Engagement

Well, there is so much to report since I last blogged - not least the news that Liz and I got engaged whilst on a short break in Venice.  A proposal made by the Rialto Bridge on a cool evening with gondolas bobbing up and down.  I got full marks from my daughter for having chosen such a romantic place for the deed!  Such wonderful responses from both families and friends and especially our respective Christian communities and children.  We are both so incredibly happy and looking forward to a wonderful future and ministry together. We are planning the wedding for December now. Life has become very busy again.  Although I have completed my academic theological studies, gaining a Cert.H.E. in Ministry with Merit from Oxford Brookes University, I have still to complete three assignments to satisfy the National Readers' Council Board for me to be able to transfer my licence to another diocese should I wish to do so. My subjects are  doctrine, teaching others and preaching and leading.  Essentially it means three further essays which I should be able to write fairly easily as I do enjoy essay writing.  what I didn't like about the Oxford Brookes course was having to put together portfolios!  Life just gets better and better.  I am looking forward to having my son Thom back home with me for the Easter break.  We are hoping to pop over to Germany (probably Berlin) during the break to help him research his current novel set in  WWI Europe. This is a very brief canter as I am writing this approaching midnight and feeling extremely tired.  So goodnight for now.  Hopefully another blog very soon.

Devotional Saturday

A quiet Saturday at home - my partner is away on a retreat and I have spent today (Saturday) on housework this morning and writing my sermon for tomorrow this afternoon. Thom came back early this afternoon from his mother's so I now have him with me this evening.  Had hoped for a quiet evening too - still there is plenty of room in this house to find a quiet spot. Currently working in the study reading my devotionals - the story of Joseph in particular. Received the news last night that my uncle in Norfolk had died after a short illness.  He reached the age of 88, three years more than my grandfather, and did not suffer - dying very peacefully.  I received the news driving back from a meeting and fish supper in Swindon.  Not sure yet when the funeral will be but hope we can make it despite holidays pending.  Nice not to have to go out anywhere this evening. A film and a light supper beckon.  Looking forward to preaching again tomorrow to a lovely congregation.  Trying also to get to grips with learning the language of bridge.

Thought for the Day - God's Love

I thought that I would share this with my readers today as it was upmost in my thoughts this morning - even before I  read it.  Love reflects love and it is a reflection of God's love for each and every one of us - we are all creatures of His great love.  We honour Him most when we show love to others especially on an individual basis - a one-to-one with Christ:

‘Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.’ Romans 12:10 NLT Deep within each of us is a desire to run our own lives, and in some cases other people’s lives too. As a result we become experts at manipulating one another. This desire for control brings about different behaviours. Here are six of them you must be aware of and avoid if you want good relationships: 1) Emotional blackmail. ‘Do what I want or I’ll get angry and go to pieces.’ 2) The guilt trip. ‘How could you do this to me after I’ve done so much for you?’ 3) The eternal illness. ‘Don’t upset me. Can’t you see I’m not well?’ 4) Help from beyond the grave. ‘Your dear father would have agreed with me.’ 5) Divine revelation. ‘God told me you should do what I want.’ 6) Humiliation. ‘Do what I want or I’ll embarrass you in front of others.’ These are powerful tools we use to get others to do what we want. And not only are adults good at using them, teenagers can be masters of manipulation too, especially if they’re not thinking straight. ‘I want this thing so badly I’ll go and do something stupid (even if it hurts myself) if I don’t get it.’ An argument that becomes a dangerous cry for help is the worst nightmare of many parents of teenagers. Manipulation is a game any number can play - right in the privacy of our own home. But those who engage in it pay a high price in conflict, hostility, and resentment. What’s the answer? The Bible gives it to us: ‘Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.’

Shall we Dance?

After a lovely break over Christmas and New Year its very hard to get back into work mode and, until two days ago, I still had two teenage children with me.  Sara returned from the USA on Wednesday and Mary has returned to live with her and her man whilst Thom, having spent a day back with his Mum, is still with me and looking forward to watching the Panthers' game on TV on Sunday night. We hope to make it a lovely lads' night in and hopefully, watch the Panthers advance to the Super Bowl. In the meantime, there is a pile of paperwork on my desk and the problem of trying to shoehorn in all our commitments.  Liz and I have started going Ceroc dancing together (she has been going for about two years) and I had my very first introduction on Monday night when I had the pleasure of "dancing" (and I deliberately put it in parentheses) with about forty different women - all of whom seemed to be far better at it than me.  The problem is that with Ceroc dancing, like so many other forms of dance, the man always leads; so whilst a female beginner can be led through the steps by the man, the man also has to learn the steps through which he then leads the lady!  If the woman forgets a move she can be forgiven (blame the man) but if the man forgets a move the whole process comes to a grinding halt (as I found out on quite a few occasions).  Anyway, I have signed up for it and Liz and I think it would be quite good fun to get proficient at it so we can really enjoy ourselves on the dance floor on future occasions. My first reaction was "Oh dear, I'll never be able to hack this", but I am determined to learn and improve on quite a few moves to at least appear proficient at dancing - besides which, it is something Liz and I can share and enjoy and is a rather fun way of keeping fit and hopefully losing some weight. I'll let you know how I progress through these pages. Holidays also booked to Venice and the Bahamas and possibly another location during the year. Life seems to be so much fun and I continue to really look forward to enjoying 2016.

Happy New Year - 2016

Wishing all my genuine readers and followers a Happy and Blessed New Year.  2016 has started well as I celebrated it with my new lady and my children - seeing in the New Year at my new home with champagne and a game of charades. New Year's Day saw us eating together a roast lamb joint meal with lots of fun and games.  I feel really positive about 2016 after all the turmoil of 2014 and the changes of 2015 - most of which ended up being all for the better.  It's lovely to have my children with me albeit tiring as a one parent family - endless cooking, cleaning, washing, entertaining etc. not to mention work.  Having booked a short overseas holiday away at the end of the month will break up the flatness of the usual cold and drab January.  God has been exceedingly good to us and I am now looking forward to progressing my ministry during 2016 with some more preaching and teaching and pastoral work with the homeless.  There have been some wonderful devotional studies over the past few days. These blogs will probably be on a weekly basis in future rather than the former daily one but hope that you still enjoy reading them.  Don't forget that you can also read my sermons after they have been delivered at http://pulpitmichael.blogspot.com. God bless you all.

Darkness into Light

Well we are into December - how this year has flown.  Much to reflect on when we reach New Year's Eve but so far I think I can say that 2015 has been a year of significant consolidation following the upheaval of 2014 and, now that I am living in my own property with my children staying frequently, life is so much better. I am really looking forward to 2016 which I believe will be an even more wonderful year.

This week has been relatively quiet - more Christmas shopping (a lovely walk around Salisbury's Christmas Market on Saturday), lunch also that day at Anokaa's Indian Restaurant with an old Friends colleague, Anthony, when he met Liz for the first time, and finally that day we attended the magnificent Darkness into Light Advent Procession Service in the cathedral.  On Sunday, after a family lunch at the Radnor Arms, Liz and I joined Penny Joyce and the Christian Community here at Old Sarum when we had tea in the Community Centre and discussed ideas for more Christian Events here.  A quiet evening in followed.

So far this week I've cycled into Salisbury a couple of times for more Christmas Shopping, and also visited my old Dorking office to meet up with old colleagues at a retirement do for one of them, Lynda. They will all be leaving Friends/Aviva at the end of the year. I painted a water colour from one of the photos we took up in the Lake District earlier this year and gave it to Lynda as a retirement present together with an artist's kit for her to try her hand at painting herself in retirement.  She seemed extremely pleased. I have started writing and painting again which is a sure sign that my dark days are over. Looking forward to going up to Humberside to see Mum and bring Thom back next week.  Still a few presents to buy and all to wrap before the trip.

Pre-Advent

This week falls between the Festival of Christ the King and the First Sunday in Advent when we begin to reflect on the Second Coming of Christ.  Right in between the Americans celebrate Thanksgiving (on Thursday 26th November) which also sees a series of special NFL games throughout the country.

Now is a time to reflect upon the coming Christmas season. For me, I was actually ahead of myself this year (last year I hardly knew it was Christmas after the turmoil inflicted on my life in the Spring). I spent several hours on Wednesday shopping in Gunwharf Quay, Portsmouth, and I am pleased to say that I managed to get quite a few items.  Not only do I have Christmas presents to buy but my brother-in-law, sister and daughter all have birthdays between now and Christmas Day - so more presents to purchase.

I started a really heavy cold this week which has left me feeling extremely debilitated and haven't slept all that well.  On Thursday the children's beds and bedroom furniture arrived and so we now have proper sleeping accommodation in the two double bedrooms as well as on our "Eyrie" third floor.  The new house is slowly getting to look like and feel like home but there are still a large number of boxes to empty. Mary is staying with me at the moment whilst her Mum moves into their new home in Amesbury.  Its good to have her staying. Seeing an old friend in town tomorrow for lunch which will be good and have a free Sunday - no service to prepare for and deliver.  Just hope this cold will go away soon and leave me feeling a lot better.  The one thing which doesn't help my head though is having to listen to all these crass commercial Christmas Muzak tapes in the shops. Drives me potty!