Beauty in the odd places

With only six days to christmas it can start to seem a bit manic. Traffic is full-on, the malls are packed.

Tension is rising. Despite today beig my first day of my holiday - i think i'm even busier now than i was at work.

Organising trips away, catching up with people, end of year functions, seeing old mates who are in town. Things are pretty busy aye.

Admist all this - where is the beauty of christmas - it certainly isn't on the faces around me. People look heckled and harassed. The pressures of providing that special occasion and making this a time to remember actually seems to burden us.

But as you're out and about - finidng that perfect gift, trying to think of the that special way to bless a neighbour, friend, or local bum.

Pause

and look. Look for that tiny child with the innocent eyes.

Smell. The pine and the pastry wafting out of the shops and the lounges

Taste. The mull wine and the hot meals.

come up with your own suggestions of beauty and let me know to look, smell, taste for these too - coz my list is merely a starting point.

I'm off to the mall now to buy a gift for Jo so this will be my (justin) last post!

I like this clip simply because it shows a glimpse of beauty amongst the constant sorrow we here of in iraq.

Give a gift of beauty...

Today- find someone a smooth pebble, an extraordinary postcard, a delicate peice of ribbon- give someone some sweetness for their eyes today!

At Christmas- instead of the box set of West Wing (fabulous as it is) why not paint someone a picture? Make a photo collage? Make a photo Frame? Collect a glass vase full of pebbles? A box full of ribbon!

For Life- Life a life that adds to the beauty of Gods creation. Find community and help a soul find its worth. Tell a new story, sing a different song, of beauty that is life and light, of beauty that lasts.

I love the idea of us being here to add to the beauty of God already present. The idea that God made a perfect world and we get to be a part of sweeping up the bits that we have covered in the dust of our sins. For some of us the trendy concepts of social action, advocacy, and social justice seem to be so daunting that we forget the part of the story where God simply wants us to add to the beauty of what he is already doing in the world
Add to the Beauty by Sarah Groves

We come with beautiful secrets.
We come with purposes written on our hearts,
written on our souls.
We come to every new morning.
With possibilities only we can hold,
that only we can hold.

Redemption comes in strange places, small spaces.
Calling out the best of who we are.

And I want to add to the beauty,
To tell a better story.
I want to shine with the light
That's burning up inside.

It comes in small inspirations,
It brings redemption to life and work.
To our lives and our work.
It comes in loving community,
It comes in helping a soul find it's worth.

Redemption comes in strange places, small spaces.
Calling out the best of who we are.

This is grace, an invitation to be beautiful.
This is grace, an invitation.

And I want to add to the beauty,
To tell a better story.
I want to shine with the light,
That's burning up inside.

Decadent Beauty
There are two kinds of this.

I have seen both.

The beauty of a mountain valley, full of the fragrances of summer.

Ripened fruit, blossoming flowers, apple juice, and homemade jams.

Sweaty men freshing themselves in a lake.

The bleats of shorn sheep fill the air along with the buzzing of insects.

The sky a plain canvas of blue, and the heat of the sun fills everything with warmth.
A group of young friends walk and laugh together.

Run and play together - their love for each other is unspoken but clearly present.

The full expressions of themselves, their personalities, their opinions, their thoughts, their passions.

Their identity's are secure and they feel free to be true to themselves with each other. God's dwelling with them - in the silent moments and in the hearty thrust of debate.

His spirit boils up inside theirs - bursting forth with randomly creative ideas and new visions of life to transform communities.

They receive a glimpse of heaven while God imprints his upon their hearts a determination to bring more of the celestial into the world.

Second kind comes from a powerful man.

His bedroom is kept in state in a old museum in Paris.

He believed he was a God and so he created his chambers to reflect this.

Everything is covered with gold and silk - the ultimate expression of human decadence.

Beautiful it is - but lonely it feels.

This Sunday we light our third symbolic sparkler and remember the meaning of Advent (the visit of Jesus).We wait and we marinate in:The remembrance of Israel’s yearning for the coming Messiah, to save, forgive and restore them.Our hope for the second coming of Jesus where everything will be restored.The realisation of our own need for Gods grace, through Jesus.
God, stir in our hearts excitement about the visit of your Son.

Jesus, thank you that as we wait, even waiting through pain, we are aware you are here.

Thank you that your promises are like honey... help us to pass on the sweetness.

Waiting. This word has real resonance for me at this time as I continue on in my journey of emotional healing. A journey that is not optional but essential in order to be able to fully connect with those around me and the world in which I live. As past memories surface reminding me of the wounds deep within - I ache so badly. So, so badly. I would do anything to numb the pain – but I wait. The journey of waiting is as necessary as the healing that I long for with all that I am.

Waiting brings a depth to my experience. My experience of myself, my experience of others and my experience of my God. The waiting is necessary but God knows how much I beg Him to take it away. He could. He’s a God of miracles as I’m told time and time again. And yet I wait. I continue waiting. While I wait I hear my God telling me to keep looking ahead and to hold on tightly. He warns me not to be afraid of the depths down there below, that He is with me.

‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me’ Ps23 v4.

Deep inside I know I’m on my way up from the underground. I’m on my way out, past all the pictures that remind me of so much that terrified me once a long time ago. ‘Hold on my child’, I hear Him say. I continue waiting. How much longer Lord? I don’t think I can take much more. This is too much. You said that you would not give me more than I can bear. I start feeling like I’ve been stolen away by the darkness and then I realise.....I’m still standing....waiting.

‘If I say, ‘surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me’, even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.’ Ps 139 v11-12. Inside I know my God knows me and my God hears my cry in the loneliness of the night. Yet I shouldn’t even know this with the wounds that I bear. My spirit just seems to know that my God is for me. Waiting is the journey I must make. Waiting means tears and vulnerability - when all I want to be is strong. Waiting means pain and more pain - when all I want is relief. Waiting means holding on even when you can’t see clearly and there is no obvious way of escape. Waiting implies there is hope and there is. Hope comes in the waiting. Waiting is the journey I must take.

‘Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.’ 1 Cor 13v7.

I continue to wait.........

The passover meal is a beautiful ritual celebrated by Jewish families across the world. It is rich in remembering. The crux of the ritual comes when, using bitter herbs, they attempt to experience what it was like to be in slavery as their ancestors were. The bitter herbs are not only symbolic of painful times, but a physical aid for experiencing.
Remembering is crucial to our spiritual life. We are told frequently throughout scripture to remember. Remembering can be one of the highlights part of waiting.

Take something bitter, salt, vinegar,and put it in your mouth. Use this taste to evoke memories of bitter times in your life.

Reflect on a hardship, pain, a trialling period.
Try and think about how this pain has shaped you.
Remember the hand of God.
Celebrate that God is presence through all times, good and bad.