Category: Personal

We are so privileged to live within driving distance of some of the most beautiful countryside. We are busy people though, and carving out time to enjoy them requires precision planning sometimes. The lead up to Christmas is one of the most busy times with both Sue and I involved in organising events at church, and the kids both involved in extra activities.

It was a real blessing, therefore, to be able to carve out a whole day on Christmas Eve and to be able to get up to the Lake District. Leaving from Preston the weather looked like it might not be the best for walking, it was foggy. As we drove north the fog got thicker and the temperatures got lower. Being British though we carried on regardless. It’s one of the traits of our national heritage that once we start something we see it through to the end, no matter what the consequences. Climbing out of Kendal though it all changed. We moved above the fog into a glorious crisp sunny winters day. It was like springing from one day into a completely different day in less time than it took to say “wow”.

We had already set our sites on walking around Rydal Water where we were to explore the caves and enjoy the peace of the lake itself. Rydal Water sits in a basin between a number of different hills and is regularly flat calm. We weren’t disappointed. The sun shining on the brown colours and the flat calm lake made for a view that took our breath away; the cold air adding to the experience.

Jonathan had taken some climbing rope with him which helped us to get into most of the caves even though it was quite icy. The caves are man made, resulting from iron ore mining and are vast spaces.

It was a great day which we finished off with a late lunch in Ambleside.

Some people have the ability to capture the sense of a place, its peace, its beauty, its tranquility, its connectedness, I don’t but I hope the picture give you a sense of a glorious day.

There are things in life which are done which are routine; there are other things from which we build memories that live with us and make us who we are. For some reason it’s not the routine that builds the memories but the extraordinary, the things outside of the routine. Our walk around Rydal will be a memory that we will take with us.

How dull it would be to live each day completely in today, no looking forward and no looking back. But just having one of the perspectives would be equally problematic. Imagine not having any forward view, nothing would ever get done, things would always be a surprise, they would often be a shock. For most of us it would mean that we would never do anything because we would have no motivation to do it; why bother. Having no history would be equally troubling; how would we be able to perceive the likely future if we had nothing to reference it to. Imagine watching children grow up without being able to reference our own childhood and how we felt.

It goes even further than that though, some people are dominated by their history or by their future. This dominance blinds them to see today, the future or the past overshadows all.

How we travel time has a huge impact on who we are.

Yesterday someone posted a set of aerial pictures of Preston, Lancashire where I live to Flickr. These pictures were all from the 1950’s and showed a town that is similar in structure to the town I know, but it has gone through many changes. For one thing Preston has become a city but it’s more physical than that. The railway sidings that used to dominate the area around the railway station are no longer there. The old football ground has been completely replaced with a new one. The docks area is still an active dock, rather than the leisure and housing area it is today. The bus station which they are currently contemplating knocking down doesn’t even exist. There are a lot more chimneys. 

Seeing these pictures gave me another perspective on my city, not only because they were taken from an angle that you wouldn’t normally see, but also because they are more than 50 years old. They allowed me to travel through time to a time before I was born. They allowed me to realise that changing the bus station wasn’t such a big deal because it hadn’t been there that long anyway. They allowed me to travel from the past, through the now into the future.

Time travel is a marvelous thing.

I love to time travel in my personal life too. Like most parents I look at my children and see them changing almost every day. I love to remember carrying them on my arm when they were tiny. I love to remember them going to school for the first time or riding their bike for the first time. I look at their life and compare it to my own experiences. I use these experiences to imagine a future for them; a future that looks OK because they are great kids. It could all go horribly wrong, but that’s not what I imagine. I see them riding their bikes today and imagine them driving a car tomorrow. I see them doing tests today and imagine them doing exams tomorrow.

Time travel can be very informative.

Yesterday I wrote the traditional family letter letting all of those people who we only meet occasionally in on our year. As preparation I looked through the photographs we have taken over the year (it’s much easier with digital pictures). It was great to look through all of these pictures and be reminded of the things we have done. There’s a picture of us all swimming in a lake; there’s a picture of Jonathan and I flying up into the sky at a Theme Park; there’s a picture of Sue and Emily hugging at New Year. I use these memories to imagine the adventures that we already have planned for next year, but also to imagine new adventures that we might not do for many a year.

There are a thousand more memories and another thousand future plans spinning around my head right now as a write. In the midst of it all are a number silver threads that binds the future and the past together, silver threads of relationships. Relationships with Sue, Jonathan and Emily; relationships with friends; relationships with other family members; and most importantly a relationship with a Father God. Each of these relationships has a history and a future that gives me a context for today. I know that my future is assured and taken care of. That doesn’t mean that I’m not going to see heartache but it does mean that ultimately it will all be resolved. At the end of my life there is another life to come, on that I can be assured.

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing–nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable–absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.

Romans 8

‘Living Redeemer’ – “What kind of language is that? What is Graham going on about today?”

Give me 30 seconds and let me explain.

It’s actually not that difficult a thing to understand.

I hope all of us understand the ‘living’ part, but what about this ‘redeemer’ part. All of us have received a voucher or a token in our time – “50p of your next purchase of smelly stuff that you don’t really need”, “£10 Book Token”. When we take advantage of these offers we call it redeeming. It make sense, then, that the person who is doing the redeeming is a redeemer. So putting the two things back together we get a person who redeems things who is alive. But what does that mean to me? What difference does it make to my life?

As a Christian I believe that Jesus is my Living Redeemer. In other words I believe that Jesus has handed in the token and redeemed the offer on my life. This is no ‘spend a load to get completely irrelevant and worthless in return’ offer though; this is the real deal. Jesus did indeed pay a huge price. When He died on the cross He paid with His life in the most horrible way. The reward for this price was my life, and the life of millions of other believers.

What does it mean to have a life that has been bought and payed for? Does that make me a slave? No, amazingly it makes me a son; a son of God. Son’s have rights, but they also have responsibilities. As a son of God the rights are fabulous, I get access to the Father. There isn’t anything like enough room to fully explain what that means here, I may write more about it another time, actually I could probably write forever and still have things to say. To explain a little though I have a Father who knows and understands; I have a Father who can and does; I have a Father who gives me freedom; I have a Father who is infinite grace; I have a father who loves me. Compared to this the responsibilities are small; they are simple to share the love that is given, that’s all. Part of my reason for writing is to share some of the love with you.

You are our Father. Abraham and Israel are long dead. They wouldn’t know us from Adam. But you’re our living Father, our Redeemer, famous from eternity!

Isaiah 63:16 (The Message)

While waiting for the kettle to boil, so that I could make myself a cup of fresh coffee, I took up my usual pose and gazed out of the kitchen window into the back garden. It’s something that is so automatic I wasn’t aware that I was doing it until I noticed a larger than normal greyish blur attacking another greenish blur. My pose was so routine that I was staring out without the aid of optical enhancement and everything was a blur. This routine has made m quite skilled skilled at recognising blurs. I can tell the difference between a Blue Tit blur and a Great Tit blur. I can even tell the difference between a Starling blur and a Blackbird blur. I knew that the green blur being attacked by the grey blur was an apple. But this grey blur – what could it be?

In one of those strange moments of irrationality my immediate thought was to call Sue into the kitchen from the downstairs study to see if she could identify the grey blur. Getting my own glasses was only a secondary thought. Being a man who can’t do anything the same way twice makes finding my glasses a bit of an adventure. My immediate thought was that they were upstairs in the upstairs study (yes, we have two studies), so off I went. No, they weren’t there. Next stopping point was Sue’s downstairs study; still no joy. Finally I did what I should have done in the first place – I asked Sue if she knew. Sue was still in the kitchen looking out of the window. She, of course, knew instantly where my glasses were and of course they were right next to her on the kitchen window sill right next to where I had started my search.

Having finally located my optical assistance I put them on and now saw with clarity the new thing before me. I already knew it was a bird, my vision isn’t that bad, but what type of bird? It was as big as a Blackbird, if not a little bigger. It had a speckled chest a bit like a Thrush. It had brown wings.

While I watched Sue went upstairs to locate the bird book, which of course she did without any problems whatsoever. It turns out that the bird in question was a Fieldfare. By some latent recognition that came from somewhere in my past, I know not where, I had already said to Sue that it looked like a Fieldfare. I’ve often watched Who Wants to be a Millionaire and shouted at people to go with the thought that had popped into their mind when the had first seen the question. These answers are regularly the right ones, the human rain is a marvelous thing.

For those of you not familiar with the Fieldfare:

Fieldfares are large, colourful thrushes, much like a mistle thrush in general size, shape and behaviour. They stand very upright and move forward with purposeful hops. They are very social birds, spending the winter in flocks of anything from a dozen or two to several hundred strong. These straggling, chuckling flocks that roam the UK’s countryside are a delightful and attractive part of the winter scene.

It turns out that this bird has travelled across Scandinavia and Europe to be in our garden on this cold winters day. But it’s not the Fieldfare that is the main point of this Blessing, it’s the joy of experiencing something new. I hope that I never loose that sense of excitement and that new always means fresh rather than fear. One of the main reasons I write these posts is to keep my focus looking on the positive side of things. It’s easy to focus on the negative, focusing on the positive requires some effort. It’s the same with things that are new; everything new has its problems but it can also bring excitement and renewal.

As a Christian I am on a journey with God. Sometimes I can look at my life and get worried at how little I have changed but every now and then God gives me a glimpse of how far we have come together. It’s a bit like climbing a hill. When climbing I always feel like I haven’t travelled very far at all until I turn around and see the vista laid out before me. I’ve climbed lots of hills but it’s always a surprise to me when I turn around. All of us need those glimpses of how far we have come. Every journey means change, we can either worry about it or embrace it and revel in it. You can look back and hanker for the valley or you can enjoy the new view and look forward to even better ones ahead.

(Sorry, I didn’t manage to get a picture of the actually Fieldfare)

There is nothing quite like that feeling that I get when I wake up in the morning and see that it is a crisp cold frosty morning outside. The pleasure is doubled if I have woken up as the sun is rising and the sky has that purple glow that you only get on these freezing mornings.

Putting on all the layers makes me feel like a little boy getting ready for school. I’m not sure where that memory comes from but there is a strong affinity between the two things. The funny thing is, when I was really little, at primary school, I didn’t have far to walk to school at all. School was literally across the road.

Having put on all of the layers I set out. From our current house I’m soon into th countryside. As soon as I hear the crunch that frosty grass makes I’m somewhere else. But this time I could be in one of two places. In one of the memories I’m still a little boy. Rather than going to school I’m walking on the Westwood in Beverley. The Westwood is a piece of open pasture land. We would regularly go walking there but for some reason the memories of winter walks are much stronger. the other place I could be is up in the Lake District fells, specifically, walking in Borrowdale. Sometimes the memory is completely different, the crunch is different and it’s the crunch of metal rugby studs piercing the ice.

It’s great to have these memories prompted by the simplest of circumstances. I have always regarded myself as being very privileged to be in this position, I know that so many people aren’t. It makes me reaffirm my commitment to invest time and energy in making sure that my children have the same privilege.

Throughout the Bible we are encouraged to remember, or encouraged that God remembers:

• Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. (Deuteronomy 5:15)
• They remembered that God was their Rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer (Psalm 78:35)
• Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee (Luke 24:5–7)

God cares about or memories.

The Bible also encourages us:

• Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4: 6–8)

In a sense this is saying that God’s peace can give us new memories. This is something that I have experienced, it’s a miracle, and a real blessing.

I get loads of people hitting this site when they have searched for the lyrics to the well known song “Count Your Blessings” so I thought I would do them all a favour and put the lyrics here:

Count your blessings
Name them one by one
Count your blessings
See what God has done
Count your blessings
Name them one by one
Count your many blessings
See what God has done

When upon life’s billows
You are tempest tossed
When you are discouraged
Thinking all is lost
Count your many blessings
Name them one by one
And it will surprise you
What the Lord has done

Count your blessings
Name them one by one
Count your blessings
See what God has done
Count your blessings
Name them one by one
Count your many blessings
See what God has done

Are you ever burdened
With a load of care
Does the cross seem heavy
You are called to bear
Count your many blessings
Every doubt will fly
And you will be singing
As the days go by

Count your blessings
Name them one by one
Count your blessings
See what God has done
Count your blessings
Name them one by one
Count your many blessings
See what God has done

When you look at others
With their lands and gold
Think that Christ has promised
You His wealth untold
Count your many blessings
Money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven
Nor your home on high

Count your blessings
Name them one by one
Count your blessings
See what God has done
Count your blessings
Name them one by one
Count your many blessings
See what God has done

So, amid the conflict
Whether great or small
Do not be discouraged
God is over all
Count your many blessings
Angels will attend
Help and comfort give you
To your journey’s end

Count your blessings
Name them one by one
Count your blessings
See what God has done
Count your blessings
Name them one by one
Count your many blessings
See what God has done

Bless you.

Most of the time I like finishing a book, it’s an achievement. Sometimes, though, I’m a little sad that a book has finished this is normally because it has said something to me. Today I finished ‘A Resilient Life’ by Gordon MacDonald, this book has helped me in a number of ways. The last section of the book is about running in the company of a ‘Happy Few’. The quote comes from Shakespeare, The Life of Henry V – “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers”.

The ‘happy few’ being characterised by being members of the group of people you would really want to be there at your bed side if you were dying. Now that’s an interesting question. Who would I want at my bed side if I was really dying? Who are my band of brothers?

In the book Gordon MacDonald lists the types of people we need in our group of ‘happy few’, he does this by posing a set of questions, I suppose we would call them ‘roles’ at work:

• Who coaches you?
• Who stretches your mind?
• Who listens to and encourages your dreams?
• Who will protest you?
• Who are those who share your tears?
• Who rebukes you?
• Who among your happy few plays with you?
• Who is it that seeks after God with you?

Reading through the list I was blessed by being able to see different people in my life who fulfill each of the roles. I am a truly blessed.

I think that most of you who fulfill a role know who you are and I want to use this opportunity to say thank-you, you are brilliant and it’s great to have you around.

Last week I was looking forward to a quiet day, so how did it go?

The first thing to comment on is the weather it played a large part in how the day went. Sometimes weather is just there and you don’t really notice it, that wasn’t the case on Friday.

We travelled up to Keswick in the Lake District for our quiet day. As we travelled to Keswick the sky got darker and the side winds got stronger. The weather forecast had predicted gale force winds in the Northern Lake District area so we were prepared. Our plan for the day was to use the school room at Crosthwaite Parish Church as we had last year, it has terrific views across the mountains, the church is open and provides another quiet place as does the church yard; the room itself is warm and cozy. On this stormy day it was ideal. The winds whipped Autumn leaves past the windows. The clouds were moving so fast that the sky changed every few seconds. The rain rapped against the window panes like thousands of tiny pebbles.

At one point I sat in the church and listened to the wind and rain battering against the ancient stones and listened to the old clock as it slowly ticked away its rhythm. All this weather pitted against stones which had resisted them for hundreds of years, and a clock that carried on regardless.

When I first started on quiet days I was, like most people, worried about how I would fill a whole day with quiet. This time I was again stunned that we had already run out of time. When we go on organised quiet days they give us something to ponder; when we go on our own we start with a blank sheet and see where we go. Either way, a day doesn’t seem like a long time at all once you’ve done it. It’s just about enough time to get the body and mind to slow down and to start listening to the spirit. I think that each of us received something in that short time though and each of us will cherish it. What I received is still mulling around inside my head and I don’t think I’m in a position to share it yet.

If you have never been on a quiet day then I highly recommend it. You’ll be in good company. Jesus went on quiet days too.

Like many of us I have a tendency to be looking back at life sometimes reminiscing in a nice warm glowing way but more often than not I’m worrying about something that has already happened. It is, therefore, great to have something to look forward to. I have tried at different times to consciously think of something to look forward to but that has proved to be a false thing and is no substitute for having something that I can really look forward to.

Last week I spent all week looking forward to Friday. Not because Friday is the end of the working week, but because Dave, Nina, Sue and myself had managed to book a days holiday together. But this was no ordinary day of relaxation, we had booked this as a Quiet Day. We have done planned quiet days with other groups before, we have also done our own quiet day on our own once before. These days are a haven, a place of peace. Now that was something real to look forward to. I have been a bit grouchy and grumpy recently so the thought of a time of peace was just what I needed.

But relying on short term forward looking is no substitute for knowing that there is a longer terms event that is the ultimate goal, the ultimate place of peace, the ultimate day. As a Christian I know that my time on this earth is short compared to my ultimate home in Heaven. Having something near to look forward to is nice, but it really does need to be seen in the light of the ultimate future.

Colossians 1:27: God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, therefore you can look forward to sharing in God’s glory. It’s that simple. That is the substance of our Message.

By the time I got up out of bed on Saturday morning there were only two people left in our house; Emily and myself. Jonathan was off for a full day practising and playing hockey. Sue was away leading a ladies weekend at Littledale Hall.

Forgive me but I must just take a quick diversion here before I get into the main topic of my post. Sue – well done. From the feedback I’ve had it sounds like you were brilliant, which I am in no doubt that you were. I apologise for cheering the absence of the ladies in church on Sunday morning – you know I didn’t mean it .

Anyway back to Aquatic Abundance. As it was only Emily and myself, we decided that we would go out and have some fun. Emily, like me, loves all things aquatic. We would prefer to see it all in its natural habitat, but that’s not always possible. Well actually, it’s not possible most of the time. I’m sure the Irish Sea has an abundant aquatic ecosystem but on a cold wet November day it’s not the most appealing place to visit. Fortunately for us though the Blue Planet aquarium allows us to travel the aquatic world without getting cold or wet; apart, that is, from the short walk from the car park.

Speaking as a human-being who primarily lives in a two-dimensional space (on the land) all of these creatures that live in a truly three-dimensional space fascinate me. When I’m considering where to go I move forwards, backward or side-to-side. If I was a fish I could go upwards or downwards, I could even be really fancy and go slantwise.

If I want to move anywhere I need to do something about it, there are no free ride for us humans. As a Jelly Fish I could be so laid back that I don’t even need a method of propelling myself I just let the ocean currents take me wherever they fancy.

But it’s not just about motion; the colours fascinate me, the sizes amaze me and the shapes baffle me. Why are Amazonian fish so big? Why does the cichlid come in so many colours? Sea-horse – what more can I say?

Did you know that tuna can swim at 50 miles-per-hour? Did you know that an electric eel discharges 350 volts? Did you know that a shark has no bones, only cartilage? Did you know that the Ocean Sun Fish produces 30 million eggs? Did you know that a lobster was once recorded travelling 225 miles? Did you know that the Atlantic Giant Squid has eyes that are 50 cm across? Did you know that a sea horse is so slow it may struggle to reach 0.001 lies-per-hour?

All of this diversity is amazing and brilliant. It’s a blessing.

Many people I know have a very narrow view of God, when I look at the world around I see all of this diversity. I believe that God created all of this diversity, in the same way as we create diverse art. God isn’t narrow, God is more diverse than our world and anyone who thinks they have God sown up should prepare to be amazed and astounded.

(Sorry, no aquatic pictures Sue took the camera with her to Littledale)