Long time coming…..

Once again it seems ages since I last posted and indeed it HAS been a long time since I last posted. My reasons ???…..actually, I have a theory.

Most of the last few weeks since July 31st I have been in a really good place. Lots of great things happening, lots of good quality fellowship, Lots of breaks and lots of  involvements with my girls and friends. It’s not all been milk and honey. There’s been more reflection on the nature of my heart and my desires to REALLY belong fully to the Lord. Hmmm! Try it… There’s been upsets and stab wounds in the fellowship side of things. There’s been physical downsides as my hip has hurt such a lot -  and yes, I do believe the Lord can and does heal, but generally speaking I’m trying to concentrate and focus on my eternal life rather than my temporal, earthly demands. There’s been workplace stresses. There’s been computer malfunction with the pc going bandit for over three weeks at one point and I’m still trying to recover the functions and facilities that I had before the crash.

But underneath all this I’ve been right happy! I don’t think I’ve needed to blog. I don’t think I’ve need the cathartic release of pouring my heart out into the ether. I’ve just been content.

That’s not to say that I’ve suddenly got all depressed and need to write,this is  just another computer thing that I’m catching up with. I’m saying that when we’re content in all circumstances and content to leave things to the Lord,and to trim off the unnecessary activities of life, the need to be heard and to share with all and sundry just isn’t there.

But I’m still going to do some blogging. There are some interesting meditations that I’ve been having.

So this re-joining of the Blogosphere may well have taken some time, but I’m back, & I reckon, with a slightly different understanding and mindset.

Read John 7 verses 1 – 10. I’ll be sharing this on Sunday at a little fellowship in New Elgin. Returning to old haunts you might say.

Actually  -  another thing I’ve been doing is speaking at various places or just catching up with some young old friends.

The Jesus Manifesto * is also something I’ve spent some time reading & thinking over. Why not give yourself an hour to just read it prayerfully and write down what you think Holy Spirit might be saying to you through it?

* Not to be confused with “THE Jesus Manifesto ” which appears to be a very radical, Catholic oriented site which I haven’t explored but will do.

A group of five rare alpine orchids - a species called epipactis

The reason I put the flower picture into the post is that whilst we were on holiday in the Dolomites, we took a guided ‘flower walk’ led by an expert who was knowledgeable, passionate and very humble and amenable.  After about an hour, one of the group spotted this little bunch and having pointed them out to the Prof, we were all amazed at his reaction. He hadn’t seen these in a long, long time. He promptly spent the next fifteen minutes clearing the boring old grass from around the orchids then shooting dozens of pictures. He was SO excited. His routine walk had been transformed into a moment of sheer joy and re-discovery. He was just delighted and blessed. I wonder if those of us who have been at the Kingdom thing for a while are prepared for re-discoveries or are we just growing in expertise and dustiness as we extend our mastery, rather than delighting in the joys of early salvation and revelation….letting our delight and reward be in the simpler, straightforward things that once lit us up?

What’s your orchid?        Yes! I would like it if you let me know!

Be Blessed – Be His!

love

Dave

Resurgam !

I’m amazed at how long has passed since I last posted anything.

I’ve not been ill [ apart from my duff hip ] or particularly busy – just really enjoying life. Just living! I reckon that things have been so much fun, despite the occasional hiccup, that I’ve not wanted to indulge in any cathartic or ranted blogging. No need for any eco-Antidotes [ .....no point since many major warmist organisations are already beginning to revise their "We're all going to die" statements as the pragmatic Earth gets on with her Solar-Terra Tango and the cooling gets significantly under way! ] and not a care about the political conniptions that have revealed the true nature of the breed.

Nope! I’ve had a whale of a time with family and friends, at work, on hols walking in the Dolomites last week with the Mem Sahib. We celebrated our 30th Wedding Anniversary t’other day too. Pearl don’t ya know! I bought her a leather car coat in the Spring sales!!! She already has  enough pearls.

It only remains to tell you that I’m re-reading the best Christian book I’ve ever read. I started almost straight away after finishing the first slow, deliberate and amazed read through. The first read got slower and slower as I re-read sentences, paragraphs, sections and chapters. Brilliant stuff.

It’s called “From Eternity to Here” by Frank Viola. It gives a magnificent account of God’s plan for His Son, His Son’s Bride and the Bridal Chamber/ Mansion. I have never been impacted by a book like this one. Get it! But first read Frank’s other two books so that you are ready for this one and the forthcoming book. Read “Pagan Christianity” then “Re-Imagining Church” then “From Eternity ….” available from the usual places.

...the third book in Frank Viola's recent series and the most inspirational so far. A work of beauty. Nice one Frank

So don’t expect too much here eh! Mim & John are in build mode. Fran & Peter are in ‘hunt us down’ mode. My household is full of community life as we share with three friends. Jasciah is the best form of church I’ve experienced to date. Worship is pretty high on my agenda fairly often. Parents are being supported. None of the former  includes professional and commercial pressures.

Life! I love it…but I love Jesus more!!

……………………………………………………disengage SmugMode ! 

Face off …..

As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man. Pro 27:19

Time flies when you’re enjoying yourself

Once again I really am amazed at how time has flown … but more about that later!

In the meantime, we’ve had a lovely visitor, one Peter Farmer, who is from Nottingham and has been visiting the North East of Scotland as part of his ‘Mission Britian’ initiative. You can read his own account here. As a wee small church group we were really blessed. Peter has very powerful prophetic and apostolic giftings which we believe the Lord brought to us as an answer to prayer. In my reading of two influential emergent books [ Viola and McClung], there was a strong indication that groups needed releasing into their role as communities and communicators of church. It’s not enough to just set up shop and declare yourself in business, but rather seek the Lord for His endorsement and wait on Him and the Holy Spirit.

As a group we had been lovingly and powerfully fathered by Gary Goodell. As founders of  TDC/Jasciah in Elgin we had been prophesied over by Graham Cooke on our trip to San Diego in January 08. Now, after a time of preparation, growth and prayerful waiting, the Lord sent Peter. We had already experienced a real coming together of what the Lord is doing in that our small group has slowly grown in grace and number, we have established contacts with others of like mind and look like networking with them soon.  Peter spoke a powerful endorsement over our understanding and we feel that we are moving in the right direction. I’m looking forward to strengthening our connections in Keith Huntly and Findochty as a result. Also felt it was right to go ahead with a gathering….

A weekend of conversations, beginning on the evening of Friday 25th September and continuing through to the afternoon of Sunday 27th September.
My hope and vision is that this will be a time of sharing together and testimonies from those of us who are exploring the Emergent/Simple/House/Organic expressions of church. This is about recognising and discerning this element of the Body and encouraging and exhorting one another while it is yet called today.

I feel it is right to have no agenda believing that the Holy Spirit will lead and guide and shape the gathering.
I see times of chat, times of worship, times of prayer and times of reflection all interwoven with food and fellowship and some gentle walking and touristy pointing at things.

There will be no key-note speaker but many key speakers and many notes of interest since Lord calls us all to both ” be “  and to be partakers.
Hopefully all will fulfill the role of servant at some time and will minister with food and drink and clearing up.

This will be a time when we will be brave and bold in meeting old friends, making new friends and praying with and for those with whom we eat and worship.

The accommodation is plain and simple, clean and functional. There are places for 34* in bunked rooms, so you’ll need to be able to submit to one another out of reverence…and possibly  be prepared to say goodnight to your spouse in the corridor before retiring to your rooms [ depending on the balance of marrieds/singles etc ] for the night.
But then again, sacrifice shows the heart.

The venue is the lovely Cairngorms Christian Centre at Kincraig, just South of Aviemore.  [ www.cairngormschristiancentre.co.uk ]. The cost is £12.50 per person per night plus food. The catering will be sorted out as places are taken up.Sadly [ and I really mean this... ] there will be no provision for child entertainment but hopefully at subsequent conversations we will know better how to involve and engage with the younger members of our constituency!RSVP by June 20th please!

I’ve also been on a training course on Therapeutic Patient Education with regard to initiating lifestyle changes in chronically ill patients and have strengthened my exisiting knowledge base and added several other understandings and techniques to my armoury! Amazing how much I’d already covered [ under slightly different terminology ] both in my biblical studies and as a pastor! What an amazing book – the Bible! Science is continually endorsing the ‘discoveries’ of science!!

Also enjoying having lodgers again! Kingdom lodgers are such good fun!

As a pharmacist I am expected to carry out Continuing Professional Development, or extended learnign to maintain and develop my clinical skills. I’d got a bit behind so have been spending some merry hours playing catch-up!

So all the above plus meeting with Jasciah in and out of the home plus teaching some sisters a few guitar chords has really kept me going. I think it’s great that I’ve been too busy to blog or facebook or even write my journals. I love peopling – don’t you?!

‘Peopling’ – the act of meeting with many and varied persons as in fellowshipping but with fewer letters. I also like making up new words like ‘groody’ – the state of really longing to become a grandparent. Fran & Peter were over with their friends two weekends ago. Their pals had a five week old baby boy. MMMmmmm! Nuff said!

Speaking of time, here’s an entry from my journal, dated 14/5/09 and written on the plane to my training course whilst cruising at 35,000 feet….

I’ve been really touched with the particle theory concept of the ‘Higgs Field’  [ as in Higgs' Boson ] where nothing exists, the space between all the most minute of particles. I’d gone into a bit of a revery about this ….. and the following kind of popped out,

Between the particles, lies this space

Out of time since no need to express the chronology of being

No substance, No barriers, No hindrances.

The possible is always the potential.

The impossible has become the norm.

The Divine is become the Now.

Eternity is my beginning and end -

Alpha & Omega is my fulfillment.

I AM infinite.