You will keep that person in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because they trust in you. Isaiah 26.3 (translation mine) I'm going to share a little more about me in today's post (not that I don't mostly just end up doing that anyway...) - I keep the Sabbath. Now, it's not some legalistic thing I do with a million and one rules or lists of 'I shall not...', and I absolutely don't do it because I think it'll get me into heaven or that people who don't do it won't be invited. Not at all! I keep Sabbath because it injects rhythm and purpose into my weekly walk with God.
I try to do things on Sabbath that will direct me towards God - I spend time reading the Bible, worshipping and praying, I sometimes study books about faith and God, I talk with people and make sure I know how they're really doing, and sometimes I get the chance to make things while doing some of that as well! I love creating as I worship, or pray, and making things that focus me on some aspect of God's character, either alone or alongside a friend. Last Sabbath I got to do just that. For my housemate's birthday a couple of months ago I'd gotten her a lino-cutting starter pack, and we'd liked it so much that we'd gotten some more pads, and then we hadn't really done much with them. After we enjoyed a good lunch together (with cheesecake for dessert - my all time favourite!), we decided to do some printing. I had this verse in my head from earlier as it was the one sent to me that day to illustrate for my church's Look up in Lockdown post, and I just sat there reflecting on this idea of "perfect peace". And in that day, of not having to worry about productivity or work; and in that meal, of being open and true with my husband and closest friend; and in the discussion we'd had about the intricacy and beauty of the flowers that adorned the table, sent to me from my sister earlier in the week - I felt a sense of that perfect peace. So I made a print of one of the carnations that stood in the little jar of water in front of me. To remind me of that beautiful time when there was no fretfulness, no rush, and no worry, and to remind me that this is what God wants for each of us. Peace. Shalom. Wholeness. Perfect peace. Stay safe, and take care!
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The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. Psalm 35.15 (KJV) I've been struggling with prayer meeting since Lockdown. Like, I used to always go when it was in church, and sometimes I had to cycle in the rain to get there and I'd be cycling just wishing it could've been in my house. And now it is, and my church has started doing a prayer meeting every evening now, so I can even pick when I want it to be convenient for me. AND so many more people are going now, because lots of people struggled with the travel before and now don't have that problem. But as much as it's become more convenient for me... I've become less likely to actually go, and when I do I rarely say anything, and afterwards it doesn't feel like I even went to anything anyway.
It's strange. I don't like not seeing the people I'm praying with, and I don't know when to talk or not. It's just strange! But it's also encouraging, to hear the prayers of those who share my faith. To be united with one purpose - to help each other through this time and to bring all our cares, worries, thanks and praises before our God. The one place where something can actually happen about them. So maybe it's not about feeling comfortable or having prayer meeting go my way - but about sharing in this fundamental part of Christian faith, together. Stay safe, and take care! I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Psalm 91.2 (ESV) I love the Bible (as you can probably guess from my insistence on writing blog posts based on it...)! But I am very aware that the Bible is often ambiguous, confusing and messy. God's interactions with messy human life probably couldn't not be messy! But it is clear - again and again - on what God cares about. God cares about what goes on here on earth, this little planet in a humongous universe. God cares about animals, and plants, and weather cycles! God cares about life. On top of that, God cares about goodness, peace, joy, love. Again and again through the Bible, we see characters whose lives are sometimes good and sometimes bad, and sometimes how they see God working in those times is questionable, but how God actually remains, is steadfast - a safe haven, a place to run to, a person to sit with, a companion to grow in the presence of.
I took the photo I used in the above illustration in the Peak District in Derbyshire. Every November, for more years than I've been here, my church has been going on a retreat here. We spend the weekend living in log cabins together, worshipping, reading the Bible, and walking in the countryside. And it is some seriously stunning countryside. And every year so far, God has been revealed to me in some new way, when I run into the refuge and fortress of God, away from all the pressures, stresses, normal, boring stuff of everyday life. I wonder if we can create some of those refuge and fortress spaces in our present habitations? Can you mark out a space and some time, where nothing else can press on you, and you can just know who God is for you, right now? Because God is definitely for you. God is your refuge and your fortress. In whom do you trust? Stay safe, and take care! This is the message which we have heard from God and declare to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. 1 John 1.5 (NKJV) The message from my church for today began with a statement posed as a question:
'I don't know what print you left last week, and what print you want to inscribe this week?' It made me think: What print did I leave last week? Who did my actions affect? Were they affected positively or negatively? What do I want to do this week, and how do I want it to affect people? During working from home, I seem to be struggling a lot to adjust back to the week on Mondays - by Tuesday I'm somewhat productive, and last week, I spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in a tizz of busyness. Stopping to think about what I actually want to do, and what it is important to spend my time on this week, seems like it could be a really valuable thing to do. I will try to do it. One of the things I want to make more time for this week is sharing light with others. When I look back on this week, I want to know that the print I left gave some light - some good, some help, some beauty. The light that I've seen, and the message I've heard, well, it seems worth sharing, like it would do some good! Stay safe, and take care - why not share something good this week! Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life." John 14.6a Maybe right now you're still coming to terms with how quickly our human-made systems are weakening and struggling. Health, education, economic systems; right now we see how fragile they really are, and how the sense of security they give us is not true.
I remember the first time I felt like I might not be able to handle this crisis. The a week before the lockdown, my house had been in quarantine anyway as I'd picked something up at the school I work in and was showing the covid-symptoms. So by week 2 of lockdown, we'd already had 2 weeks of total not leaving the house ever, and it was starting to look like that wasn't going to change any time soon. I missed people, and felt like a bird in a cage - all classic things lots of people are feeling right now. But I wasn't sad, just annoyed. Then I went to ASDA - we'd had our shopping brought to us before, because we weren't allowed out, so this was the first time I'd left the house, and there were signs up, sharing the measures they were putting in to try and help people get what they need. Certain hours on certain days for NHS staff, limits on how many of something someone could buy. They even had a similar announcement over the tannoy system. And I found I was nearly in tears at these things! It became real. I relied on these systems, and took them for granted that they were freedoms and abilities I'd always have! I didn't think I'd be in a position struggling to make a normal meal because I can't seem to get all the ingredients for anything!! Yet here I am. Here we are. I got over that falling-apart-ness, for the time-being anyway. I came to realise more and more that my life does not depend on those systems. They help my life, certainly they do. And I'm more grateful than ever for them. But I'm not dependent on them for my being, my identity, my capacity to go on. And neither are you. Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life." Follow that way. Seek that truth. Live that life. It is more fulfilling and dependable and purposeful and useful than anything else in all the world. Stay safe, and take care! |
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AuthorI'm a recent Cambridge Theology graduate now studying for a Masters in Biblical Studies and blogging about all sorts of things! I'm interested in faith, Church, theology, social action, the great outdoors and being creative, and all of those things - along with many more - come through in my posts!
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