I’ve been trying to get the Pastors in my church to engage with blogs. I’ve finally got them writing things, what I need now are people commenting. That’s where you come in:
They both write really well and have each of them has something to say. You won’t be disappointed.
Back today after 2 weeks holiday.
Some of the pictures are over on Flickr, I’ve kept the embarrassing ones private and decided not to publish them to the world 
.
There is a lovely clear sky in Lancashire today. I love blue skies whatever time of the year. I particularly like the blue as it deepens just before nightfall. Skies in the Winter seem to be bluer than they are in the Summer.
Clouds add drama to a sky sometimes pressing down on us; blue skies draw us out of this world reminding us of the stars beyond.
“May flowers always line your path and sunshine light your day. May songbirds serenade you every step along the way. May a rainbow run beside you in a sky that’s always blue. And may happiness fill your heart each day your whole life through.”
Over the last few months I have found myself repeatedly in situations where the people I have been with have been insecure; insecure about their marriage; insecure about their health; insecure about their faith; insecure about their position; insecure about their standing. The thing about this insecurity was that it was evident and visible. These people all reacted in particular ways which demonstrated their insecurity. The thing is, for most of the people, in most of the situations there was no reason for them to be insecure at all.
Insecurity is a massive issue in our society. Being a member of that society I am obviously not immune and regularly find myself in situations where I am nervous and edgy. There is no logical reason for these nerves, they demonstrate an insecurity that is deep seated and defies logic.
I am blessed to have a number of islands of security, places where I feel secure, situations where I can be myself. I know that for many people their islands get smaller as they get older; I’m thankful that my current experience is that the islands are getting bigger and I feel secure in more places and more situations than I think I ever have.
One of the reasons that my islands are getting bigger is because I feel like I am becoming less bothered about what others think of me. I used to worry about the opinions of others a lot, even people of no consequence. I try to see things differently these days; I tend to think that people’s opinions of me are their issue and not mine. It doesn’t always work, but I feel like I’m getting their.
There are many reason to feel insecure. Nothing in life is certain, after all. But we can’t live our lives dwelling on the uncertainties. We need to find and expand our islands of security because it is only in these islands that we are truly ourselves. We tend to do strange things when we are insecure. People only see the real us when they see us on our islands of security.
I don’t have any silver-bullet for expanding an island, or even finding a new one, but the investment required is definitely worth it. To expand my islands I return to a story that Jesus told and the promise it included. It’s a well known story and includes a wonderful principle:
“Anyone who listens to my teaching and obeys me is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse, because it is built on rock. But anyone who hears my teaching and ignores it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will fall with a mighty crash.”
(Don’t blame me)
Happy New Year to all of you – I know it’s no longer that new but I was determined to leave the computers alone for a few days and it felt great to do it.
If you need a florist in the Beverley area then the BEST place that you could possibly go would be to go to see my Mum (even though she is currently off sick) at the Garden Shed in the Market Square.
ps: The picture is from Mum and Dad’s garden because they grow them as well as sell them.
On Saturday Sue and I had a few hours together – alone. It was fabulous. For a couple with two children (13 and 9) this is a very rare occurrence. For these few hours to be on a Saturday when we don’t have anything else that ‘must’ be done is exceptional. These occasions come so rarely that it’s a surprise when they do and the problem with surprises is that its not always clear how best to react. It’s so easy to waste a surprise.
In the morning I had been speaking at a Men’s Breakfast for church and one of the things that we were talking about was ‘Adventure’. I was determined that we weren’t going to waste this time and that we were going to have an adventure of some description or other. The problem with many adventures is that they require some planning and it’s much easier just to sit back and ‘relax’. The day was also wet and miserable, so the pressure to do nothing was even greater. And it was mid-afternoon already.
One of the joys of living in Preston is that you can get into the beautiful Lake District in less than an hour. We both wanted to take in the autumnal colours and smells. A quick check of the weather forecast on the Internet showed that there was no guarantee that the weather would get any better, but it looked hopeful.
Off we went, up to Tarn Howes. Sue loves it there, it’s a place where she finds real peace and there was no time left for a really dramatic walk anyway.
It was fabulous. The weather cleared, the colours were tremendous, the walk was just right and the coffee at the new little coffee shop on the way down was tremendous.
Spending those few hours with the lady I love was more precious than any gold or silver. I felt like a school boy taking his girlfriend out on their first date, at the same time I felt like I was in a place that I had visited a hundred times before with each visit being as precious as the times preceding.
I’m just posting this one for fun.
We all went to a park at the weekend and came across this sign next to a play area with loads of children’s tractors and the like. Would be interest to know how you are supposed to sit on all of them.
I have walked past this tree hundreds of times in the past. It’s on a route I regularly use in morning to get me up and about. I sometimes take a camera with me while walking about and this morning I saw this tree and something attracted me to it.
It always amazes me that we can see the same things in nature every day, but in many mays these things are different every day. The light is never quite the same, the season is never quite the same, the growth is never quite the same.
It’s just an ordinary tree in an ordinary little wood, but this morning is said to me.
“Do you know, I’ve been here on this earth longer than you have. I was here before any of these houses were here. I was here before this road had tarmac on it. I may still be here after you have gone. You humans you run around and strive and build and break. But if you will just sit back and rest in God, He will provide for you.”
The Bible (Message) says:
“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.” Matthew 26
How much we have to learn. I need to make sure I include this in my thoughts for connecting with the purposes of God.
I decided to work from home today in order to get some peace and quiet. Guess what – today was the day when my neighbour decided to start having their garden dug up.
So far they have delivered a small digger, a small dumper truck, two skips, and loads of stone. I have no idea what they are doing but it’s certainly not a peaceful and quiet day at Chastney Towers today.
Of course there are two problems, the first one is the noise, the second more pressing one is my curiosity as to what on earth they are doing. This is not helped by Sue coming in every few minutes giving me an update.
We had our garden landscaped about 18 months ago and I have to admit to a certain amount of envy and one-up-man-ship. After all they have already had a conservatory built and turned their double garage into a snooker room. It’s all just too much.
My manifesto for this blog is to talk about the things that I feel personally. I run another blog http://oak-grove.typepad.com/oakgrove/ where I talk to my work things but I wanted somewhere different where i relayed family things and my personal feelings on things. Although I don’t talk about my work directly on the other site it could be linked to my work. This is all personal stuff.
Graham Chastney 