Just An Ordinary Nativity?

‘Immensity, cloistered in thy dear womb’ 

John Donne, ‘Nativity’, (1610)

Last week, I saw tinsel haloed angels preening in the front row, swinging their net skirts back and forth as they listened for the words they knew so they could join the singing with angelic gusto. I saw shepherds use their crooks to mischievously prod at fellow actors and Bethlehem villagers emotionally overcome, not by the miraculous birth but because they missed their mum. I clapped brave little soloists and tried not to be too distracted by deafening microphone feedback and an absurd height disparity between narrators.

How To Wait

And so the wait begins. P7 transfer tests are over. They’ve enjoyed their free hot chocolate and buns, kicking off the Christmas season by gleefully dumping all those practice papers in the recycling bin. For now, we’ll forget about it but bless their little pre-teen hearts, it’s not over. Waiting for results day, waiting for the postman, waiting for a letter from their new school, it’s all waiting and more waiting. In the meantime, it’s ‘I can’t wait for Christmas!’

We are all waiting.

Waiting for something to begin.

Waiting for something to end.

Waiting for arrival.

Waiting for change.

The beginning of Advent is a time to pause and consider what we are waiting for because no matter what it is, we are dependent on something or someone to bring an end to our waiting. Things are out of our hands, beyond our control and all we can do is wait.

But we are not good at it. We don’t want to rely on anything or anyone else, we would rather have the power to control timelines, to manage time frames.

Waiting impatiently.

Waiting reluctantly.

Waiting fearfully.

Waiting reminds us that we are not the authors of our own story and outcomes are not guaranteed but there is a promise to hold on to in the waiting and it can change everything.

‘He has sent us a mighty Saviour from the royal line of his servant David, just as he promised through his holy prophets long ago.’ Luke 1:69-70 (NLT)

Waiting is part of God’s plan for his people. When it feels like we are in a void between moments, the promise of Jesus changes how we wait. It transforms our impatience into trust, our reluctance to hope and our fear into gladness.

In the words of a poem written by a friend, the imagined voice of Simeon (Luke 2:25-35) says,

‘I’ve been waiting

With expectant joy

For the promised one.’

‘I’ve been longing

With expectant hope

For the promised one.’

Simeon, after faithful, eager waiting, met Jesus and was able to say,

‘Today I am rejoicing

With indescribable gladness

He has come.’

The promised one came and now is with us in our waiting before he comes again to reveal the complete glory of all that we wait for.

The void between moments becomes the space where our waiting is expectantly hopeful and our longing is glittered with joy.

God is the author of our stories, the controller of time frames and the fulfiller of promises.

May Advent be for us a time of prayerful waiting, trusting that just like Simeon, the Holy Spirit will lead us to Jesus and we will bless God with joyous praise and worship.

(‘Simeon’ from A Three 16 Christmas by Shelley Spiers)

How to Get Rid of the Worry Monster

I had it in my hand ready to take to the till. A furry, striped, google-eyed monster with a zip mouth and an empty tummy ready to eat up all the worries. For two whole minutes, I did actually think this was a good idea to buy as a present, the idea being that your child can write down what they’re worried about and then stuff it into the worry monster’s mouth who ‘eats’ it up and makes the worry go away. The multi coloured little chap walked straight into my head and very nearly had me walking out the shop door with him under my arm when, all of a sudden, I paused and said to my shopping buddy of the day i.e. husband,

How To Have Resilience

Photo by Anish Nair on Unsplash

Thoughts after a prolonged discussion on child protection and safeguarding, a unit covered in the college course for classroom assistants.

“We need to build resilience,” said the tutor.

The words dropped down dead onto the classroom floor. No-one picked them up to put on paper. The sheer inadequacy of them in the face of what we’d been discussing for a couple of weeks seemed like trying to use hand sanitiser as an antidote for blood poisoning.

Review of Book Girl

I was right, I loved it.

Book Girl was exactly what I thought it would be and exactly what I wanted it to be.

Thanks once again to Netgalley, I was able to read a review copy on my Kindle, but Book Girl is going on my list of printed books that I would like to own. It will be a pleasure to have this on my shelf.

Book review: The Eternal Current, Aaron Niequist

I jumped at the chance to read a review copy of The Eternal Current written by Aaron Niequist. It did take me a while to read in the end but that’s only because I misplaced my Kindle for a while. I really think there is so much for us in Northern Ireland to learn from in these pages and also from the experience of The Practice community which Aaron has led and developed over a number of years.

Having followed online the development of The Practice, under the auspices of Willow Creek Community Church, the theme of God’s eternal current was already familiar. The book expands upon the idea that Christ’s invitation to swim in the current is for us all, no matter who we are and the ways in which we may be hesitating. He asks us to join him in the deep waters of his grace and love, to not just dip our toes or wade knee deep but to swim with him.

It challenges us to assess where exactly we are right now as individuals and also as faith communities. If we’re just standing on the shores of the eternal current, we are missing out on so much as is the rest of the world because as Aaron explains, faith is not only about theological belief but about how we can participate in God’s Kingdom in practice, here and now for the sake of the world.

‘Through Christ, we get to join the redemption and restoration of all things.’

This book encourages us to be brave and to look beyond the boundaries of our own church walls and denominations, to not be afraid to learn from the historic practices of the church that have been set aside, to re-engage with spiritual disciplines that will hopefully help us to swim closer to Christ and join him in the work of the Kingdom here.

There is much of Aaron’s personal spiritual journey and of The Practice community that would surely resonate here at home in Northern Ireland, where there are also deep religious divisions and suspicions.

A book such as this can help us find the courage to swim further into the eternal current without fear and to be more open. I would recommend this book to anyone who might want to explore new ways of pushing deeper into faith, of practising, not just believing. There are also lots of other books and resources mentioned that can be investigated and which sound interesting. It’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea though, as we like to say, but I for one give it a loud round of applause.

#NetGalley #TheEternalCurrent #aaronniequist

God's Giant Box Of Felt Tip Pens

I read The Silver Chair again recently, the sixth book in C S Lewis’ Narnia series, so when I spied the Narnia colouring book in a basket at home, I popped it into my suitcase, along with a tin of felt tip pens, to bring on holiday.

While flicking through the pages one evening, I decided on a quote from the book I had just finished.  

'You would not have called to me, unless I had been calling to you.'

Aslan

The Silver Chair, C S Lewis

I began to fill in the letters and shapes with my pens - grey lettering with dark highlights, light blue for the myriad cloud-like shapes floating all over the double paged outline.

As I coloured, I wondered if it could help me pray. Might the rhythm of pen on paper ease away distractions, helping create space for focus in the same way as walking often does, the simple rhythm of placing one foot in front of the other - actions connecting the physical to the spiritual.

And in the space, a thought flowed from an unseen pen held by an unseen hand.

I could pray for God to colour in the shapes of people’s lives.

We all have blank spaces within us that are waiting to be brought to life by our artist God. Vast empty plains and small overlooked corners that exist without the joy of His colour. He has an immense palette of shades and hues that He uses to fill in the outline of us that he has already drawn.

He makes us in his image but God is not just a black and white outline. He may be like that in our own profoundly inadequate idea of him but it is not the truth. God is the fullest spectrum of light, emitting an array of colour beyond the imagination and he is making us to be more like himself in order to be a living exhibition of his glory!

There is simply no room for comparison and envy in such a truth. Each one of us, living in submission to being saturated by the colour of grace and love, can truly only respond with gratitude and worship. There is freedom to be found in knowing that God takes great pleasure in his work, that he deftly tints and highlights, blends and shades with perfect understanding of his craft in order to produce living artwork worthy of being given a place in his house.

It is a tremendous privilege to be chosen by him to personally receive the fullness of such masterful creativity within ourselves. It is also an honour to be a living extension of the work, to be visual representations of God’s extraordinary colour in the world around us.

Prayer is one way of joining him in his creative work in the lives of others. We are  invited to participate in this immense and beautiful imaginative work, a work that Jesus began during his ministry and that he continues today. It is the Kingdom work of pervading lives, places and moments with the colours of eternity, his will being done on earth as it is in heaven.  As the Narnia quotation reminds us, we call to God because he has already called to us.

The outline in my Narnia colouring book isn’t complete yet. It still needs work and time. It serves as a reminder that God’s work, in us and in the world, is ongoing. When I next pick up my pens, I hope that I remember to pray for his colour to fill the empty spaces. I hope that I remember to consider the depth and breadth of God’s work. It is on display continually everywhere and in everyone if we have eyes to see it and the willingness to accept the invitation to join with him in his work.

Book Review: The Story Peddler

The Story Peddler is the first novel in The Weaver Trilogy and although it did take a while to really get going, it was an enjoyable read overall.

This is a classic fantasy tale of mystery, of good versus evil, of self-discovery, of friendship, of family and of love. We follow the fierce and determined heroine Tanwen on her perilous journey towards the truth, meeting plenty of other likeable and interesting characters along the way, especially Princess Braith.

It was the unique style of magic that particularly kept me hooked and drew me in. Tanwen’s gift of storytelling is a visible weaving together of colourful, fluid story strands to form a solid crystal image which is wonderful and was intriguing enough to hold my attention until the rest of the plot and the characters developed more fully to keep my fingers turning the pages.The pace of the narrative picks up considerably in the second half of the book until the final confrontation with the enemy when the truth is finally revealed.

Throughout the book, I particularly liked the idea that ‘art has a way of revealing truth’, that the creation of beauty as a means of revealing truth cannot ultimately be suppressed. There is also a recognisable Christian element which is woven very well into the fabric of the story, another subtle strand that helps to create a world and an adventure with meaningful layers.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #GileadPublishing for the review copy of #TheStoryPeddler. I would be happy to recommend this book and look forward to reading the next in the series.

Book Review: Invitation To Retreat, Ruth Haley Barton

Invitation to Retreat - Ruth Haley Barton

The idea of spiritual retreat isn’t an overly familiar one to most of us. It is perhaps particularly alien to those of us within a Protestant church culture.

Despite this, I love the idea of retreat but I’ve yet to figure out a way to do it well which is why I guess, this book appeals to me - it is a source of guidance on a subject that isn’t readily available to me elsewhere. The ‘view notes and marks’ tab for it on my Kindle now contains thirty nine highlighted sentences and paragraphs, so the ink on page equivalent would mean that if it was a print copy, I wouldn’t be lending it to anyone, ever. It would feel like I’m giving too much of myself away and besides, the whole point of retreat is that God is the only one who gets to turn the pages of our inner narrative. It’s a very personal invitation. Trust me, you will want to do plenty of your own underlining and highlighting.

‘Invitation To Retreat’ draws attention to the importance of having extended periods of time alone with God in order to give him our complete attention. It is inviting us to consider the benefit of finding, or rather making the time for retreat because if we do not, in some form or other, it can ultimately be detrimental to our spiritual health.

Us introverts are OK with a fairly high degree of silence and solitude, key aspects of a retreat obviously, although I’d be interested to see what my tolerance level might practically be but no matter how we are wired as people, introverts or extroverts, as Christians we know we need time alone with God and that is not always easy to achieve.

‘How am I supposed to find extra time, extended time what’s more?’ I hear you exclaim.

Yes I do hear you and so does the author Ruth Haley Barton but that’s exactly the point she is making. The introductory sections headed, ‘Strategic Withdrawal’, ‘Just Flop Down’ and ‘The Sources of Our Exhaustion’ point out that there is too much filling the hours of our days - too much activity and too much noise. Following chapters help us consider what retreat means and how to practise it with wisdom and care. We need time for listening, for discernment and prayer, for it is in returning to God that we find rest.

One thing I do know myself from my own limited experience of retreat is that it can be a surprising experience, to say the least. God doesn’t always meet us in ways that we expect and that can be daunting. This book is a great resource, not only for it’s practical advice and gentle wisdom but it can help us find the courage to seek God and be prepared for an encounter with him.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #IVP for the review copy of this book

#InvitationTo Retreat #RuthHaleyBarton 

Book Review: In His Image, Jen Wilkin

Just as I downloaded Jen Wilkin’s new book, ‘In His Image’, from Netgalley onto my Kindle two things happened;

Firstly, my working hours doubled. This sounds much worse than it actually is but nevertheless, it has meant less time for reading.

And secondly, a series of Sunday sermons on the prophet Isaiah began in church.

On reflection, it seems to me that these turned out to be well timed circumstances. Less reading time meant that it has taken longer than usual for me to finish this book but in actual fact that has been a good thing. ‘In His Image’ is not the kind of book that you should read quickly anyway. If you’re familiar with A W Tozer’s classic ‘The Knowledge of the Holy’ then you can expect a similar read. Jen draws from Tozer’s well known work on the attributes of God to help develop her own ideas on the theme and it’s a theme worth spending time on. It’s worth taking the time to read this book slowly and it’s worth spending more time reflecting on the additional Bible verses and questions provided at the end of each chapter, to linger on each individual attribute of God’s character, letting it push the borders of your understanding of him further.

Dovetailing nicely with the sermons, I read the chapter on the holiness of God in the same week as Sunday thoughts on Isaiah’s experience of a dramatic and humbling vision of the holiness of God.

I read of the goodness of God in another chapter as that Sunday in church we read of Isaiah being told by God to comfort his people, to ‘speak tenderly to Jerusalem’ and that they would receive an abundance of good things from the Lord after all their suffering.  (Isaiah 40:1-2)

This is a thoughtfully written, orderly examination of the nature of God. Little personal stories help to illustrate the point being made in each of the ten sections which helps the text from becoming overly scholarly.

I would recommend this book because Jen Wilkin helps us to bow just as Isaiah once did before a vision of God that helps us to change our perspective on life and on ourselves.

Surely we have a great need to have a more expansive vision of God - a vision that will lead us to worship him more truly and more deeply. Knowing God better will make it possible for us to know ourselves better, to know our purpose in life, and as this book highlights, to go beyond the choices concerned with exactly what we should do and focus more on who God is making us – always ‘In His Image’.

Thanks to #netgalley and #Crossway for the review copy of this book #InHisImage

Book review: Finding Jesus in Israel, Buck Storm

I’ve never been to Israel but I would love to go some day. In the meantime, I’m happy to read about it and this was a great book to start with. I’ve read other books about Israel in the context of the Jewishness of Jesus and Biblical cultural studies but not one that takes you on a ride through present day Israel with Elvis on the GPS and musician/writer Buck Storm behind the wheel. They’re good company! Buck, (note to self – check out his music some time) possesses a droll humour and a sense of adventure. He seems like a genuine, thoughtful and open-minded guy.

Frequently going off the usual tourist trail and sharing observations as he goes, we hear of places and people that build a strong sense of Israel both modern and ancient as well as plenty  of interesting information and facts - I’ve always wondered what happened to all those prayers stuffed into the Wailing Wall and now I know but this isn’t simply a travel guide. This is a book about looking for God under the weight of immense historical and geographical significance. –

‘At its very foundation, Israel is the story of God’s interaction with mankind.’

You catch a sense of expectancy not only for the experience of Israel but of God. It stirs the heart as well as the imagination. Through the stories you breathe in the beauty and the tension, the ordinary and the remarkable, not just of life in the Holy Land but of life with Jesus.

Thanks to #NetGalley for the review copy. 

I recommend reading #FindingJesusInIsrael by #BuckStorm #worthypub

Book Review: For the Love, Jen Hatmaker

For the Love has been on my TBR list for a while now. This whole time I knew there had to have been a reason why every time I saw the name Jen Hatmaker I remembered, oh yes that’s right I want to read her book. Anyone who makes me laugh this much just by writing words on a page, and I mean full on Julia Roberts laughter, is automatically my book friend and I WILL follow you on Instagram. 

If it’s only chapter two and the laughter tears are already running down my face, it is a dead cert that I will read on right to the end just in case there’s an added extra funny, one final hilarious little yellow minion, although does it get any better than discussing LAP - leggings-as-pants and TAL - tights-as-leggings? Comedy gold. 

For the Love takes a look at ourselves, our families, our friends (and the ones we find hard to call friends) and our church people. It’s about how we can learn to live more freely in the grace of God. Jen not only has a gift for humour but also for truth telling, honesty and vulnerability which is hugely endearing.

Is there any one of us who doesn’t need to hear that it is ok to say no, that we do not have to do everything and be everything to everyone.

Is there a mother anywhere in the world who doesn’t need to hear, ‘hey if you’re doing ‘mostly good’ then go you!’ Parenting is HARD and you know what, as Jen says, ’mostly good’ is later remembered by our kids as ‘loved and safe’.

Turn the pages and keep on reading, about friendship and community being the holy ground on which we love and restore one another, remembering that it takes all sorts - unity is not the same as uniformity and when things get tough, cos they do, grace is imperative! 

As for church, well, it’s a hard conversation. We are a messy, complicated bunch but …love Jesus and love other people. Simple really.

Listen, one friend to another, for the love of all things bookish, go read!

Book Review: Of Mess and Moxie, Jen Hatmaker

Moxie?

You what? 

New to me. I just assumed it was a made up word. I read the whole book before looking it up on my Kindle dictionary and turns out it is an actual (informal) word. I guess you have to be North American to have a clue but it means ‘force of character, determination or nerve.’ 

And there is a whole lot of character in these pages.

If it hadn’t been for the seatbelt I was wearing at the time I may have fallen down laughing as I read. You will laugh... A LOT and that alone is reason enough to pick up this book. 

However, interspersed between the humour laden tales of grocery shopping, (who doesn’t hate it when your grocery buying path means being trapped in the ‘socially awkward prison of repetitive small talk’ with the person matching your trolley route) and Netflix binge watching and exercise and family shenanigans, Jen talks a lot of common sense and cheers us all on as we go about our ordinary, everyday, trying to have faith, lives. 

You are given permission to set down that big ugly bag of guilt you are carrying around with you pretty much everywhere. Set it down says this book, you will hurt yourself! In her own words, Jen is an ‘honest friend in the trenches’ with her readers, encouraging us all to listen to truth, push back fear, live in community and as the book’s subtitle says, wrangle ‘delight out of this wild and glorious life’. 

This is my first Jen Hatmaker book (I kept meaning to read ‘For the Love’ but never got around to it) and it was a pleasure. I would recommend it especially if you’re feeling a little down or a lot down. It’s a pick me up, a real tonic, no gin required, although you could have that too if you liked, book in one hand glass in the other but be warned, you might spill it! 

PS you have full permission and freedom to skip out chapter 16 completely, it is about ‘football’ and you will miss nothing. 

Thanks to #NetGalley for the review copy of this book.