Wednesday 21 December 2011

A Year of Change and No Change

New Zealand earthquakes. Japan Tsunami. Japanese nuclear power stations. The Arab spring. Tunisia. Egypt. Yemen. Libya. Gadhafi’s death. Syria. Egypt again. Bin Laden’s death. Royal Wedding. Norwegian shootings. Riots in London. Riots in Britain. Phone hacking. Somalia famine. Turkey earthquake. Pakistan floods. Philippines floods. Anti-capitalist camps. Greece crash. Italy Prime Minister. Euro troubles. Euro veto.

And the year is not over. 2011 is one of those years when more has happened than we can begin to write down. A lot of it tragic. But one thing remains the same: ‘I the Lord do not change’ (Bible: Malachi 3:6).

Thursday 1 December 2011

The Happiness Survey (2)

The latest results from the Office of National Statistics happiness survey – carried out earlier this year and interviewing over 4000 adults- shows money doesn’t make for happiness. The survey shows that as a nation we have a happiness index of 7.4 out of 10. The same score as last time, despite a real downturn in the economy.

What did show up was what a lack of a job did. Here the index went right down to the low 6’s. People need to be valued, to have a purpose, to be able to provide for others. We are a ‘people’ people. Work is what is valued above money.

As we’ve been told over the years, riches can’t buy happiness. And the statistics show it to be true.

Money can buy a house, but not peace; medicine, but not health; amusement, but not joy; therapy, but not healing; a bed, but not sleep; allies, but not friends.

A final word from the writer of Proverbs: Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold.

Monday 21 November 2011

Stigma

You can read all about leprosy. You can look at the photo’s. You can study its effects. But it’s only when you look into the eyes of the leprosy patient that you realise how vile a disease leprosy is.

I spent two days at the Leprosy Mission Hospital in Kolkata last month. For me, as part of a three week trip to India, it was the most hard-hitting part of the trip. There were two looks in the eyes of the patients as I toured the wards. One was of hope, trusting the hospital could do all that was needed for them.

The other was of despair. A young man was there, 24 years old. He has already lost all his fingers and toes. He should have come earlier, but it’s not the disease, which is treatable nowadays, it’s the stigma. He didn’t come earlier because of the shame of the disease.

The Indian government are doing all they can to take away the stigma. But it’s still there. A lady in her 70’s was late for an appointment. The reason; the bus driver had seen she had leprosy and wouldn’t let her on the bus. This is the truth of the most stigmatized disease in history. No wonder Jesus centred on the person with leprosy. He knew to look in the eyes.

Tuesday 8 November 2011

When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say....





Over the last three weeks, I have had the immense privilege of working with some of the most wonderful people in the world. I'm sure there will be more stories to follow, but this seems appropriate with Remembrance Day around the corner. 

During my time in Nagaland, an extreme North-East State in India, I was able to drive to Kohima. Here there is one of the best kept war cemeteries I have seen, a memorial to all those who gave their lives in what was the turning point in the Indian war against the Japanese in 1944. Amongst the thousands of graves, each one recording a British or Indian soldier, usually in their early twenties, there is a poem, called the Kohima Epitaph, and copied by many other war memorials. This is what it says:

When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say,
For your Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today.



Simple and poignant. Still as true today. Let's not forget.


Monday 10 October 2011

Roller Coasters

I remember taking Lois on the roller-coaster. I didn’t want to go, but Lois, aged about seven at the time, would have none of it! It was okay. In fact I quite enjoyed it. The initial fear was replaced by mild apprehension which turned into a pleasurable ride.

That’s how I feel right now on the eve of another trip to India. This time for three weeks in three different places. There is always some apprehension- a very different country, the responsibility of leading three teams, safety on the roads, and so on…

But I’m pretty sure all that will change as I get off the plane at Hyderabad. The sights and smells will bring back a flood of memories, all of them good.

And so the ride begins….

Thursday 6 October 2011

REPOST: Follow Your Heart: Steve Jobs, 1955 - 2011

A REPOST FROM MAY 2009

"Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything, all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure; these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important.

Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked.

There is no reason not to follow your heart.

Death is very likely the single best invention of life. It’s life’s change agent; it clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you. But someday not too long from now, you will gradually become old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic but it’s quite true.

Your time is limited so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped in dogma, which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice, and most important, have the courage to follow your heart."

Speech to Stanford College from Steve Jobs, CEO, Apple Computer and Pixar Animation

Monday 3 October 2011

Fried Brains, Warm Friendships

Having completed my introductory weeks at Mattersey Hall for the Masters in Theology, I must admit to a case of ‘fried brains’! There’s a whole different world out there! The level and excellence of thinking from the lecturers is almost too much for someone that hasn’t studied in about 30 years. But along with the fried brains, there were many warm friendships. It is so good to met others that seem as crazy as me, paying someone to put you through mental torture!

More warm friendships on the way… In a week I will be in India again, for three weeks this time. It will be good to renew old friendships and continue to help with the Esther girls and medical camps. The teams are ready…. different people over the three weeks. So lots of warm friendships and some warm weather too!

Sunday 25 September 2011

Footprints, Not Monuments

William Faulkner talks about the need for footprints, not monuments. He explains that monuments are a statement that says ‘I got this far’. Footprints announce ‘this is where I was when I moved again’.

I want footprints to be the reflection of my life. I’m on a journey. I only arrive in the next life. A step at a time, I move forward. I don’t quite know what is around the corner, but with God’s help, I keep on the right path. It’s what Nietzsche and Peterson called a ‘long obedience in the same direction’. Long roads, mountain paths, obstacles and more. Finally the view from the top. It’s then that you know it was all worth it.

Sunday 11 September 2011

Ten Years Ago


I was meant to be there that day. I keep an email in my diary of the invitation to a meeting in New York on 11th September 2001. What’s more, the company I was visiting had offices in one of the towers.

I postponed the meeting. God knows the time and the hour, and for that I’m grateful. In the meantime, the email is a reminder of the transience of this life.

C S Lewis described this life as like the front cover and the title page of a book compared to what is to come. As Lewis says, one day I will begin Chapter One of the Great Story.

Wednesday 24 August 2011

Thank You - To All 10,000 of You

About five years ago I started a blog. My eldest daughter had just got married and I had turned fifty. It seemed a bit of a watershed. I decided I was not going to give up on climbing the mountains that life throws at you, so this blog was born.

Today, 193 posts later, it tipped over the 10,000 mark in terms of readers. So thank you. I’m glad the blog has encouraged and challenged, and I hope it will continue to do so.

It’s taken a while to get there because I don’t cheat. Some sites count every ‘click’ as a new visitor. I’m a bit mean in only recording visitors once a day.

A few facts and figures. The two most popular blogs were one on this page – ‘A Clear Reason – A Clear Answer’, and one that has been reposted once because it was such a popular post – ‘Laminin’ (October 2010). Some days there have been as many as 100 visitors, other days one or two. Hello to the 481 of you in the States that have passed through this year. And a big hello to the five of you in Russia! Glad you passed by, sole visitor from China. And hi to my friends in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. I know who you are! Quite a following in Brazil- appreciate your company.

Thanks again and here’s to the next 10,000!

Wednesday 17 August 2011

This Race is Not About a Fall, This Race is About a Rise!

We're all in a race. It's the race of life. How we live determines how we finish.

Even if we fall, we can get up, run again and still win. Heather Dornidon shows how it should be:



Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God.
Hebrews 12: 1-2, The Message Version of the Bible.

(This was a clip I showed in my talk at KingsGate Church recently. You can find the talk at:
http://www.kingsgateuk.com/Media/Player.aspx?media_id=73639&file_id=81982 )


Saturday 13 August 2011

John Stott, Pastor, Theologian, Author; April 1921 - July 2011


"John Stott was the most modest of men. Compliments embarrassed him. He would shrug them off and try to change the subject just as quickly as he could.

If he could have briefed me in advance for this message which I am to give now, he most certainly would have said to me ‘focus on Christ, don’t focus on me’. "

John Stott Memorial Service Sermon from J I Packer.

Tuesday 9 August 2011

A Clear Reason..... A Clear Answer


“Where there is no vision, the people perish” is one of the best known quotes from the Bible (Proverbs 29:18). What we are seeing on the streets of our cities reflects the truth of those words.

If you are in your late twenties, unemployed, and in fact have never had a job (not for want of trying), it’s likely you will lack purpose in life. If all you know is gang culture, it’s likely that is where you get your values on life. If you live in a materialistic and godless society, it’s likely you worship the HD TV, Nike shoes and designer labels.

What we are witnessing in our streets is a result of the society we live in. No excuse for riots. But a clear reason.

And there is a clear answer. Not that it appears to be an acceptable answer to a majority of our society. When you find the reason you’re here, it makes a difference to how you live.

As we wake this morning to pictures of burnt out cars, looted shops and fearful communities, there has never been such a need for faith in Christ.

Sunday 17 July 2011

The Right Shoes

Lois, my 20 year old daughter, declared recently that she wanted to start running. I offered to buy her her first pair of running shoes.

‘You need running shoes?’ she asked. ‘Yes of course’ I said.

‘Why? What’s wrong with my plimsolls?’ I gave a wry smile the way only Dad’s can.

A couple of hours later we were at Advanced Performance, the excellent running shop in Peterborough. It was only then that the full realisation of what was needed began to hit Lois. The first thing we saw was a guy in a shirt and tie running around the car park wearing new running shoes.

‘I’m not doing that! No way!’

‘But you have to if you want the right shoes. They won’t sell you any shoes without you trying them out to make sure they are right for you.’

‘Well I’m not running around the car park for any one!’

Half an hour later and with about ten pairs tried out and videoed on a running machine to check for pronation or supination (fancy terms referring to how your foot strikes the ground) and Lois was running round the car park on the way to owning her first pair of real running shoes.

Why all the bother? Because all our feet are different. Not just in size, but in the way we run. The wrong shoes, a lack of support to the ankle and you are on your way to severe muscle injuries and damaged knees.

What are we wearing as we run the race of life? Have we got the right shoes? The right support to our own personal race of life? What are we trusting in? Who are we trusting in? Who’s there to support us, listen to us, encourage us? Make sure you’re wearing the right shoes.

Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Hebrews12:1-2

Friday 1 July 2011

Restore a Town. Transform a Nation.

You drive for 5 hours from Johannesburg, through the mountains and over the Swaziland border. What greets you is quite breathtaking. Bulembu is an old mining town. When the mines closed nearly ten years ago, the 10,000 population moved out. Bulembu became a ghost town. Until someone had a vision of what could be.

Today a Christian trust owns the whole town. All 4,000 acres. The population is back to 2,000. There are successful industries in wood production, water bottling, honey production, a bakery, a dairy, successful tourism. All from nothing.

Most of all, there are 200 orphans saved. Bulembu has become a centre for rescued children. With the worst HIV rate in the world at around 40%, and an average age expectancy of just over 30, Swaziland is slowly dying. Children die daily. Bulembu is changing the statistics.

Their aim is to be a sustainable community for 2000 children by 2020. Their shirts carry the slogan ‘experience transformation’. And they are. In restoring a town, they are transforming a nation.

Tuesday 14 June 2011

In the Footsteps of an Eight Year Old

Today I walked in the footsteps of an eight year old.

I started at the primary school, looking into the window where he began school at five years of age. Elsie sat next to him that morning. She cried all day. He ignored her.

On past the school to the shops. Two are still there. The newsagents where his mum bought him his first plastic farm animals. And the chip shop- fish and chips on a Friday night.


Down the back streets, past the allotments, past where he fell off his bike. And there it is, home - Milford Avenue, Flixton, Manchester. The house he lived in from early childhood to age eight. Not much has changed. A new fence on the side. The paint is a different colour.

It’s the first time I have walked those streets in forty-eight years. All sorts of memories came flooding back. Running through the streets with my friends. Stopping pretty much anywhere, in any house, to ask for a drink of orange squash. Community was strong there. Sad memories too. I found myself grieving for the loss of my mum. It was her hand I held as I walked those streets all those years ago.

The path has taken many a turn from Milford Avenue. Birmingham, Leicester, South London, Crawley, Peterborough. And I’ve been grateful for every step. Grateful to God. Grateful to my friends and family who have shared the journey. If you are reading this as someone who has journeyed with me, thank you for your company.

And there’s more. There’s a path ahead. I can’t see where it leads, but like the days of my early childhood, I hold a hand. No longer my mum’s hand, but my Lord’s. He treads every step with me. He can see what I cannot. He knows every rock and boulder we need to negotiate. He leads, I follow. One day we will reach home together.

Sunday 5 June 2011

A 17th Century Nun's Prayer

Lord Thou knowest better than I myself know that I am growing older and will some day be old.
Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion.
Release me from the craving to straighten out everybody’s affairs.
Make me thoughtful, but not moody; helpful but not bossy.
With my vast store of wisdom it seems a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest, O Lord, that I want a few friends at the end.
Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me the wings to get to the point.
Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are increasing, and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the days go by.
I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others’ pains, but help me to endure them with patience.
I dare not ask for an improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessening cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others.
Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken.
Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a saint- some of them are so hard to live with- but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil.
Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places, and talents in unexpected people.
And give me, O Lord, the grace to tell them so.
Amen.

Saturday 21 May 2011

Who's the customer?

I was part way through an 11 mile walk along the coast west of Dolgellau when I arrived at the George III Hotel in Penmaenpool. It was about 11am, so time for a coffee.

ME: Hi, do you serve coffee?

PROPRIETOR: Yes sir.

M: One coffee please.

P: Yes sir. Anything else?

M: Oooh yes please! I’d love a piece of toast.

P: We don’t do food.

M: What do you mean? You’re a hotel!

P: Yes sir. Food is at lunchtime.

M: So why ask if I wanted anything else?!

P: Kitkat? Mars Bar?

M: I’ll just have the coffee thanks.

A great walk but not sure I’ll be going back to the hotel……

Wednesday 18 May 2011

Food for the Soul

Just back from a short break in Dolgellau, Wales. Just on my own- a time to reflect on changes in my life, a time to listen and a time to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Someone once described it as food for the soul. I'll let you look at the photo's and see if you agree...


Saturday 7 May 2011

Lost voices

It's 'no' to AV. With that decision, Britain has recommited itself to two-party rule. Or more likely, one and a half party rule. Years of Tory leadership with an occasional look-in for Labour.

Instead of reflecting modern day Britain, politics will continue with exaggerated statements, unaccountable politicians and the potential for extreme swings in political leadership.

Apologies to the Greens, the nationalists, the Christian parties and the independents. Britain has decided to continue ignoring you- and ignoring the hundreds of thousands of voters you represent. No change there of course. But it could have been different.

As for the moderately successful Liberal Democrats, any power they have is likely to be given them by the Tories or Labour in order to keep the main parties in power.

Britain has shown itself to be conservative with a small 'c'. Which means Conservatives with a big 'c' are the obvious winners.

I'm not sure there will be another referendum on voting in my lifetime. A lost opportunity. And a lost voice for so many in our not so democratic democracy.

Monday 18 April 2011

The Finish


Well, it’s done. The London Marathon that is. 5 hours and 24 minutes. Not my best time, but it was a hot day!

I’m pleased to record that my only injury (other than not being able to walk the next day!) is a cut lip. I managed this at about mile 22 when my coordination went slightly awry, trying to take a drink form a water bottle!

Thank you to all those that have so selflessly given towards the Esther Homes. As I write this, we are well over £18,000, with tax money to add back in as well. We will leave the site live for a while yet for any late-comers.

www.epoh.org.uk

For those that would like to follow our progress in buying and/or building the Esther Home, the EPOH web site will also keep you up to date with this. As it stands, we are hopeful that we may be able to part buy/part rent towards owning a building of our own.

With an event like this, there is always a list of thank-you’s. So here goes…

Thank you to:

- Lisa Ryan for her hours of patience setting up the site, and putting up with my impatience! For allowing our India work to join forces with her Africa work and also for the great seat at the marathon for Roh.
- Steve Cronau for the hours of work on the site and setting up the Paypal link when it became clear that the HMRC department wasn’t going to respond in time to set up Virgin Giving.
- Liz Lavies for all the treatment on my calves. And for refusing payment so the money could go to the Esther Homes.
- Mickey Vincent and all at Chroma Sport for the free printing of the running vest.
- Adam & Karen for putting me up for the night before the marathon. And Helen for the coordination.
- Tim Hunt for accompanying me on the marathon, and not making too many corny jokes.
- All my friends at churches past and present, friends within the pensions industry, friends at TLM, those on our India team, and everyone who has helped with contributions towards the fabulous amount we were able to make.
- And of course, Roh, Nathan & Joy, Elspeth & Rob, Josh and Lois. I’ll try not to complain too much at not being able to walk!

Thursday 14 April 2011

Check


Running gear? Check.
Running number? Check
Electronic tag? Check.
Sexy looking calf compression socks? Check. (Not so sexy though)
Pedometer? Check.
Nutrition bars? Check.
Sports drinks? Check.
Ibuprofen and paracetamol? Check.
Vaseline? (!) Check.
Sun protection cream? In the UK? Yep, forecast to be a warm day. Check.
Bed at friends’ house near the start? Check.
Ready to go? Not really!
Sponsorship complete? Almost check!

If you haven’t got round to sponsoring me yet, there’s only a few day’s to go until Sunday’s race. Please help the Esther Homes children by sponsoring me here:

www.epoh.org.uk
…..and thank you!

Friday 1 April 2011

Gremlins and glitches, fears and frustrations

The journey towards marathon day has been far from easy. It’s been a story of gremlins and glitches, fears and frustrations. Here are a few of the ‘marathon moments’:

#1: we had hoped to put the EPOH charity up on the Virgin Giving site. Virgin were very helpful but needed HMRC (the tax man to you and me) to sign off that EPOH is a charity. We are of course- we have the documents to prove it. All it needed was someone at HMRC to put a tick in a box on a form. That was eight weeks ago. We are still waiting. Sad that along with many small charities, HMRC are frustrating us all with an under resourced department.

#2: that meant a change of plan. Enter the cavalry. A big thanks to Steve Cronau and his daughter Hannah for the time and energy they took on redeveloping the EPOH site and in setting up a Paypal link so that I could start receiving personal sponsorship. Thanks too to John Watson of John Watson Design for the fabulous new EPOH logo! If only that was the end of the story….. there is a glitch on the Paypal site so that now and again, for no apparent reason, someone who thinks they have given, haven’t. If you have kindly tried to sponsor me, please do go to the site to make sure your contribution has been made!

#3: Quite rightly Paypal have rules. One of them is that if we get more then £1900 into the account in one month, we have to supply more documents. We did. They said it wasn’t enough. We said what else do you need? They didn’t seem to know. Thanks to Lisa Ryan, the Director of EPOH for the long conversations with Payal in order to get that one resolved.

#4: The other main glitch had been my calf muscles. I’ve been running for years without a problem, but the calf muscles on both legs have been giving me gyp. Thanks to Liz, our friendly physio, I’m pretty sure it will be alright on the day!

Anyway, enough of the gremlins and glitches, fears and frustrations. If you can help me towards my goal for the India Esther Homes, please go to:

www.epoh.org.uk

And thank you for your prayers, support and good wishes. 17th April is fast approaching!

Saturday 26 March 2011

REPOST: Forest Gump


With the London Marathon now three weeks away, this looked an appropriate re-post! (from November 2007)

Here's a story from a few years ago. I used to do more running than I do now, as did Tim Hunt, a friend of mine.

Tim called over one night with a big grin on his face, full of what had just happened. He'd been out running and had run past a group of girls- and one of them 'wolf whistled' him. Well, Tim was full of it! He dined off that story for a good while afterwards!

I went running myself a few days later in Yaxley, where we lived at the time, and sure enough, up in front of me were a group of girls. Recalling Tim's often told story, I pushed my shoulders back, increased my pace and ran past them looking as cool as possible. I waited for the wolf whistle. Nothing. Then, just as I passed them, one of the girls called out 'Run Forest Run!'

Tim dined out on that story too!


If you would like to sponsor me, running for the Esther Homes in India, here is the web address:

http://www.epoh.org.uk/

Wednesday 23 March 2011

Up and Running


Twelve years ago I ran the London Marathon. That’s just about long enough to have forgotten the pain...

Having said I would never do it again, here I am, in the middle of hours of training, awaiting 17th April this year. But there’s a good reason for changing my mind.
Roh (my wife) and I have worked into India over the last 12 years. In particular, we have been instrumental in setting up a number of Esther Homes. These are rescue homes for girls. Some are orphans, some are the daughters of rescued sex workers (temple prostitutes) and some are from poor families where no education has been given.
We take these girls in, feed and clothe them, and give them an education- basically a hope and a future.

The main home looks after 25 girls in Hanamkonda near Hyderabad. We lease the building and have to move out later this year. We can lease again of course, but better still would be to buy or build a home. This will cost around £45,000. Cheap in UK terms but a lot in India terms.

So that’s why I’m running the marathon.

At the time of writing I have been able to raise just over £11,500 through corporate donations from companies. Individual sponsorship is now available by copying and pasting the link. Please help all you can to meet our target.

http://www.epoh.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=38&Itemid=60

Tuesday 15 March 2011

The Last Chapter in the Last Book in the Series

“We may not be on the last page but it’s the last chapter in the last book in the series.”

That was a comment from a pensions manager friend of mine relating to what we are seeing around the world and I think he’s got it about right.

I’m not one to go on about ‘end times’ and try and plot and plan what the Bible says on these things, but I’d be pretty blind not to see the relationship between what we are seeing in Japan, New Zealand and Northern Africa and some of the apocalyptic verses in the last chapter of the last book in the series!

The Bible says a lot about the times we live in. More importantly, it points to the answer. Have a read.

My thanks to Jim Churcher for the quote

Monday 28 February 2011

Windmills

Hidden away in my middle-class, safe-as-houses existence, it is hard to begin to understand what the people of Libya, Egypt, Tunisia and other countries are going through.

The bravery of those standing in the streets of Libya, seeking freedom and democracy is astounding. The best I can do is to offer my prayers for peace and a quote to encourage:

"When the winds of change are blowing, some people build shelters; others build windmills." (Chris Bucchere)

Friday 18 February 2011

Where Am I?


This is a story attributed to the great Reformer, Martin Bucer. He tells of a forgetful Rabbi.

Each morning the Rabbi would wake up and forget where he had put his clothes. It would literally take him all day to find them and put them on. And by the time he was dressed, it was time to go to bed again.

This was happening day after day. One day he had an idea. ‘Why not write down where I store my clothes and put the note by my bed?’ So he did.

The next morning, he saw the note and was able to dress straight away, with all of the rest of the day still ahead of him.

He looked around the room. ‘Now’, he said, ‘where am I?’

How many of us are so busy with ‘getting dressed’, doing the day to day chores of life without thinking too much of the more fundamental questions such as ‘where am I’?

Tuesday 15 February 2011

Pardon?

THE SCENE: Early Saturday morning. Ralph & Roh still in bed. Ralph snoozing. Roh doing and early morning Bible study.

ROH: “I didn’t realise how much the Ferris’s dislike Jesus”

RALPH (suddenly fully awake): “What did you say?!”

ROH: “The Ferris’s. They really hate Jesus.”

RALPH: “No they don’t.”

ROH: “They do!”

RALPH: “But Roh, Ian Ferris leads worship on Sunday’s and Gill works in the church office.”

ROH: “Not the Ferris’s you deaf old thing. The Pharisees!”

Friday 4 February 2011

Pensions Rocks


Over two nights this week, the great and the good- and the musically talented- of the pensions industry have been gathering at a night club on Oxford Street for a battle of the bands. (Well done to Towers Watson who won on the night I was there. Although I though the Standard Life lot pushed them close with a great version of ‘Smoke on the Water’!)

And pensions really does rock! What started for me 34 years ago in the Clerical Medical & General Insurance Society pensions legal department has served me well. In those days, pensions really was a bit of a ‘backwater’, but I stuck with it, saw the light and got out of the legal department (apologies to lawyers reading this) and have enjoyed a great career. What I saw as ‘boring’ at the start of my career has ended up as anything but- challenging, political, front page, but never boring!

The reason for writing this then? It’s not going to be so much of my career from April. I will be stepping down as Pensions & Benefits Director at Mars and stepping into something new. A bit of church work, a bit of charity work in India, finishing my third book, a part time MA in Theology.... and, I hope, keeping a foot in the pensions industry with a trustee position or two. Anyway, no one is allowed to use the ‘R’ word. No retirement yet.

So thank you pensions, you really do rock. And thank you to all my friends and colleagues who have worked with me over the years at Clerical Medical, Bowring & Layborn, Swiss Life, EMI. EMAP, Brambles, ICI and Mars. Here’s to pensions continuing to rock (slightly more gently) for a good few years yet.....

Monday 24 January 2011

This Good Day

I had the privilege as a trustee director of the Leprosy Mission of interviewing eleven candidates for the National Director’s job last week. At the end of each interview, one of our panel, a Quaker by background, prayed. This is how she started each prayer:

“Dear Lord. Heavenly Father. We thank you for today. This good day…..”

What a beautiful way of praying. ‘This good day’. After eleven times, I really got into this prayer. It meant so much.

We can choose how we manage our day. We can decide it’s an average day if we want. We can be forever looking to the future and awaiting the next big thing. We can look with fear on a particular meeting or job requirement. Or we can declare at the beginning of the day that this is a good day.

Lord I thank you for this good day.

Wednesday 12 January 2011

Heartwater

Her heart was pounding. Slowly she opened the door. As an ‘outsider’, a prostitute, she had no right to enter the house and interrupt the meal. But her passion was greater than her fear. She ran to him, poured perfume on him, washed his feet with her tears, dried them with her hair.

This story from the Bible (Luke 7:38) is a beautiful picture of worship.

In those times, it was usual for the host to arrange for his guests feet to be washed- kind of necessary because of the state of the roads. But the host had not done so.

This lady does what should have been done. She should not have been there. She should not have entered the house. But her love for Jesus overcame her fear of being turned away.

It’s a powerful picture. Giving her all. Overcoming fear. The reformer Martin Luther called her tears ‘heartwater’.

As we go in to another year, what is it we are worshipping? (We all worship something!) What are we passionate about? And when we cry, cry out, shout or sing- are the tears heartwater?