only the holy

The nature of holiness has always fascinated me.  In the bible, particularly in the Old Testament, we see it as something scorchingly different, special, other.  That which is holy is for God.  Only the holy. In the New Testament we see holiness arrive with arms and legs.  We see God made man, who, when touched by the "unclean" of the ancient purity codes, does something extraordinary.  In the Old Testament, "holy" objects, things set aside for God, can easily get polluted.  They become unholy, simply by contact with the ordinary.  Let alone the "unclean".

But Jesus, the Holy One of God, touches not just the ordinary but those seen as "unclean".  And the flows are reversed. When Jesus touches someone, he makes them clean. His holiness is catching. Suddenly, the whole thing has been turned upside down.

It's important to the Christian to pursue holiness in their every day living, to seek to imitate Christ, to become more like him. But it's also something we can ask for - for it is God's Holy Spirit who aids us and transforms us. So we can pray 'Lord, make me holy,' and trust that he will work within our lives a transformation we could never manage on our own.

***

Which ties in nicely with the current Salt Challenge, Pray for Holiness.

I've recently started getting into Digi-Scrapping (Digital Scrapbooking).  I struggle with the time , space and energy required to get all my crafting stuff out of the cupboard at the moment - writing takes priority.  But this way of engaging with my creative side, which I never thought I'd really like, is proving great fun.  And a lovely way of scrapping all my digital photographs (as I still have oodles and oodles of prints to sort through from over the years).

hope

The latest Salt Challenge is on hope, which I very much wanted to do, as hope is something I often ponder.


Like faith and love, hope is directional. We hope for something, we hope in something, we are hopeful about something. There is sense that it is not entirely to do with the present, but something beyond it. Hope often expresses itself in the future tense.

But often the future is blurred to us; it is unknown. Therefore when we place our hope in something it is heavily linked to trust - we are ascribing to this thing, or this person, a reliability, a trustworthiness, an ability to do what we can't. Hope believes that life will not always remain as it is, whether on the small scale of days and weeks, or on a larger scale. Hope looks towards something.


When I place my hope in God I am saying - it is He who holds my past, present and future. And nothing is impossible for Him.

A few more thoughts on hope can be found in this entry.

Today: 4/10, medium
Yesterday: 3/10, medium

rest

The current Salt challenge is rest - here is the scrapbook page I made for this theme.



I think on the nature of rest quite a lot these days, since I have these scheduled rests as part of my Occupational Therapy programme for CFS/ME. It makes me think about how we rest - what we consider rest to be - what is restful, and what is not. My routine stipulates that these times should be deeper rest than I might otherwise choose to have - calling things like reading, drinking a cup of tea, watching the TV, low-level activity. Actually, I find it hard work to rest in this way, which is actually rather ironic.

We find it hard to stop and be still. We find it hard not to have something to look at, engage with, think about. Well, I do, anyway. What about you?
We also get caught up with today's idea that success is all about what we achieve - and we easily think of rest as necessary - but not particularly constructive. Well I do, anyway. What about you?

We forget that the reason for the Sabbath day in the Old Testament was rest - pure and simple. It was a time when people stopped. Just stopped. And it also made allowances for those who did not have the same control over their lives - servants - even animals. They all got to rest. Jesus himself said that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. It was beneficial for the creatures God had made.

We may not keep the Sabbath in the same way as under the old covenant, but I think we need to retain the principle. People need rest. All people. We all need time to recharge. We need to learn to see that rest is a constructive thing - not a thing to get through so we can get on with the rest of the 'to-do' list. Not a thing we should feel guilty about. We get frazzled, particularly in a climate like ours, where expectations are high and achievements praised, where we are constantly looking for the next entertainment, the next distraction.

We have forgotten how to quieten our hearts. So perhaps this verse is in fact very apt for us. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Lord, teach me how to sit at your feet again.
Teach me how to listen.
Teach me how to simply be in your presence.
Teach me how to let go of my burdens and carry a different, lighter load.
Teach me how to rest.
Teach me to stop following the expectations of the world and society and culture and other people and myself - but instead to follow yours.
Finding that they, after all, are the lightest, kindest of them all - for you understand my needs as a whole being - body, mind, soul all wrapped together - and give me that shalom - that wholeness that leads to a healthy approach to life in this world.

inescapable God

After claiming I wouldn't get the chance to complete anything for the current Salt Challenge, I did put together a scrapbook page last night. The photo I took a couple of years ago - I use it often in cards. The theme is 'he knows me inside and out' based on Psalm 139.

Some time ago now, I led a service based loosely around Psalm 139, particularly focussing on verse 12:
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
There are many times in life when we cannot see God, but as this Psalm makes clear, he can always see us. He is our inescapable God. I find interesting the similarity of verses 1 and 23, the first a statement - O LORD you have searched me and you know me - and the other a request, no, an invitation - Search me, O God, and know my heart. This verse shows a desire to be known completely by God, a desire I long to have daily.

I used verses 23 -24 to springboard into the prayers in the service, and I thought I would share them here.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
See if there is any wicked way in me
and lead me in the way everlasting. Ps 139:23-24

Lord, only you know the thoughts and motives of our hearts,
better than we know ourselves.
Search us, Father, in all our brokenness and need
cleanse us and renew us.
Shine your light into the dark places,
and forgive us for all that is wrong within us.
May we grow closer and closer to you,
deeper in our knowledge of you
and better imitators of your son, Jesus Christ.

Our world is filled with darkness,
and only you know the full extent of it.
Do not let us give up hope,
for you are the source of hope
and you uphold the world
in all its brokenness.

Father, for the injured, the sick, the poor and the hungry
for the lonely, the grieving, the lost and the weary,
for the bitter, the angry, the broken and the despairing
bring your healing, your sustenance, your light
and your hope.

May we never let go of you – for you are the only one
who can heal our world.

Today: 4/10, medium

Yesterday: 4/10, medium

and God saw that it was good

This is a 12 x 12 scrapbook page for the latest Salt Challenge - "and God saw that it was good". The photo doesn't give an entirely realistic impression of the colours, but you get the idea. I drew the picture in watercolour pencils and went over with a wet brush. The sun is a shape from a Papermania pastel shapes set, I went over it again with a darker yellow pencil and 'weathered' it with an emery board. I used E-Z walnut ink around the edges and added flower sequins to the foreground.

Background papers are from a Scrap Pad by DCWV, lettering is from an alphabet book from HOTP - except 'good' which I cut out using computer font as template, and smudging it with a bit of walnut ink. I used the fine tip of a Whispers dark brown brush marker to write the verse. I probably spent longer on this than most of the challenges because of all the cutting out involved, and creating the picture. Would love to know what you think.

Today: 5/10, medium
Yesterday: 5/10, medium - low

Tuesday: 4-5/10, medium

rejoice

All right, this is for the current challenge on Salt. The team there have created some absolutely beautiful projects. I wish I could create that kind of impact. Oh well, practice makes perfect (or at least better, I hope!)



This week I need to sort out lots of things, especially in the garden. Various bits and pieces need potting on or planting out. I'm aware of all the things that need pruning, tying back, tidying up, but know I can't set myself impossible goals. There is a continual war between my energy and my ambitions (even on a small scale), if I do. I have to accept that I can't do all that I would like. Feeling very weary. And still haven't posted photos from last week. Rest stop 3 approaches so we'll see how I feel after that. Everything in segments! Sigh. It's necessary, though. In all these things I have to remember where to find my joy. It's that constant need to study my priorities, to see what is most important, and re-order my approach to life accordingly. It's not an easy thing, especially when something in me simply wants to howl.

Psalm 19 - better late than never!

I know this is late for the last Salt Challenge, but hopefully no-one will mind. I used an old photo I'd discarded as the image was slightly blurry, but it worked well as a background, which I wrote on directly. What would I do without my white gel pen! The background is from a Papermania 8x8 Pastel Colossal pack, dotty paper overlaid with strips from starry paper (cut with decorative scissors). I rounded the corners of the photo and matted it on to vellum of a slightly paler shade than the background (with some more gel pen for impact). Added some sparkly ric-rac, and voila! Nothing hugely complex or stunning, but looks quite nice on a wall, actually, if I find a place to put it. Apologies for the upward slant at the end of the verses, I did so well with the first four lines...but was feeling a little sleepy at the time and didn't notice til I'd finished - d'oh!

On reading these verses I was struck by what creation does tell us about the glory of God. If we think - why did God create such an enormous universe?? Sometimes I have thought of it is God's extravagance in creation, but I think the real answer is that it declares his glory to us. And if we see it with those eyes, and how wonderful it all is, we can can catch a hint of the gloriousness of God.

Note: Andy's Uncle died yesterday morning (his mother's sister's husband). We are waiting to hear when the funeral will be, hoping to be able to attend.

Yesterday: 4/10, headache awful
Today: ditto!

walk in love

Here is my attempt at the latest Salt Challenge, "Walking in Love".



I have some thoughts on it I would like to record, but right now I have to clean the bathroom, among other things! In case I don't get around to it before the challenge is over, here it is. Watch this space for further comment /explanation!
..........

As soon as I read the theme for this challenge, I thought of different shoes. The idea being that sometimes it is much easier to love, and other times it is more difficult. There are times when love springs from us, bubbles up, as we willingly express it in our attitudes and actions to others. At other times we would much rather curl up and not bother making the effort to actively love; it is more of an act of will to say 'let me do that for you', to do something purely for another person. What I pray is that whatever my mood or circumstance (whatever 'shoes', whichever 'road') is that I will still act (walk) in love.

I've said this before, but it is a continuing lesson - our strength of character is not truly shown in the good times but in the difficult times. Being loving and acting in a way pleasing to God when all seems to be rising up against you is much harder - but by practising it we become more able to do it. It's a challenge to me because I know when I am horribly tired I become more sensitive to things, less calm in reacting to conflict or difficult situations. I need God's strength in these moments to help me 'walk in love', because the fatigue robs me of the control I need to be the person he wants me to be. I need his patience and his goodness- I need the fruit of the Spirit, not the fruit of my efforts, in order to honour him when the road is far too steep for me and I frequently stumble.

The wonderful thing is that God's mercy is 'new every morning'. Although I may frequently fail to 'walk in love' as I am called to do, he is faithful and forgiving and gives me a fresh start each day, using the difficult moments and what I consider my failures to teach and strengthen me. These lessons can be very painful at times but God can transform even my pain into something beautiful, if I trust him with it. If I clutch it to myself, picking at it, berating myself, collecting my failures like anti-trophies, I am not giving it to God to mend - instead I am propagating it, making it worse, and causing a cycle to start which is hard to get out of.

So I pray, Lord, may I walk in love even when I'm on a stony, difficult road and wearing the wrong kind of shoes. Help me, and when I stumble, help me to fix my eyes on you, not looking down at where I have fallen. I may stumble often, but with you I can grow stronger. I can learn to love where I would not naturally be loving, because of your Spirit within me. I need to stay close to you in order to do this. Help me stay close, so that I can act out of love, everything flowing from love, so that the world may look and know that I am your disciple.

Energy levels: 5-6/10
Headache: low - medium

pets and vets and...other things

Well, yesterday we took Charlie to the new vet I mentioned previously. It went very well. The interior felt airy and spacious; they have three consulting rooms with three vets in at one time (according to their blurb there are 6 in total). It was open surgery so we popped down when we liked and were able to go straight in once I'd given his details to reception. The vet we saw was very pleasant - I couldn't quite place her accent - she had a very distinct way of saying 'Charlie' (Charlie thought it sounded rather exotic). He behaved himself very well, was thoroughly examined and weighed and didn't flinch when he had the injection. He never seems to feel them which is just as well!
'He has very thick skin,' she said, and she wasn't speaking metaphorically! I think now how much easier I find Charlie to handle than in the early days, and he's much better at it too. At one point she had him dangled over one arm while she reached for something and he simply hung there looking sheepish (I think he liked her accent).

I asked to have his teeth properly examined because he's had this wonky expression lately. It makes him very photogenic (in a funny way) but I didn't want there to be a problem. Apparently he has got a spur on one of his lower back teeth but it is very small and unlikely to be causing him any trouble. If it gets bigger or he shows problems eating (Charlie?!! Problems eating?!! He has problems digesting but never ingesting...) they'll have to do something but it's all right for now. She asked me if we'd ever had anything done to his teeth and I replied that we hadn't, and she responded that they were in very good condition. So that's good.

Often I think, with both Charlie and the poor guinea pigs, if I knew then what I know now... I have to chalk it up to experience. Every now and then I come across photos of the guineas and it still gives me a real pang. They were such dear little creatures. I may, once the pang lessens, make a couple of scrapbook pages of them. I've actually started doing one (very slowly) of my old dog Misty, who died a couple of years ago. I wasn't there when she died and always felt an oddness in my sadness, an unfinished-ness. Doing this has helped me remember her and feel glad of her, if that makes sense. I've not got very far, but it's giving me practise in scrapbooking:

I'm not sure about using the silver brads for her name here. I may re-do that bit a different way at some point. This photo was one of the last before she died.

As a puppy, a pair of my dad's old socks were a terrific hit. She would run around with them partially obscuring her face. It was desperately cute!

Demonstrating the need for pond covers when any baby mammals are present! However to Misty this was just an extra thing to walk on.

Her paws looked huge on her as a puppy. We called them her 'lion cub paws'...

If this is a little unclear, she's lying upside down in her bed. She had no real concept of dignity... After her dinner in the conservatory she would often give a huge belch, and if my mum was in there she was seriously worried the neighbours would think it was her! Of course, there was the other end too...although Bonnie, our black Labrador was the other queen of those. She made herself look at her rear end in surprise sometimes.

Hmmm. I'm thinking I should change the subject now?!

Oh, Liam came over this morning and fitted a new shower for us (hurrah!) and a mixer tap on the kitchen sink (double hurrah!). The shower's been playing up for ages, and since we had a new boiler put in last year the hot tap got so hot in the kitchen that you could actually burn your fingers when you touched it. Me turning it off went something like this: twist, 'Ow!', twist, 'Ow!', twist, 'Ow, ow , OW!' Not that I ever got grumpy with it or anything. Ahem.

Energy levels: 4-5/10
Headache: medium high

contentment

Another Salt challenge, this time on contentment. Here is the scrapbook page I created, using Philippians 4:11-13. It's the NRSV version, simply because that was the one I was using to look at the verses!

It took me some time as I had to cut out the letters using a craft knife (cue a little joke with myself - if only I had a machine to do this for me...But I will be content with what I have!) The photo is one I took a few days ago, of one of the anenome de caen in our garden. I was struck by how a flower will always turn towards the light, whatever the situation. It seemed to me a good picture of how to be content.

In looking at this subject, I also looked at Hebrews 13:5-6:

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

"Never will I leave you,
never will I forsake you."

So we say with confidence,

"The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?"

God is the place where we find our contentment. It is his presence with us which enables us to be content both with what we have, and whatever circumstances may come our way. Because I can do all things through him who strengthens me; I can manage every situation through his strength. His continual presence is all that I need. (Tying neatly in with the previous challenge!) Both passages imply that contentment comes from a kind of security. Being secure in God's presence is the key to being content. When we place our security elsewhere, we will not be content, because we place our security on things that can so easily change. Anything can happen to anyone - but God will not leave us or forsake us.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. ~ Hebrews 13:8

Knowing that - that is the secret of contentment.

Energy levels: 3-4/10
Headache:medium
Yesterday: 4/10, headache awful (ugh)

His Presence

Since my energy levels were too low to go to church this morning, I decided to do something creatively to fix my thoughts on God. So I took up the latest Salt challenge and created this scrapbook page. I'm not very experienced at scrapbooking, and have never created a page around a bible verse before. It was fun just to do it for my own enjoyment! The colours aren't quite so great in the photo and the white gel pen doesn't show up so much...but you get the idea. If I can get a better photo I'll upload that. If you click on it you'll see it closer!

~*~

Energy rating: 4/10

Headache: Medium