjern-tarm/julemysterium-initiativtager-holder-sig-anonym-indtil-videre   ( you probably dont speak Danish but...... )

My friend Inge says       ' We're the talk of the town! Jesus is!!!
And the paper has really tried to find out where they come from... It's so great!
The local business-chief in town says lots of people have been calling her, telling they've found Jesus!
We're so excited! '

How cool is that?

This year Ive spent ages trying to think of something similar we could do. I did find a few ideas but nothing which seemed as simple and fun as the stones. But just the other day I saw that someone on facebook was suggesting that it would be a lovely idea to buy a bag of shopping for a family or individual that you know might be struggling this Christmas, leave a message on it and set it on the doorstep before ringing the bell and legging it down the road :) I like that idea. Might do that this year.

Thursday 17th December

Today I've had this going through my head for some reason.  Its a catchy little blighter isnt it?  :D
It got me thinking about friends.  And how vital they are to our wellbeing and sanity.  Well, mine are anyway.

I don't have many friends - but the ones I have would die for me. And I for them.  I consider myself super blessed to have had some friends who go back to University days and even to high school days who have loved me and put up with me and laughed and cried with me for years.  We don't see each other often but that doesn't matter.  We know each other really really well.  My friends understand who I am and what makes me tick .  They might not agree with me on everything or share my tastes or politics or faith.  But they love me.   I know it.  And that is a gift beyond price which I don't for one minute take for granted.

There are people who don't have friends.  Lonely people.  Those who have isolated themselves from others by their behaviour and attitudes.  Those who have lost contact with their networks through divorce or family breakdown.  People whose jobs take them all over the place so that they find it difficult to put down roots.  And especially the elderly who find their friends becoming ill and dying and their own frailty reducing contact with the outside world.   Some may think they don't need friends, but God said  ' it is not good for man to be alone'.  ( Gen 2 :18)  And He is right.  It isn't.

Even Jesus needed friends.   It seems He had many of them, and perhaps three in particular with whom He was especially close.   He was friends with women and socialised with undesirables.  He didn't care much for social conventions and seemed happy to turn up and crash on his mates without warning.  I imagine that being friends with the man Jesus was a wonderful adventure and probably hugely entertaining.  He was funny.  He was hugely kind.  People were drawn to Him because He was genuinely interested in them.   We can learn alot about how to be friends by watching Jesus.

So today as we prepare for Christmas, receive cards, wrap presents and think about those who mean a great deal to us both near and far , let us take a second to thank God for our friends.   Some have passed in and out of our lives - deeply significant to us for a season.  Others are ours for life.  They might be married to us or related to us or separated from us by lots of years or many miles.  But their presence in our lives have enriched and blessed us.

Lord Jesus,   today I want to thank you for those special people You have brought into my life as my friends.  I love them and am so grateful that they love me.  I ask you to pour Your blessings into them this Christmas time.  Meet their needs, answer their prayers and fill them with joy and hope for the future.   I pray that my friendship with You will strengthen and deepen to the point where You can trust me with Your deepest secrets.  I want to know You so much better than I do and love You so much more.   I pray for all those people who have no friends this Christmas.  Those who will have no cards on the mantlepiece  and nobody to talk to on Christmas day.   May Your church reach out to the lonely and sad. Help us to see people as You see them and to love them as You love them.  Because we are your hands and heart on earth until You return.

Wednesday 16th December

Confession time.

Ive been watching Tattoo Fixers.

Purely for research purposes you understand.  ( hee hee hee)

Let me explain.  I was watching something else and when that finished Tattoo Fixers came on and I wasnt paying attention until I suddenly found myself starting to watch it with a mix of horror and amazement.  Its a programme about people who have had the most ridiculous and stupid things tattooed on themselves and the 'artists' who then tattoo over them to hide the originals.   The fascinating thing is that the tattoo fixers are incredibly talented artists.  They can draw brilliantly and reproduce those drawings on peoples skin perfectly.  It's definitely a skill.  And the other thing is that they seem to be incredibly nice people.  They are genuinely concerned about the stupid things people have written on themselves ( usually when drunk) and want to make lives better and people feel positive about themselves.

I suppose it all makes for entertaining telly - to a point.

But what strikes me this evening as I watch is that people are trying to cover up their mistakes with more of the same.  I have a small and annoying tattoo - so I shall get a bigger tattoo to cover it up !
And isnt that just such a human response to the messes we make in our lives?  We feel stupid. Embarrassment.  We want to cover over our mistakes.   We are ' naked and ashamed'.
Adam and Eve knew all about it and from the very beginning we have suffered from that age old dilemma - we have words and images imprinted on us which we want to get rid of but which are under our skin - part of us.  We can dress to conceal - like Adam and Eve did with their animal skins.  But the ink is still on us.  We are unclean.

The 'ink' under our skins comes in many different forms.  From words spoken over us to labels we put on ourselves.  Things which we inherit and habits we form.  People who have used and abused us and things we have done which have left us guilty and weighed down.  We might not all look like this on the outside, but on the inside many of us know what it is to be scribbled on and defaced.  And the other thing which really fascinated me about the tattoo programme on television was that the cover up art was nearly always of a skull or something ' deathly'.   It is as though you can only cover up death with death.   Which is, I suppose, the very nature of ' covering up'.

Oh wouldn't it be wonderful if there was some way we could just be washed clean of all the crap which life writes over us?   What wouldn't we give for our memories to be healed, our minds cleansed, our bodies restored and the ink of our mistakes to be permanently and forever erased without trace?  

Well guess what??  GOOD NEWS!   There is something which can wash us clean.  And there is a way for us to be made as pure and perfect as new born babies.

Hebrews 9:22 says, "Without shedding of blood there is no remission."     I John 1:7 tells us that "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin." God, in choosing the cleansing agent for our sins, chose the very best that He had, the blood of His own Son. It is by the precious blood of our Lord, that we are cleansed from all of our sins.  Revelation 1:5 says, "To Him who loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood." Hooray!!!   Before Jesus came the people of Israel had to cover up their sins with the blood of goats and lambs.  Every year confessing their wrongdoings, the ink under their skin, and slaughtering an animal to provide a temporary fix.   But then God sent Jesus - the perfect lamb of God - to die once and for ALL so that we can be forever cleansed.  He gets under our skins and into our hearts with His forgiveness and love until no trace of ink remains.  No lies, no hurt, no guilt , no unforgiveness, no wickedness, no brokenness. Jesus - the Divine Tattoo Fixer  !!

Tuesday 15th December

Ten days to go.... are you feeling Christmassy yet??

Talking to a friend of mine who spent some time on the streets when he was a teenager - we were chatting about homelessness and I said that Jesus was homeless for the last three years of His life so He can identify.  Although of course He didnt have to deal with snow.   And then I thought - hang on a minute.... I have no idea what the weather is like in Jerusalem and the surrounding area.  So I Googled it.

Jerusalem: Annual Weather Averages. July is the hottest month in Jerusalem with an average temperature of 23°C (73°F) and the coldest is January at 8°C (46°F) with the most daily sunshine hours at 13 in July. The wettest month is January with an average of 90mm of rain.

I was somewhat surprised at that!   I don't know about you but Id always pictured Jesus as being in permanent warm sunshine and sleeping outside under the stars in balmy weather.  But from the above it looks as though Jerusalem's weather isnt that much better than Belfasts!!   Eight degrees is pretty chilly!  It has even been known to snow there!   All of a sudden being a wandering homeless preacher is looking much less attractive than it used to.  Isnt it amazing what we just sort of assume because we haven't quite understood all the facts?

I did a sleepout for a homeless charity once in Edinburgh.   I joined a whole crowd of people who had opted to sleep out at the West End for one night.  I took my sleeping bag and was dressed as warmly as I could, but even so I didnt get a wink of sleep.  The pavement was rock hard.  The street lights were dazzlingly bright and it was perishingly, freezingly,bone-numbingly cold.  I have to confess that it was also just a bit scary.  Even though I was with a group of people who were all doing the some thing for charity - they were all strangers.  And I was a youngish single woman ..... I felt vulnerable.  It wasnt nice.

At this time of year we are all so focused on the shopping and the office parties and the Christmas dinners etc.  But for many on the streets Christmas Day will just be another day of cold, damp, hungry, struggle for survival.  Yes, there are shelters and Salvation Army hostels and projects to help - and yes, many people on the streets have serious mental health problems and drink and take drugs in order to ' cope'.   But let's not forget that Jesus started His life sleeping in a shed and ended His life with no home, no possessions and with nowhere to lay His head.  I suspect He opted for this lifestyle because He identifies strongly with the marginalised and dispossessed.   He was not only showing us that He dwells with the poor and broken and homeless - but also that His priorities are very different from ours.  His was not a life of material riches, striving to keep up with the neighbours, worry about debt or how to afford the next luxury holiday.  His was a simple life lived by faith in God, within a community of friends, placing huge value on kindness, generosity and giving.

This Christmas let's not lose sight of that.

Smile at a homeless person today.  Or.... why not buy an extra Christmas present, wrap it up and then go for a walk with Jesus and see who you come across to give it to!!  

Monday 14th December

https://www.facebook.com/ibetheltv/videos/10153735678780930/?theater

Sunday 13th December

Third Sunday in advent and the theme is JOY

Last night I went to a brass band concert in the village church with my Dad and his wife Marion.  The primary school and high school choirs were there.  The church was freezing but packed and I was sat behind a pillar so couldnt see the conductor or much of what was going on at all.  A recipe for a cold dull night out.   But no!   It was fabulous.

For a start it snowed in the afternoon so we walked to the church in our wellies through a light covering of white.  And somehow that always makes one feel a bit more festive.   And then two members of the brass band were late because they were coming from much more snow laden areas up in the hills.  So the conductor told a few jokes and then put the kids choir on first to buy time for the trumpeters to arrive.   The kids gave it 110% with harmonies and all sorts.  They were fab.  And then the trumpeters arrived and the band began to play.    Id forgotten just what a huge sound a full brass band can make.  And the church was the perfect amplification for them.  They started with a Christmas Anthem - a rousing and very clever medley of lots of old favourites.  They were good.  I was impressed.  

We sang a few carols of course.  And it was just brilliant to be standing next to my 82 year old Dad singing away.  Happiness really can be found in the small things.

Joy isn't happiness.  It isn't a nice feeling.  It is something much more than that - a deeper thing altogether.  When the angels announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds they said  ' Behold we bring you good tidings of great joy' .  This news was to be a well of spiritual contentment for the whole world - the very source of that contentment, peace and deep satisfaction had come into the world.  The experience of joy can often far outweigh the incident which inspires it.  The birth of a baby in a stable might have been a lovely thing to witness, but surely most of the shepherds would have seen many a new born baby before.  The birth of their own children would have been more significant occasions surely?   And yet the birth of this specific baby would bring joy deeper than they had ever known.  A new sort of joy perhaps?  Jesus taking joy to a whole new level.

The joy Jesus brings is not a freedom from trouble or pain.  It does not mean roses round the door and no bumps in the road.  But what it does mean is Emmanuel.  God WITH us.  The person and power and presence of God available to us at all times and in all places.  The voice in our ear saying ' this is the way walk in it'.  The comforter showing us truth from the word to bring light to our path.    The joy comes from knowing that we are not alone.   Never alone.  And that NOTHING can separate us from His love.

Saturday 12th December

I am currently in Yorkshire visiting my Dad.   He picked me up from the airport which is a good hours drive away from his house and we set off up the motorway towards home at 80mph in a huge stream of rush hour traffic all doing the same.  It was 5pm and dark.  We were bowling along quite happily when all of a sudden about five cars in front of us a car in the outside lane suddenly veered across the traffic in the next lane - it was travelling at ninety degrees across the road before managing to straighten up and somehow nobody hit it.   I have no idea how nobody hit him.  There was a white van directly behind him which slammed on its brakes as did all the cars in all three lanes - but seriously, if I ever witnessed a miracle I saw one tonight.  Im assuming the driver had fallen asleep at the wheel or something.  Scary. 

Actually, thinking about it Ive seen another traffic miracle.  Sometime last year I saw a car directly in front of me come off the road on my side of the dual carriageway, cross the central reservation, slide over the opposite carriageway and come to rest in the hard shoulder on the other side of the road.   It all happened in a split second and I looked across and saw the driver with his head in his hands clearly in shock at the realisation that he was still alive.   So many lorries use that road all the time and the cars speed down the straights at 70.   A minute earlier or later and he would have been toast.  A minute.

How often do we lose the car keys just as we are about to leave the house?  Or the phone rings.  Or in my case the kids are still upstairs trying to find shoes whilst Im revving the engine.    How often do we get stopped by someone in the street who wants to chat or sell us something or ask directions?   Even those people trying to get you to claim for PPI mis selling can be used by God to give us that extra precious minute which might make the difference between ........  well, something and nothing.

I wonder if the angels were working overtime today on the A1.   Maybe even the same angels which sang at the birth of Jesus.   Those self same guys have been busy ever since that holy night - working for God to achieve His purpose on earth.  Im thankful that His purpose for me today was not to be involved in a multiple pile up on the motorway.

Heres 4 minutes of nostalgia for you to enjoy :)  Courtesy of Amy Grant
( now that takes you back a bit doesnt it? :) )  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9xkn_z08GA

Friday 11th December

Yesterday there was a Dad in one of my Jo Jingles classes.  He was with his seven or eight month old daughter and I watched the unadulterated joy in his eyes as he took in every detail as she bashed on a tambourine and jingled bells.  The  super strong bond between them was evident.  She trusted her Daddy completely as he lifted  her up and down and bounced her on his knee.   They maintained eye contact throughout the class and every time she flashed him a grin he was like a kid in a candy shop.  The Mums in my class were equally engaged with their lovely babies.  But there was something about the contrast between this big burly bloke and the tiny elfin baby girl which was so striking.  They were undoubtably in love.   He only had eyes for her.  When she managed to tap her tambourine all by herself I thought he was going to burst into tears with pride :)

  I think there is a difference between the love of a Father and that of a Mother. A mother is a nurturer and a protector - her love is about sharing herself from the moment of conception.  A father is something different I think.  He cant possibly know the sort of connection which comes from carrying a baby in the womb for nine months - but I think he perhaps has an enhanced sense of wonder and pride in what he has helped to produce.  Dads ( and I know Im generalising here and that there are exceptions, but go with me please) are overwhelmed by the intensity of the love they feel for their newborn.   Mums have had a chance to love the person inside them with every kick and turn and hiccup.  They are fractionally more prepared.   And massively more conditioned by society to be ready for the role of parent. Children allow men in our buttoned down and ridiculously macho society to express their loving, creative, passionate side.  Fatherhood is a wonderful thing.  And Im not surprised that God chooses to call Himself a Father.  It depicts something very specific about His relationship with us.

Yesterday my thoughts about Fathers led me to wonder how God the Father felt when He saw Jesus being born.  Of course He has witnessed a gazillion births in the history of the world - but I wonder if the birth of His own Son was different.   Did He do a bit of heavenly pacing and nail biting?  Did He break out a celebratory cigar to share with the angels?  Was the throne room filled with blue helium balloons and teddy bears in the days after the birth?    Hee hee.   Fanciful yes, but Im sure that in some ways the birth of Jesus was momentous for God.  Here was a son who had always been present with God now becoming something other than God - an infant.  And this only Son was now given to earthly parents to care for and bring up.   (That's a sacrifice with which only parents who have given up children for adoption can identify.)   Im sure that God was super proud of Jesus as He took His first steps and cut His first teeth and spoke His first word.  Chuffed to bits as He celebrated His Jewish milestones and poured over scriptures and won the arguments with the Rabbis in the temple aged twelve.   

We use the term 'God The Father' without thinking about what this really means.  But when Jesus instructed His disciples to approach God as father it was a radical departure from the religious norm.  No longer was God to be considered as the omnipotent stern ruler but as the benevolent, protective, loving, teacher and mentor, authority and progenitor.  We can just about manage to get our minds round the fact that we are children and God is father but what about looking at the relationship from God's perspective.   He loves us as His children.  In the same way that we love our children.  In the same way that my Jo Jingles dad yesterday loves his seven month old daughter.  But more.   He delights in us.  He adores us.  He is proud of us.   He can't take His eyes off us and rejoices in our every tiny success.   He is ambitious for us and would do anything to protect us and keep our hearts and spirits whole and focused on Him.   Like any good Father He will let us wobble and fall, picking us up and setting us back on our feet as we take tentative steps into the unknown.  Unknown to us.  Not to Him.  He loves nothing better than when we smile at Him, kiss Him, talk to Him, ask for His advice.  He loves it when we fulfil our potential and try our hardest.  He hurts when we hurt and hates anyone or anything which tries to defeat or despoil or destroy us.

Christmas is not only about God the Son.  It is every bit as much about God the Father. 

God, I just want to say thank you for being my heavenly father.  For loving me as your child and the apple of your eye.  Help me to return to you all the love you long for.   May I receive all the passion and care you lavish on me and rest securely in your love all the days of my life.   Amen

Thursday 10th December

Memory.

Yesterday I was pondering the whole subject of memory  - and wondering what it is and why it is so important.  Here are some of my very undeveloped and random thoughts.

I went to see Gladys.  She is 91 and increasingly confused.  Last weekend she went to visit her sister who was celebrating her ninetieth birthday so I asked her about the party - who was there and had she enjoyed it.  She immediately started telling me about a previous visit and ran two stories together as one, repeating herself every second sentence.   Blissfully unaware that she had told me two minutes previously what she was happily telling me again.  If I hadnt been aware of who was who and what happened when I would have been able to make no sense of it whatsoever.   But because I have spent the past five years listening to her stories I can follow the threads even when they are all chopped up and muddled together.   But oddly she was able to tell me that when she was ten she went to Scottish country dancing classes on a Wednesday evening and told me the name of the street and the house name where the classes were held!!

When I left Gladys today I was thinking that it would be very handy not to have a memory at all.  Then we would never suffer from the loss of it. And we would be spared alot of the pain which memory causes us.   But the more I thought about that the more I realised that a memory is actually totally fundamental to us being human.   If we had no capacity to remember we could not learn.  We would not be able to relate to each other.  We would repeat ourselves over and over again - we would be machines.

Along with the ability to remember comes the ability to forget.  God clearly has the ability to remember and forget  Isaiah 43:25   Heb 10:17 ( which is a bit odd if you think about it because He is eternal , therefore outside time - so why would He need to be able to remember or forget?  Everything is eternally now to God.  Hmmmm.   Will have to ponder that some more!)  Perhaps the point is that God SHOULDNT be able to forget, because He is eternal.  And yet He CHOOSES to forget our sins and failings as an act of His will.   Because His love and mercy are awesome.

I have a terrible memory and always have had.   I am increasingly concerned that at not-yet fifty I cant remember anything about anything.  And Im not exaggerating.  I can only remember the sketchiest details about two out of three of my kids being born and nothing at all about number three.  If anyone asks me to give the address of the last five places Ive lived - no chance.  Id have to look them up on Google maps.   And there's a thing..... maybe in the future our need for memory will diminish as we are increasingly able to record everything about our lives in digital space.   We no longer need to remember phone numbers because they are lodged in our phones.  In the not too distant future perhaps we will not need to remember anything much at all.  Because it will all be remembered for us on the internet.

As we lose our capacity to commit things to memory it is important that we do not consign the Word of God to the ' cloud' or to our phones and gadgets.   The Psalmist says ' I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against You'  ( Ps 119:11)   The point being that the Word of God needs to be so much a part of us that it can be pulled out like a dagger in times of danger or stress and wielded as a weapon against the enemy.   It might feel old fashioned to recite memory verses and learn scripture by heart - but the Word of God is our armour and our strong tower.  We need not only to have it available to us on our ipads, but have it embedded in our minds where it will wash our thinking clean and keep us in the paths of righteousness

Wednesday 9th Dec

I was watching The Great Pottery Throwdown final this evening.  And pondering on the fact that there are so many of these talent shows popping up all over the place these days.  It started with singing, then baking and then we have had sewing and painting and now potting...... it makes for good telly .  Watching people with talent competing and perfecting their skills whilst being judged by experts who also share some of their knowledge with the audience as we go along.  I love those shows.

Potting must be one of the most primitive of crafts - probably the most ancient form of being creative known to man.  Which is not surprising - given that we are all made in the image of a Master sculptor.   God took a lump of clay from the ground and formed a man.  Now it doesnt particularly matter to me whether you believe that He literally did that, or whether you believe that the story of the creation of man is a condensation of an evolutionary process - the bottom line is that human beings are awesome creations.   We still dont understand so much of how the human body works.  The phenomenal intricacy of how it all holds together and each part works in harmony.  The miracle of conception and birth.  The extraordinary mystery of personality and imagination and thinking processes.  We are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made.   And God made us.  Along with everything else.  Talk about design, artistry, creativity, imagination, skill.  

We are made by God in the image of God and God is super creative.  So we, His handiwork, are super creative too.   I have never met a person who is not creative.  I've met a few who dont think they are.  But they just havent taken a minute to recognise what they are good at or love to do.   If you like fixing computers or writing code , if you love baking or gardening or painting your fingernails exotic colours, if you like making up little tunes in your head or stories to tell your kids at bedtime ------ well then you are creative.  It is in all of us - and we can especially see it in small children.  They are endlessly making up stories, arranging things in patterns, doodling and scribbling, singing and humming, tapping and clapping, dancing and moving.   Kids are unfettered in their creativity.  Their imaginations are awesome.  Once upon a time we were those kids

Christmas is a good time for being creative.  We decorate our trees and our homes, we bake and cook and stick fancy bows on prettily wrapped presents.  We spend Christmas day building Lego with the kids or going out on long walks with the dog to appreciate the glory of creation, or perhaps just tidying up to get the house back to habitable again!   I love the fact that Christmas gives us all an excuse to be creative.  Lets grab the chance to express ourselves this year and enjoy making everything a little bit better.

And finally, all of our creativity is a mere shadow of what is to come when God's second Adam - the one who was begotten, not created - comes into His own.    Take a look at all the wonders and amazing beauty and stunning intricacies of this created world and then try to imagine what God could do in the uncreated realm.  Where He is not restricted by having to use ' stuff' .  The universe is awesome but heaven is going to make all of it look like a pencil sketch on the back of an envelope.

Tuesday 8th December

Recently I have been working in a school for children with profound disabilities.   Im a Jo Jingles class teacher - which basically means that I sing and jump up and down with a bunch of three year olds for a living.   It's great fun, but up until September this year Id pretty much only worked with children in regular nurseries and playgroups.  In September I was asked to go into this special needs school to work with much older children who have varying levels of disability.   Many have no speech.  Lots have challenging behaviour.  Some are in wheelchairs or in beds.  All of them need a massive amount of input from teachers and helpers to do the simplest of tasks.

I have learned a few things in the past couple of months.

1) I am in love with some of these kids.   There is a deep and wonderful connection with some of them which transcends the need for words.  It happens with a look.  A gaze.  A communication of spirits somehow.   Hard to describe but there are several young people there who I would happily adopt and bring home with me because they are very special indeed.

2) People who work in the school are amazing.  Truly amazing.  They spend their lives dealing with very challenging behaviour, trying to communicate with and understand locked in and deeply frustrated young people .  Painstakingly working on the smallest tasks with huge patience in order to develop basic skills in young people.  They approach their work with humour and grace and a huge amount of love.  Hats off.  Respect.  I couldnt do it.  Im exhausted after an hour!!

3) There is huge meaning in the small things.  Over the past weeks I have seen flashes of real life and joy in young people who are participating in my music sessions.   Last week one girl who is often slumped pretty lifelessly in a wheelchair suddenly went wild with the bells she was playing - throwing her arms in the air and stamping her feet.  Thoroughly enjoying herself. Experiencing something good.   I often blow bubbles for the children - cos let's face it everyone loves bubbles.  There's something entrancing and wonderful about bubbles.   The smiles on faces of even the most closed down children when the bubble pot come out.....    priceless.   One girl has no speech at all but she makes a noise for bubbles.  As soon as she sees me coming across the car park she is up at the window and making the noise.   She sits through the whole class not really interested in anything much except the bubbles - which usually come at the end.  Her delight at popping them is so wonderful.

4) There is huge value in every life.
Each week when I come away from the school I think about the parents of these children, their siblings and wider families.  About how difficult life must be for them and how scary the future must look.  And yet Im also aware that these young people are precious.  They are much loved.  Each is a personality -  even the ones who can barely lift their heads or who find it impossible to control their outbursts of difficult behaviour.    I suspect that many families would consider themselves blessed despite all the difficulties.

Disability is a challenging thing.  It makes us feel uncomfortable because we don't have common reference points, we arent sure how we are supposed to feel and respond and behave.  But looking at my young friends in the special needs school I sometimes wonder which of us in the more disabled.   They might have bodies which dont work and minds which are limited - but their souls are so often open and unsullied.  They are without pretence.  They say exactly what they think.   They demonstrate how they feel without all the filters of social niceties.  They don't respond to sarcasm or subtle nuance - they respond to love and praise and music and real relationships.   When I have spent time with them I feel exposed in some way - as if I have been in the presence of holiness.  And perhaps I have. Because I am pretty sure that God loves to hang out with those guys even more than I do,

Monday 7th December

Wow.  What a day yesterday turned out to be.  

I was woken at 9.30 by a phonecall from someone in tears who was having a very difficult time and needed a friendly ear.  At church I had a conversation with a teenager who was worried about a friend who is suffering from depression.  At lunchtime another phonecall from a different friend in tears because their dog had just died suddenly.   Long conversation with them and then at bedtime a deep and meaningful with one of the boys who is having a hard time sounding English in a world full of Irish people. Amongst other things.

It felt as though I had spent the whole day in ' counsellor' mode.

Two things come to mind.   Firstly this

3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ  ( 2 Cor 1 )

and secondly this :  Isaiah 9.6  For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

It would seem clear that we are going to suffer, BUT we are also going to be comforted in our suffering, and because we know the comfort of God we will be able to help others.  Which is what has been happening to me ever since I became a Christian, but more specifically since I started telling people my story re depression.    Jesus is the Counsellor.  He leaves His Spirit ( who is also called counsellor) so that we can bring the hope and peace and comfort which God wants to minister to people who are suffering.    It's interesting, isnt it, that God mostly chooses not to end our suffering and give us all nice pink fluffy happy lives.   I wish He would.   But He doesnt.   In fact he warns us that the sufferings of Christ are ours IN ABUNDANCE.    Cheers Lord.  Thanks for that!    But what He does do is comfort us IN our suffering.   

What does the comfort of God look like?   Is it hugs and cuddles and chocolate biscuits?
Well, in my experience it's not often that.   It is perhaps more often the comfort of Psalm 23  
Your rod and staff they comfort me.
Hmmmmmmmm
Being comforted with a stick doesnt sound too different from the suffering!!!

The image is of the shepherd taking the sheep through the sheep dip.  Using his crook to hook the sheep round the neck and lead it into the pit , and his staff to dunk the sheep under making sure it is completely covered.   It is a good and caring thing to do for the sheep because it protects it from various ticks and lice and diseases.   But Im sure the sheep doesnt feel particularly ' comforted' at the time!    God leads us and He protects us - sometimes steering us in ways and through things we would not choose for ourselves.  If we submit to Him and dont struggle to get away from His leading we will find we come through His processes stronger and fitter and ready for the task of being sheep.   Ready for those green pastures and quiet waters - which are also God's comfort to us as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death.  

Jesus came to earth to be God With Us.   To experience hunger and pain and loneliness and danger and isolation and prejudice, homelessness, betrayal, anger, bereavement and grief , torture and ultimately death.  So that He could genuinely stand with us in our own sufferings and say ' I know.  I understand.  I am right here.'    

And in turn so that we can say that to others.

Lord, everywhere I look there are people who are going through difficult times.  Bereavement, divorce, financial turmoil, relationship breakdown, health problems - all sorts of trials , most of which I dont know about and cant resolve or make better.   Help me to be a comforter to those I know who are suffering.  Help me to listen, understand, care, and be there.  Give me words of wisdom and comfort.  Let me be a signpost pointing to Jesus who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.   Thank you for all the ways You have helped and comforted me when I have been in the storms of life.  Thank you for Your Word, for Your people and for Your precious Holy Spirit.