Mountain Climbing for Beginners

Pressing On

2012-01-13T14:46:00.000Z

As I look into 2012, it is with some pain. Literal pain. I’ve had a virus now for nearly 12 weeks. I’ve lost two stone in weight and every movement hurts. It is only a virus and nothing more serious, but it’s hard to walk, hard to move much at all.

The virus will go. The pain will go, and I must press on into a new year with all its possibilities. Here’s how the famous Indian poet Tagore put it:

Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless in facing them. Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, but for the heart to conquer it.

A Year of Change and No Change

2011-12-21T16:01:00.001Z

New Zealand earthquakes. Japan Tsunami. Japanese nuclear power stations. The Arab spring. Tunisia. Egypt. Yemen. Libya. Gadhafi’s death. Syria. Egypt again. Bin Laden’s death. Royal Wedding. Norwegian shootings. Riots in London. Riots in Britain. Phone hacking. Somalia famine. Turkey earthquake. Pakistan floods. Philippines floods. Anti-capitalist camps. Greece crash. Italy Prime Minister. Euro troubles. Euro veto.

And the year is not over. 2011 is one of those years when more has happened than we can begin to write down. A lot of it tragic. But one thing remains the same: ‘I the Lord do not change’ (Bible: Malachi 3:6).

The Happiness Survey (2)

2011-12-01T14:13:00.001Z

The latest results from the Office of National Statistics happiness survey – carried out earlier this year and interviewing over 4000 adults- shows money doesn’t make for happiness. The survey shows that as a nation we have a happiness index of 7.4 out of 10. The same score as last time, despite a real downturn in the economy.

What did show up was what a lack of a job did. Here the index went right down to the low 6’s. People need to be valued, to have a purpose, to be able to provide for others. We are a ‘people’ people. Work is what is valued above money.

As we’ve been told over the years, riches can’t buy happiness. And the statistics show it to be true.

Money can buy a house, but not peace; medicine, but not health; amusement, but not joy; therapy, but not healing; a bed, but not sleep; allies, but not friends.

A final word from the writer of Proverbs: Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.

Stigma

2011-11-21T11:04:00.001Z

You can read all about leprosy. You can look at the photo’s. You can study its effects. But it’s only when you look into the eyes of the leprosy patient that you realise how vile a disease leprosy is.

I spent two days at the Leprosy Mission Hospital in Kolkata last month. For me, as part of a three week trip to India, it was the most hard-hitting part of the trip. There were two looks in the eyes of the patients as I toured the wards. One was of hope, trusting the hospital could do all that was needed for them.

The other was of despair. A young man was there, 24 years old. He has already lost all his fingers and toes. He should have come earlier, but it’s not the disease, which is treatable nowadays, it’s the stigma. He didn’t come earlier because of the shame of the disease.

The Indian government are doing all they can to take away the stigma. But it’s still there. A lady in her 70’s was late for an appointment. The reason; the bus driver had seen she had leprosy and wouldn’t let her on the bus. This is the truth of the most stigmatized disease in history. No wonder Jesus centred on the person with leprosy. He knew to look in the eyes.

When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say....

2011-11-08T17:40:00.001Z

Over the last three weeks, I have had the immense privilege of working with some of the most wonderful people in the world. I'm sure there will be more stories to follow, but this seems appropriate with Remembrance Day around the corner.

During my time in Nagaland, an extreme North-East State in India, I was able to drive to Kohima. Here there is one of the best kept war cemeteries I have seen, a memorial to all those who gave their lives in what was the turning point in the Indian war against the Japanese in 1944. Amongst the thousands of graves, each one recording a British or Indian soldier, usually in their early twenties, there is a poem, called the Kohima Epitaph, and copied by many other war memorials. This is what it says:

When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say,
For your Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today.

Simple and poignant. Still as true today. Let's not forget.

Roller Coasters

2011-10-10T18:21:00.000+01:00

I remember taking Lois on the roller-coaster. I didn’t want to go, but Lois, aged about seven at the time, would have none of it! It was okay. In fact I quite enjoyed it. The initial fear was replaced by mild apprehension which turned into a pleasurable ride.

That’s how I feel right now on the eve of another trip to India. This time for three weeks in three different places. There is always some apprehension- a very different country, the responsibility of leading three teams, safety on the roads, and so on…

But I’m pretty sure all that will change as I get off the plane at Hyderabad. The sights and smells will bring back a flood of memories, all of them good.

And so the ride begins….

REPOST: Follow Your Heart: Steve Jobs, 1955 - 2011

2011-10-06T14:27:00.003+01:00

A REPOST FROM MAY 2009

"Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything, all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure; these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked.

There is no reason not to follow your heart.

Death is very likely the single best invention of life. It’s life’s change agent; it clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you. But someday not too long from now, you will gradually become old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic but it’s quite true.

Your time is limited so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped in dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice, and most important, have the courage to follow your heart."

Speech to Stanford College from Steve Jobs, CEO, Apple Computer and Pixar Animation

Fried Brains, Warm Friendships

2011-10-03T14:36:00.000+01:00

Having completed my introductory weeks at Mattersey Hall for the Masters in Theology, I must admit to a case of ‘fried brains’! There’s a whole different world out there! The level and excellence of thinking from the lecturers is almost too much for someone that hasn’t studied in about 30 years. But along with the fried brains, there were many warm friendships. It is so good to met others that seem as crazy as me, paying someone to put you through mental torture!

More warm friendships on the way… In a week I will be in India again, for three weeks this time. It will be good to renew old friendships and continue to help with the Esther girls and medical camps. The teams are ready…. different people over the three weeks. So lots of warm friendships and some warm weather too!

Footprints, Not Monuments

2011-09-25T14:17:00.000+01:00

William Faulkner talks about the need for footprints, not monuments. He explains that monuments are a statement that says ‘I got this far’. Footprints announce ‘this is where I was when I moved again’.

I want footprints to be the reflection of my life. I’m on a journey. I only arrive in the next life. A step at a time, I move forward. I don’t quite know what is around the corner, but with God’s help, I keep on the right path. It’s what Nietzsche and Peterson called a ‘long obedience in the same direction’. Long roads, mountain paths, obstacles and more. Finally the view from the top. It’s then that you know it was all worth it.

Ten Years Ago

2011-09-11T19:10:00.002+01:00

I was meant to be there that day. I keep an email in my diary of the invitation to a meeting in New York on 11th September 2001. What’s more, the company I was visiting had offices in one of the towers.

I postponed the meeting. God knows the time and the hour, and for that I’m grateful. In the meantime, the email is a reminder of the transience of this life.

C S Lewis described this life as like the front cover and the title page of a book compared to what is to come. As Lewis says, one day I will begin Chapter One of the Great Story.

Thank You - To All 10,000 of You

2011-08-24T20:41:00.000+01:00

About five years ago I started a blog. My eldest daughter had just got married and I had turned fifty. It seemed a bit of a watershed. I decided I was not going to give up on climbing the mountains that life throws at you, so this blog was born.

Today, 193 posts later, it tipped over the 10,000 mark in terms of readers. So thank you. I’m glad the blog has encouraged and challenged, and I hope it will continue to do so.

It’s taken a while to get there because I don’t cheat. Some sites count every ‘click’ as a new visitor. I’m a bit mean in only recording visitors once a day.

A few facts and figures. The two most popular blogs were one on this page – ‘A Clear Reason – A Clear Answer’, and one that has been reposted once because it was such a popular post – ‘Laminin’ (October 2010). Some days there have been as many as 100 visitors, other days one or two. Hello to the 481 of you in the States that have passed through this year. And a big hello to the five of you in Russia! Glad you passed by, sole visitor from China. And hi to my friends in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. I know who you are! Quite a following in Brazil- appreciate your company.

Thanks again and here’s to the next 10,000!

This Race is Not About a Fall, This Race is About a Rise!

2011-08-17T12:15:00.000+01:00

We're all in a race. It's the race of life. How we live determines how we finish.

Even if we fall, we can get up, run again and still win. Heather Dornidon shows how it should be:

Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God.
Hebrews 12: 1-2, The Message Version of the Bible.

(This was a clip I showed in my talk at KingsGate Church recently. You can find the talk at:
http://www.kingsgateuk.com/Media/Player.aspx?media_id=73639&file_id=81982 )

John Stott, Pastor, Theologian, Author; April 1921 - July 2011

2011-08-13T17:43:00.001+01:00

"John Stott was the most modest of men. Compliments embarrassed him. He would shrug them off and try to change the subject just as quickly as he could.

If he could have briefed me in advance for this message which I am to give now, he most certainly would have said to me ‘focus on Christ, don’t focus on me’. "

John Stott Memorial Service Sermon from J I Packer.

A Clear Reason..... A Clear Answer

2011-08-09T10:18:00.001+01:00

“Where there is no vision, the people perish” is one of the best known quotes from the Bible (Proverbs 29:18). What we are seeing on the streets of our cities reflects the truth of those words.

If you are in your late twenties, unemployed, and in fact have never had a job (not for want of trying), it’s likely you will lack purpose in life. If all you know is gang culture, it’s likely that is where you get your values on life. If you live in a materialistic and godless society, it’s likely you worship the HD TV, Nike shoes and designer labels.

What we are witnessing in our streets is a result of the society we live in. No excuse for riots. But a clear reason.

And there is a clear answer. Not that it appears to be an acceptable answer to a majority of our society. When you find the reason you’re here, it makes a difference to how you live.

As we wake this morning to pictures of burnt out cars, looted shops and fearful communities, there has never been such a need for faith in Christ.

The Right Shoes

2011-07-17T16:58:00.004+01:00

Lois, my 20 year old daughter, declared recently that she wanted to start running. I offered to buy her her first pair of running shoes.

‘You need running shoes?’ she asked. ‘Yes of course’ I said.

‘Why? What’s wrong with my plimsolls?’ I gave a wry smile the way only Dad’s can.

A couple of hours later we were at Advanced Performance, the excellent running shop in Peterborough. It was only then that the full realisation of what was needed began to hit Lois. The first thing we saw was a guy in a shirt and tie running around the car park wearing new running shoes.

‘I’m not doing that! No way!’

‘But you have to if you want the right shoes. They won’t sell you any shoes without you trying them out to make sure they are right for you.’

‘Well I’m not running around the car park for any one!’

Half an hour later and with about ten pairs tried out and videoed on a running machine to check for pronation or supination (fancy terms referring to how your foot strikes the ground) and Lois was running round the car park on the way to owning her first pair of real running shoes.

Why all the bother? Because all our feet are different. Not just in size, but in the way we run. The wrong shoes, a lack of support to the ankle and you are on your way to severe muscle injuries and damaged knees.

What are we wearing as we run the race of life? Have we got the right shoes? The right support to our own personal race of life? What are we trusting in? Who are we trusting in? Who’s there to support us, listen to us, encourage us? Make sure you’re wearing the right shoes.

Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Hebrews12:1-2

Restore a Town. Transform a Nation.

2011-07-01T16:44:00.004+01:00

You drive for 5 hours from Johannesburg, through the mountains and over the Swaziland border. What greets you is quite breathtaking. Bulembu is an old mining town. When the mines closed nearly ten years ago, the 10,000 population moved out. Bulembu became a ghost town. Until someone had a vision of what could be.

Today a Christian trust owns the whole town. All 4,000 acres. The population is back to 2,000. There are successful industries in wood production, water bottling, honey production, a bakery, a dairy, successful tourism. All from nothing.

Most of all, there are 200 orphans saved. Bulembu has become a centre for rescued children. With the worst HIV rate in the world at around 40%, and an average age expectancy of just over 30, Swaziland is slowly dying. Children die daily. Bulembu is changing the statistics.

Their aim is to be a sustainable community for 2000 children by 2020. Their shirts carry the slogan ‘experience transformation’. And they are. In restoring a town, they are transforming a nation.

In the Footsteps of an Eight Year Old

2011-06-14T11:37:00.006+01:00

Today I walked in the footsteps of an eight year old.

I started at the primary school, looking into the window where he began school at five years of age. Elsie sat next to him that morning. She cried all day. He ignored her.

On past the school to the shops. Two are still there. The newsagents where his mum bought him his first plastic farm animals. And the chip shop- fish and chips on a Friday night.

Down the back streets, past the allotments, past where he fell off his bike. And there it is, home - Milford Avenue, Flixton, Manchester. The house he lived in from early childhood to age eight. Not much has changed. A new fence on the side. The paint is a different colour.

It’s the first time I have walked those streets in forty-eight years. All sorts of memories came flooding back. Running through the streets with my friends. Stopping pretty much anywhere, in any house, to ask for a drink of orange squash. Community was strong there. Sad memories too. I found myself grieving for the loss of my mum. It was her hand I held as I walked those streets all those years ago.

The path has taken many a turn from Milford Avenue. Birmingham, Leicester, South London, Crawley, Peterborough. And I’ve been grateful for every step. Grateful to God. Grateful to my friends and family who have shared the journey. If you are reading this as someone who has journeyed with me, thank you for your company.

And there’s more. There’s a path ahead. I can’t see where it leads, but like the days of my early childhood, I hold a hand. No longer my mum’s hand, but my Lord’s. He treads every step with me. He can see what I cannot. He knows every rock and boulder we need to negotiate. He leads, I follow. One day we will reach home together.

A 17th Century Nun's Prayer

2011-06-05T19:33:00.001+01:00

Lord Thou knowest better than I myself know that I am growing older and will some day be old.
Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion.
Release me from the craving to straighten out everybody’s affairs.
Make me thoughtful, but not moody; helpful but not bossy.
With my vast store of wisdom it seems a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest, O Lord, that I want a few friends at the end.
Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me the wings to get to the point.
Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are increasing, and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the days go by.
I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others’ pains, but help me to endure them with patience.
I dare not ask for an improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessening cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others.
Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.
Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a saint- some of them are so hard to live with- but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil.
Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places, and talents in unexpected people.
And give me, O Lord, the grace to tell them so.
Amen.

Who's the customer?

2011-05-21T14:08:00.002+01:00

I was part way through an 11 mile walk along the coast west of Dolgellau when I arrived at the George III Hotel in Penmaenpool. It was about 11am, so time for a coffee.

ME: Hi, do you serve coffee?

PROPRIETOR: Yes sir.

M: One coffee please.

P: Yes sir. Anything else?

M: Oooh yes please! I’d love a piece of toast.

P: We don’t do food.

M: What do you mean? You’re a hotel!

P: Yes sir. Food is at lunchtime.

M: So why ask if I wanted anything else?!

P: Kitkat? Mars Bar?

M: I’ll just have the coffee thanks.

A great walk but not sure I’ll be going back to the hotel……

Food for the Soul

2011-05-18T16:06:00.011+01:00

Just back from a short break in Dolgellau, Wales. Just on my own- a time to reflect on changes in my life, a time to listen and a time to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Someone once described it as food for the soul. I'll let you look at the photo's and see if you agree...

Lost voices

2011-05-07T10:07:00.000+01:00

It's 'no' to AV. With that decision, Britain has recommited itself to two-party rule. Or more likely, one and a half party rule. Years of Tory leadership with an occasional look-in for Labour.

Instead of reflecting modern day Britain, politics will continue with exaggerated statements, unaccountable politicians and the potential for extreme swings in political leadership.

Apologies to the Greens, the nationalists, the Christian parties and the independents. Britain has decided to continue ignoring you- and ignoring the hundreds of thousands of voters you represent. No change there of course. But it could have been different.

As for the moderately successful Liberal Democrats, any power they have is likely to be given them by the Tories or Labour in order to keep the main parties in power.

Britain has shown itself to be conservative with a small 'c'. Which means Conservatives with a big 'c' are the obvious winners.

I'm not sure there will be another referendum on voting in my lifetime. A lost opportunity. And a lost voice for so many in our not so democratic democracy.

The Finish

2011-04-18T15:18:00.003+01:00

Well, it’s done. The London Marathon that is. 5 hours and 24 minutes. Not my best time, but it was a hot day!

I’m pleased to record that my only injury (other than not being able to walk the next day!) is a cut lip. I managed this at about mile 22 when my coordination went slightly awry, trying to take a drink form a water bottle!

Thank you to all those that have so selflessly given towards the Esther Homes. As I write this, we are well over £18,000, with tax money to add back in as well. We will leave the site live for a while yet for any late-comers.

www.epoh.org.uk

For those that would like to follow our progress in buying and/or building the Esther Home, the EPOH web site will also keep you up to date with this. As it stands, we are hopeful that we may be able to part buy/part rent towards owning a building of our own.

With an event like this, there is always a list of thank-you’s. So here goes…

Thank you to:

- Lisa Ryan for her hours of patience setting up the site, and putting up with my impatience! For allowing our India work to join forces with her Africa work and also for the great seat at the marathon for Roh.
- Steve Cronau for the hours of work on the site and setting up the Paypal link when it became clear that the HMRC department wasn’t going to respond in time to set up Virgin Giving.
- Liz Lavies for all the treatment on my calves. And for refusing payment so the money could go to the Esther Homes.
- Mickey Vincent and all at Chroma Sport for the free printing of the running vest.
- Adam & Karen for putting me up for the night before the marathon. And Helen for the coordination.
- Tim Hunt for accompanying me on the marathon, and not making too many corny jokes.
- All my friends at churches past and present, friends within the pensions industry, friends at TLM, those on our India team, and everyone who has helped with contributions towards the fabulous amount we were able to make.
- And of course, Roh, Nathan & Joy, Elspeth & Rob, Josh and Lois. I’ll try not to complain too much at not being able to walk!

Check

2011-04-14T16:41:00.002+01:00

Running gear? Check.
Running number? Check
Electronic tag? Check.
Sexy looking calf compression socks? Check. (Not so sexy though)
Pedometer? Check.
Nutrition bars? Check.
Sports drinks? Check.
Ibuprofen and paracetamol? Check.
Vaseline? (!) Check.
Sun protection cream? In the UK? Yep, forecast to be a warm day. Check.
Bed at friends’ house near the start? Check.
Ready to go? Not really!
Sponsorship complete? Almost check!

If you haven’t got round to sponsoring me yet, there’s only a few day’s to go until Sunday’s race. Please help the Esther Homes children by sponsoring me here:

www.epoh.org.uk
…..and thank you!

This is why I am running on Sunday

2011-04-11T16:42:00.003+01:00

Please help sponsor me in the London Marathon:

www.epoh.org.uk

Gremlins and glitches, fears and frustrations

2011-04-01T08:34:00.001+01:00

The journey towards marathon day has been far from easy. It’s been a story of gremlins and glitches, fears and frustrations. Here are a few of the ‘marathon moments’:

#1: we had hoped to put the EPOH charity up on the Virgin Giving site. Virgin were very helpful but needed HMRC (the tax man to you and me) to sign off that EPOH is a charity. We are of course- we have the documents to prove it. All it needed was someone at HMRC to put a tick in a box on a form. That was eight weeks ago. We are still waiting. Sad that along with many small charities, HMRC are frustrating us all with an under resourced department.

#2: that meant a change of plan. Enter the cavalry. A big thanks to Steve Cronau and his daughter Hannah for the time and energy they took on redeveloping the EPOH site and in setting up a Paypal link so that I could start receiving personal sponsorship. Thanks too to John Watson of John Watson Design for the fabulous new EPOH logo! If only that was the end of the story….. there is a glitch on the Paypal site so that now and again, for no apparent reason, someone who thinks they have given, haven’t. If you have kindly tried to sponsor me, please do go to the site to make sure your contribution has been made!

#3: Quite rightly Paypal have rules. One of them is that if we get more then £1900 into the account in one month, we have to supply more documents. We did. They said it wasn’t enough. We said what else do you need? They didn’t seem to know. Thanks to Lisa Ryan, the Director of EPOH for the long conversations with Payal in order to get that one resolved.

#4: The other main glitch had been my calf muscles. I’ve been running for years without a problem, but the calf muscles on both legs have been giving me gyp. Thanks to Liz, our friendly physio, I’m pretty sure it will be alright on the day!

Anyway, enough of the gremlins and glitches, fears and frustrations. If you can help me towards my goal for the India Esther Homes, please go to:

www.epoh.org.uk

And thank you for your prayers, support and good wishes. 17th April is fast approaching!

REPOST: Forest Gump

2011-03-26T11:52:00.006Z

With the London Marathon now three weeks away, this looked an appropriate re-post! (from November 2007)

Here's a story from a few years ago. I used to do more running than I do now, as did Tim Hunt, a friend of mine.

Tim called over one night with a big grin on his face, full of what had just happened. He'd been out running and had run past a group of girls- and one of them 'wolf whistled' him. Well, Tim was full of it! He dined off that story for a good while afterwards!

I went running myself a few days later in Yaxley, where we lived at the time, and sure enough, up in front of me were a group of girls. Recalling Tim's often told story, I pushed my shoulders back, increased my pace and ran past them looking as cool as possible. I waited for the wolf whistle. Nothing. Then, just as I passed them, one of the girls called out 'Run Forest Run!'

Tim dined out on that story too!

If you would like to sponsor me, running for the Esther Homes in India, here is the web address:

http://www.epoh.org.uk/

Up and Running

2011-03-23T13:31:00.003Z

Twelve years ago I ran the London Marathon. That’s just about long enough to have forgotten the pain...

Having said I would never do it again, here I am, in the middle of hours of training, awaiting 17th April this year. But there’s a good reason for changing my mind.
Roh (my wife) and I have worked into India over the last 12 years. In particular, we have been instrumental in setting up a number of Esther Homes. These are rescue homes for girls. Some are orphans, some are the daughters of rescued sex workers (temple prostitutes) and some are from poor families where no education has been given.
We take these girls in, feed and clothe them, and give them an education- basically a hope and a future.

The main home looks after 25 girls in Hanamkonda near Hyderabad. We lease the building and have to move out later this year. We can lease again of course, but better still would be to buy or build a home. This will cost around £45,000. Cheap in UK terms but a lot in India terms.

So that’s why I’m running the marathon.

At the time of writing I have been able to raise just over £11,500 through corporate donations from companies. Individual sponsorship is now available by copying and pasting the link. Please help all you can to meet our target.

http://www.epoh.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=38&Itemid=60

The Last Chapter in the Last Book in the Series

2011-03-15T17:10:00.001Z

“We may not be on the last page but it’s the last chapter in the last book in the series.”

That was a comment from a pensions manager friend of mine relating to what we are seeing around the world and I think he’s got it about right.

I’m not one to go on about ‘end times’ and try and plot and plan what the Bible says on these things, but I’d be pretty blind not to see the relationship between what we are seeing in Japan, New Zealand and Northern Africa and some of the apocalyptic verses in the last chapter of the last book in the series!

The Bible says a lot about the times we live in. More importantly, it points to the answer. Have a read.

My thanks to Jim Churcher for the quote

Windmills

2011-02-28T17:19:00.002Z

Hidden away in my middle-class, safe-as-houses existence, it is hard to begin to understand what the people of Libya, Egypt, Tunisia and other countries are going through.

The bravery of those standing in the streets of Libya, seeking freedom and democracy is astounding. The best I can do is to offer my prayers for peace and a quote to encourage:

"When the winds of change are blowing, some people build shelters; others build windmills." (Chris Bucchere)

Where Am I?

2011-02-18T09:42:00.002Z

This is a story attributed to the great Reformer, Martin Bucer. He tells of a forgetful Rabbi.

Each morning the Rabbi would wake up and forget where he had put his clothes. It would literally take him all day to find them and put them on. And by the time he was dressed, it was time to go to bed again.

This was happening day after day. One day he had an idea. ‘Why not write down where I store my clothes and put the note by my bed?’ So he did.

The next morning, he saw the note and was able to dress straight away, with all of the rest of the day still ahead of him.

He looked around the room. ‘Now’, he said, ‘where am I?’

How many of us are so busy with ‘getting dressed’, doing the day to day chores of life without thinking too much of the more fundamental questions such as ‘where am I’?

Pardon?

2011-02-15T13:45:00.000Z

THE SCENE: Early Saturday morning. Ralph & Roh still in bed. Ralph snoozing. Roh doing and early morning Bible study.

ROH: “I didn’t realise how much the Ferris’s dislike Jesus”

RALPH (suddenly fully awake): “What did you say?!”

ROH: “The Ferris’s. They really hate Jesus.”

RALPH: “No they don’t.”

ROH: “They do!”

RALPH: “But Roh, Ian Ferris leads worship on Sunday’s and Gill works in the church office.”

ROH: “Not the Ferris’s you deaf old thing. The Pharisees!”

Pensions Rocks

2011-02-04T18:32:00.003Z

Over two nights this week, the great and the good- and the musically talented- of the pensions industry have been gathering at a night club on Oxford Street for a battle of the bands. (Well done to Towers Watson who won on the night I was there. Although I though the Standard Life lot pushed them close with a great version of ‘Smoke on the Water’!)

And pensions really does rock! What started for me 34 years ago in the Clerical Medical & General Insurance Society pensions legal department has served me well. In those days, pensions really was a bit of a ‘backwater’, but I stuck with it, saw the light and got out of the legal department (apologies to lawyers reading this) and have enjoyed a great career. What I saw as ‘boring’ at the start of my career has ended up as anything but- challenging, political, front page, but never boring!

The reason for writing this then? It’s not going to be so much of my career from April. I will be stepping down as Pensions & Benefits Director at Mars and stepping into something new. A bit of church work, a bit of charity work in India, finishing my third book, a part time MA in Theology.... and, I hope, keeping a foot in the pensions industry with a trustee position or two. Anyway, no one is allowed to use the ‘R’ word. No retirement yet.

So thank you pensions, you really do rock. And thank you to all my friends and colleagues who have worked with me over the years at Clerical Medical, Bowring & Layborn, Swiss Life, EMI. EMAP, Brambles, ICI and Mars. Here’s to pensions continuing to rock (slightly more gently) for a good few years yet.....

This Good Day

2011-01-24T15:22:00.000Z

I had the privilege as a trustee director of the Leprosy Mission of interviewing eleven candidates for the National Director’s job last week. At the end of each interview, one of our panel, a Quaker by background, prayed. This is how she started each prayer:

“Dear Lord. Heavenly Father. We thank you for today. This good day…..”

What a beautiful way of praying. ‘This good day’. After eleven times, I really got into this prayer. It meant so much.

We can choose how we manage our day. We can decide it’s an average day if we want. We can be forever looking to the future and awaiting the next big thing. We can look with fear on a particular meeting or job requirement. Or we can declare at the beginning of the day that this is a good day.

Lord I thank you for this good day.

Heartwater

2011-01-12T18:29:00.002Z

Her heart was pounding. Slowly she opened the door. As an ‘outsider’, a prostitute, she had no right to enter the house and interrupt the meal. But her passion was greater than her fear. She ran to him, poured perfume on him, washed his feet with her tears, dried them with her hair.

This story from the Bible (Luke 7:38) is a beautiful picture of worship.

In those times, it was usual for the host to arrange for his guests feet to be washed- kind of necessary because of the state of the roads. But the host had not done so.

This lady does what should have been done. She should not have been there. She should not have entered the house. But her love for Jesus overcame her fear of being turned away.

It’s a powerful picture. Giving her all. Overcoming fear. The reformer Martin Luther called her tears ‘heartwater’.

As we go in to another year, what is it we are worshipping? (We all worship something!) What are we passionate about? And when we cry, cry out, shout or sing- are the tears heartwater?

Surprise

2010-12-21T16:42:00.006Z

2000 years ago. The shepherds were surprised. They knew the stars in the sky. They saw them every night. But this one was new.

Then the real surprise. Bright light and glory! And for them. The poorest of the poor. The nobodies. The also-rans.

The wise men were surprised. They too knew the stars in the sky and this one had no right to be there. And it was for them. The richest. The wisest. But not so rich and wise as to think they could ignore the sign, ignore the call.

260 years ago. The audience were surprised. What an amazing sound. Handel had been working on The Messiah for an incredibly short period of time. He was inspired. The sound was in his head, the star was in the sky. Refusing food and sleep, he kept working until it was finished. As the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ was completed, with tears in his eyes, Handel cried out “I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself.”

Recently in a shopping mall in Canada. The innocent shoppers were surprised. They had no idea that a full choir had seated themselves across the food court in what was to be one of the best Flash Mob’s ever.

2000 years ago. 260 years ago. Today. It’s still true. Enjoy the video. And Happy Christmas!

Busily Doing Nothing....

2010-12-02T13:56:00.003Z

A postcard from my Dad, on holiday with my sister.....

'Today we did nothing. Tomorrow we plan to do less.'
Wonderful.

Wishing you all a peaceful, restful and Christ-full Christmas and New Year.

How do you measure 'Happy'?

2010-11-29T15:17:00.001Z

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) has decided to measure how happy we are in the UK. The ONS are to survey us from next April, in order to determine our state of happiness for what they are calling their ‘National Well Being Project’. (For those who have read Huxley’s ‘1984’, their title has a somewhat sinister overtone!)

So what will be the measure? Am I richer than last year? Do I still have a job? Am I still married?! It’s a tough one. For some, happiness may be measured by not missing an episode of ‘Coronation Street’. For others, the number of parties. Others still, holidays, cars, houses….

Solomon in the Bible had a good go at determining happiness. God offered him whatever he wanted. He chose wisdom. This is what he says:

‘[Wisdom] is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who hold her fast.’ (Proverbs 3:16)

Small in stature, big in faith

2010-11-05T18:12:00.004Z

Under 5 feet tall. Little education. Rejected by the missionary organisations. Not a promising start perhaps, but Gladys Aylward would not give up. God had called her to China -and she was going!

Working as a parlour maid in London in the 1920’s, she saved all she could and took boats and trains to get to China, with only £2 in her pocket.

On arriving, she teamed up with an older missionary and opened an Inn. Donkey herders would go past, walking at the back of their herd. So Gladys would quietly guide the lead donkey into the in courtyard, with all the other following. By the time the herders got there, they accepted that the donkeys did not want to move on, so stayed the night. It was one way of increasing trade!

The donkey herders liked to stay with Gladys and her friend- they not only had clean bedding, but were told stories every time they stayed of an amazing person called Jesus.

It wasn’t long before Gladys began to work with the children and took many orphans into her care. As war came to China, Gladys was faced with the prospect of helping 94 children in her care to escape. They climbed over the mountains and across rivers. None were lost.

The faith of a parlour maid from Edmonton, East London, with little education and no money, saved nearly 100 children from certain death.

"Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are."1 Corinthians 1: 26-28

Changing Geography, Changing Seasons, Changing Family

2010-10-26T13:10:00.010+01:00

There’s always something going on in our family. But even for our busy lives, the last couple of weeks have been pretty frantic.

Roh and I have just come back from India. We took a team of eight to help with charity projects and support the local church. As always, it was an amazing time. Lives changed for the good. Children without parents given a hope and a future. Dalit villages supported with medical camps and treatment from local and UK doctors. And a group of local churches supported and encouraged. My thanks to the team- though my observation would be that they have been as impacted as anyone in India!

Then it was straight up to Sheffield to celebrate our eldest son’s wedding to Joy. So congratulations Nathan and Joy. And Joy- welcome to this crazy family!

We all move through seasons- literal and metaphorical. This is such a season. The children all away from home for the first time. Two married, and our first grandchild earlier this year. So a new season for sure.

And just a change in geography for a week brings such impact. Which is the real world? I suspect that the poverty we see on each visit to India is much more the real picture. We are cocooned from this real world, enjoying as a nation such affluence when compared to the Dalit’s of India.

New geography, new seasons, new family. So new focus and new vision needed. And as we enter this later season of life, the need for new energy too. For every one of us, I ask, along with Paul in the Bible that “ God …make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!”

REPOST: Laminin

2010-10-11T13:04:00.004+01:00

This is a post from 13th September 2008. In view of the fact that many of my friends at KingsGate Church heard about Laminin this last weekend when Mark Stibbe visited, I thought I'd repost...

I’d never heard of Laminin until the other day, but it’s been with me all of my life. Laminin, according to Wikipedia, is a protien molecule that ‘is capable of binding to cells, which helps anchor the actual organs to the membrane. Laminin is vital to making sure overall body structures hold together.’

In other words, Laminin is the vital piece in our body that holds us together. Now have a look at the shape of Laminin:

Wow! Laminin, the essential protien that holds our body together is cross shaped. Paul, writing to the Colossian church says this about Jesus:

‘He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.’ (Colossians 1: 15-17)

All things hold together by the cross.

Have a look at this short talk. It’s worth your time:

How to fail as a political party

2010-09-26T16:54:00.000+01:00

1. Ignore what the public want: look to keep the peace in your own party at the cost of becoming unelectable
2. Make sure the election process is long enough for the unions to form around a candidate that is weak enough not to take them on
3. Make sure the Unions have a vote that outweighs their true influence in the country
4. Elect someone that is young and untried
5. Ignore the older brother who has a welcome reformist approach and is obviously the more able communicator
6. Go back to the old party ways, following the policies of the last failed Prime Minister rather than the new approach from the earlier successful and long lasting Prime Minister
7. Look forward to a number of years of debating failed left wing election proposals
8. Look forward to a long time as an opposition party.

Stephen Hawking needs to start reading poetry

2010-09-09T19:42:00.000+01:00

Stephen Hawking’s new book comes out today. In earlier books, he has left room for the possibility that there is a God. In his new book, he has decided creation is the inevitable consequence of physics, so rules out the ‘need for a creator’.

Science is amazing. We discover so much. People like Stephen Hawking have done wonders for pushing back the limits of our thinking. But he is still not thinking in big enough terms.

When the Hubble Telescope was launched, one of the team looked into space at stars that had never been seen before. This is what he said as he gazed on the hidden wonders of creation:

“We don't need a scientist here, we need a poet.”

Stephen Hawking needs to start reading poetry.

Little Things

2010-08-18T19:16:00.007+01:00

“A little thing is a little thing, but faithfulness in little things is a great thing”.

As James O Fraser read the words, he knew his life would never be the same. The quote was from the famous China missionary Hudson Taylor, and James knew that this was to be his path too.

Arriving in 1908, it was eight years of hard work among the Lisu tribal people of South West China before there was breakthrough. But what a breakthrough. In the next two years, over 60,000 tribal people converted to Christianity.

James Fraser had faithfully worked among them, climbing their mountain ranges, sleeping on their floors, helping with the work, eating rats to survive. And in all of those first eight years he held on to the belief that if he was faithful in the little, God would ensure the results.

Jesus said ‘He who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much’ (Luke 16:10). So don’t give up. Keep going. Be faithful. James Fraser will be surprised to see his name written into history. It’s not why he served. But he knew His God was faithful. And he knew “A little thing is a little thing, but faithfulness in little things is a great thing”.

I spoke on this and much more recently at KingsGate Church. Here's the copy and paste link:

http://www.kingsgateuk.com/Media/Player.aspx?media_id=47959&file_id=51335

One Minute Message

2010-08-04T22:31:00.002+01:00

Lawyers. Who needs them?!

2010-07-17T17:18:00.003+01:00

I really don’t get on with lawyers. Not entirely true. There are a few I would consider good friends. But for most of them, especially in my business area of pensions, I would much prefer to work without them!

Pension lawyers are not the worst though. How about those who advise the poor old manufacturer? I came across this individual portion of butter the other day. It warns me that butter contains milk! (And someone paid a lawyer for that packaging advice!)

Then there is the salt sachet that warns – you’ve guessed it- this salt sachet contains salt!

Not content to moronically instruct us on butter and salt, we are then advised that a bag of peanuts…. Well, you’re ahead of me by now, I’m sure……

No Pain. No Shame?

2010-07-05T19:18:00.001+01:00

The Royal College report was released last week. It advises that at 24 weeks, the child in the womb can feel no pain. This seems to have been latched on to by the ‘pro-choice’ abortion lobby as reason for abortions to continue up to 24 weeks.

However, science also shows that the heart begins to beat from 21 days and that the brain begins to function after 40 days from inception. Children have survived out of the womb from 20 weeks onwards.

Is it any comfort that the child feels no pain as their head is crushed by the forceps?

It is said that the 1.1 million Jews who died in the gas chambers of Auschwitz, the second world war concentration camp, felt no pain as they died. It is said that the 200,000 UK children killed in the womb every year feel no pain as they die.

Jessica Louise

2010-06-20T19:19:00.004+01:00

At 8.00 this morning Roh and I became proud grandparents! Congratulations to Elspeth and Rob.

Welcome to this world Jessica Louise Mill. May God's face shine on you every moment of every day. May you know peace in the world and peace in your heart. May you be a blessing to your parents and find God's blessing on your life. May you future always be clear before you and may you achieve all that God intends for your life.

A wonderful gift for Fathers Day.

The Law Of The Lid

2010-06-19T14:20:00.002+01:00

“You can find smart, talented, successful people who are able to go only so far because of the limitations of their leadership.”

So says John Maxwell in his book ’21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership’. It’s the ‘Law of the Lid’. I may be good at something but if I can only do what I do without a vision as to how to apply it, grow it, achieve something with it, then my leadership lack limits my skills.

The most successful enterprises have skilful people who are also successful leaders. Their ability to grow the organisation means those who work for them also grow. The law of the lid again. If I grow, the people I work with have room to grow. If I stop, they hit the lid.

Off And Running

2010-06-13T17:04:00.000+01:00

I completed the Ramsey Abbey 10k road race today. The first competitive race for some years. Hence, not the fastest of times! But I was please to finish and to notch up another small milestone as I prepare for the London Marathon 2011.

The worst part of the race was running on rough tracks that forced you to slow down. The best part? The finish of course!

Paul writes in the Bible about running. It’s one of my favourite passages and very apt for both road races and the race we all run in this life:

I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.

So let's keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you'll see it yet! Now that we're on the right track, let's stay on it.

Philippians 3: 12-16, Message Version

In the Beginning, Man Created?

2010-05-25T10:45:00.002+01:00

Craig Venter is a biologist and an entrepreneur. For the last 15 years, his company has been working on creating life. He claims to have succeeded.

By identifying the DNA of a tiny bacterium, he separated out the genes to see how it was formed. Then he substituted the genes with synthetic ones, until he had the first synthetic genome- and his claim that he has created life.

But let’s just remember a few things….

-He replaced the living genes with others created by him. But did he create from nothing? Of course not. He used ‘inanimate objects’ to create the gene. The ‘objects’, effectively DNA designed from scratch, are still ‘objects’.

-He’s an inventor and biologist. He learned this skill. He was born, went to school, and learned his trade. He didn’t come from nowhere. He was ‘created’ like everybody else. As a created being, he is, at best, copying his creator.

-He has not created life, only copied it. By following God’s instructions – the picture of the DNA, the structure of the genes- he has been able to mimic the original. But is that very different from us, say, painting the picture of a flower, copying the original? Sure this new synthetic bug has life- but it is a copied life. All very clever. But still a copy.

In the beginning man created? No. In the beginning God created. We have the privilege of discovery, of learning, and even of copying life. But creation is God’s prerogative and His alone.

Just Been Volcanoed.....

2010-05-10T21:08:00.000+01:00

Has this ash cloud got it in for me or what?

I was in Dublin last week for a pensions meeting. By the time it finished…. no planes, due to the ash cloud…. again. Having already been stranded in Cape Town for a week, it was getting a bit repetitive. Not that I got any sympathy from workmates. They just laughed!

This time, I escaped by ferry to Hollyhead. From there, after a short stay in a B&B, on to the Euston train the next morning, and finally home.

Remember those TV adds for Tango? This big orange bloke used to come up behind a poor unsuspecting lad (called Ralph, no less!) and slap him around the face to the announcement that he’d ‘ just been tangoed’.

Well this Ralph is a bit fed up of just being ‘volcanoed’, and is planning not to travel too far from home!

Dear Gordon (3)

2010-05-04T18:23:00.000+01:00

Why so negative? Your little temper tantrum with the Rochdale lady pretty well typifies your campaign. Criticise anyone who seems difficult. Slam the opposition. Create fear. Bully the electorate.

But there was so much to be positive about. The Labour governments record is a good one. And you were part of that success. Why so little reference? Afraid it points to your predecessor and not you maybe?

Seems to me its fear of failure that has driven you. Fear of letting go of power. That’s why you took the enormous gamble of the televised debates. Good for democracy. Not so good for you though.

Well, we’re there now. I’m a Labour voter. But not this time. I don’t react well to scaremongering. I don’t like bullies. There’s an Independent standing in our constituency. A local man, with a good local agenda. Time for a protest vote.

Captive in Cape Town

2010-04-18T20:01:00.003+01:00

Remember 'Sleepless in Seattle'? Well, Roh and I are creating a new epic- 'Captive in Cape Town'. We were due home yesterday after meeting our daughter in Cape Town this last week. But the volcano ash has beaten us and the next guaranteed flight is 13 days later.

Cape Town is a captivating place. We were moved by what we saw on Robben Island, we were charmed by the friendliness of the wine estates and we were excited by the worship of the local Hillsongs congregation.

But now we are captive against our will.

I remember being stuck in a hurricane in Orlando, and lost without a visa in Hong Kong, but being captive in Cape Town is entirely new!

Songs in the Key of Life

2010-04-08T13:41:00.002+01:00

I decided I wanted to listen to the band ‘Mountain’ (if you have never heard their track ‘Nantucket Sleighride’, where have you been?!) so typed the word ‘mountain’ into my ITunes. And of course it came up with all sorts of songs about mountains. Seems appropriate to list them on a web site all about climbing the mountains of life. So here we go, some well known and some reflecting my eclectic (strange?) taste…

Misty Mountain Hop – Led Zeppelin
King of the Mountain – Kate Bush
Rocky Mountain High – John Denver
Rocky Mountain Way – Joe Walsh
Prayer of the Mountain – Iona
The Brain of the Purple Mountain – Leo Kottke [This gets the prize for the strangest title]
Visionary Mountains – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band
The Mist Covered Mountains – Mark Knopfler
When the Mountains Fall – Mark Schultz
Lead us up the Mountain – Matt Redman
River Deep, Mountain High – Tina Turner
Mountain of Things – Tracy Chapman
Mountain Tops – 2nd Chapter of Acts
Wild Mountain Honey – Steve Miller Band
Black Mountain – Nick Drake
Sugar Mountain – Neil Young
There is a Mountain – Donovan
Did You Feel The Mountains Tremble? – Delirious
There are Mountains Before Me – Dave Bilbrough
Mountain Mover – Bryn Haworth
Brave Mountaineers – Gordon Lightfoot

So there we are. The RIVER may be DEEP and the MOUNTAIN HIGH, it may be ROCKY , we may FALL and TREMBLE; there may be MOUNTAINS OF THINGS in our lives, and MOUNTAINS BEFORE ME but THERE IS A MOUNTAIN that is worth us being BRAVE MOUNTAINEERS for. He will LEAD US UP THE MOUNTAIN, with VISION through the MIST, out of the WILD, BLACK WAY, and as sweet as SUGAR and HONEY, with a PRAYER on our lips, deliver us with a HOP skip and a jump to the MOUNTAIN TOP, beside our KING OF THE MOUNTAINS and MOUNTAIN MOVER.

Well it was fun trying to fit in all the titles…. Couldn’t fit in ‘BRAIN OF THE PURPLE MOUNTAIN’ though, no matter how hard I tried!

Leprosy

2010-03-31T21:04:00.002+01:00

He knew it was his last chance. Covered in leprosy, he could hardly walk. Open sores covered his skin. People ran from him as he approached. Most of his life he’d had to walk, ringing a bell and shouting the word ‘unclean’. It was a declaration of sickness, of being a second class citizen. Of being an outcast, unloved, uncared for.

The disease had been with him for many years. He had left his family, unable to see them for fear of infecting them too. Alone. Desperate. Near death.

And this was it. Ignoring all the rules, he crawled the final yards towards him as best he could. Falling on his face, unable to support his weight, he cried out ‘Lord, if you want to, you could heal me’. A cry of faith. A cry of desperation. And then the words spoken back. ‘I am willing. Be clean.’

At that moment, all the years rolled away. All the fear, hate, poverty, sickness. Gone in an instant. Instead of sores, fresh baby-like skin. A miracle. He could go back. He could return home. He could live again.

That was then. 2000 years ago. This is now: There are over 266,000 new cases of leprosy diagnosed each year. It’s still here.

Last Saturday I attended my first board meeting as a trustee director of the Leprosy Mission, England and Wales. As much as I am able, I will stretch out the hand of Christ and say the words ‘be clean’.

(You can read the story of the leper in the gospel of Luke, chapter 5.)

His name is Peter, his name is John

2010-03-23T19:11:00.001Z

His name is Peter.

We met him last night on the street. Selling the Big Issue. He was clean enough, well mannered. Looked like he needed a good place to sleep though.

He took the coins and Tony asked if he could pray with him. (Tony’s like that: Bold as brass). Peter asked if we could pray that he gets over the death of his dad, the Christmas just gone. Here he is. On his own. But still missing his family. Still loving his family.

His name is John.

He earns £160,000 a week. Seems to have a problem with the occasional girl. And I’m not sure about the drink driving. But he’s a good footballer. And like Peter, I guess he loves his family.

In between –economically speaking- there’s you and me.

But it’s not about money. It’s about family. Being loved. Knowing love.

There’s one who showed it. At Easter.

His name is Jesus.

Your Call.....

2010-03-03T20:07:00.001Z

This is the transcript of the actual radio conversation of a U.S. naval ship with the Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland October 1995. Radio conversation released by the Chief of Naval Operations, 10-10-95.

Canadians:
Please divert your course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.

Americans:
Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the North.

Canadians:
Negative. You will have to divert your course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision.

Americans:
This is the Captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.

Canadians:
No. I say again, you divert YOUR course.

Americans:
This is the aircraft carrier USS Lincoln. The second largest ship in the United States Atlantic fleet. We are accompanied by three destroyers, three cruisers and numerous support vessels. I demand that you change your course 15 degrees north, I say again, that's one five degrees north, or counter measures will be undertaken to ensure the safety of this ship.

Canadians:
We are a lighthouse, your call.

Freedom that is Forced Freedom is not Freedom at all

2010-02-10T18:40:00.002Z

Well done to the House of Lords for overturning a forced measure in the Equalities Bill that would have meant a lack of freedom, not increased freedom. To force religious organisations to ignore their beliefs when hiring staff would have been plain wrong.

Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks put it well in the Times:

“There are times when human rights become human wrongs. This happens when rights become more than a defence of human dignity, which is their proper sphere, and become instead a political ideology, relentlessly trampling down everything in their path. This is happening increasingly in Britain.

“When a Christian airport worker is banned from wearing a cross, when a nurse is sacked after a role-play exercise in which he suggests that patients pray, when Roman Catholic adoption agencies are forced to close because they do not place children for adoption with same sex couples and when a Jewish school is told that its religious admissions policy is…. racist, we are in dangerous territory indeed.”

‘Freedom’ that is forced freedom is not freedom at all.

Yes Tiger, you should convert.....

2010-01-27T18:29:00.001Z

There’s a big debate going on in the States where a TV anchorman, who was part of a TV discussion panel, is being pilloried for saying Tiger Woods should consider the Christian faith instead of his mothers Buddhist faith to help him through his current problems. This is what Brit Hume said:

"I don't think that faith [Buddhism] offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. So my message to Tiger would be, 'Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.'"

Seems a pretty gentle remark to me, and not one to draw out all the invectives of the US press, with some newspapers suggesting he has been ‘rude and crass’ and has ‘denigrated Christianity’. Denigrated Christianity?! For saying that?!

The ignorance of the current British government in trying to force through legislation that would force churches to hire open homosexuals in spite of the stance taken in the Bible shows how far we have moved away from a Christian society to one where we can’t even open our mouth and recommend to someone that they investigate the Christian faith.

This month sees the start of many Alpha Courses in churches up and down the UK- a great chance to go along and find out the real truth.

What Does It All Mean?

2010-01-20T16:19:00.002Z

Did you know....

…. The top ten in demand jobs in America in 2010 did not exist in 2004
….We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented, in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet
….If MySpace were a country, it would be the fifth largest in the world
….There are 31 Billion searches on Google every month
….The number of text messages sent every day exceeds the population of the planet

The pace of life is faster every year. (The older you get, the faster it gets!) Have a look at this and consider the final question…. What does it all mean?

King Solomon said there was nothing new under the sun. It’s kind of true. We get faster, communicate more, download, tweet, facebook and more. But it’s nothing new. There’s just more of it.

The question is the same. What does it all mean? Where is the satisfaction in life?

The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied. Proverbs 19:23

The pages are rustling with adventure.....

2010-01-12T08:37:00.000Z

A bit of a misquote from C S Lewis that, but appropriate to today. Today sees our youngest (by 20 minutes anyway!) on her way to Zimbabwe for a gap year, working with children in Bulawayo.

For Lois, it is the start of an adventure. The future pages of her journal are rustling with excitement, new experiences, new friends and new learnings along the way.

For us too the pages are rustling…. This is the start of a new phase in our lives. With Lois’ twin Josh at Uni and the older two well away from home, we have a new page to turn too. No kids at home! (well, we do have Jen lodging with us but not sure that counts!)

What will God write on those pages? New experiences for sure. New opportunities. A whole new chapter.

A Preferred Future

2010-01-01T13:10:00.005Z

"Commitments to a preferred future do not come randomly. They are intentionally established at times when you are thinking clearly and are close to God."
Wayne Cordeiro, 'Leading On Empty'

This New Year I commit to a preferred future. I will live brighter, clearer, cleaner, sharper.

The Journey

2009-12-09T17:27:00.001Z

One day your life’s journey will be over, and you will enter eternity. But what kind of journey will it have been? At the end of your life, will you look back with sorrow and regret, realising too late that you have travelled the wrong road? Or perhaps that the road you travelled was the right one- but you had allowed the troubles and temptations of this world to hold you back and keep you from reaching your full potential?

Instead, my prayer is that you would have been on the right road in life- and not only that, but that you would have reached the end of your journey with joy. My prayer is that you would have known God’s presence the whole way, and that even in the midst of life’s deepest trials you would have found your strength in Him.
…Some day this life will be over. I look forward to that day, because I know that beyond it is heaven. I pray you do too.

Billy Graham, ‘The Journey’

Focus and Purpose

2009-11-28T14:01:00.002Z

Quote from Matthew Parris, Times 28th November:

….there’s a different question about Tony Blair’s role [in Iraq] that still remains open. Did he act heroically — in the sense of the moral courage that makes a man grip fate by the lapels and, rather than let the flow carry him, swim against compelling circumstances, knowing that he takes a serious risk for himself or his career? A case, at least, can be made for Mr Blair as a hero in this sense.

I like people who are clear in their actions, clear in their beliefs. I may not always agree with them, but I prefer the straightforwardness of their approach. You know where they stand. That was said of Margaret Thatcher too… someone who I feel totally opposed to, even today. But you knew where you stood. Decisions, in that sense, were bold, clear, almost heroic.

I have struggled to like Gordon Brown. Having been a fan of Blair, I have not been able to make the jump to Brown. What is it that I don’t like? His politics are not that different…. But when you begin to look at his politics, there are different. Very different.

Gone is the clarity. Gone the principled approach. No longer the ‘moral courage that makes a man grip fate by the lapels’. In its place, politics with a small ‘p’. Everything is calculated to win a vote, wound the other party, keep the dissident MP’s in place. Fear of failure has replaced focus and purpose.

Will God Forgive?

2009-11-28T13:55:00.004Z

I was privileged to speak at KingsGate church last week. Here's the talk:

http://www.kingsgateuk.com/Media/Player.aspx?media_id=37241&file_id=39977

A Result

2009-11-11T18:14:00.005Z

I was in Liverpool the other week on business and was kindly taken out in the evening for a meal. We walked through the brand new shopping complex between the city and the docks. It's one of the largest in Europe and is called Liverpool One.

Everton football club have set up their souvenir shop in the Liverpool One complex. They have called the shop 'Everton Two'.

So the actual postal address is 'Everton Two, Liverpool One'. Wonderful!

I Will Not Be Analysed, I will Be Adored

2009-10-25T17:47:00.003Z

These are the words theologian John Piper felt he heard God say to him at a key moment in his life. They are worthy of further consideration:

"I will not simply be analyzed, I will be adored. I will not simply be pondered, I will be proclaimed. My sovereignty is not simply to be scrutinized, it is to be heralded. It is not grist for the mill of controversy, it is gospel for sinners who know that their only hope is the sovereign triumph of God’s grace over their rebellious will."

With thanks to adrianwarnock.com for the quote

Amazing Grace

2009-10-14T15:04:00.001+01:00

The ship was breaking up. It was all he could do to hold on. Huge waves were crashing in. Parts of the planking on the starboard side were already smashed beyond recognition. The pumps were working flat out. Rocks were ahead and the sun was going down. The year 1748 looked to be the last year this young man would see.

It’s then that he prayed. Here he was, a slave trader, murderer. An atheist, an unbeliever; worse, someone that had spoken openly of his hatred of Christians. And he was praying. ‘Lord God, save us. Have mercy’…..

Twenty years later, John Newton sat in his study, next to the fire. It was a cold night. The wind was blowing so strongly, he felt it through the window frame, bringing back vivid memories of that night so long ago. How God had answered that prayer. Amazing.

Slowly he got up and moved over to his desk. Picking up a pen, he dipped it in ink and began to write…

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see.

John Newton’s incredible story can be read in ‘Amazing Grace’ by John Pollock.

Feast

2009-09-30T18:40:00.004+01:00

I’ve just been looking at a few of our photos from our September holiday in Wales. The sun shone- somewhat unusual for Wales!

One day we were out in the hills, when a lady walked past. As we were looking out on the beautiful landscape, she said: ‘Spiritual food for the soul. Feast.’ And then she was gone.

And it was. Spiritual food that is. So beautiful. We discovered a hidden lake, high up in the hills. And we had the most amazing views of Cadaer Idris.

So here’s the question. Are you feeding your soul with spiritual food? For those with a Christian faith, how much dust is on your bible? For those that don’t believe or are not sure, when was the last time you sat down and looked at the hills of Snowdonia? Or the Lakes? Or the Downs? Or the Peak District? Or maybe just a walk in the local park?

Feast.

History will be kind to me for I intend to write it

2009-09-18T16:04:00.003+01:00

.... so said Winston Churchill. And he did write it too!

This weekend sees Josh going off to College. His twin, Lois, will be off on a gap year to Africa soon. Time goes so quickly. Children grow so fast. It seems like only yesterday they were learning to walk and talk.

So if I want to write history, it has to be today. To leave it until tomorrow means someone else gets the pen and paper.

Always Looking Forward

2009-09-04T12:33:00.003+01:00

"We are old when we begin to look back, rather than forward.... The world remains full of new fascinations waiting to be discovered and new pleasures to be enjoyed"

Roy Hattersley

Finishing Well

2009-08-30T21:02:00.004+01:00

What if we learned we had only two years to live? What would we do? What would we say? How would we live? Would we finish well? Have a look at this amazing video......

Shine

2009-08-17T21:55:00.002+01:00

'Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us....... And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.'

Marianne Williamson (Quoted in the film Coach Carter)

Stand By Me Around the World

2009-08-12T09:22:00.002+01:00

Thanks to Chris Kelly for sending this my way.....

"No matter who you are, no matter where you go in your life, at some point you gonna need somebody to stand by you....."

Who Draws The Lines?

2009-07-31T16:45:00.000+01:00

Keir Starmer was born in 1962. He has just been asked to become God.

The Law Lords, in their final action before morphing into a supreme court (I suspect they wanted to go out with a bang- they did!) have ruled that The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) – the aforementioned Mr Starmer – must publish guidelines on prosecuting those who help others to die.

This has come about through the campaigning of Debbie Purdy, a multiple sclerosis sufferer. She wanted to be sure her husband would not be prosecuted if he were to help her die when the disease got worse. The thing is, she knows he won’t….

The DPP have trodden a careful line on what they will and will not do as regards such prosecutions. Of the over 100 cases of British assisted suicides at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland, no friend or family member has been prosecuted. This is sensible. There is no need to add pain to grief. But it doesn’t make it right, and that is why the DPP have been careful not to say anything either way- until now.

Much as everyone can sympathise with Debbie Purdy and the dreadful illness she has to carry, it’s important to note she is also a member of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society, an organisation keen to promote euthanasia (dictionary definition: The act or practice of ending the life of an individual suffering from a terminal illness or an incurable condition). So what was the real motive in appealing to the Law Lords?

Keir Starmer has a problem. He is not God. The moment he responds to the Law Lords and sets out a practice to be followed, he either has to prosecute cases or open the door for what one newspaper described as ‘decriminalised suicide tourism’.

So who draws the lines? One woman’s freedom to choose the time of her death may be a future child’s moment of condemnation. Does a Downs Syndrome child not deserve to laugh? Does a paraplegic accident victim not deserve to love? Does a mentally disabled schoolboy not deserve to breathe? Who can possibly make these decisions?

In matters of life and death, only God can draw the lines.

The Customer Gets Even

2009-07-25T10:54:00.001+01:00

British Gas owes me £186. They say it’s their service contractor Siemens that need to pay. Siemens say it’s British Gas. Over a year later, I am no nearer getting anywhere. For all those that feel they can never win against the big corporations, here’s a story to warm the heart….

Dave Carroll is a singer with the band Sons of Maxwell. He actually saw United Airlines employees throwing his guitar around. Needless to say, it was broken when he got to the other end of the flight. United Airlines refused to listen. A year later they still wouldn’t pay up. So Dave Carroll wrote a song and posted it on You Tube. To date it has had over four million hits. The story has featured in newspapers around the world and has headlined on tv news in the States. Rather late in the day, United Airlines decided to apologise….

Now, anyone want to write a song about British Gas?!

Here’s ‘United Breaks Guitars’ by Dave Carroll:

Summer classes for men

2009-07-21T19:09:00.004+01:00

Thanks to Mark Griffiths for sending me this!

Summer Classes for Men at THE ADULT LEARNING CENTRE

REGISTRATION MUST BE COMPLETED
by Monday August 10, 2009
NOTE: DUE TO THE COMPLEXITY AND DIFFICULTY LEVEL
OF THEIR CONTENTS, CLASS SIZES WILL BE LIMITED TO 8 PARTICIPANTS MAXIMUM

Class 1
How To Fill Up The Ice Cube Trays - Step by Step, with Slide Presentation.
Meets 4 weeks, Monday and Wednesday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM.

Class 2
The Toilet Paper Roll - Does It Change Itself?
Round Table Discussion.
Meets 2 weeks, Saturday 12:00 for 2 hours.

Class 3
Is it Possible To Urinate Using The Technique Of Lifting The Seat and Avoiding The Floor, Walls and Nearby Bathtub?
Group Practice.
Meets 4 weeks, Saturday 10:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 4
Fundamental Differences Between the Laundry Basket and The Floor
Pictures and Explanatory Graphics.
Meets Saturdays at 2:00 PM for 3 weeks.

Class 5
Dinner Dishes - Can They Levitate and Fly Into The Kitchen Sink?
Examples on Video.
Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning
at 7:00 PM

Class 6
Loss Of Identity - Losing The Remote To Your Significant Other.
Help Line Support and Support Groups.
Meets 4 Weeks, Friday and Sunday 7:00 PM

Class 7
Learning How To Find Things - Starting With Looking In The Right Places
And Not Turning The House Upside Down While Screaming.
Open Forum
Monday at 8:00 PM, 2 hours.

Class 8
Health Watch - Bringing Her Flowers Is Not Harmful To Your Health.
Graphics and Audio Tapes.
Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 9
Real Men Ask For Directions When Lost - Real Life Testimonials.
Tuesdays at 6:00 PM Location to be determined

Class 10
Is It Genetically Impossible To Sit Quietly While She Parallel Parks?
Driving Simulations..
4 weeks, Saturday's noon, 2 hours.

Class 11
Learning to Live - Basic Differences Between Mother and Wife.
Online Classes and role-playing
Tuesdays at 7:00 PM, location to be determined

Class 12
How to be the Ideal Shopping Companion
Relaxation Exercises, Meditation and Breathing Techniques.
Meets 4 weeks, Tuesday and Thursday for 2 hours beginning at 7:00 PM.

Class 13
How to Fight Cerebral Atrophy - Remembering Birthdays, Anniversaries
and Other Important Dates and Calling When You're Going To Be Late.
Cerebral Shock Therapy Sessions and Full Lobotomies Offered.
Three nights; Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 7:00 PM for 2 hours.

Class 14
The Stove/Oven - What It Is and How It Is Used.
Live Demonstration.
Tuesdays at 6:00 PM, location to be determined.

Upon completion of any of the above courses, diplomas will be issued to the survivors.

Pure Heart, Clear Head, Steady Hand

2009-07-12T19:47:00.002+01:00

'We stay at our posts, alertly, unswervingly… in hard times, tough times, bad times….. working hard, working late…. With pure heart, clear head, steady hand.'

Paul writing to the Corinthian Church (2 Corinthians 6: 4-5, Message Version)

In the Arena

2009-07-03T19:27:00.002+01:00

"It is not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause. Who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

Theodore Roosevelt

Twitter 1930's style

2009-06-23T21:22:00.005+01:00

In Case You Missed It......

2009-06-12T16:40:00.008+01:00

The live broadcast from BBC1 of KingsGate Church is now beginning to appear on You Tube. Here are a few excerpts for those of you that missed it.......

NOW REMOVED BY BBC, BUT YOU CAN SEE THE BEST WITH CHRIS MOYLES COMMENTS HERE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StEDAjhuiTo

Dear Gordon (2)

2009-06-11T19:49:00.002+01:00

Well, for a while there, I thought you were going somewhere. You dealt with the worldwide aspects of the credit crunch admirably. But why, oh why, did you go and get all political again? Your last budget (I know you’ll say it was Alistair’s but it was you really wasn’t it?!) was entirely political. You abandoned long held New Labour policies and went vote catching.

Not that you caught any. Want to talk about the European election results? Thought not.

You allowed the other parties to outflank you on the expenses scandal, despite the fact it’s the Tories that have the moats and the duck islands. You played politics in your own cabinet, never actually saying you wanted rid of someone, but just failing to support them. Even your own Chancellor- and you know how hard that job is!

I work in the pensions industry. You’ve managed to mess that up good and proper haven’t you? (Even losing your pensions minister in the process). All those well thought out, long term reforms that you and Tony pushed through, abandoned for a few cheap votes at the next election so you can be seen to be bashing the rich. It’s the whole pensions system you’ve bashed.

Looks like my first letter to you was pretty accurate after all. (Well, I know it’s a blog and you’ll never read it, let alone pay any attention to the issues even if you did read it, but you know what I mean).

Not sure I can bring myself to vote Tory, but, sorry Gordon, spare us the agony of a dying government over the next year or so. Election time please.

KingsGate and the BBC

2009-06-01T22:46:00.009+01:00

A big thank you to BBC1 for showing our church live on Sunday (if you missed it, it's on Iplayer at the moment- called 'That's the Spirit'.)

But what is even better is the reaction of Chris Moyles today on Radio 1. This is what he said about the programme:

'I've been to gigs with less atmosphere- it was amazing.'

'It was very uplifting.'

'I want to go!'

He said on air that he was brought up a catholic but that this was something completely different. He was particularly taken with the live baptisms we did.

Thanks to Ben Griffiths for putting the link up to Chris Moyles comments. Here it is:

http://bendigital.com/blog/2009/06/01/chris-moyles-comments-on-thats-the-spirit/

Friends, Family and Faith

2009-05-29T13:35:00.003+01:00

What makes for a happy and fulfilled life?

Studies confirm it. In analyzing 30 years worth of data collected from a United States national social-survey database as well as other previous studies, researchers found that people who considered themselves unhappy tended to watch significantly more TV than those who said they were very happy.

'Higher-spirited folks' as the report calls them, spent more time on other types of hobbies, including mingling with friends and family members, reading newspapers, and attending 'religious services'.

So, a loose translation: plenty of friends, not too much tv, a good family and a strong faith leads to a fulfilled life.

Approaching 5000

2009-05-26T19:18:00.004+01:00

As I write this, my blog is just two away from its 5000th visitor. Not a bad result considering when I set out, I wasn't sure anyone would read past the first week!

There are many blogs with thousands more visitors of course (though I keep mine honest, only recording separate visits, not separate page clicks as many do), but a modest celebration is due I'm sure. So three cheers and let's crack open half a shandy then, to the start of a blog the day after my daughter got married (and I felt old!) back in December 06.

And a little thank-you to those who have read this far. Copy my email down the page a bit, send me a 'well done on 5000' email and your address and if you are in the first five to do so you will get a free copy of the book 'God-Life'.

Cheers!

How Dare They!

2009-05-25T15:49:00.001+01:00

I’ve just seen the UK Independence Party poster, walking back from town. It has a big photo of Winston Churchill with his iconic victory salute. How dare they try and co-opt Winston Churchill for their short sighted, head-in-the-sand anti European rhetoric!

Even if Churchill were not always pro-Europe, there is no way he would be supportive of such right wing propaganda as promulgated by UKIP. For the record, Churchill was a member of the Liberal party, then the Conservatives. He had a pragmatic view towards Europe, and after the war suggested a ‘United States of Europe’, albeit for reasons of peace. He was pro American and pro Commonwealth but it is a far fetched view indeed that aligns him with such insular political views as UKIP. It was such a poor view of Europe as held by Churchill’s predecessors that allowed Hitler to think we would turn a blind eye to the invasion of Poland. Churchill was not someone who was anti-European.

So how have UKIP got away with the implied claim that Winston Churchill is one of them? I trust their demise in the European elections will be swift and final. How dare they indeed!

Follow Your Heart

2009-05-20T19:37:00.002+01:00

"Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything, all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure; these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked.

There is no reason not to follow your heart.

Death is very likely the single best invention of life. It’s life’s change agent; it clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you. But someday not too long from now, you will gradually become old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic but it’s quite true.

Your time is limited so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped in dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice, and most important, have the courage to follow your heart."

Speech to Stanford College from Steve Jobs, CEO, Apple Computer and Pixar Animation

Auntie Beeb's Visit

2009-05-12T18:41:00.001+01:00

On Sunday 31st May at 10.00am, BBC1 are broadcasting live from our church at KingsGate. I’m in the choir and possibly doing one or two other things, so great anticipation at the moment.

We’ve been singled out for this ‘Pentecost Sunday’ live service due to our growth as a church I guess. When Roh and I first pitched up about 8 years ago, there were about 350 of us. Today it’s around 1,500 to 1,800 on an average Sunday.

Why is that? I know that many of my business and pension friends check in to these pages, so let me first of all say, I’m not intending to upset anyone- but maybe challenge you a bit! For me, the ‘why is that’ is all to do with the fact Jesus is real. He really did die on a cross, rise from the dead and is still changing lives today. Tune in to BBC1 on the 31st and see what I mean. So long as I don’t forget the words, trip up, do anything silly……

Finding My Real Age

2009-05-08T19:53:00.003+01:00

I couldn't resist. There it was. ‘Fill in this questionnaire and find out your REAL age'. So off I go. Blood pressure. Weight. Height. Exercise. Job profile. On and on it went.

I was hopeful. I think I’m fairly fit and I think I look okay for my age. The blurb on the web page showed someone who was sixty with a 'real age' of forty-five.

So here we go…. Press the button, let the software do its calculation…

My actual age is 54 years and one month. And what did this wonderful ‘real age’ programme calculate me as? 54 years and two months. Hmmm.

Older than my parents?

2009-04-18T10:11:00.001+01:00

A granddaughter giving birth to her aunt or uncle. A woman giving birth to her brother. Sound like science fiction? It’s not. This may become possible if the powers given to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority ("HFEA") are used. The HFEA has been given extraordinary and frightening powers in relation to the embryo and are currently consulting on a proposal to freeze an embryo or sperm for 55 years (extended from 10 years).

The background to this is not so far fetched. It is intended to meet the concern that someone may become infertile and may know of that risk (eg someone with cancer). So they can freeze eggs or sperm against that event. However, there are no rules preventing close relatives who would normally be forbidden to marry each other from donating sperm or embryos. This means that grandparents could donate embryos to their granddaughter for her IVF treatment if she becomes infertile. In this situation, the granddaughter would give birth to her mother's brother or sister-her aunt or uncle. The child could claim to be ‘older than my parents’.

This is a minefield. It needs careful thought and controls. The fear is that something that may be put in place to help infertility will result in unscrupulous practices and commercial exploitation for profit. Theoretically there would be nothing to stop a 35 year-old soon-to-be-infertile man from having his sperm stored until he was 90, or alternatively, from storing his parents' embryos and using them to have a child years later, after his (and the child's) biological parents had died. That child would be both his own brother and his own son.

A case of ethics being overtaken by science. Because we can doesn’t mean we should.

(More on this from lawyer Andrea Williams on CCFON: http://www.ccfon.org/)

It is well with my soul

2009-04-09T12:02:00.005+01:00

With the death of an infant through fever followed by the Chicago fire in the late 1800’s, which destroyed their business, it is true to say Horatio Spafford and his wife were struggling. They got a message from their friend D L Moody, the famous evangelist. He invited them over to Europe to work with him and to take a well earned holiday. They took the advice.

Spafford had a few business deals to finish, so he sent his wife and four daughters ahead on a ship, intending to travel later. The ship sank. Although his wife survived, all four of Spafford’s daughters drowned. On hearing the news, Spafford took the next available ship.

As they travelled past where the first ship had gone down, the Captain pointed it out to Spafford. Quietly, Spafford left the Bridge, wend down to his cabin and picked up pen and paper. The result was the famous hymn ‘It is well With My Soul’. Here are some of the words:

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

The tune has not travelled so well down the years as the words have. Recently, Chris Tomlin wrote the song ‘I Will Rise’, with a direct link to the earlier hymn. Here it is:

This song and video (thanks to Tim Prentice for the video) were used by me in my talk at KingsGate Church on 28th December 08. You can listen to the talk by cut and pasting this link:

http://www.kingsgateuk.com/Media/Player.aspx?media_id=25647&file_id=27986

Each day, every day

2009-04-06T17:29:00.002+01:00

When Federico Macheda woke up on Sunday morning, did he know it was going to be his day? Manchester United had a number of suspensions and injuries which meant the 17 year old was promoted to the subs bench of the first team.

Things didn’t go well. Having lost the top spot in the Premiership to Liverpool the day before, United were losing at home 2-1 to Aston Villa. The manager decided on a radical change. On came Macheda. At 2-2 and in injury time, he took the ball in the area, turned and shot an exquisite goal into the top corner of the net.

That morning, it was just an ordinary day. By the end of Sunday, he was famous.

How do we treat each day? Just another day, or one that has the possibility of a moment in it to change a life?

The Psalmist says ‘Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life’. Surely goodness and mercy and opportunity and potential and excitement. Each day. Every day.

Slumdog Marley and Salmon in the Yemen

2009-03-28T10:45:00.005Z

I’ve been travelling a lot recently. Both in the UK and to India, the States and the Netherlands. It’s a bit tiring and not as glamorous as it might sound. Airports and hotels begin to look much the same after a while!

But one of the advantages of travel is time to catch up on music, films and books. Slumdog Millionaire is a wonderful film. Its portrayal of the poor parts of India is very accurate. But most of all it’s simply a triumph of one poor boy against the system. And a great love story too.

‘Marley and me’ is a film we went to see as a family. I was a bit fearful that it would turn out to be a ‘Disney puppy story’ but the producer has been true to the original book (excellent too- by John Grogan) and it’s well acted. A bit near to the bone (excuse the pun!) as we lost our own Labrador just before Christmas.

You can see why Kate Winslet won the Oscar for ‘The Reader’. Beautifully acted. A fair bit of nudity though- you have been warned!

John Waller is a singer that my friends Holli and Andy introduced me to. Great lyrics. Sometimes you feel you are not where God would have you be. But what do you do with that time? Waller’s song ‘While I’m Waiting’ is a great response to such times:

I’m waiting on you Lord
And I’m hopeful
I’m waiting on you Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait
I will move ahead bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I’m waiting
I will serve you
While I’m waiting
I will worship
While I’m waiting
I will not faint
I’ll be running the race
Even while I wait.

John Maxwell writes great business books. His latest, ‘Leadership Gold – Lessons I’ve Learned from a Lifetime of Leadership’ is the best yet. He refused to write it until he reached age 60. Great wisdom.

And a wonderful first novel from Paul Torday. If you think Salmon in the Yemen are an impossibility, you have to read the book!

Mountain Mover

2009-03-09T12:21:00.000Z

I was privileged to witness an amazing story yesterday. Stuart Bell was the guest speaker at KingsGate church. His wife and son were there too. Together they told to story of David, Stuart and Irene’s son. Of how he was diagnosed with cancer behind the eye at age 16 and how together as a family and a church, they fought and prayed through the chemotherapy and radiotherapy, to the point that they felt God say the chemo had worked and David was clear.

Sure enough, later that week, they got the all-clear.

Seeing David there, hearing his side of the story, seeing the ‘before’ and ‘after’ photo’s and knowing that in front of us was someone who medically speaking could be either dead or blind, was very moving.

As Stuart said on Sunday, we have a God who moves mountains.

‘If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.’
Matthew 17:20

God's amazing creation

2009-03-02T09:35:00.004Z

I’ve just finished reading Bill Bryson’s ‘Down Under’. As always, an excellent read.

What captured me most was the amazing creation to be found in Australia. If these things were anywhere else in the world, they would be considered as ‘wonders of the world’. But because they are tucked away in the western outback and part of the country at the end of the world, they get overlooked.

Consider for example, the banded beehive rocks of the Bungle Bungles. A range of strangely shaped rocks, only discovered in the 1980s and thought to be 350 million years old. They look incredible.

That 50 square miles of a rocky mountain range was discovered after we brought back rocks from the moon and shows how little we really know of the world we live in.

Then there’s the Pinnacle Desert, thousands of limestone pillars - believed to be at least 6,000 years old - rising up to 12 feet tall from the shifting yellow sands.

And the Karri Trees, third tallest in the world, with their 50 foot girth, giant trees from an earlier age.

We live in a remarkable world.

Lives to be changed

2009-02-23T19:26:00.004Z

A little girl aged about five looks up at me. She’s one of the latest to arrive at the Esther Home, a place for girls rescued from the sex trade. There she will receive food, a bed, an education.

Just one life saved in a nation of over a billion. But I learned a long time ago I can’t change a nation. Lives I can change. One at a time.

My thanks to the team who went with me. We did Bible Weeks, Medical Missions and the Esther Home. Well done Jane, Slim, Jen, Becky, Gill and Chris. Of course it’s not just their lives that get changed. As a result of the India work, every one of us on the team will have a better handle on the crazy world we live in.

In parts of India, there is no credit to ‘crunch’. But there are always lives to be changed.

Another day, a different world.

2009-02-12T18:06:00.004Z

It’s snowing again. Hopefully not enough to stop the flight tomorrow.

From snow to heat. Temperatures around 100F. Another day, but a very different world.

Tomorrow I take a team of 7 to Andhra Pradesh, India for 8 days of mission and charity work. I’ll be doing some teaching in the church, and as a team we will also be working in the villages, taking out medical supplies, and working with a local doctor. Many villagers are too poor to be able to get to a doctor, and sadly some who do go in for operations, come out of hospital without body parts, sold off through the black market.

One of the trip highlights will be working in the Esther homes. These are homes for rescued girls of sex workers. Their mothers have asked us to care for them, to give them a hope and a future different to the one the mothers have endured as temple prostitutes.

Through the local church we help the mothers too. Some want to get away from their current lifestyles. We offer them training as seamstresses. Once qualified, they get a sewing machine and an offer of help from a church somewhere else, away from the temptation to return to their old way of life.

Girls born to poor families in India sometimes face a bleak future. They may even be discarded at birth, due to the dowry system and the fact the parents would not be able to pay for a future marriage. We help in a small way, supporting local churches to care for unwanted children, rescuing them, giving them an education.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11

Another day. A different world.

Mr Darwin, Mr Attenborough and God

2009-02-03T16:09:00.001Z

I love the BBC natural world documentaries, especially those fronted by David Attenborough. His series over the years such as Planet Earth, Life on Earth and the Life of Birds have been amazing. I see the incredible world we live in and just can’t stop thanking God for the wonder of it all.

David Attenborough takes a different stance though. That was clear from the first week of his new series ‘Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life’. I’m sure Darwin is right as regards animals adapting and evolving, but then to argue- as David Attenborough did in just a few links at the end of the programme- that man is evolved from apes, is quite a leap of faith!

Just because man and apes share some DNA doesn’t mean we come from them. There is a missing link between apes and the supposed evolving of man. That link will never be found, because it doesn’t exist.

Look around at the world. Re-live the world by watching the many excellent BBC documentaries. And allow it to form in you a wonder for this world we live in. From the beauty of a snowflake to the vastness of the oceans. From the speed of a cheetah to the sloth of a …. sloth! God has made an amazing world.

I don’t know whether David Attenborough would call himself an atheist or an agnostic. What I do know is it takes much more faith to believe there is not a God, that this world came into existence by chance molecules, than to believe in a Creator.

Cluttered desks

2009-01-29T19:48:00.003Z

I've had the computer guy in this week, so had to clear my home office desk. I'm not exactly tidy, so it took a while. What's that quote about cluttered desks and cluttered minds?

I prefer the one from Albert Einstein:

"If a cluttered desk signs a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?"

The Presidents Pastor

2009-01-25T15:09:00.002Z

I was delighted at President Obama's choice of the 'Presidents Pastor' - the person asked to pray at the inauguration and likely to be consulting the president in the future. Rick Warren is a great guy, and has written one of the best books ever- 'The Purpose Driven Life'. (If you've not read it, irrespective of your beliefs or lack of them, I recommend it!)

Here is a transcript of the prayer Rick Warren prayed at the inauguration of President Obama:

Almighty God, our Father:
Everything we see, and everything we can’t see, exists because of you alone. It all comes from you, it all belongs to you, it all exists for your glory.

History is your story.

The Scripture tells us, “Hear, O Israel, the LORD is our God, the LORD is one.” And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.

Now today, we rejoice not only in America’s peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time, we celebrate a hinge point of history with the inauguration of our first African-American president of the United States.

We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where a son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership. And we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven.

Give to our new president, Barack Obama, the wisdom to lead us with humility, the courage to lead us with integrity, the compassion to lead us with generosity. Bless and protect him, his family, Vice President Biden, the Cabinet, and every one of our freely elected leaders.

Help us, O God, to remember that we are Americans—united not by race or religion or blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all.

When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you—forgive us.

When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone—forgive us.

When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve—forgive us.

And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches, and civility in our attitudes—even when we differ.

Help us to share, to serve, and to seek the common good of all.

May all people of good will today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy, and a more prosperous nation and a peaceful planet.

And may we never forget that one day, all nations--and all people--will stand accountable before you.

We now commit our new president and his wife, Michelle, and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.

I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life—Yeshua, 'Isa, Jesus [Spanish pronunciation], Jesus—who taught us to pray:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

Amen.