Reflections

The first picture is the view from my sister’s holiday house. We are frequent visitors and the seat by the window with this view is my favourite place to sit.

The second picture is the view from our kitchen. Most days I start by sitting and looking at the beauty of God’s creation with this view in front of me.

Starting right is important. A time of reflection at the beginning of the day. Thinking through the day before us, looking to the day ahead.

For me as a Christian, it involves a short study from the Bible and some prayer. But whether you have a faith or not, a time of reflection is a good start to any day. I appreciate it’s easier for me nowadays with the kids away from home, but even five minutes reflection will help with the day ahead and bring context to the daily pressures of life.

And last thing at night too- just to be able to look back at the day, maybe to say a prayer of thanksgiving for another day. I reflect in a different way too – I keep a daily diary. And that’s the other rather boring looking photo here – I started writing a daily diary at Christmas 1977, when someone bought me one as a Christmas present. I thought I’d give it a go – I’m still giving it a go.

Diary writing, or an occasional piece in a journal, helps in the same way as a morning reflection – it gives time to consider the day, to record thoughts, thanks, anxieties, prayers, hopes and dreams. It takes us away from a cycle of work, sleep, TV and smartphones to an age-old tradition of crafted words, sentences that reach out beyond the daily rhythm of life.

And that leads to this blog. Just another way of recording and reflection – this one a bit more public. I started the blog when Elspeth, our oldest daughter, got married. It seemed a bit of a watershed moment. And it practically coincided with my 50^th birthday. Hence the 50 in the blog address. Seventeen years later – I’m still giving it a go.

So why not give it a go too? Reflect on the day. If you’re a Christian, pray and thank God for the day ahead and the day ended. If you don’t have a faith, why not try praying anyway? Or perhaps start that journal you always thought you should write.

My blog calls it climbing the mountains of life. The writer Eugene Peterson calls it a ‘long obedience in the same direction’. Our walk of life can mean so much more when we take time to reflect, to adjust course, to record, to say ‘thank you’ to the God who created the view, the day…. the years.

REPOST: Remember to Put the Glass Down

With fear dominating the news in these times of Covid, this Repost from 2016 seems appropriate:

A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they'd be asked the "half empty or half full" question.

Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: "How heavy is this glass of water?"

Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralysed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn't change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

She continued, "The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything."

Remember to put the glass down.

With thanks to Anthony Harwood in Lusaka for this story

Destroying Fear - A Call To The Church

It was the newscaster Martyn Lewis who suggested our news diet was too grim and too filled with fear. That was back in 1993.  Nothing has changed. In fact if anything, it’s much worse.

More recently, Martyn Lewis said this:

“How ironic… that a profession so committed to fairness and accuracy in the stories it [covers], does not fully extend those qualities to the news agenda - the choice of television news stories.

Good stories are there ….. But too frequently they are given low priority. News editors across the world stress the need for young reporters to hunt for conflict and criticism. If they don't find it, fewer of their stories are used. So another generation of journalists is infected with old standards and judgements.” (USA speech, 2011)

Our headlines are fear related. Pretty much each day and every day. The television news starts with the latest riots, the government failures, the lack of food, the lack of transport, the lack of petrol, the lack of toys for Christmas…. You can fill in the blanks I’m sure. Much of this is fear-mongering. The promotion of stories to provoke fear… to provoke an audience.

Many have fallen prey to fear as a result. I heard a business woman recently charging the Church to live without fear, because there was a wave of fear affected people in need of prayer, coming their way as a result of Covid.

The Bible tells us that ‘God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.’ (2 Timothy 1:7).

There it is. That’s how we live as Christians. We appreciate the need for care. We keep to the rules. But we don’t live in fear.

No more so than with our response to Covid. It’s serious but there need be no fear. There is a significant difference between a measured and careful response to the virus when compared to one borne of fear that leaves the Church paralysed just at the point when it is needed most.

It’s time for the Church to be opening its doors wide, welcoming all, praying for those affected by Covid and seeking God and His purposes, which are way beyond the fears propagated in the press. It’s time for Christians to be back worshipping together. Online services can only take you so far. There is a need to meet, to pray, to encourage in a way that is forever limited on a TV screen.

I’m not sure the BBC or the Daily Mail are about to move away from their fearmongering. But the Church can. Let’s step into all that God has planned for us. We are the body of Christ, we are a voice for the lost, a healing hand for the hurting. And a declaration of faith in the future for those chained in fear.

The Step Back

I’m not particularly pro-royalty. But I’m not a republican either.

Some of the Royals get on my nerves. Others seem a little assuming of their position. But the Queen and her consort have shown how it’s done. For 73 years of marriage and 69 years of reigning.

It was in 1952 that he voluntarily took a step back. The Duke of Edinburgh could have had a glittering career. He could have turned his hand to anything. A survivor himself of war and exile, he had steel, that’s for sure.

He chose to hone that steel into a shield of protection.

With the Queen’s accession to the throne, he took a permanent step back. Always the companion, always the consort. Always there in the background. But always ready to step forward and deflect criticism, helping with the weight of serving a nation.

And to do that for the rest of his life.

At their Golden Wedding, the Queen commented:

"He is someone who doesn't take easily to compliments but he has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know."

As a nation mourns today, we can be grateful for a man who showed how to serve, how to prefer others.

A life of service indeed.

Why, Who, What - A Lockdown Narrative

I hope it’s here now. The end of a year of lockdowns, viruses and fears. As we step out of our doors, it’s a good time to assess what we want from our future freedoms. Is it just more of the same, or have things changed?

A technique I use with potential clients for autobiographies/biographies is to ask them three questions.

When someone wants help in writing a book, I ask WHY, WHO and WHAT. In that order.

WHY do you want to write a book? WHO is it aimed at? And WHAT is the content. Too many go straight for the story - the WHAT. But the other two questions are more important.

WHY write at all? What’s your reason? The
same can be asked as we come out of lockdown. Are you just going to go back to what you did before? The same old job? The same old patterns? The same old activities? That may be fine, but lockdown has given us an opportunity to ask WHY, to take a look at reasons and motives. To check that WHAT we were doing before is still worth doing today. (I recommend Simon Sinek on this – his book Start With Why is worth your time).

WHO are you writing for? Or to turn it around to a lockdown discussion, when you do what you do, WHO is it for? Just for you? For family and friends? Why not look wider? Maybe consider activities that help society? There will be a massive need for more Foodbanks in the UK coming out of lockdown. Around the world, with rich countries using lockdown as a reason not to give, there are immense needs in developing countries. And if you have a Christian faith, there are ways to support those working in the hardest of conditions around the world.

WHAT is the easy bit. The stories we tell in book terms. Too many start here. But as lockdown ends, before we do what we do, before we return to doing what we always did, ask WHY and WHO first.

As lives open up again, as hugs become possible again, as this time of lockdown becomes history, determine to make history.

“Such is of the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere.” JRR Tolkien

In the Name of Capitalist Freedom?

This morning I read that across Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Gaza and elsewhere, Palestinian refugees are suffering at new depths because of the pandemic. People in Gaza are searching through rubbish to find food as Palestinians battle unprecedented levels of poverty.

And then I read that if I want to watch my two favourite football teams this weekend (Manchester United; born in Manchester, Leicester City; live in Leicester) it will cost me £29.90. I am told that the money will go directly to the Premiership clubs to help with a lack of matchday income. This of course is additional income to the clubs, on top of regular TV rights paid by Sky, BT and others (a total of around 4.5 billion -yes, billion- pounds a season).

These are the clubs that regularly pay players in the millions (David De Gea  £19,500,000 per season) with an average wage of around £50,000 per week (nearly 3 million pounds a year). They are the same clubs that have rejected a plan to fund smaller clubs (I appreciate the proposed model was flawed but where’s the real alternative?)

We live in a society that in the name of capitalism and freedom has distorted our moral values to allow the rubbish heaps in Gaza, children dying through hunger, a lack of pure water and more, whilst perverting reasonable business practices beyond recognition.

How about some sensible public ownership, a better tax regime, an increase in our international aid budget? And a government that isn’t afraid to say something is plain wrong when it so obviously is.

As someone with a Christian faith, I appreciate that ultimate answers are beyond the political arena, but that doesn’t absolve me from speaking out and doing what I can. As to this weekend, my small contribution to the coffers of the Premier League will instead go towards a Compassion child.

Black Lives Matter: Four Stories

It’s June 1948. His name is Walter. 

Along with around 500 others he disembarks the SS Empire Windrush at Tilbury Docks in London. There is a spring in his step. It’s been a long voyage, but a new and exciting life awaits.

As the ‘Mother Country’ we called out to Walter and his friends in the West Indies to fight in the war. He came. Then we invited them back to help rebuild the Mother Country. Walter responded again, and here he is on this cold London morning.

He’s been told where it is best to go in order to find a boarding house and still with a spring in his step, he approaches the street he’s been directed to.

As he turns the corner, all the excitement evaporates. In front of him are two boarding houses, next to each other. Both have the same sign in the window.

No Blacks. No Irish. No Dogs.

With slumped shoulders and the beginnings of what would become his familiar slouching walk, Walter carries on down the street.

The story you have just read is a composite of a number of stories told at that time.

Now let’s move to 2020. I want to introduce you to three friends.

Judith has just finished her degree. She has the world at her feet. Or she should have. It’s not quite that simple. Of Nigerian parentage, growing up Judith didn’t really see herself as ‘black’ until she got to reception class at school and people started to call her ‘Judith Pooith’.  She didn’t really understand the nickname at first until she realised that they were making fun of her skin colour. And then at twelve years old she was first told she was a  ni**er. It shocked her.

Judith faces discrimination daily. She says:

‘Did you or your parents ever have to worry about their jobs because of their skin colour? Did you or your parents have to think about what they are going to call their children because they don’t want them to be discriminated against because their name sounds “black”? Did your parents ever have to tell you that you need to work twice as hard because you will always have to prove yourself to others because of the colour of your skin? Did you never think before going into a room that "I’m going to be the only black person here"? I normally don’t talk about these things because I’m scared as to what others may say. But enough is enough. I can’t stay silent.’

Susan is a little older than Judith and already successful as a writer and business woman. She has parents of West Indian origin. Susan says:

‘Sometimes I’m accused of using the’ race card’. But what does that mean? Should I just ignore what happens to me? What about the time I had dog’s excrement thrown at me as a child while being told to go back to where I came from? I remember when I was eight years old, after many hurtful comments, asking my parents why I was born with black skin "as no one seems to like us this way". One time I bit the insides of my cheeks in order to prevent tears as others laughed because someone has printed a picture of an ape and put my name above it. More recently, having married my wonderful white Danish husband, I was asked why I didn’t date black men.

'The news has unearthed feelings I had buried. The video of George Floyd dying with knees on his back and his neck is both literal and metaphorical for what many put up with because of race.’

Angela is a young woman of Indian origin and has had her fair share of racism too. She is a bright girl from a highly educated family, but despite this has regularly been called a ‘dumb black girl’ and ‘stupid Paki’. For Angela her concern is the response to the current crisis:

‘Too many who usually have a lot to say on politics on social media are saying nothing on the injustices that are happening. They are part of the problem! Silence is betrayal. Too many don't see injustice and just see inconvenience and a challenge to their own comfort.

'We all know racists. I see their looks, I feel their prejudice. Racism is a state of heart. In the end only God can change that heart. But we can pray, set the standard of respect and love and speak out against racial injustice.’

Three People. Nigerian. West Indian. Indian. 

Four stories. One problem.

Pray. Speak out. #blacklivesmatter.

Furlough

Suddenly a word is in the news that has had little usage in recent years.

Furlough.

It is traditionally used to describe a time away from the front line for soldiers. I first came across it in a church context. As a young Christian I went to a Brethren church and was told that a lady missionary was coming to visit on furlough. I thought it must be some kind of vehicle!

Actually it is a vehicle of sorts. It’s one that allows you to take time out. To rest.

For many in the UK the word is not welcome. Its newer definition is being laid off from work with 80% of pay due to the effects of the Corona Virus on our economy.

But maybe in this lockdown, we can all experience some furlough in its original sense? The root of the word is ‘verlof’. This is Dutch and means ‘permission’.

We have permission to take time out right now. Permission to dream, to plan, to think. To do something different. Not to waste the time but to use it as time away from the front line.

So what will we do? Read a book we have always intended to read? Pick up the watercolours again? Study a language? For those of us with a Christian faith, to go deeper into a book of the Bible?

I appreciate that some reading this will be experiencing furlough with kids running around their feet and the sense that they have less time than at work! Yes, but it’s still a different time. There will still be moments that can be used in a different way.

I don’t expect that most of us reading these words will ever get another furlough. Let’s appreciate the blessing along with the challenge.

From Purple Flares to Old Pulteney

I remember the details of the day. A warm September  morning, 1976. I was early, so walked around St James’s Square, London, a couple of times before plucking up the courage to go in. The Clerical, Medical & General Life Assurance Society. My first job.

I wore a three piece purple suit with ridiculous flared trousers. Despite that, they let me in. I worked as a Pensions Documentation Clerk and quickly found that pensions wasn’t as boring as the name suggested to a twenty-one year old.

I realised that pretty much everything in pensions revolved around the age of 65 – the normal retirement age for men (It’s changed a bit nowadays). So I did my own calculation on that very first day – when would I reach that milestone? It was with some relief that by my calculation, the day would never arrive. It was so far in the future.

10^th April 2020.

Well here we are. The flares are long gone (though I still like purple). In this strange season of lockdown, my plans to celebrate with a tour of the Scottish whisky distilleries went by the way, though Roh set out a tour of the garden to find my own bottles of whisky! And my main present was a bottle of 12 year old Old Pulteney single malt, from the northernmost distillery in the British Isles. I like to think that my tastes have improved a little since the purple flares.

Where did the time go? How did I get here?

The answer is by the grace of God.

I’m grateful for every step of the journey. Thankful for God’s goodness, a beautiful wife, four amazing children, three incredible sons/daughter in laws and two awesome granddaughters. And a pretty decent career in pensions.

The day did arrive. It wasn’t such a long time. May I encourage you, as the Bible says, to ‘count your days and seek a heart of wisdom.’ (Psalm 90)

My Old Testament hero is Caleb. He was still conquering mountains at the age of 85 (that’s where the idea for this blog came from 15 years ago), so I trust I still have plenty of time to count my days and seek wisdom. And still plenty of time to continue to conquer the mountains of life for the One who conquered all for me.

A 100,000 Thank-You's

Some time during the Christmas period, my blog went past the 100,000 mark in terms of ‘hits’ – people visiting the site. My youngest daughter tells me that this is a rather modest achievement when compared to other social media sites, but I’m grateful.

A 100,000 thank-you’s to all those that have visited, read, commented and posted.

I started out on 6^th December 2006. I was 51 years old and the blog address reflects this: Mountain50. 

The title of the blog, Mountain Climbing for Beginners, comes from a preach I did at the time, at KingsGate Church in Peterborough. It reflects my favourite Old Testament character, Caleb. At 85 years old, he climbed a mountain and defeated what seemed an impossible enemy that had held back the children of Israel for 40 years.  (Joshua 14: 12, 15: 14). As I grow older, I want to be a Caleb- still taking mountains in this life at 85.

As I write this, I am entering my 65^th year. I used to work in pensions, so the age of 65 has always been important to me- traditionally the UK’s ‘normal retirement age.’ In fact I left the pensions industry a few years ago now and have moved on to more book writing, working with Mission24 and other charities and with our amazing church, Chroma.

Looking at those that read the blog- I have some diagnostics on there – it tells me that my many friends around the world look in on me- India, New Zealand, Slovakia, United States, Canada, Argentina, Ghana, South Africa, Eswatini and more. Some are more puzzling- quite a lot from Russia. Are they real people or the famous Russian ‘bots’ checking in?

My most read blogs continue to be the ones on sacrifice, Laminin and being an introvert. My most controversial are the political ones- I’m an unrepentant Blairite and await some reasonable leadership to arise in the Labour party!

Anyway. Thank you. Thanks for reading this. And thanks for being among the many. A 100,000 thank-you’s.

Lessons in Management

I love Manchester United. I come from Manchester and have supported them since I was first able to speak. (I’m also a proud supporter of Leicester City, my adopted home ☺). So it has been hard to support United through the flawed management years since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure. But maybe there’s hope.

Have a look at the management style of the new caretaker manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. There are lessons here for all of us.

1. On the first day in the job, bringing Norwegian chocolate bars for all the backroom staff

2. Going unannounced to a staff party that same day and meeting as many of the backroom staff as possible

3.  Calling Mike Phelan, once Ferguson’s right hand man, and asking for his help

4.  Retaining the services of Michael Carrick and Kieran McKenna as his support staff, ensuring the best from the previous era is maintained

5. Developing a good relationship with the press from the beginning, being available as much as possible, arranging a regular date and time for press conferences

6. Visiting the Women’s team, talking to as many as possible

7. Stopping for photo’s with the parents of the youth team boys 

8. Donating his watch to a charity auction, raising £32,000

9. Attending a Manchester function being run by rivals Manchester City, supporting the charities they were supporting

10. Attending the annual Munich air crash memorial service in smart attire

11. Keeping in regular contact with Sir Alex, asking advice as and when needed

12. Not being afraid to challenge the players but keeping all criticism behind closed doors

13. Talking to Nicky Butt, the Academy manager, as soon as possible, ensuring young players get promotion to the first team (two so far)

14. Positively motivating the players, encouraging attacking football

15. Playing to the players strengths

16. Recognising the Club’s history

17. Showing enthusiasm at all times

18. Smiling

His record at the time of this blog is 10 wins and 1 draw. If he gets the job permanently,this will be why.

Philosophical Walking

Did you know there is such a thing as ‘philosophical walking’? You do now.

There’s even a group in Yorkshire who arrange such walks, complete with a friendly walking philosopher.

But if we think for a moment, all walks can be philosophical – especially those away from our daily routines. We see new things, we plan to get somewhere, we consider routes, we observe the new things around us. All that adds to a philosophical walk.

I’m just back from one of my favourite places – Dolgellau, just south of Snowdonia. Walking in the foothills there is invigorating, uplifting, challenging, tiring…. all these things and more.

One day I went out on my own on what is called the ‘bird sanctuary walk’- basically climbing half way up a hill and walking through a nature reserve. The only bird I saw was a crow! But there was plenty to enjoy, consider – even meditate on.

Those that know me will know that for me there is a ‘God connection’ too. To appreciate the creation made by God is special. There’s a favourite song of mine at the moment that says ‘Every painted sky, a canvas of Your grace. If creation still obeys You so will I.’

For me, that’s what walking does. I see the sky, the plants, the birds. And I worship.

The Unforced Rhythm of His Grace

I’ve been pondering God’s grace a lot lately, and came across this passage in my daily Bible reading today:

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (Matthew 11: 28-30, The Message Version)

If our faith is in religion, we will get burned. If our faith is in meetings, we will tire. If our faith is in leaders, no matter how good, we will wear ourselves out.

But faith in God is something else entirely. As we keep company with the one who made the stars. As we speak with the one who spoke first. As we walk hand in hand with the Son Who Came, we are refreshed.

The Hebrew word for grace in the Old Testament is ‘Chesed’. It has the feel of being delivered from our enemies, of being protected, and guided; being free and forgiven.

In the Greek of the New Testament, the word for grace is ‘Charis’. Such a beautiful word. It speaks of salvation; of God doing for us what we could not do on our own.

Who persuaded us that this changes and we can ‘do things’ when we get ‘saved’? Who suggested it was to do with work, with hours spent, with money given or with services provided? It’s not. It’s grace. It’s pure grace.

Pure grace.

I don’t deserve my relationship with God, but he reached out to me in grace. He protects; He guides. He sees what we can’t see down the road and he delivers us from our enemies.

And if I understand this, I can indeed work, give, serve… but from a walk that is in the ‘unforced rhythm' of His grace. And that’s just beautiful.

In Play At Little Games

These are the final lines of a poem written in 1938 by Robert D Abrahams. He is reflecting on wars around the world whilst he and his wife, safe at home,  drive to a game of bridge:

Tonight Shanghai is burning,
And we are dying too.
What bomb more surely mortal
Than death inside of you?

For some men die by shrapnel,
And some go down in flames,
But most men perish inch by inch,
In play at little games.

The words are a challenge to every one of us. Will we allow ourselves to die inch by inch? Or will we determine to live for a cause? Will we allow others to play little games with our lives? Or will we ignore the fear of shrapnel and fight?

May every one of us reading these words determine to live; and to live for something great, something lasting, something meaningful.

Blinded By Your Grace

In musical terms, I’m a child of the 70s. I grew up on the heavyish rock of Argent, Led Zeppelin, Free and Deep Purple. And when I’m feeling nostalgic, that’s still where I return.

So you won’t be surprised to learn that I never really got into Rap, didn’t particularly get along with Punk and as for Garage, Grunge and Grime… it passed me by.

That was, until four months back, when the artist Stormzy appeared as a guest on X Factor on TV, and sang Blinded by Your Grace. I’m told he’s a Grime and Hip Hop artist. What I heard was pure Gospel. In fact, for me, one of the best Gospel songs I’ve heard in many years.

If you’ve not heard it yet, here’s a link:

As I watched, I found myself worshipping:

Lord, I've been broken
Although I'm not worthy
You fixed me, I'm blinded
By your grace
You came and saved me...

You saved this kid and I'm not your first
It's not by blood and it's not by birth
But oh my God what a God I serve…..

Now I'm in a better place
No longer afraid
Blinded by your grace
You came and saved me

It’s been a particularly tough time, especially with regard to local church. I’m a part-time church historian, so I know that even in the most successful revivals in history, there’s often an undercurrent of unrest and disagreement. Even my heroes George Whitefield and John Wesley fell out for a while!

There’s a verse in Proverbs that says:

There are friends who pretend to be friends
But there is a Friend who sticks closer than a brother.

It’s important to focus on line 2, not line 1, and that is what I choose to do.

As I write this, I look out of the window, I see all His creation, I think of all He’s done and I’m blinded by His grace. Amazed at a God who would love me, who saved this kid- and I’m not His first. What a God we serve…

Meeting John

He's smartly dressed in a business shirt and suit trousers. And he's just offered me a cup of tea.

John is a warehouse supervisor during the week. His accent gives him away as coming from the Black Country. And today he's a volunteer at a hospital, making tea's and coffee's, helping with meals and washing up.

Imagine that. Five hard working days in the warehouse and then giving your Sunday away to care for the sick. Wow.

John's not the only one. Jo and Judith are the nurses on duty today, on the men's ward at Burton hospital. Their love, care and attention help these largely older men maintain a degree of dignity and decorum in the most difficult of circumstances.

And that's why I'm here. Dad's had a fall and the care from John, Jo and Judith is helping him make it through.

Could the NHS be better? Sure. Does it need more money? Of course. But because of selfless giving and compassion, it's one of the best and most inclusive healthcare systems in the world.

I read President Trump's comments on the NHS. A bit rich coming from a man who is planning to unravel a first attempt at universal care in his country. He really has no idea.

But then.... he hasn't met John.

REFLECT: REVIVE: RENEW

This is not the usual short blog from me- you’re going to need patience to read it, but there’s a REWARD if you get to the end.

I don’t go in for too much reflection on these pages, but 2017 was a life-changing year, so here goes.

I’m so grateful for such a wonderful wife. My youngest daughter constantly reminds me that I managed to secure a beautiful woman- well beyond everyone’s expectations! And to have four children and two kids-in-law, all of whom love God is an amazing blessing. As for the two grandkids, don’t get me started!

As I REFLECT on the year, it was mixed, with doors closing and others opening. To be dropped from the lead team for our Leicester church was a real sadness. We remain leaders in various capacities at ‘home base’ in Peterborough and will continue to support Leicester as much as we can.

But other doors opened. Not least with the Leprosy Mission and Mission24. To be Chair of the Leprosy Mission England & Wales is an immense privilege. This often forgotten and still stigmatised sickness deserves all the support we can give.

And to be Team Pastor for Mission24 was one of the greatest surprises of 2017. It matches my passions for teaching and for encouraging the next generation. As part of this, working with Jonathan Conrathe and Carlos Anacondia in Argentina was personally life changing. I was well and truly REVIVED.  I look forward to continuing the work with our ten Mission24 Interns into the New Year.

Book writing has come on apace. One book was published this year and hopefully, there will be two next year.  I’m mainly writing biographies and ghost writing autobiographies. I love it!

And the blogs trundle on too. I’m retired from the pensions industry but I give some support to Pension Geeks- and for that I get the best job title in the world: Executive Geek! The Pension blog is mainly along the lines of pension communications. The Church History blog is very occasional, but reflects my love for it. And this blog has now been read by over 80,000 people from its start back in December 2006. I don’t think that’s record breaking or anything, but it seems to work. I have readers from all around the world, including Europe, India, Africa, the America’s and even Russia and China. (If that’s you- thank you for reading).

As to next year, I look for God to continue to RENEW me. And there’s the challenge for you too. You’ve read this far. Read on and be RENEWED. We give New Year resolutions a hard time, but the New Year is a watershed moment in the calendar, and we can use it as a memorable moment in our own lives. A date we can attach to change.

Here’s the REWARD for reading this far: Decide on two things. One thing to drop for the New Year and one to start. The one you drop doesn’t necessarily have to be something bad. It may be something that has run its course. Something that needs REPLACING. As to the new, make it attainable – a step at a time. Not a RESOLUTION that gets broken in the first few days of the New Year. Small steps work. Martin Luther King said ‘Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.’

Decide on those two things. One to drop. One to start. If you’re a pray-er, pray about it. If you’re a thinker, think about it. But make the changes. A step at a time. I pray your REFLECTING results in REVIVAL and RENEWAL in 2018.

Good Effect

Over the last few months, I have had the privilege of interviewing three great men of God in preparation for books to be published. I have found the experience thrilling. The way that God has used these guys is awesome. Men of faith, ready and willing to be used by Him; having a good effect on the world around them.

But their story is our story too. Every one of us has a story to tell. Every one of us can have a good effect. It may not make a book, but it makes a life – in other words, each one of us has the ability to change the lives around us for good.

Martha Graham says ‘There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost.’

The Bible says ‘God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts.’ (1 Peter 4: 10, NLT).

The Psalmist says we were knitted together by God, secretly and intricately woven. (Psalm 139).

I don’t know who you are, as you read this, but God does. You are unique. And you have a unique contribution to give. I may never read of it; I may never see it. But God does. And your family and friends do. Don’t underestimate to good effect that only you can have on the world around you. (Matthew 5: 16, Titus 2: 7).



 

New Year Resolutions

As we approached the New Year, I posted the following on Facebook. Its simple statements obviously hit a chord as many 'likes' and 'shares' followed.

So, with thanks to the original author, Julie Baumgardner, it's posted here. May it be true for all of us, all of the time.

Remember to put the glass down

A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they'd be asked the "half empty or half full" question.

Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: "How heavy is this glass of water?"

Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I...'ll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralysed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn't change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

She continued, "The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything."

Remember to put the glass down.

With thanks to Anthony Harwood in Lusaka for this story