Miriam Elizabeth Art

Miriam is a friend of mine. She is an artist and is very good.

Here's her website - Miriam Elizabeth Art.

Get a print now before she becomes huge & famous.

A Walk with Friends

I've just got back from heading out into the night on a stroll with a couple of friends. These stroll's used to be commonplace a number of years ago but have recently died out - it was about time they were resurrected.

I often find the best thinking is done walking. Either walking alone, with friends, with much talking or with little.

We talked about houses a lot. Where we live we have a lot of big - sometimes very big - houses. Some are so big they are ugly. It can be quite disturbing to see that size of house... The interesting thing we noted was how we used to think about our idea homes when we were younger. A common ideal was to have a room dedicated to whatever our hobby may be: library/reading room, sewing room, music room, etc.

That led me on to thinking about idols, things we put above God, and how we discern them. A pertinent point was made to me recently that in order to discern our idols we need only to think upon what we daydream about. Another way would be to consider what we most easily spend our money on.

What do I daydream about? What do I most easily spend money on? Alarmingly easy questions to answer.

How do we reorder these things? Maybe a walk would be necessary to work it through......

A Throwaway Snow Comment.

I find it fascinating that we English are so incompetent at dealing with snow and at the same time so unbelievably transfixed by it.

Here is proof via the social networking site 'Facebook', you may have heard of it... (I know, using Facebook as proof is a bit of an oxymoron. But in my defense, I had to work all day and consequently didn't actually meet any of my friends, if I had I am certain they would have said similar sentences to me). Some selected statuses from friends posted during the last 8ish hours:


"snowtastic"

"first day of term cancelled due to SNOW! amazing."

"Snow day! Huzzah!"

"snowflakes continue to fall"

"my snowman is dead!"

"has a day and a half off school to play in the snow! Yay!"

"more snow - no work"

"built a snowman"

"reckons a little bit of white stuff and everyone goes silly ... don't you just love it !!!"


I'll stop there... but you get my drift.

We love it. I understand, I really do. I guess it taps into the British 'weather taking' psyche - just we go on about it forever because it's not as normal as, say, drizzle.

Anyway, for what it's worth, here's my throwaway snow comment of the day:

You see more when it snows, especially at dusk, because any light that is left is reflected by the snow on the ground, thus making it seem lighter and more eerie than it actually is. I like this bizarre state of flux in the earth's lighting.

In other news - Norah Jones has an incredible voice. Just incredible.

Upper Booth - Peak District

The stream at the bottom of our campsite.

View from the highest point in the Peaks.

View from the edge of the peat bogs. 

 

Steve, Ben, Dave, Tim.  Walking up Jacob's Ladder.

The Beginning

It's been five weeks and a day since I moved into my room here in Aldis at the London School of Theology.

It's been just over four weeks since the new students arrived and brought this place to life again after a long three-month summer.

Today many of them handed in their first essay.  It's been good to watch them as they have settled in, struggled, overcome, succeeded, and many more things - in four short weeks.

It is exciting to see them give a new lease of life to the college, and to bring all the enthusiasm that they do.  I smile deeply, and think long about my first year here - and regret that I can't stay to watch them develop through their time.  To grow with them, to help them through, to celebrate their successes.

We are the generation that can change the world.  But let's all pray we don't get lost in the mire of post-LST oddities, and keep focussed upon Christ.

It's been a good, good start.  Here's to the next eight months.

Marriage - We Salute You!

As I write the clouds outside my window have just covered the sun.  It's just past 8.30am, and we've had the first half hour of sun in a good few days now.  But the wind is pushing the clouds at a fair pace, so hopefully the sun will come again.

I say this as an introduction to talking about weddings.

Hopefully the sun will shine on Dave and Abby today.  This is the fifth of six weddings this summer.  Each one has been a joy to attend, a lot of fun to be at.  Each one very different, each one perfectly suited to the couple getting married.

Summer is now over, rain has been flooding the land and the nights have been getting darker earlier.  I'm beginning to prepare for working again.  College is just around the corner.  It's going to be a good year.  It has been a good summer.  Probably my last one with a ridiculously long time off.  And I'm especially glad that it was regularly interrupted by days of celebration.

So; Sam, Emma, Phil, Hannah, Pete, Sarah, James, Sharon, Laurie, Lucy, Simon, Suzy, Dave, Abby, Jon, Hayley - here's to you guys.  May God bless your new adventures.

And the sun is just breaking out...