REPOST: Soon I Will See the Lines on His Face

A re-post from April 2008. One of my favourite quotes.

I've been reading a really interesting book by Donald Miller called 'Blue Like Jazz'. It's his own journey towards faith. Here's a great quote:

'I am early in my story, but I believe I will stretch out into eternity, and in heaven I will reflect upon these early days, these days when it seemed God was down a dirt road, walking towards me. Years ago He was a swinging speck in the distance; now He is close enough I can hear His singing. Soon I will see the lines on His face.'

How wonderful. May I always hear Him singing. And one day, too, I will be so close as to see the lines on His face.

The Serendipity of the Fantasy Trilogy

Where does the concept of a book trilogy come from? And in particular, the vast market for fantasy trilogies?

The idea of a trilogy goes as far back as Greek literature but it found its recent popularity through serendipity.

When JRR Tolkien finished his book The Lord of the Rings, his publisher had a problem. One look at the vastness of the book Tolkien had written caused Allen & Unwin to look at a different route to market.

The year was 1954. War rationing was still a thing. And there was a real problem with publishers being able to source quality paper for printing. In addition there was a concern with a potential financial loss due to the high cost of type-setting and the publisher’s calculation of the modest sales resulting from such an unusual book.

Tolkien actually tried another publisher but in the end accepted that whatever Allen & Unwin said was better than no book at all.

The publisher suggested splitting the book into three. For this they had to agree to new titles - something Tolkien was reluctant to do, not least because he saw the book being formed from seven smaller parts. But Allen & Unwin got their way and the first volume, The Fellowship of the Ring went to press in October 1954. The Two Towers followed in 1955 and the final book, The Return of the King in 1956.

And so was born the modern concept of the fantasy trilogy. Many have been the acolytes to Tolkien’s work, though in my view none have come close.

It all happened because of a cautious publisher. And boy did they get their projections wrong with the modest estimate on sales. To date the trilogy has sold over 150 million copies, making it one of the top five best-selling books of all time.

The fantasy trilogy - all because a publisher was reluctant to fund the costs for one book. Serendipity indeed.

Summer Travels – Summer Reading: Top 10 Travel Books

As you take time out over the summer, always remember to take a good book on holiday with you. And as you travel yourself, here are a few travel books to keep you company:

1.       A Time of Gifts – Patrick Leigh Fermor

A young man walks from London to Constantinople between the two world wars, discovering a land and people that were soon to be lost as Nazi Germany began to take control. Beautifully written and fascinating history.

2.       Solomon Time – Will Randall

A teacher takes the opportunity to travel to the Solomon Islands. Totally out of his comfort zone, he falls in love with an entirely different way of life. Lots of humour and some great descriptions of a beautiful, hidden paradise.

3.       News From Tartary – Peter Fleming

The older brother of James Bond writer Ian travels with a companion through some of the hardest and least travelled lands, from Peking to Kashmir, back in 1935. A now-vanished way of life and the strangest of encounters.

4.       Chasing the Monsoon – Alexander Frater

In 1987 a travel writer decides to follow the Indian monsoon and in doing so, discovers the hidden India.

5.       Summer Journey Through The Fens – Edward Storey

Writer and poet – and local boy – travels through the Fens, exploring its history, and writing with wit and sensitivity about people past and present.

6.       Pies and Prejudice – Stuart Maconie

DJ and writer Maconie travels through his beloved North of England, discovering the real North and the real people that make it up. I love his sense of humour.

7.       A Walk Across America – Peter Jenkins

From the Atlantic to the Pacific, a student walks across America, discovering hidden lives and finding a faith he never knew he needed.

8.       As I walked Out One Midsummer Morning – Laurie Lee

From a peaceful Cotswold village to the violence of Spain on the verge of war in 1934, Lee sees things through a poets eyes. His writing is hard to beat. Quite beautifully written.

9.       The Whispering Land – Gerald Durrell

Searching for animals, Durrell travels through South America in the late 1950s. His style is funny and his travels through Patagonia are amazing.

10.   Patagonia – Bruce Chatwin

Another Patagona book – I really need to go there! In December 1974, journalist Bruce Chatwin decides to travel south into the hidden lands of South America’s Patagonia. There he meets hidden Welsh valleys in foreign lands and a wild land of changing seasons. Stylish writing.
 

What Are Mere Mortals That You Should Think About Them?

I love stuff like this.

Did you know that there are ten sextillion stars (that's 10 with 21 noughts after it!)? Did you know the tiniest quark is so small it's hard to describe? Imagine Wembley Stadium represents the size of one atom (and one hundred million atoms make up one inch). Now go to the centre circle of the football pitch (the atom) and pick up one grain of soil. That's the nucleus of the atom. Then divide the nucleus by 1000. And that's the size of a quark. (More on this in 'God-Life', chapter 4).

The Bible says 'what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them?' (Psalm 8:4, NLT). What indeed. But He does. And when you see how small we are in the video, that's even more amazing.

Enjoy the video:

 

Gerald Coates - Pioneer: The Story of a Book

‘Should I? I mean, really, should I?’

It’s early in 2011 and I’m considering a radical step. Leaving my job as Pensions Director for the Mars Group- and starting a Masters in Theology at Mattersey Bible College.

Roh, my wife, looks on as I pontificate. She knows she doesn’t need to say anything. I’ve made my mind up. I’m just trying to rationalise it!

It was a bold step, but out of it came much more than a Masters. My final dissertation was on the house church movement. It was 57 years since Arthur Wallis wrote his ground-breaking In the Day of Thy Power. My dissertation title seemed quite clever at the time: 57 Years of Restorationism in the UK: Ongoing Legacy or 57 Varieties?

The dissertation gave me access to a number of the house church pioneers- Peter Lyne, Terry Virgo, David Matthew…. And Gerald Coates.

I was grateful for the day spent with Gerald. I left him a copy of my last biography, Cheating Death, Living Life – Linda’s Story, a story of God’s miracles in what could have so easily been a tragic life. And I said that if ever he wanted a biography done, to let me know.

I heard nothing.

We corresponded on something else via Facebook. I suggested the book again. Nope.

Then Anona, Gerald’s wife, steps in. The book should be written.

And so it was.

Starting with reams of wallpaper to plan out the timeline, two further days spent with Gerald and Anona, a lot of recording, a glass or two of wine, a contract with Malcolm Down Publishing, rewrites, rewrites and rewrites… and finally a book.

Gerald’s is an important story. It tells of God’s goodness and the work of the Holy Spirit in our generation. I’m grateful to have had the privilege of writing it.

 

He also made the stars.....

If the Bible has a throwaway line, it has to be this:

'He also made the stars.'

It's in Genesis chapter one, amidst verses that describe God's creation. There's a lot about light and sun and sea and land and trees and birds... and in the middle, in verse sixteen.... he also made the stars.

What does this actually mean? When I travel to New York from London, it takes me seven hours at 500 miles per hour. If I travelled at the same speed to the moon, it would take me three weeks. At the same speed to the sun? Twenty-one years. The edge of the Solar System? 900 years. The furthest reaches of space.... That would take me, travelling at 500 miles per hour, around twenty quadrillion years. (That's a 20 with 15 noughts after it!)

How amazing that a God that does 'big', also does 'small' and cares for me!

Here's a video that gives you some idea of the immensity of space- and how small we are in comparison.

He also made the stars.

(There's more on this in my book God-Life: chapter 4)

 

Between The Bookends

‘I’m here between the bookends of everything that was and what will be’ It’s a quote from an Amy Grant song.

Every one of us is on a journey. We have no idea of where we are in the journey between those two bookends. In a sense, there is little or nothing we can do about that.

But what we can do is ensure that where we are right now is as effective and life affirming as it’s possible to be. To give our all. To live to the full.

The Apostle Paul said ‘God’s Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!’ That’s true for every one of us. There’s a life worth living, a life worth giving.

If I’m between the bookends with no idea at what particular point, I want to make my life count. So for me, with apologies to Amy Grant for changing the lyrics, it’s not ‘what will be’ but what, with God’s help, CAN be.

 

All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible.

T. E. Lawrence

Tony Benn: He Dared to be a Daniel

Tony Benn (1925-2014) died this week.

An amazing man. Someone who stuck by his beliefs throughout his life. Even if you disagreed with him, you had to admire his courage, persistence and lack of compromise.

In 2002 he came to Peterborough for his ‘An Audience With’ tour. A packed theatre sat for two hours with him chatting and answering questions, accompanied only by his beloved flask of tea. (Earlier tours also included his pipe, but health and safety regulations put paid to that!) It was one of my political highlights. I was glad to be there. As Benn put it, the tour ‘reignites the public meeting, uninterrupted by Jeremy Paxman or John Humphrys’!

His autobiography is called ‘Dare to be a Daniel’. It’s a reference to a Salvation Army hymn of the same name, sung to him by his father. His parents appeared to have had a stronger Christian faith than he, but in amongst the ‘honest doubts’ of his first chapter in the book, there is a clear belief too.  Not a traditional Christian one, but as you read the pages, you see the passion:

Dare to be a Daniel

Dare to stand alone

Dare to have a purpose firm

Dare to make it known.

 

He surely did that. He dared to make his views and purpose known. An honest politician- a phrase that is not always a juxtaposition of opposites!

 

In the end, he left parliament after fifty years ‘to devote more time to politics’! He considered politicians as either signposts or weathercocks. The first, clear in their views. The second awaiting the prevailing political winds before deciding. Tony Benn was a great example of the former. I wish there were more. A rare breed.

 

History will show he was not always right. But he dared to have a purpose. And he dared to stand alone.

The Bible in Fifty Words

God made. Adam bit.

Noah arked. Abraham split.

Joseph ruled. Jacob fooled.

Bush talked. Moses balked.

Pharaoh plagued, people walked.

Sea divided, tablets guided.

Promise landed.

Saul freaked, David peaked.

Prophets warned. Jesus born.

God walked. Love talked.

Anger crucified. Hope died.

Love rose. Spirit flamed.

Word spread. God remained.

The Pages are Rustling with Adventure (2)

Again, to misquote C S Lewis, the pages are once more rustling with adventure. I will be writing my daily journal in a different country and continent for the next two weeks as I take a team out to Kolkata for a week, and then another team to Hyderabad for a week.

Working with local churches, there will be much to do- children's fun days, visiting sponsored children, teaching pastors, reaching out to communities. Lot's to do. Lot's to write. Lot's of life to celebrate.

The Bible says 'I can do all things through Him who strengthens me'. (Philippians 4: 13).

And So It Came To Pass.....

That my latest book is fully launched.

Now on Amazon, the book is out there.

It is the heart-rending story of Linda and her journey through abuse, drink, drugs, drug trafficking, prostitution, prison…. and into a new life, a hope and a future.

It is the story of life overcoming death, prayer overcoming cancer, love overcoming abuse.

Written in the style if a thriller, it is a roller-coaster emotional ride, a story of a present day miracle-finder, a story of the power of transformation.

Here are a few of the comments from readers:

‘This really is an amazing book. You will probably read it in about 2 or 3 sittings and your heart will descend into the depths and feel some of the pain - only then for it to soar as you read of this real life tragedy come miracle.’
From an Amazon review.

‘This is a real story, not a work of fiction, but it is as every bit as gripping as a thriller.’
From an Amazon review.

‘The story draws you in and I found myself still reading at 4am...the only reason I stopped reading was my eyes decided they just had to close.’
From an Amazon review.

‘This story grips the reader from beginning to end. You just have to keep reading to find out what happens next. A roller coaster of a life from pillar to post... until it finally comes to land and the reader can breathe out at last. How can God persist with such a person? - A woman who is controlled by men, drugs and a lifestyle she’d never have chosen; she ended up with a storm whichever way she turned until God’s people met her, persisted in their contact with her and well…. readers will have to read it themselves and find the God who transforms lives! A “Nicky Cruz” style story but British and more recent!’
From Dr Anne E. Dyer,  Lecturer,  Mattersey College

Puzzle Pieces

My friend met a Rabbi at the airport recently. They got talking and as a result, he sent this:

‘There must have been a time when you entered a room and met someone and after a while you understood that unknown to either of you there was a reason you had met. You had changed the other or he had changed you. By word or deed or just by your presence, the errand had been completed. Then perhaps, you were a little bewildered or humbled and grateful. And it was over.

‘Each life is the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. For some there are more pieces. For others the puzzle is more difficult to assemble. Some seem to be born with a nearly completed puzzle. And so it goes. Souls going this way and that, trying to assemble the myriad parts. But know this. No one has within themselves all the pieces of their puzzle. Like before the day when they used to seal jigsaw puzzles in cellophane. Ensuring that all the pieces were there. Everyone carries with them at lest one and probably many pieces to someone else’s puzzle. Sometimes they know it. Sometimes they don’t. And when you present your piece which is worth less to you, to another, whether you know it or not, whether they know it or not, you are a messenger from the Most High.’

Extract from ‘Honey From the Rock’ by Larry Kushner

Thank you Richard Dawkins

One of my favourite programmes is The Book Show on Sky Arts. I know, a bit pretentious isn’t it? Guests are invited to talk about their latest book and to discuss other favourites. It was a surprise to see such a heated discussion on a slow moving programme, but Richard Dawkins decided that he had been slighted by the host Mariella Frostrup when she moved the discussion on from his railing against Christianity. His attitude was so far removed from the regular show, it became almost amusing.

This isn’t the first time Richard Dawkins has got angry- but the more he does it, the more he is helping the church. Here is Mary Ann Sieghart of The Independent, as quoted in The Week.:

The Church of England is lucky. It couldn’t have asked for a better enemy. The contrast between the ‘puffed up, self regarding, vain, prickly and militant’ Dawkins and the ‘charitable, open, welcoming, tolerant, undogmatic’ church is practically an advertisement for anti-atheism.

Thank you Richard Dawkins.

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

Stephen Hawking needs to start reading poetry

Stephen Hawking’s new book comes out today. In earlier books, he has left room for the possibility that there is a God. In his new book, he has decided creation is the inevitable consequence of physics, so rules out the ‘need for a creator’.

Science is amazing. We discover so much. People like Stephen Hawking have done wonders for pushing back the limits of our thinking. But he is still not thinking in big enough terms.

When the Hubble Telescope was launched, one of the team looked into space at stars that had never been seen before. This is what he said as he gazed on the hidden wonders of creation:

“We don't need a scientist here, we need a poet.”

Stephen Hawking needs to start reading poetry.

Amazing Grace

The ship was breaking up. It was all he could do to hold on. Huge waves were crashing in. Parts of the planking on the starboard side were already smashed beyond recognition. The pumps were working flat out. Rocks were ahead and the sun was going down. The year 1748 looked to be the last year this young man would see.

It’s then that he prayed. Here he was, a slave trader, murderer. An atheist, an unbeliever; worse, someone that had spoken openly of his hatred of Christians. And he was praying. ‘Lord God, save us. Have mercy’…..

Twenty years later, John Newton sat in his study, next to the fire. It was a cold night. The wind was blowing so strongly, he felt it through the window frame, bringing back vivid memories of that night so long ago. How God had answered that prayer. Amazing.

Slowly he got up and moved over to his desk. Picking up a pen, he dipped it in ink and began to write…

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now am found, was blind but now I see.

John Newton’s incredible story can be read in ‘Amazing Grace’ by John Pollock.

Approaching 5000

As I write this, my blog is just two away from its 5000th visitor. Not a bad result considering when I set out, I wasn't sure anyone would read past the first week!

There are many blogs with thousands more visitors of course (though I keep mine honest, only recording separate visits, not separate page clicks as many do), but a modest celebration is due I'm sure. So three cheers and let's crack open half a shandy then, to the start of a blog the day after my daughter got married (and I felt old!) back in December 06.

And a little thank-you to those who have read this far. Copy my email down the page a bit, send me a 'well done on 5000' email and your address and if you are in the first five to do so you will get a free copy of the book 'God-Life'.

Cheers!

Slumdog Marley and Salmon in the Yemen

I’ve been travelling a lot recently. Both in the UK and to India, the States and the Netherlands. It’s a bit tiring and not as glamorous as it might sound. Airports and hotels begin to look much the same after a while!

But one of the advantages of travel is time to catch up on music, films and books. Slumdog Millionaire is a wonderful film. Its portrayal of the poor parts of India is very accurate. But most of all it’s simply a triumph of one poor boy against the system. And a great love story too.

‘Marley and me’ is a film we went to see as a family. I was a bit fearful that it would turn out to be a ‘Disney puppy story’ but the producer has been true to the original book (excellent too- by John Grogan) and it’s well acted. A bit near to the bone (excuse the pun!) as we lost our own Labrador just before Christmas.

You can see why Kate Winslet won the Oscar for ‘The Reader’. Beautifully acted. A fair bit of nudity though- you have been warned!

John Waller is a singer that my friends Holli and Andy introduced me to. Great lyrics. Sometimes you feel you are not where God would have you be. But what do you do with that time? Waller’s song ‘While I’m Waiting’ is a great response to such times:

I’m waiting on you Lord
And I’m hopeful
I’m waiting on you Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait
I will move ahead bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I’m waiting
I will serve you
While I’m waiting
I will worship
While I’m waiting
I will not faint
I’ll be running the race
Even while I wait.

John Maxwell writes great business books. His latest, ‘Leadership Gold – Lessons I’ve Learned from a Lifetime of Leadership’ is the best yet. He refused to write it until he reached age 60. Great wisdom.

And a wonderful first novel from Paul Torday. If you think Salmon in the Yemen are an impossibility, you have to read the book!

God's amazing creation

I’ve just finished reading Bill Bryson’s ‘Down Under’. As always, an excellent read.

What captured me most was the amazing creation to be found in Australia. If these things were anywhere else in the world, they would be considered as ‘wonders of the world’. But because they are tucked away in the western outback and part of the country at the end of the world, they get overlooked.

Consider for example, the banded beehive rocks of the Bungle Bungles. A range of strangely shaped rocks, only discovered in the 1980s and thought to be 350 million years old. They look incredible.

That 50 square miles of a rocky mountain range was discovered after we brought back rocks from the moon and shows how little we really know of the world we live in.



Then there’s the Pinnacle Desert, thousands of limestone pillars - believed to be at least 6,000 years old - rising up to 12 feet tall from the shifting yellow sands.

And the Karri Trees, third tallest in the world, with their 50 foot girth, giant trees from an earlier age.

We live in a remarkable world.

The Audacity of Hope

Less than 150 years ago, there was still slavery in America. 80 years ago, there were over 6 million members of the racist Ku Klux Klan. 36 years ago, there was still racial segregation.

Just 45 years ago Martin Luther King delivered his famous ‘I have a dream’ speech which included: “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character.”

The dream came true. On Tuesday 4th November 2008, Senator Barack Obama was elected the first black President of the United States, the most powerful position on the planet.

In 2006, Obama wrote the book ‘The Audacity of Hope’, the title taken from a sermon he had heard. This is what he says:

‘I'm not talking about blind optimism here……….. No, I'm talking about something more substantial. It's the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs; the hope of immigrants setting out for distant shores;…… the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name who believes that America has a place for him, too. Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope!’