May we open for glimpses of God’s Glory as we grow close to Jesus

Hello everyone! Today is a very special day as it is our 12th wedding anniversary, so yesterday I bought a M&S Madeira Butterfly cake for our anniversary, which seems to me to symbolise how marrying my beloved me released me from my caterpillar existence and allowed me to fly as a butterfly!

Today it is a beautiful very cold day; it is lovely to see the almost cloudless blue sky! It seemed very appropriate for today, where we remember the transfiguration of Jesus; a day like today is so bright and sunny but nothing like Jesus was when he was transfigured. In his talk to the children David asked what was the biggest number they could imagine, and when they did not know, he asked if they could imagine 10 oranges and we all agreed we could. We could also imagine 100 oranges, which I found myself dividing in my mind into 4 to make it easier to visualise. He then asked if we could visualise 10 or 100 people, or even the numbers at church today, which we all agreed we could. Then he asked if we went to some large event such as a football match and therefore could imagine such a large crowd of people; some of us could. However none of us could imagine seeing more than 7 Billion people i.e. the whole population of the world!! It was just too big to imagine!

The service opened with the rousing hymn by Caroline Noel; At the Name of Jesus, which set the scene for the exploration of the Glory of God. Our second hymn reflected the theme of God’s glory as we sang, in expectation of the imminent arrival of the Glory of the Lord at the second coming, Glory, glory, alleluia! Glory, glory, alleluia! Glory, glory, hallelujah! Our God is marching on!! It made us feel uplifted to a different realm as we rejoiced in God. After the Bible readings we sang one of the hymns from our new hymn book called ‘Singing the Faith.’ The words described the experience of the disciples at the Mount of Transfiguration; namely:
‘Jesus, on the mountain peak,
stands alone in glory blazing.
Let us, if we dare to speak,
join the saints and angels praising:
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! By Brian Wren

David Hunt our Deacon was leading the service and he said that he had celebrated a significant day in his life, when he and Gail celebrated 33 years of marriage last Friday. Was his wedding day his special moment or was it on 18th May the previous year, when he had proposed and she had replied, ‘What do you think?’ Was the day that changed his life the day he met her, although he could not remember exactly when that was. Only as he looked back could he see that the decision to marry Gail had changed his life and therefore had added significance!
The disciples would not have known that on that occasion, when they accompanied Jesus up the mountain to pray, that something inexplicable would happen. As they prayed with him they saw Jesus suddenly transformed and shining with the glory of God and they became aware of Moses and Elijah and felt totally overwhelmed; Peter even suggested building shelters for Moses and Elijah as he did not know what to say. After God spoke confirming Jesus as his Son, suddenly everything was back to normal and only Jesus was there. They could not understand what had happened and Jesus told them to tell no one, maybe as he knew they would only understand in retrospect after he had risen from the dead. When he spoke of his resurrection they did not understand, but mulled things over only realising that it had been a life changing experience, when they looked back at the events later. That is why we need significant anniversaries to remember when our lives were changed. After Jesus had risen from the dead they then understood what the transfiguration had meant. They had been given a glimpse of God’s glory shown in Jesus, confirming him as God’s son. They could have only coped with a glimpse as the full glory would have been too much! David compared such a glimpse to a sitting room with a new sofa, where the curtains are kept drawn to protect the sofa from being faded by the bright sun; maybe if windows are kept open then as the breeze blows some glimpses of sunlight will be seen from time to time. He described his drive to the service from Knaresborough to our chapel, when he had to shade his eyes from the brightness of the sun. Too much brightness of the sun can overwhelm us. We cannot fully understand God, nor describe him with any words adequate enough to do him justice and would be overwhelmed if his full glory was constantly with us.

Well for me today, as I look back there have been many significant moments in my Christian journey, when I have had those glimpses of God’s glory which I can look back on, I feel encouraged especially at times when I have struggled in my faith. Today being our anniversary has given me further significant life changing moments to look back. The day I met him was March 31st 1999 but it was only the next day I found out it was indeed the Malcolm my sister knew. I enjoyed talking with him but we both fell in love in June 1999 and got engaged in August, both significant dates as I look back and then of course got married the following year on this day. Being married to my beloved has deepened my faith, as he has supported me through a breakdown, showed me unconditional love, which in turn has made me understand much more of God’s all embracing love for me. Falling in love with and marrying my beloved have indeed changed my life! This is the day that the Lord has made and I rejoice and am glad in it.

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Malcolm has posted three poems for Helen on his Sinna Luvva blog

Time to spend with my beloved

Hello everyone!  I am now on holiday till next Friday, which is lovely.  Today I am not at the Acorn Centre as it is half term and I am off next week for annual leave as on Sunday my beloved and I celebrate 12 years of marriage!  On the one hand I can’t believe we have already been married so long, yet on the other hand it seems as though we have always been together!!  This morning I took card and plastic to the tip then popped into Waitrose to get some items I forgot at my main shop on Wednesday.  I did not have an extra day off this week, as the secretary had annual leave, so I spent most of the week doing typing letters and completing her work; I did not have much time to do my work, so that there will be a backlog of my work to catch up after my holiday!  At Waitrose I spotted Chazz, a Russ Teddy, reduced after Valentine’s Day and I could not resist buying it as a present for my beloved!  I hoped it might go some way to make up for my long day at work on Valentine’s Day and a meeting that went on later than expected. 

 

On Wednesday we both had dental appointments.  Unfortunately I had a filling as a filling had broken but I managed without having an injection, so I am proud of myself!!  My beloved just had a check up.  Both our teeth are keeping better since using electric toothbrushes! 

 

I love spending time with my beloved, so this will be a lovely time to share with him.  This is the day that the Lord has made and I rejoice and am glad in it.

May we love one another as Jesus has loved us.

Hello everyone!  Last Sunday morning was our Guild Anniversary Sunday and our former retired Deacon Keith came with his wife, Margaret to lead our service together.  Margaret led the opening prayers and they led the prayers of intercession together.  The theme of the worship was unity.  His children’s address told the story of a boy who was chronically bullied in primary school to such an extent that he withdrew into himself and just stayed on his own in the corner of the playground.  When he was 11 he went to visit the secondary school he was to attend and as usual he stayed on his own in the corner of the playground until another child came up to him and asked him his name and introduced himself and took him to meet his friends; that boy never looked back and started secondary school with a group of friends. Keith and his brother did not succeed at school, but the church group they were a part of encouraged them to take a lead and helped them build on their strengths.  Eventually they were able to gain qualifications and Keith was able to train as a Deacon, thanks to the church’s encouragement.  Keith was saying how important it is to have fellowship with others.  We sang the Song of Fellowship ‘Bind us together with love.’  I found singing it an uplifting experience, especially as I had not sung it for so long.

 

He talked about Jesus giving his disciples a new commandment to love one another as he had loved them.  He told them that if they had love for one another then people would know they were his disciples.  How were we to do that?  We are called to show a united heart of love through our actions in the community.  Only as we show the love of Jesus through our interactions can we spread harmony and unity to others.  We read Psalm 133 together and its imagery is very evocative, I find.  It compares brothers living together in unity with oil running down the beard and collar, and dew which waters the dry ground of Zion; an abundance of blessing comes from living harmoniously with each other.  God is interested in the whole person, body and soul, not just our spiritual growth.

 

The early church shared property and possessions with those in need.  It was a radical life style led by the Holy Spirit, who prompted them to love unconditionally those they shared fellowship with, thus making them alive to the needs of the Christian community.  They dedicated themselves to follow Jesus so that they and their property were at His disposal.  Keith likened the fellowship which the Guild provides to its members as cultivating harmony and unity in the church community, as they sought to work to improve the lot of those in greater need. The Methodist Guild supports Health care in Nigeria.  I support the Edawu project which works to support those with mental health problems; providing a sanctuary, medication and education of the families.  When we are united in fellowship and supportive to each other, we can reach out to those in need.  Also most importantly we will begin to attract others to join our fellowship and we will know the fullness of life in Christ and lead all to know that fullness of life.

 

This hymn written by Kate Barclay Wilkinson, which we sang in the service sums up our need of our Lord Jesus for us to love as Jesus did.

 

May the mind of Christ my Saviour

Live in me from day to day,

By his love and power controlling

All I do or say.

 

May the word of God dwell richly

In my heart from hour to hour,

So that all may see I triumph

Only through his power.

 

May the peace of God my Father

Rule my life in everything,

That I may be calm to comfort

Sick and sorrowing.

 

May the love of Jesus fill me,

As the waters fill the sea;

Him exalting, self abasing-

This is victory.

 

May I run the race before me,

Strong and brave to face the foe,

Looking only unto Jesus

As I onward go.  Amen

Last Week’s High Points

Hello everyone! I have enjoyed another extra day off this week, as I am still using up holiday, but time goes quickly and I soon wonder where the time went! We did enjoy an amazing film which we transferred from video to DVD, a French film called ‘La Belle Noiseuse’ and lasts nearly 4 hours. It shows an artist who draws a life model played by the beautiful Emmanuelle Beart as Marianne. We watch some of the pictures developing as he explores her personality and eventually manages to capture who she is deep inside and in a way that is destructive. We do not see the successful picture as it is so disturbing and with his daughter he bricks the picture in the wall, so it will not have a destructive influence. However having painted the picture he is once again paint normally; this was the second attempt he had made to paint such a picture. The first time he had tried to use his wife as his muse, but gave up when he realised he could destroy Liz, the woman he loved; that had had a detrimental affect on the artist, so he had not painted for 10 years, when he began to a second attempt with Marianne. Completing the painting successfully had released again his ability to paint. It was an amazing film which was gripping and exhausting to watch and afterwards I kept replaying the images and the interaction of the people. I would recommend it to everyone.

I was busy at the Acorn Centre on Friday and I took an apple fruit cake which was rather overdone but tasted alright and it was demolished in record time!! I have now finished the apples from the garden, so I now have to buy them!! My knee is much better now, but I will not get back to exercising till next week to make sure that it is properly better.

A week of family and friends and celebration despite the weather!

Hello everyone!  I was busy at work on the two days I worked; I am getting used to having Tuesdays off, as I use up surplus holiday before the end of March, although I could really do with working, but I have too much to carry over to next year!  It was lovely to be able to have time to do some sorting on Tuesday, although initially it seems to have caused more chaos!  I did manage to select a bag for the charity shop, and throw some rubbish out though, so it is a start. On Wednesday I led the service at the MHA Berwick Grange.  I was in the Dementia section, so I did not just stand there, reading my talk, doing the prayers and singing the hymns but I moved all around and they listened!  I told the story of the first time Jesus was asked to preach in the synagogue in Capernaum, as recounted by Mark.  The people were agog as Jesus spoke with such authority, so they were all rather shocked when a man who was possessed by a demon challenging Jesus and asking why he had come to destroy them.  I played this out very dramatically and then when Jesus just told him to be quiet and come out of him, the man writhed and was calm.  The organist said even she was hanging on every word!!  The people were even more amazed that Jesus had authority over the evil spirits; normally exorcists at that time needed elaborate incantations to cast out evil spirits; Jesus just spoke and the evil spirit left the man. 

 

We have had a lot of very cold temperatures in the last week, although on the morning that it was -1 when I was setting off for work, the car was not frozen; yet it was frozen when the temperature was 1!!  That seemed bizarre to me.   

 

On Friday I had another busy day at the Acorn Centre, which I enjoyed. I love to help the students gain in confidence.  It was also a very special day for my older sister Janet as she had her 70^th birthday!  She still looks great and is so happy now in her marriage of 2 years on February 6^th to the lovely Graham.

 

Yesterday unfortunately the weather forecast was accurate and the promised snow arrived, a little earlier than predicted at 1pm!  It snowed persistently all afternoon and was still snowing when Beth took me and my beloved over for Janet and Graham’s joint 70^th celebrations; (Graham’s birthday was on 21^st September last year; they travelled to visit family in America and explored California then.)  A number of friends had to cancel coming, which was a disappointment for Janet and Graham; fortunately all our family got through, but a number of Graham’s relatives were unable to come! 

I had been particularly concerned about my brother Selwyn being able to come, as he lives such a long way away.  However he and his wife Janet had arrived earlier than the snow, as their daughter Nicola and her two daughters, Corry and Hannah were giving a flute concert at Emmaus house, a Christian Old people’s home.  This morning I asked my friend Nancy who is a resident there at church this morning how she enjoyed the concert.  She loved it and was especially moved as her two daughters were also flautists!  She was surprised that I knew about the concert, but as usual I bathed in the reflected glory of my talented family! 

 

We had a lovely celebration meal with Janet and Graham, family and friends; the chicken dish was delicious served with roast potatoes which even came up to my beloved’s expectations!  We all gratefully received second helpings!  A band for the Ceilidh was coming, but the band was delayed by the snow; they did do some sets for the dancers.  It was good to see the guests enjoying the dances, although I was sorry not to be able to join them, as I injured my knee a week ago on Saturday somehow?!  It suddenly hurt when I was exercising and I found it very painful to bend it.  Being me, I continued to do gentle exercising being careful to stop when it felt extra painful and put ibuleve on it twice a day.  However it was not getting much better.  At work I mentioned it to my colleague and she thought it had fluid on it, so I asked one of the doctors I work for to have a look at it. He confirmed that I had fluid on the knee and I should continue to put on ibuleve, but also get a support bandage and to stop exercising and rest it! I had been doing the wrong thing!!  I am being good now and resting it as much as possible; if it does not get better in 2 to 3 weeks I may have to be referred!  I am working hard to rest and allow it to recover. 

As we give ourselves to Jesus, he will enable us to heal and be healed!

Hello everyone! I was able to have an extra day off last Tuesday as I have some holiday to take before the end of March, although I still have a lot of work to catch up with at work. On Monday it was lovely to have extra time with my beloved, especially as he has been on two top strength antibiotics to cure his Diverticulitis. Predictably he has been more knocked out than usual, probably because of them! He has had to rest far more, but has had some better nights’ sleep; although he has often felt even more exhausted afterwards. It has messed his digestion up rather, as he had to space them out equally and one could only be taken with or after food 3 times a day, whereas the other tablet twice a day but not with milk or dairy for it to be effective. I will be glad when he finishes the course tomorrow morning. I finally managed to catch up with a pile of ironing and even a little sewing!

Unfortunately my beloved felt worse last Wednesday, so I rang Janet and cancelled the meal, we had invited them too; he was just getting used to the change of medication and the large dose of antibiotics, so it was sensible. I was glad that my beloved was able to have his acupuncture and it was extremely beneficial for him this time.

It was busier at the Acorn Centre on Friday, when a few new students joined, so I was pleased to have a bit more to do. On Saturday morning I went to a Traidcraft coffee morning to see what was available for my stall at Church; I stocked up.

The service this morning was inspiring as it reminded us of how Jesus spoke with authority when he taught in the synagogue in Capernaum, so that the people were captivated. As he was speaking a man with an unclean spirit came in shouting at Jesus saying he had come to destroy them! Jesus spoke sternly telling the spirit to be quiet and come out of him and after writhing in a struggle the man was released. Again the people were astonished and amazed at the authority he had; usually exorcists needed incantations and rituals to tackle such spirit possession. It was only those who were ill or suffering who recognised who Jesus was, not the religious leaders, the scribes and the Pharisees; they did not acknowledge who Jesus was.
Jesus restored the tormented man to wholeness as he healed him. Mr Noble encouraged us to seek God’s will for our church, remembering that He can do far more than we could ever ask or imagine. How then could we equip ourselves to recognise what Jesus wants us to do? How can we find the way forward for our church community? He suggested first and foremost that we were to seek and accept forgiveness from our Father in heaven and then rest in God’s presence. The Song of fellowship, ‘Purify my heart’ helped lead us in God’s welcoming presence; I felt the sense of His presence as I held my hands open to receive His enabling and blessing. As I offer those I love, especially my beloved, into the loving arms of the Father for his ongoing healing, in prayer, my two lovely daughters too and seek to pray constantly for those whom I know in need of healing, I know God is close at hand; the healing is a work in progress. This is the day that the Lord has made and I rejoice and am glad in it.

A week of ups and downs especially for my beloved

Hello everyone! Work as usual was busy, although I have been able to do some of the backlog of coding and one or two summaries, as I have to do scanning too, because the only other person who does scanning, only does it on a Wednesday for a couple of hours! The student Matt is of course back at university now. I have just found out that I have more than 60 hours of leave to take before the end of March, so I will have to take a day off a week at least to use it, although I had to take time off because I prefer to have caught up with my work at first. I have decided to take a Tuesday off each week, at least except for half term, when the secretary takes time off to be with her son. I love having time off with my beloved, but just love to be up to date with my work. I was also busy finishing off preparation for the service I took this morning. On Saturday morning I took a load of card and plastic to recycle before getting some shopping done at Sainsbury’s. I had a lovely treat I had saved up for; I had a pedicure and a free manicure, which is the January offer at Skin Sanctuary. Next month, as I am a regular customer having a massage every 6 weeks or so, I will have a £5 discount off a massage and in March I could have a discount off a facial. When I was recovering from my breakdown, Hazel told me to pamper myself as a treat. I therefore put a little aside each week towards a good haircut and a massage, which I enjoy roughly 5 weekly. I feel so fortunate to be able to treat myself like this!!

It has been a mixed week as regards my beloved’s health with many downs and ups! He had been feeling much more achy than for a long time, even last week having chest pains, necessitating a visit to casualty, as related last week, if you remember. Well this Monday I rang to book an appointment for him with the doctor who had taken such care of him, checking on him in casualty and the next day. The appointment was made for Wednesday afternoon with the doctor. The doctor was rather business like reminding us of the 10 minute appointment length we could not exceed; and wanted to look at the aspect of my beloved’s problems to do with his recent chest pain on exertion; whereas all his symptoms tend to interlinked. We left with two lots of blood tests to be done, as well as a referral to cardiology in the pipeline! On the way home my beloved suddenly was tearful, wondering if it was worth it going to the doctor, as at one point the doctor had suggested he had missed hospital appointments. We had gone to the Chronic Fatigue Unit and my beloved had spent almost 2 hours of his initial assessment and was seeing the psychologist, who kept repeating the same question ignoring his response, until he left. On the invitation to the assessment we were told they could be accompanied, so I was in the initial part but the psychologist told me I had to wait outside! When he had left he told the psychologist that he would not be attending any more appointments, as he realised it was going to make him worse; we had expected her to tell the unit that he would not be attending. He had not just failed to attend appointments sent to us, but told the psychologist at the time, who had not informed Julie at the Centre. He would never knowingly fail to attend an appointment without giving apologies! He was therefore upset as he felt the doctor was being critical. He sent me back to the surgery to explain how upset he was and he needed to talk to someone. I hurried back to the surgery and explained how upset he was and she said the duty doctor would ring to speak to him. We waited and very soon there was a phone call and it was the doctor we had seen; he was very concerned that he had not judged the situation properly and spoke to us both reassuringly. My beloved felt better after that. Later when I was preparing tea the door bell rang and I was pleasantly surprised to see the doctor had come to see how my beloved was. It turned out that he loved his job and he had never had that reaction from any patient before, so he felt upset. He apologised for not reading the situation properly and said he would understand if Malcolm did not want to continue his treatment with him. However as the doctor had gone the second mile in coming in his own time to visit us, Malcolm is only too happy to continue with his help! We were so touched that he cared that much! My beloved will see him for a double appointment tomorrow afternoon.

We were told it was necessary to book at the hospital for a glucose tolerance test, which surprised me, as normally you go and take a ticket and go in order of arrival. We booked for Friday morning at 8.30am, when we found out we would have to then wait for 2 hours at the hospital, after he had taken a measured amount of glucose drink, for a second blood test. He was not allowed to do anything energetic apart from going to the toilet if required. We were glad to find some more comfortable chairs for the long wait; my beloved listened to his Sony Walkman and browsed the Radio Times, until after 10.40am, when his second blood test was done and we were able to leave. We got home by 11am, when I got my beloved some breakfast and did the local shopping and set off for the Acorn Centre, having rung them on my return to explain why I was going to be late.

My beloved had emailed his friends Roy and Jacqui last Wednesday evening, saying he hoped he would be able to get Open Church the next day to see them, as they had said they were going. On Thursday morning Roy rang to say he would take him to Open Church when he was ready. After Open Church ended, Roy asked him if he would accept healing and he said yes. Roy and Jacqui then prayed with him and my beloved found himself  laughing and crying with joy, as Roy prayed. On his return home, his pain returned with a vengeance and he rang Roy who came back and prayed with him and the pain went again. When I came back from work he told me of what had happened and he also told me that Roy had prayed for me that I would not worry about pleasing people and feel a greater sense of peace. Since then I have felt a true sense of peace and joy and closeness to Jesus and much more relaxed with my beloved. He did not experience further pain that evening, but he was awake most of the night, probably as he knew he would have to be up early the next day. I found I was strangely calm and my beloved coped far better than I had expected him too with his early visit to the hospital for the glucose tolerance test. I keep claiming that healing for Malcolm and thanking God for it. He is still struggling a little but with less stress about whether he will really be/ is really healed.