Day off.

8/1/12

Good turnout for the first normal service of the year. We looked at the opening verses of Genesis. My sermon notes and supporting clips can be found here: http://boultonlane.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/gods-epiphany/

9/1/12

Computer course in the morning and prep the remainder.

10/1/12

Busy day, Broadway parent and toddlers in the morning where there were some good conversations. Then straight to the crem to take a funeral. Then an afternoon breather before  GB at night.

11/1/12

NAM college day, Good to meet up with everyone. Good food for thought in the seminars which were based on spiritual survival and theological reflection.

12/1/12

Journeys in the morning where the subject of ‘God and sex’ was well discussed! Messy church meeting later on where good ideas flowed.

13/1/12

Prep day and some gardening with Lisa!

14/1/12

Day off and a good effort made to get the chores out of the way so the rest of the day was clear.

15/1/12

Sunday service focused on Samuel and Eli, see sermon notes here: http://boultonlane.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/god-is-speaking-to-you/ . The Church meeting bring and share went well. It kept to time (90mins – a record) and the formal feel had gone which was great. There were no comments when it came to set the next one so off we go!

16/1/12

Computer course saw a new person come along which was good and we’ll see them again. Later I had my Broadway review and that will carry on as it is going, good things are happening.

17/1/12

Prep day followed by GB in the evening.

18/1/12

I returned to my old place of work for a traditional 9-5 day. I made good money for church! 

19/1/12

Journeys in the morning, which focused on singleness and included an adult conversation on sexual frustration and masturbation which doesn’t often happen in church! Alpha at night and everyone came back and John joined Joy which was great.

20/1/12

Prep day and I have a lot of prep at the minute. Over the next 9 days I have 3x services, 2x Girls Brigades, 2x book group, 1x Messy Church, 1x parent and toddler group. I’m very glad I got out of doing a funeral I was asked to do in the week.

1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time, saying, 2 “Get up, go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah set out and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city, a three days’ walk across. 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s walk. And he cried out, “Forty days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and everyone, great and small, put on sackcloth.

10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed his mind about the calamity that he had said he would bring upon them; and he did not do it.

1 But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. 2 He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing. 3 And now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 And the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?” 5 Then Jonah went out of the city and sat down east of the city, and made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, waiting to see what would become of the city. 6 The Lord God appointed a bush, and made it come up over Jonah, to give shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort; so Jonah was very happy about the bush. 7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the bush, so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God prepared a sultry east wind, and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he was faint and asked that he might die. He said, “It is better for me to die than to live.” 9 But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” 10 Then the Lord said, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?”

A bit like our Genesis verses a few weeks back this is another part of the Bible that Christians debate over whether it’s divine truth through story or divine truth through historical fact. Of course you can sit in the middle and say it is part story and part history! What historical evidence we do have points to Jonah actually being written well after the 8^th Century BC it is set, and probably in the post-exilic times of the Persian occupation (539-333 BCE)[1].

During that time the Jewish leader Nehemiah continued what Ezra had started, implementing social legislation and prohibiting Jewish intermarriage with foreign wives[2]. So when Jonah was probably written, the thought of God actually wanting to reach out and save anyone else other than Israel especially Assyrians (who had successfully attacked Israel in the 7^th Century BC) would have gone very much against current thinking.

There’s a great deal that can be reflected on historically, but we’re going to concentrate today on how Jonah reacts. Let’s face it, he has the biggest sulk in the Bible, and typifies that saying of ‘throwing your toys out of the pram’. Jonah begins badly by being the only prophet in the Bible to directly disobey God. He eventually does as he is asked but through gritted teeth. He is then horrified at what God does next and actually saves the Ninevites! He thought they were going to get a good old piece of God’s wrath and be destroyed. But they change their ways and God changes his mind. God changing his mind is a very significant part of Jonah to note. No unchanging, got it all planned and in place God here. No, God reacts to human choices.

Jonah is not alone is his sulking in the Bible. I put him at number one, but here’s some other top ten entries:

Cain: Genesis 4.9 – “Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?”

Potiphar’s wife: Genesis 39 – ” And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” 8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me here, my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my hand. 9 He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” 10 And although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not consent to lie beside her or to be with her. 11 One day, however, when he went into the house to do his work, and while no one else was in the house, 12 she caught hold of his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” (Of course she goes on to get Joseph put in prison for not sleeping with her).

Naaman: 2 Kings 5.1-12 – “10 Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go, wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored and you shall be clean.” 11 But Naaman became angry and went away, saying, “I thought that for me he would surely come out, and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and would wave his hand over the spot, and cure the leprosy! 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them, and be clean?” He turned and went away in a rage.”

Elijah: 1 Kings 19.4 – “But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.”

The rich young man: Matthew 19.16-22 – “16 Then someone came to him and said, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; 19 Honor your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “I have kept all these; what do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.”

We all sulk; get angry with each other and sometimes with God. Not only that, at times especially in anger we are tempted like Jonah to judge those who should receive grace and be saved by God and those that don’t.

Let me give you a challenging example froma recent news story

‘A heroin addict who subjected her toddler son to a shocking catalogue of neglect before leaving his corpse in his cot for months is facing life in prison after being convicted of his murder.

Kimberley Hainey frequently left 15-month-old Declan on his own in dirty nappies while she went out with friends or stayed at her boyfriend’s house for days at a time.

After his death, a court heard how Hainey, 37, continued to claim child benefits and lied repeatedly to family, friends and health workers in a bid to maintain the deception that her son was still alive.

Declan was last seen in public around July or August 2009, but his body was not discovered in his cot at his home in Paisley, Scotland, until March 30, 2010.

Experts estimate he had been dead for anything up to eight months.

……..the court heard that Hainey was drinking heavily and going out, leaving Declan home alone.

On one occasion, she was away for two days, leaving the toddler to fend for himself.

Tragic Declan was left in dirty nappies with no food or drink while Hainey was out enjoying herself.

By the time his badly decomposed body was found, pathologists were unable to ascertain how he died.

After the death, Hainey sold his clothes and toys to buy heroin. She left his body in his cot.

He was found by Hainey’s mother, step-father and aunt after they were told the child had failed to turn up for immunisations at the GP’s surgery and was going to be reported missing to social services. One health visitor tried to visit Declan seven times from the summer of 2009. She was dealing with 320 cases at the time, but eventually raised the alarm’[3].

            I first read this article via a facebook post. It was posted by a young Mum and the reactions were in many respects understandable – violent and full of hatred. How on earth do Christians react to a true story like that?

Our gut reaction may be like many and simply want her to rot slowly in prison. We may feel more compassion but feel the task is too daunting. How do you start to transform someone like that? Perhaps we’ll think that she will never come to Christ and will therefore receive her well-earned eternal punishment in hell.

Mentioning hell is important because many Christians, especially Baptists hold onto some notion of hell for those that don’t repent and ask for Christ to enter their lives. Regardless of your belief regards hell is not more of a challenge to believe that God will reach out to those we might be quick to condemn? Hell is an easy place to stick people we don’t like or don’t match our criteria of God’s saving grace. A bit like Jonah, who when looking at the Ninevites was an open and shut case – they were going to be destroyed.

You can’t prove or disprove hell, but is it not better to sit in the place where you are challenged by the enormity of God’s grace? God is most definitely bigger than our emotions and judgements.

If you feel stuck now, unsure on how to go forward there is a wonderful modern example – Martin Luther King. He overcame murderous hatred through love. Murderous hatred still ended his life, but by then the way of love had won. Out of any modern person he is an incredible person of God, because he chose the way of God, not the way of man despite the presence of terrible evil all around. The 16^th January was Martin Luther King Day and it is so right that he is remembered and the God given spirit in which he lived is not only remembered but lives on to challenge us. Here is an affirmation of faith based on his writings[4]:

I refuse to believe that we are unable to influence the events which surround us.

I refuse to believe that we are so bound to racism and war, that peace, brotherhood and sisterhood are not possible.

I believe there is an urgent need for people to overcome oppression and violence, without resorting to violence and oppression.

I believe that we need to discover a way to live together in peace, a way which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of this way is love.

I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. I believe that right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant.

I believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.

I believe that what self-centered people have torn down, other-centered people can build up.

By the goodness of God at work within people, I believe that brokenness can be healed. “And the lion and the lamb shall lie down together, and everyone will sit under their own vine and fig tree, and none shall be afraid.”

Take a copy home and stick it on your fridge. Read it, believe and live it.

Prayers (adapted from Roots worship)

We have words to describe you, God,
and we have silence.
May our silence be bigger than our words. (pause)
We have creeds to define you God,
and we have silence.
May our silence be bigger than our creeds. (pause)
We have traditions that define you, God,
and we have silence.
May our silence be bigger than our traditions. (pause)
And in that silence,
may we come to you, O God, beyond words,
creeds and traditions, yet within it all.
We have silence to define you, God,
and we have love.
May we live in that love, greater than everything.

May we journey with Jonah to the places you call us,
to stand with the poor and the hurt and the homeless
and proclaim your love through our living.
May we pray for peace in the world,
by living as peacemakers.
May we pray for homes for all,
by welcoming the stranger in our community.
May we pray for the poor, by choosing to buy justly.
May we journey with Jonah,
with grace in our living, hope in our travelling,
justice in our sharing, and love in our being.

In new places we find new questions.
In new places we meet new ideas.
In new places we find out about ourselves.
In new places we grow.
In new places we learn from others.
In new places we share the same God.
Amen.

The Bible has to be approached very carefully. We must ask questions of who it was written to, why it was written, the social and theological context. We must then put that against the thrust of the whole Bible before we jump to conclusions about how God was at work in a person or group of people. More importantly we must not jump to conclusions to how God is speaking to us through it.

But we don’t always have the time or the resources for an extensive Bible Study, so what do we do? The single best thing is that we read the whole Bible through the understanding we have of Jesus – reading the Bible through ‘the lens of Christ’. What we know of Christ’s loving ways then informs our reading, especially of the Old Testament. The people did get it very wrong sometimes, meaning that eventually God need to come in person to reveal his true nature. On other occasions the people got it very right and these verses are such an example.

There are some significant divine teachings here which speak directly to us today when you look at them through the lens of Christ. Firstly we are all God’s people, regardless of age, there’s no ageism with God. Whether you’re a baby like Evelyn or 95 like Maud, God can speak through us. All we have to be is attentive to that voice.

We then move onto respect for each other. On occasions young people can be disrespectful to older people whilst in church. Far more familiar are older people being disrespectful to younger people. For a very long time there was a cultural acceptance that ‘children were seen and not heard’. That said children have nothing to say, that they are not important and their exuberance for life is like having a big bluebottle in the room during dinner. How wrong that was and how un-Christ like. The Bible has many examples of God at work in young people. Samuel, David, Moses are good examples. Then there is what we have just celebrated – Christmas, where we recognise the arrival of God in a baby. What adults must not do is be blinded by that old prejudice as God may be speaking to you directly through a young person. This is particularly important to remember in worship. During the times when the younger ones are noisy, don’t get angry or frustrated. Look at them, bless them, pray for them, and watch their interactions. God may have a word for you.

When we gather as a Christian community in holy expectancy of hearing God be excited that the voice might come from anyone or anything. It is certainly not only going to come through the worship leader, sometimes you will not hear anything through them. If you expect God’s voice to just come through the leader you will spend many a Sunday frustrated, angry, and forsaken even. Open your eyes and ears to the presence and voice of God.

Read these verses again, which show this respect for each other and openness to the way God speaks. Eli is unwavering in his respect for Samuel. Not once is he annoyed by the repeated interruptions. It is only through his respect to Samuel and openness to the way God speaks that he then realises God is trying to speak to Samuel.

This leads us onto our final teaching for today, that of working together. Loving respect and openness leads to the clear hearing of God. Samuel needed Eli and Eli needed Samuel. Together they allowed God to be heard.

We are about to embark on a new style of church meeting where there will be younger people present who will ask for things and will make some noise. Be open to the way God may speak through them. In the same way you must not expect God to only speak through the worship leader; don’t expect God to only speak through those who will spend the whole time around the table.

Let me finish by returning to something I said earlier – ‘there’s no ageism with God’ and expand on it. The respect, openness and the working together is not only about young and old, but all the nuances and variations in person, background and ability. To hear God clearly we must be truly inclusive and not let prejudices slam the door in God’s face.

God IS all around, all we have to do is realise that.

Prayers (adapted from roots worship material)

 We give you thanks, Lord,
for Samuel and Eli,
and the way they worked together
as a team, hearing your voice and deciding
what had to be done:
the young and the old;
the listener, the counsellor;
innocence and wisdom.
May we learn from them
how to serve you better.

Because Lord, we’re not always very good at listening to you,
especially if we think you’re going to say something we might not like.
We’re sorry that so often we’re not prepared to give you,
and others, the space to speak to us.
Forgive us our deafness, our impatience, our stubbornness,
and all the other things that block out your word.

We pray today for all who listen.
For teachers, that they really hear
what their pupils are saying:
hear us, good Lord.
For parents, that their children
may never feel neglected:
hear us, good Lord.
For doctors and nurses, that they
may radiate care and concern:
hear us, good Lord.
For counsellors, that they may understand:
hear us, good Lord.
For politicians, that they will
make wise decisions:
hear us, good Lord.
For ourselves, that we might truly reflect Jesus:
hear us, good Lord.

Amen.

Mainly holiday, though we had a well-attended film club and we really appreciated going to different churches on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

 3/1/12
Deep cleaned the carpet at church and then had a lengthy visit with the next of kin whose funeral I’m taking next week. 

 4/1/12
Big preparation day, Sunday service, Journeys, YPF and Alpha!

 5/1/12
Journeys started well with the first session looking at how we make moral decisions. Lisa and I then had lunch with Jo Reagan the minister at New Baptist Church in Burton. Then the second session of Alpha which was well attended and I hope those that braved coming for the first time will come back.

 6/1/12
Prep day again, Sunday service, admin, funeral prep and NAM.

 ¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ² Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

 ³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. ⁵ God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

Firstly, let’s acknowledge that January 6th was the official day that marks Epiphany, the visit of the Magi to the baby Jesus.

Matthew 2.1

 ¹ After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magifrom the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

The word epiphany comes from the ancient Greek ἐπιφάνεια, epiphaneia, which means “manifestation, striking appearance” and has become known as a sudden realisation or comprehension of the bigger picture. The Magi had a sudden realisation and so did the very early church, that Jesus is Christ.  Contrary to popular belief, epiphanies are not out of the blue occurrences of brilliance; they are a coming together of thoughts and ideas after a long period of reflection. Perhaps the best known epiphanies are when Archimedes shouted ‘Eureka’ when he stepped in the bath and noticed that the water displacement would solve his problem of how to work out whether cheaper metals had been used in supposed pure gold objects. Then there was when Newton understood gravity when he saw an apple fall from a tree. Both were brilliant realisations but came after long reflection on the issue.

Let’s move these thoughts on epiphany to our verses from Genesis. Do they represent God’s great epiphany? The thought is an interesting one and is the moment of realisation there at verse 4?

God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness.

Prior to that there was darkness, no form, and God was hovering over the waters. Then there was light and God realises that this is good – very good and from there the beauty of creation takes form.

This first part of Genesis divides Christians. Some believe it is divine truth through narrative, others that it is literal ‘as it happened’ truth. I personally don’t side with the seven day Creationists as they are known but I love the parallels we have here and the insights science have given us on the early universe. Science says there was darkness and then suddenly there was light and from light all good things have flowed. Evolution says that without light eyes could not have formed and neither could we.

God’s epiphany led to something very good. We know that it is astoundingly incredible. The various elements in our bodies were created when stars exploded billions of years ago. Science has found that is the only known place where the conditions for changing the basic building blocks of the universe can take place.

So creation is very good, but do we feel that when we look at the world?

Here is a short review of the past year followed by some moving photographs (both posted on Youtube). Some of the photographs are disturbing but are not graphic and gratuitous.

Here’s today’s epiphany – all those difficult images and stories are down to us not remembering or exercising the inherent goodness given to us in creation. If we remember the goodness given to us by God, respect it, love it and spread that essence of God’s original intention, then we become workers with the greatest love and source of all things –our creator God.

You are simply wondrous, words don’t do you justice. You are God’s good creation, be totally proud of that and walk into the world ambassadors of his love and goodness.

Prayers (courtesy of roots worship)         

We thank you, Lord,
that you didn’t do a one-off job with creation.
It is changing all the time,
and we all have our part to play in it.
Help us to live responsibly,
to develop our creativity and share our gifts,
and, most of all, to live lives full of praise to you,
our mighty creator and our God.

We give thanks to you, our great creator God,
for all the wonders of your creation.
We pray for the troubled parts of our world,
where there are wars, rebellions or natural disasters.
We pray for your healing and saving power,
for the restoration of law, order and stability,
and for the work of relief agencies.
We pray that we might take responsibility for
our own patch of your earth,
being thoughtful and caring in the way we treat it.
Bring wholeness, Lord, to our world
and to the lives of those we love.

For those who have no time to wonder, we pray.
For those who are too busy for beauty, we pray.
For those who cannot gasp at stars, we pray.

For those companies where value is shares, we pray.
For those industries that see land as income, we pray.
For those making too much profit to notice the earth, we pray.

For those who have been removed from the land, we pray.
For those whose land is tired and dry, we pray.
For those who starve in a world of plenty, we pray.

For those who have had enough, we pray.
For those who want to feel and know the seasons again, we pray.
For those who realise, we are part of creation, we pray.

Creator,
Sustainer,
renew our connection with creation,
and bring us to life once more.
Amen

Day off.

18/12/11

A long but very encouraging day. Started off at Radio Derby and the breakfast show then Sunday worship. We had our first Sunday School led nativity in my time at Boulton Lane which was very special (see some videos at http://boultonlane.wordpress.com/videos/ ). Later was the carol service where in addition to a very well observed record attempt, our alternative twelve days of Christmas with GB was very well received:

On the 1st day of Christmas my God gave to me
The brightest star in the sky

On the 2nd day of Christmas my God gave to me
Mary and Joseph …

On the 3rd day of Christmas my God gave to me
An inn keeper’s kindness …

On the 4th day of Christmas my God gave to me
A stable full of cattle …

On the 5th day of Christmas my God gave to me
Jesus Christ …

On the 6th day of Christmas my God gave to me
Shepherds from the hills …

On the 7th day of Christmas my God gave to me
3 wise men …

On the 8th day of Christmas my God gave to me
The gift of gold …

On the 9th day of Christmas my God gave to me
Frankincense …

On the 10th day of Christmas my God gave to me
The gift of myrrh …

On the 11th day of Christmas my God gave to me
A choir of angels singing …

On the 12th day of Christmas my God gave to me
A prophecy fulfilled …

19/12/11

Last computer class of the year and the broadband at church had its first try out. All went well with it. Afterwards was the Ktog fuddle where as usual many good conversations were had.

20/12/11

I was Santa for the first time at Broadway’s parent and toddler group. Went down very well and Oli didn’t know it was me. First thing he said to me after was ‘You missed Santa!’. Here’s a video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7XoMN-6PZE . Good fun and a great way for the group to see I’m committed to them.

21/12/11

NAM day with essays and book reviews. So far the NAM experience has been a good one!

22/12/11

Last ‘Journeys’ of the year and it was good to have Lisa there. We reviewed ‘Celebration of Discipline’ in its entirety and the group has really benefitted from it. We will begin the New Year by looking at the sexuality material in ‘Making Moral Choices’, majoring later in the sessions on homosexuality. This was well received. Continued with pastoral calls. Broadway’s young women’s group in the evening where we had Christmas dinner and I ran a quiz. Very difficult for one of the girls as her boyfriend of two years (who was 19) died of a heart attack last week.

23/12/11

NAM reflection and pastoral calls. Then holiday!

Various admin and prep in the morning and evening. Out with Lisa in Burton in the afternoon

3/12/11

Had an enjoyable Christmas quiz night in the evening though probably the last one I’ll do for a while. We’ve done enough of them.

4/12/11

One of those steady Sundays!

5/12/11

Computer class in the morning, and then helping out at home as Oli and Lisa were both off ill.

6/12/11

Sorted out the egg delivery then ran parent and toddlers at Boulton Lane. Nipped back home for a bit before returning to do GB

7/12/11

Was due to be at the Uni but ended up at the dentist instead with a chipped tooth! In the evening I attended a local Alvaston residents meeting and persuaded them and the councillors to give GB £500 which will go towards uniform.

8/12/11

Journeys in the morning followed by the ministers’ meeting which was a good time. Broadway GB in the evening.

9/12/11

Very helpful mental health training at Mind courtesy of Jo Reagan (the Minister at New Baptist Church). Looked at the ways we can best assist those with mental health issues, something that is becoming at real need at Boulton Lane.

10/11/12

Up to Manchester to visit family which was great.

11/12/11

A quiet and reflective Sunday morning, lots of difficult things shared. Good time in the afternoon with the annual pub Christmas dinner, 22 came! At YPF (young person’s group at Broadway) in the evening and looked at various contemporary and entertaining reflections on Christmas.

12/12/11

Computer class in the morning where I introduced an iPad to an 80 year and she liked it! Visited young Mia in the afternoon who has made an amazing recovery after her major operation to remove a tumour.

13/12/11

Broadway toddlers in the morning, where I agreed to be Santa next week! GB in the evening where the older ones had a pampering night and they really liked it.

14/12/11

Christmas lunch club at church which was very nice and well attended. Good conversations as well.

15/12/11

Journeys in the morning where we completed Richard Foster’s ‘Celebration of Discipline’. It has been a significant book for us all. Setup for the world record carols attempt afterwards. Got a call from Radio Derby in the afternoon wanting me to talk about the world record attempt Sunday morning. It will mean going to the studio and an early start!

16/12/11

NAM studies and catching up, I’ve not been at home much!

26/11/11
Felt a bit out of sorts on my day off, couldn’t really work out why. However, I perked up at Josh’s swimming Gala where he did very well.

27/11/11
Really good family service with both GB and Guides present, meaning 42 children and 29 adults. Evening service was good too, even though it was just the same few. Has made me think about not wanting to drop it. Both services looked at Isaiah 64.1-9.

28/11/11
Computer class in the morning then helped Dad as he continued to help put together church’s new outdoor storage box. It has been a big job! Later I worked on the quiz night and next Sunday’s worship.

29/11/11
Created calendars and Christmas cards at Broadway toddlers, then back for more prep on quiz night and worship. In the evening we started rehearsing the carol service performance with GB.

30/11/11
Prep and admin in the morning, then Prose at the Uni, then putting up the curtains and the storage box at church. It was great doing it with Lisa, the boys, Mum, Dad and Maureen.

1/12/11
Journeys then quiz night set up and finally finishing the storage box! First Alpha session at night which went well.

Our carol service will be starting at 6.30pm where a special performance will be given by the Girls Brigade. Then at precisely 7pm under the watchful eye of independent adjudicators we will sing back to back: Silent Night, O Come All Ye Faithful , O little Town of Bethlehem, Away in a Manger and Hark the Herald Angels Sing.

If you come it is very important that you know the songs and sing them (in my case badly) otherwise our attempt is void. Also the performance will be filmed as part of the record attempt.

Come and take part in a special evening that I hope captures some of the true spirit of Christmas; that of real excitement and love appearing in the ordinariness of life.

 Blessings and love, Mike