I thought I would end my posts of this year by sharing the Northumbria Community reading for today. The last month has been based around the poustinia. All the extracts have been from ‘Poustinia‘ by Catherine de Hueck Doherty. I won’t go into explaining that in great detail, other than to say it is a process of trying to be one with God in quiet. Go here to find out more.

The poustinia is a state of constantly being in the presence of God because one desires him with a great desire, because in him alone one can rest. The poustinia is walking in this inner solitude, immersed in the silence of God. My life of service and love to my fellowman is simply the echo of this silence and solitude.

Inwardly I identify myself with God and with humanity. Jesus Christ himself conducts me into this inner silence, into that solitude that speaks so loudly to the Father under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Now I am immersed in the Trinity, in the fire of the silence of God (for the silence of God is always fire; His speech is fire). Now I become as one on fire with love of Him and all of humanity across the world. Now it is not I who speak. I speak what God tells me to speak. When my immersion into this immense silence has finally caught fire from His words, then I am able to speak. I can speak because his voice is sounding loudly and clearly in my ears, which have been emptied of everything except Him.

Now only His name is on my heart, constantly; it has become my heartbeat.



If I could personally write something similar this time next year, I would look back and say 2005 had been a great year.

I’m looking forward to tonight.

Our friends and their children all get together to see in the New Year. The children will go off to bed sometime in the evening in various rooms and the older ones will think they will secretly stay up to 12!

Its a great time as normally people like us (30’s (just!) with young children) would normally have to stay in as babysitters are hard to come by and expensive if they are available this one night of the year. A great way to see in the New Year, in any case, is in the home with loads of friends around! The food is good and the beer flowing!

Happy New Year to you all – whatever you may be doing tonight to mark the end and the beginning.

Isn’t it great when you stumble upon friends blogs my accident. I’ve come across 2 blogs in the last few weeks from YFC friends: Aslan’s Attic and Johnny Bravo. I wonder how many other secret bloggers there are out there waiting to be discovered?

We had a great day out today. Had a late breakfast/lunch then drove into London, walked along the river, watch a few street entertainers in Covent Garden before having dinner and going off to watch Stomp.

It has become a ‘thing’that we do with our brother/sister-in-law and their children. There is 5 of them and 5 of us and rather than buy a ‘normal’ present we buy each other tickets to see something we can all enjoy.

This year we went to STOMP and took the grandparents along. The show was excellent – incredible how so much junk can be used to make music. The dancers were re-inventing how these things, like brooms, dustbins, buckets etc. could be used and entertaining us massively. I am sure there is a sermon in there somewhere!

You can experience a bit of stomp for yourself from a video link here.

I have just seen my first news reports on the disaster which has happened.

The dead figures are just impossible to comprehend. I can’t imagine what it must feel like to know that half of the town has been killed, or that one million are now homeless in just Sri Lanka alone. These stats are from the BBC website.

Sri Lanka: 18,706 dead

Indonesia: 27,174 dead

India: 4,371 dead

Thailand: 1,516 dead

Maldives: 52 dead

Malaysia: 44 dead

Burma: 30 dead

Bangladesh: 2 dead

Somalia: 100 dead

Kenya: 1 dead

Seychelles: 3 dead

Tanzania: 10 dead

Mass graves are being dug out of necessity to kerb disease. Muslims, Hindus and Christians are pushing aside their traditions and customs in favour of mass graves forte safety of the living.

I feel hopeless and want to do more than ‘just pray’ but prayer is what is needed most. The following agencies, though, are offering aid if you wish to support them:

Cafod

Care International

International Federation of the Red Cross

Oxfam

Save The Children

Unicef

World Vision

At most of these sites you can donate online if you would like to.

The photo shows flip flops of those that were enjoying the beach before the tsunami hit. You can find help praying with pictures here.

You can also read local updates from Messy Christian.

What a great way for the holiday to finish … Gillingham 3, Coventry 1 and Tom and I going mad as we celebrate the goals on the terraces.

Traditionally each year at Christmas people of St Mark’s go on a walk.

This year Lance planned a simple route along the river Medway path for us from Allington Lock to the Millennium Park in Maidstone, where we ate sandwiches, and then back to our starting place – where a number of us then stopped for a drink.

As well as working off some of the calories this gave us a chance to chat and pray together as we walked along the river.

Well … that was Christmas!

At times like this it is gret being a dad of young children. I’ve relived my child hood throuh space invaders and pacman on a TV console. Raced Joe around a scalexctric track and beaten Tom at pool.

We had a fantastic time at Sarah’s parents with the family all enjoying each others company. Grandparents, great grandparents and cousins and uncles were all present. We all get on so well, and the age span of the group is quite massive.

The children particularly love having uncles and aunts and grandparents around. Why do children love their grandparents so much?

On a sad note, this year I decided to annoy people by taking lots of photographs. I suddenly struck me that with very aging and frail great grandparents that this could easily be the last time we all see Christmas together. I hope not; but it will be nic to have the memento anyway.

Right now I feel incredibly blessed and thankful to God that I can enjoy times like these with those I love around me.

I love Christmas.

Christmas Eve is a particular favourite day of ours. For the last few years we have held a birthday party for Jesus. This started as we had young children as did all of our friends. It has become a bit of a tradition now that we all get together from about 5; the adults eat, drink and chat while the children have a birthday party.

After a while, and when we want the children to start thinking about bed, we visit NORAD on the web to find out where Santa is and how long it will be before he arrives. This gives the children an excuse to leave and go to sleep.

I know some will think the mixture of the fact of Jesus birth and the mixing of Santa imagery to not be good – ah well, they are kid and we enjoy the time!

I like this whole evening because the children love it. They are all getting too old to believe in Santa but they all like the event and still wish to believe. I am sure that when they are in their teens we will still hear ‘Aunty Sarah, Uncle Rob we’ve got to have the Jesus birthday party still!’

Events like this are important. It gives children things to remember and instills the specialness of the day which could easily be lost in a feasts of food and wrapping paper.

… and if it does not fall soon I lose a bet with Beth!

Christmas Eve is here and its just got to come today!