Peter, Paul Or Mary?

Sunday’s sermon asked which Biblical character we most relate to. It was also asking us not to “do a Peter” – becoming overconfident in our understanding of God and our relationship with Him, then eventually trusting in our own ability to withstand fear and temptation without His help.
Peter was given great insights (You are the Son of the Living God!) and walked on water, but he also denied Christ when it came to the crisis…
In this crisis year it’s a good reminder to stay close to God, especially when it all seems too hard!

I’ve met many people over the years who have identified with Peter. It’s the “ordinary person” part of his personality – the foot often in his mouth, and the big feet galumphing in to situations before thought catches up.
I don’t, particularly, but I’m not sure I identify with any other character in the Bible…
Paul – a bit cranky, loves writing 🙂
or Mary – sitting at the feet of Jesus?

Of course, the Biblical figure we are meant to identify with most is Jesus…

In this season when all sorts of things have changed and schedules have disintegrated, it’s good to remember who (and Whose) we are!

As Christmas is galloping closer, and because of the title of this post, here’s a song 🙂

Published in: on October 28, 2020 at 7:25 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Song For The Evening

I had a post planned for tonight, on another topic…
but I think I’ll just share this instead.
🙂

Published in: on October 25, 2020 at 12:09 am  Leave a Comment  
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Pink

So it’s October (already!?) and once again breast cancer awareness month. There are a lot of ads about, and the mobile screening buses are at a couple of shopping centres near here.
Everything’s pink…
I don’t really go for the “buy pink for breast cancer” thing – I don’t trust that all that merchandise is raising money for charity, and if it is, what does that money/charity do with it? Much better to give directly to somewhere that you know is legitimate!
Whether you buy pink stuff or not isn’t really important – what is important is that you go for regular breast screening, especially as you get older. I don’t like getting lots of tests just for the sake of it, but some things need to be done (this includes bowel and prostate checks). Don’t wait until you have symptoms!
Yesterday I went for my mammogram. I hadn’t realised it had been two years since the last one, but they rang me to book me in as their systems showed I was overdue… I understand that it can seem a bit daunting if you’ve never done it before, but the whole process doesn’t take long, and it’s done sympathetically and professionally.
Sat next to a pink-lighted flowering tree while I waited… it cast interesting shadows.


I always try to schedule in a coffee/cake time, and some time shopping or otherwise enjoying myself for afterwards. 🙂 Just a short break makes a difference! I had my coffee and cheesecake at a cafe I don’t frequent much, since the one I generally go to at the big shopping centre here seems to have closed… still was a nice time out, and included my serendipitous heart.

I had to catch my bus fairly soon after, but still had time to pick up some little pots, which I will fill with succulents.

😀

So – all done for another couple of years!

Just to stay with the theme… here’s P!nk.
Let’s get this party started!

Published in: on October 21, 2020 at 2:42 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Blue

Last night we had some lovely rain, and it seems to have cleared out the sky a bit today! It was so blue – that deep, bright, joyous blue.

Everything is bursting out in the gardens here, from the frangipanis near the pool

to the zinnias outside my door!

Look at how delicate the petals are before they spread out 🙂
I thought there’d been a mistake at the shop when the petals first started appearing – they look like they’ll be creamy yellow before they finally open out into a bright pink.
Even my lavender has a tiny little bud (sorry it’s out of focus…)

Blue is a cheerful colour, but it also means feeling “down”, just not quite right in your skin. There are many songs along these lines, and of course there’s the Blues!
Here’s a couple of songs I think of when I think “blue”.

Today I am a happy blue. There’ll be days I’m a small blue thing, sitting in a corner being silent (and curious!).
The world will still keep growing…

Published in: on October 19, 2020 at 5:19 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Open The Windows

This appeared in my messages today…
Life can be hard, can’t it?
Even when it’s wonderful, too.
Sometimes the temptation to give up, just for a bit, overwhelms. Take the time, rest, do the thing you’ve been putting off because there’s no time or you don’t feel you deserve it
And remember that life is big, there’s more to find, and we’re not alone in this big wide universe.

This reminds me of a quote by Martin Luther King –
“…the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

That’s not to say that we don’t do all we can to promote justice and bring about change, nor did he mean it as such. With everything that has been going on this year, and before, it’s good to remember that God is still in control, and that evil will ultimately not triumph… even though it looks like that’s what’s happening.

“Little children, you can be certain that you belong to God and have conquered them,for the One who is living in you is far greater than the one who is in the world.”
– 1 John 4:4

It’s not magical thinking, or giving up the responsibility of fighting for good. I’m not going to tell you that everything will go right and nothing bad will ever touch you. I’m just saying that you don’t have to do it all alone, and everything is not on your shoulders.

Open the windows.
Let light in!

Published in: on October 17, 2020 at 1:03 pm  Leave a Comment  

Looking Through Windows

Here’s a great new song from Wild Eyed Wonder, with clips of views from around the world that people sent in to be included in the finished song 🙂

In this year of varied stages of isolation there have been many attempts to use the internet to get out into the world again.
There’s The World From My Window, a place to share stories from various individuals from their lockdown.
Or you can travel online via WindowSwap to see the view from the windows of people around the world…

Happy travelling!
❤

Published in: on October 1, 2020 at 7:34 am  Leave a Comment  
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Happy Together

…with the Couch Choir!
I submitted two parts for this, so I’m assuming they’re both in there. There’s even a quick glimpse of me at about 1.05 minutes 🙂
Lots of fun, even though my singing is not the best.
Want to join me next time?

Published in: on September 16, 2020 at 7:17 pm  Leave a Comment  
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August Storm, Appearing

This afternoon a storm came up unexpectedly – at least I didn’t expect it! I was reading on the patio in intermittent sun when suddenly the day seemed to drop into darkness. I looked up into deep grey clouds rolling in fast, closely followed by thunder and rain.
Here’s a snippet 🙂

This whole year has felt a bit like that…
Fires, pandemic isolation, not to mention all the individual challenges we’ve each had to face so far. Sometimes it all gets a bit overwhelming, and the storm descends while we’re still unprepared.
I’ve noticed the songs YouTube recommends to me often have a “let’s get through this” theme lately. We’re all walking into each day, wondering what will happen. The creative people of the world are sharing those thoughts in song.
We’re prone to being taken unawares by the eccentricities of nature, whether flood, fire or global health crisis. For all the great strides science and medicine have made in the last century or so (and I’m grateful for what’s available!) we seem to forget that we don’t completely control this world – and sooner or later we have to come to terms with that.
I believe that God holds my life in His hands, and that helps when everything is uncertain. It doesn’t guarantee a life free from challenge or pain, but it does provide help and comfort when the clouds descend…

“My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is the strength of my heart
    and my portion forever.”
– Psalm 73:26

Published in: on August 15, 2020 at 9:39 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Everything New Is Old Again…

Once more on my YouTube odyssey, and this time it has suggested I have a listen to contemporary songs done in vintage styles. Postmodern Jukebox has all sorts of styles, from the ’20s onwards, jazz, swing or show tunes…

This is the first one suggested – what would the Spice Girls have sounded like in the ’40s?

Gatsby style Lady Gaga?

Zombies in the ’30s?

Or Marilyn singing Blondie?

This one is a jazz version of Guns N’Roses. There are a number of pop ups (with annoying pop up noises), but I’m posting this one because the info was interesting. There is a non pop up version as well 🙂

Enjoy! 🙂

 

Published in: on July 31, 2020 at 8:15 am  Leave a Comment  
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Whimsy And Wonderment

This will probably be a post about nothing, fuelled by a day of not much but wondering…
It all started on Sunday, with an afternoon spent watching a worship session, eyes closed, sometimes even singing along!
Lately I’ve fallen back into the trap of late nights and early mornings (waking up, not necessarily getting up), with a sleep debt creeping up on me without my noticing. Sunday night I went upstairs early and listened to some CDs I hadn’t unearthed in a while, then went straight to sleep. Nearly twelve hours later I was up again…
You’d think I’d be bright and energetic! No, still feeling lethargic – still have more debt to pay. I sat on the patio yesterday and wrote and read, enjoying the near silence and the breath of the wind in the trees.

Whenever I hear that sound, I think of the planet breathing, which then leads me to this song –

(This is where the whimsy comes in 🙂 )

Today has been a day of headaches (another side effect of wonky sleep patterns), but I’m still enjoying the earth’s breathing!
I hope you sleep well tonight –
and never lose your wonder.
❤

Published in: on July 28, 2020 at 5:48 pm  Leave a Comment  
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