The World in 50 Years

Isaac Asimov was a science fiction writer and fifty years ago in the New York Times he predicted what 2014 would look like. At the time he was living with inventions like eight-track tapes as being cutting edge and with no sign of personal computers and the like, so that helps us understand how far seeing he was. How did he do?

1.       Coloured glass that can change colour to suit the mood and rooms that can change colour at the touch of a button.

-          Correct. Not common in homes yet, but the technology exists. Last year Mercedes introduced sun panels that darken in response to the extent of sunlight, already common with sunglasses of course.

2.       Lab grown meat to cope with the food crisis.

-          Correct. Lab grown burgers were produced for the first time last year.

3.       Self-driving cars.

-          Correct. On the way to being reality. Current cars already  have the technology to park, break  if too close to other vehicles and drive at constant speeds. Automatically driven  cars exist and are being developed.

4.       Sight and sound communications. You will see as well as hear  the person you are calling.

-          Correct. Skype.

5.       Documents, photographs and books will be on screens. And people will be able to watch screens in 3D.

-          Correct. Ipads, kindles and tablets. And 3D cinema.

6.       Robots acting like humans will not be common, but they will exist.

-          Spot on. They are expensive but have been invented.

7.       Automeals and automatic coffee will be possible.

-          Correct. The microwave and coffee machines.

8.       Machine tending will be on the school syllabus.

-          Call it computer studies and he’s correct. He thought computer languages would be taught as well, but we’re not there yet.

9.       Large scale Solar Power Stations

-          On the way. Solar power in the home is more and more common.

10.   Unmanned Mars landings and planned human landings.

-          Spot on.

11.   Large underground and underwater housing projects.

-          Oops. Not yet anyway.

12.   Enforced leisure with less jobs and robots and computers doing more.

-          Not yet but the signs are there.

Bear in mind the world as it was in 1964- the first lung transplant was recorded, the Rolling Stones were on their first tour and the Ford Zephyr and Morris Oxford were the cars of choice. Pretty accurate predictions bearing in mind the world he lived in.

Anyone want to have a go at the world in 2064?!

Nontando and the Merit Shop

The first time Miss Turner noticed her, she stood quietly at the back of a group of girls. She and her brother were fairly new arrivals at Bulembu, their parents having died of AIDS. Nontando was a shy girl, Miss Turner thought.

The girls were there to spend their merits. All the 400 rescued children were in school in Bulembu and merits were given for good work and good behaviour; rewards to spend. Miss Turner was particularly pleased to land the job of running the merit shop. She saw many of the children she cared for in the trauma unit- those that had been most deeply affected by their loss.

And she saw Nontando.

Each term, when the shop opened, Nontando came. And each term she stood with her friends, looking on as they spent their merits on sweets, books, toys and comics. But not Nontando. She just stood, quietly watching.

‘Hi Nontando, don’t you have any merits to spend?’

‘Yes Miss.’

‘So where are they? Where are your merits? What would you like? Sweets? A book maybe?’

‘No Miss. I don’t want anything today.’

Miss Turner was intrigued. Every time the shop opened, Nontando would be there. Every time, she stood and watched as her friends spent their merits. Miss Turner figured she was saving for something expensive. Maybe the beautiful coat that had been sent in recently?

Each time the shop opened, she asked the question. Each time, the same answer.

‘No Miss. I don’t want anything today.’

It was near the end of term when Miss Turner next saw Nontando. With a big smile on her face, she approached Miss Turner with a handful of ‘merits’.

Miss Turner smiled.

‘Nontando, you’re going to spend your merits. How wonderful! You have a lot there- you can get something really special! Are you after that lovely coat?’

‘No Miss.’

Slowly Nontando walked to the back of the merit shop and picked up a beautiful pair of black leather shoes.

‘Oh Nontando, I’m so sorry- those shoes would never fit you I’m afraid. They are far too small.’

‘No Miss. They are not for me. They’re for my little brother, Ciswe. You see, he’s not got any shoes. This is my present for him.’

There were tears in her eyes as Miss Turner closed the shop that day.

This is based on a true story although the children’s names have been changed. ‘Miss Turner’ is our daughter Lois who works in Bulembu. You can find more about the rescued children here: http://bulembu.org/

REPOST: Restore a Town, Transform a Nation

ON THE DAY WE TRAVEL TO BULEMBU, HERE'S A RE-POST FROM JULY 2011  TO TELL YOU WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT AND WHY IT'S WORTH IT.....

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.

What's it all about?

What's it all about?

Christ - his incarnation, life, teaching, mission, death, resurrection, ASCENSION, present rule and future return.

That's what it's about.

(With thanks to Trevor Lloyd and his Different Kingdom blog for such a great and succinct definition.)

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

Two Giant Steps

Most of our journey through life is made in small steps. What the writer Eugene Peterson calls ‘A Long Obedience in the Same Direction.’ A coffee here, a meal there. A conversation one day, a car journey the next. Small integral parts of life’s direction.

Occasionally, a giant step comes along. For us two have come at once.

The first is the start of KingsGate Community Church Leicester. Our first (amazing!) meeting was last night. As someone who had spoken often of the possibility of KingsGate planting a new church into Leicester, it is the realisation of a dream. And a giant step.

The other giant step comes as we drop our youngest child, Lois, off at Heathrow later today, as she starts her long obedience in the same direction. She is travelling out to Bulembu in Swaziland to serve as a long term missionary. For us, it means an empty house for the first time, with the other three children having already moved away.

Two giant steps. Two key moments in our lives. And fuel for the journey as we continue our own long obedience.

Life Is Short

Life is short. Live it to the full.

Here's a small reminder of how quickly the years go by.....

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For everything there is a season, and la time for every matter under heaven:

2 a time to be born, and a time to mdie;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

4 a time to nweep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to odance;

5 a time to pcast away stones, and a time to qgather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to rrefrain from embracing;

6 a time to seek, and a time to slose;

a time to keep, and a time to tcast away;

7 a time to utear, and a time to sew;

a time to vkeep silence, and a time to speak;

8 a time to love, and a time to whate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8