Advent2021

I read this yesterday and thought it was worth a complete steal for the blog .  Its by retired police officer John Sutherland.   Enjoy   Bethlehem Police Department Daily Crime Bulletin (Date obscured) Late Turn – Briefing for Operation Census – Substantial number of migrants arriving at border during past week; – Limited community tension reported – no incidents of note; – Large crowds expected in Bethlehem this evening; – No intelligence re: pre-planned disorder; – Terrorism Threat Level remains at ‘Severe’; – 12 officers on duty; – Roads Policing Chariot in for repairs – no replacement available. 1400hrs Start of shift; 2 PCs to fixed post at main Town Checkpoint; 2 PCs to ongoing crime scene at Caesar’s Nightclub; 2 PCs to constant watch in the cells; Remaining officers out on foot. 1500hrs Routine patrols – High Street. Town Centre crowded but peaceful. 16.30hrs Call to Civil Dispute in the foyer of the Judea Travelodge. Apparent misunderstanding regar...

 One of the many noteworthy things about the story of the birth of Jesus is that His parents were poor peasants and His first visitors were shepherds.  Humble, lowly and poor beginnings.   God started as He meant to go on, emphasising the importance of the little people, the overlooked and marginalised.  Jesus went out of His way to seek out the lepers, the prostitutes and the demonised.  When was the last time you did that? My One Good Thing yesterday was a bit of a triumph.  I was about to sign out of my Travelodge and begin the long trek home when I saw at the bottom of my bag a pack of ' encouragement cards' I had thrown in at the last minute and forgotten about.   These cards are the size of postcards, with some encouraging words and a bible verse on one side and blank on the other.  I bought them from Faith Mission ages ago and have occasionally used them instead of notecards, or just to give to people when I felt it to be appropri...

 Yesterday was an odd day.  I started off at Mums in Hertfordshire then drove up to Yorkshire to my Dads where I went into his empty bungalow for the last time before it is sold and picked up a whole load of stuff which my step mother Marion had set aside for me to take.  A suitcase full of family photos and letters I had written to my Dad over years and years.  Some things from the display cabinet including my grandparent's silver napkin rings and Dad's engraved silver tankard.  Dad's toy soldiers.  And a bag of other stuff Ive yet to explore. I stayed in a Travelodge in Carlisle last night and decided to start looking through the photographs which was a proper trip down memory lane.  There were quite a few photos of Dad when he was in the army ( national service just after the war I think) and lots of photos of groups of lads and groups of girls none of which had any names on them so I have no idea who they were.  But one of the things in the su...

 The only thing I have to tell you today is that it is very hard to do one good thing every day.  Really hard.  Take yesterday:  I got up and sat chatting to Mum, took her out shopping briefly ( she can only do about two shops before its time to come home again)  walked round town and cruised the charity shops whilst mum snoozed in the afternoon.  Chatted and watched telly and went to bed.   I did buy Mum some flowers.  But I always buy her flowers so that doesnt really count.    I did keep my eyes open as I pottered round the shops in case there was anyone who needed help or who I thought I should talk to. There wasnt.  It was just a non-event sort of day.  And on those days ( and I have many of them) its hard to do even one good thing. I wonder if Jesus had ' non-event' days. So today Im cheating with the blog and re-posting something I wrote a few years back which I hope is worth another read.  Its about shepherds ...

 The Magi managed to make it across countless borders and end up in Bethlehem at exactly the right time, so how come I couldnt find a church in Reading with the aid of a sat nav and signposts??  😊  Yesterday morning I set off from Al and Emmas  to meet up with my friend Matt at his church.  It was about an hour and a half's drive and all went fantastically until the sat nav told me I had arrived at my destination and I hadn't.   I knew I was close, but having never been to the area before I had no idea how far away I actually was when the dot on the map was telling me I'd arrived.   So annoying.  I phoned Matt and tried to explain where I was and he tried to explain how to get to church.  I turned round and headed back the way I came but I wasn't convinced I was going in the right direction so I stopped and asked a lady who was walking along and she gave clear instructions.   I found the church and was just in time for th...

 Im currently in England on a whistle top tour of the country to see some people before Christmas.  My first stop was with Al and Emma who are some of my oldest and dearest friends.  I met Al at University 30 some years ago and Emma was my housemate for lots of years before I got married and moved to Northern Ireland.  It was because of their mutual friendship with me that the two of them met and married.  Our lives are intertwined and our friendships deep and rich with history and life events and growing up together through our twenties and thirties until now.  Today I shall be leaving them and going to meet Matt, my newest friend.  I dont think I was really expecting to be making friendships with 22 yr olds at this stage of my life.  But God moves in mysterious ways  😃 Friendship is important to God.  He called Abraham His friend.  Jesus calls us friends not servants (John 15:15) In His day, friendship would have been understood ...

  Im writing this sitting on a big boat in the middle of the sea en route from Belfast to Liverpool.   I have practically a whole deck to myself as I'm guessing most people have opted to book a cabin for the eight hour crossing.    I'm looking out of the window across the grey expanse of freezing cold water and thinking about those who risked life and limb many centuries ago to bring the gospel to our lands.    We are an island.   They definitely came by boat.   And it definitely wasn’t a plush comfortable ferry with dining facilities and on board cinema! There’s been so much in the news of late about the fate of migrants crossing the English channel in inflatable boats and perishing within sight of shore.   We rightly feel despairing that people continue to feel so oppressed, miserable, hounded and persecuted, disadvantaged and hopeless that they consider making such ridiculously life threatening and dangerous journeys. But hundreds of y...