Anyone know of any good Christian blogs?
I want something to read which gets me more excited about God, which will help me get closer to him, and something that won't make me feel bad for how my relationship with him has been for the past five years. I've been through tough times and I want gentle nurturing inspiration.
Monday, 4 May 2009
Friday, 1 May 2009
Priorities
Song for a Fifth Child
by Ruth Hurlburt Hamilton (1958)
Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.
The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.
by Ruth Hurlburt Hamilton (1958)
Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.
Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.
Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo
The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.
The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.
life
I marvel at my insensate folly,
that with such enriching favours within my reach
I am slow to extend the hand to take them…
Quicken me, stir me, fill me with holy zeal.
Strengthen me that I may cling to thee and not let thee go.
May thy Spirit within me draw all blessings from they hand.
When I advance not, I backslide.
From The Valley of Vision
Am I embracing what God offers me at this very moment?
New life? New Identity? New beginning? New day?
How do I respond to God’s personal visit to me?
Do I come to Him expecting wrath or open arms?
Questions taken from My Children: A Lenten Devotional
that with such enriching favours within my reach
I am slow to extend the hand to take them…
Quicken me, stir me, fill me with holy zeal.
Strengthen me that I may cling to thee and not let thee go.
May thy Spirit within me draw all blessings from they hand.
When I advance not, I backslide.
From The Valley of Vision
Am I embracing what God offers me at this very moment?
New life? New Identity? New beginning? New day?
How do I respond to God’s personal visit to me?
Do I come to Him expecting wrath or open arms?
Questions taken from My Children: A Lenten Devotional
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
Hmm
So here I am continuing to bumble through life - Im not sure if this is the best way to go or if a more concrete plan would be better?
I'm still making some jewelery but have also got a part time job at our local co-op. And Im going to do some volunteering at a local school to help me decide about maybe teaching? I have NO idea what I want to do really. Does that mean i will be happy doing anything? Or never happy?
David has his job until next september and then may candidate although not straight away if i am doing training too. If he doesnt candidate we dont know what he will do.
We may buy a house is the court case goes ahead in the summer. Or we may rent.
Should I be more ambitious? Be making more plans for the future? Thinking about being more financially stable and waiting for the perfect time to have kids? Or is a little bit of future planning, and a lot of living in the present and enjoying it ok?
I'm still making some jewelery but have also got a part time job at our local co-op. And Im going to do some volunteering at a local school to help me decide about maybe teaching? I have NO idea what I want to do really. Does that mean i will be happy doing anything? Or never happy?
David has his job until next september and then may candidate although not straight away if i am doing training too. If he doesnt candidate we dont know what he will do.
We may buy a house is the court case goes ahead in the summer. Or we may rent.
Should I be more ambitious? Be making more plans for the future? Thinking about being more financially stable and waiting for the perfect time to have kids? Or is a little bit of future planning, and a lot of living in the present and enjoying it ok?
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
Have we lost the values of Methodism?
Maybe I'll just ramble my thoughts here instead of thinking I have to write about the humdrum of my daily life. And I keep track of all the wonderful blogs I like to read.
Last night as I was trying to sleep this is what I was thinking about.
Have we lost the values of the Methodist church?
Further conversation with my husband revealed that the original idea of the Methodist church was for God to be reachable by everyone. The poorer people couldnt read the bible readings, couldnt read to find out about God and so couldnt really connect with Him on the same level as those who could read. So the Methodist church tried to teach them to read and starting singing hymns so that they could learn the theology without needing to read as they could remember the hymns. It was about EVERYONE being able to understand and communicate with God.
Yet now we are in the same situation but with generation problems instead. The (mainly) older church members find they can learn about and communicate with God in their traditions of sermons, prayer and hymns in a structured format. The (mainly) younger members find that they do not understand the language of the hymns and prefer to discuss rather than to just listen to long sermons. The traditional format isnt a good platform for them to learn about and comunicate with God from. And so we have kept the traditions but lost the values!
I know this is generalising a lot, and I dont mean to say I see no value in the current traditions because thats not true but I can't work out what the future for the church is going to be. What are our options - to carry on as we are and not entirely satisfy either group as we try and find a middle ground? Or to split into an old church which will gradually get smaller and a younger church that will get larger? But then we will lose the guidance and wisdom and knowledge of the older members.
I dont want to lose that, but I dont want the compromise to be that I am made to try and relate to, learn about and worship God in a way which is difficult for me and which limits and restricts my worship. I think a lot of people think youth just want loud music but its not for loud musics sake, its the need for a style which we are comfortable in, which allows us to worship without having to translate ourselves into something we are not. Imagine having to speak to God in the Spanish you did at school?!!!
So is there a way to combine the wisdom and knowledge of the older members with the frustrated hunger and thirsting of the younger members? To have a church where peoples praise is not limited by the format they are forced to worship in? But where there is a community of everyone and an understanding that there are things in other peoples styles which CAN be beneficial for us to learn?
Last night as I was trying to sleep this is what I was thinking about.
Have we lost the values of the Methodist church?
Further conversation with my husband revealed that the original idea of the Methodist church was for God to be reachable by everyone. The poorer people couldnt read the bible readings, couldnt read to find out about God and so couldnt really connect with Him on the same level as those who could read. So the Methodist church tried to teach them to read and starting singing hymns so that they could learn the theology without needing to read as they could remember the hymns. It was about EVERYONE being able to understand and communicate with God.
Yet now we are in the same situation but with generation problems instead. The (mainly) older church members find they can learn about and communicate with God in their traditions of sermons, prayer and hymns in a structured format. The (mainly) younger members find that they do not understand the language of the hymns and prefer to discuss rather than to just listen to long sermons. The traditional format isnt a good platform for them to learn about and comunicate with God from. And so we have kept the traditions but lost the values!
I know this is generalising a lot, and I dont mean to say I see no value in the current traditions because thats not true but I can't work out what the future for the church is going to be. What are our options - to carry on as we are and not entirely satisfy either group as we try and find a middle ground? Or to split into an old church which will gradually get smaller and a younger church that will get larger? But then we will lose the guidance and wisdom and knowledge of the older members.
I dont want to lose that, but I dont want the compromise to be that I am made to try and relate to, learn about and worship God in a way which is difficult for me and which limits and restricts my worship. I think a lot of people think youth just want loud music but its not for loud musics sake, its the need for a style which we are comfortable in, which allows us to worship without having to translate ourselves into something we are not. Imagine having to speak to God in the Spanish you did at school?!!!
So is there a way to combine the wisdom and knowledge of the older members with the frustrated hunger and thirsting of the younger members? To have a church where peoples praise is not limited by the format they are forced to worship in? But where there is a community of everyone and an understanding that there are things in other peoples styles which CAN be beneficial for us to learn?
Monday, 19 January 2009
Maybe
Maybe I'll never be a good blogger - but I love having this blog anyway to keep track of al the fabulous blogs out there!!
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
Egypt and blergh
I have just been on a fabulous holiday to Egypt for five days, but now we've come back to horrible English weather and an absolutely evil cold/cough bug so Im too ill to write any more
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