Forces Awaken

I'm very excited.

We are so very near to two big events in the calendar - one secular, the other religious. The first is the release of the new Star Wars film this week (I've got my tickets for a 3D showing on Wednesday (going solo... Han Solo), and a 2D showing with friends on Thursday. Here's a fan re-edit and mash up of the trailers:

The second of course is Christmas... the time of year when Christians like me celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the new hope that the law and prophets spoke of in the Old Testament.

I've been thinking a lot lately about what links these two very different events personally, in my own mind. I've found it very interesting and poignant that all through the promotional months we have seen precious little of the main protagonist of the original trilogy - Luke Skywalker.  Fans have been getting very anxious about it, some are worried it means that Luke has turned to the dark side, others think he won't be in it much at all... still others have come up with the (crazy) idea that Adam Driver's character (Kylo Ren), is actually Luke and the casting of Driver is all part of some big conspiracy. I share the anxiety but not the fear. We've all become hung up on the question of "Where is Luke Skywalker"?

However, I keep going back to what J.J. Abrams said about accepting the job of director for Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. He said that originally he was not going to take the job on, but then he was told the synopsis by Star Wars producer Kathleen Kennedy. It was a single question - "Who is Luke Skywalker?" That single concept turned him around 180 degrees... and he was on board from that moment on. He has since been quoted in interview as saying:

“The idea that Luke Skywalker now, nearly 40 years after the movie came out, I started thinking he would be as good as of a myth to people who are 19, 20 years old. The idea of a new group of young people, not knowing who he is or who any of the characters were, is the beginning of what became the story of the film.”

And there in a nutshell is what for me is connecting the release of the new Star Wars, with Christmas. Let me adapt that Abrams quote and alter the subject... because I actually think it says something quite important about the subject of faith:

“The idea that Jesus Christ now, nearly 2,000 years after his public ministry, I started thinking he would be as good as of a myth to people who are 19, 20 years old. The idea of a new group of young people, not knowing who he is or who any of the characters were, is the beginning of what became the story of the film.”

You see therein lies the heart of the matter.  As Christians we get so hung up about demanding "Where is Jesus?" in the festive celebrations... but that's defensive and about fearing what we care about will be ignored by others.  True evangelism isn't driven by the fear of rejection... it's driven mutually by the love of the subject  and the love of the uninformed audience. We actually need to move the question on.  We need the question to be "Who is Jesus Christ?".

One of the main trailers for the Force Awakens has a line of dialogue between Rey and Han Solo, it literally made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. Rey is talking to Han about the history of the Rebel Alliance and mentions that there are stories about what happened. Han's response is brief and to the point:

"It's true. All of it. The Dark Side, the Jedi. They're real."

That it is Han Solo who speaks this way of the Force is deeply significant; after all in the first movie he appears in, his view on the Force is very different, telling the young Luke Skywalker:

"Kid, I've flown from one side of this galaxy to the other, and I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen *anything* to make me believe that there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything. 'Cause no mystical energy field controls *my* destiny. It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense."

That's quite some turn around.

It may well be that Han's concept of the personal significance of the Force isn't much different, but for him to have come forward as a kind of reluctant evangelist and state "it's real", is immensely powerful.

The changing views of Han Solo

For the record, I'm not saying in any way that Jesus is a myth... I'm saying quite the opposite. I'm merely saying that if we want to stop people seeing Jesus as a myth, we need to move on from repeating stories to them that they already know (when they know them), and show the reality of Christ in how we live.

Often people get hung up on dressing Christianity up, be it with the bells and smells of tradition or an explosive light show that would put even Michael Bay to shame; but actually if we took a step back we'd see the simplicity.  It all boils down to conviction - a person or a group of people stepping forward and demonstrating with sincerity that it happened... that Jesus was, is and always shall be real and has had a tangible presence in their life.

Han Solo is not a Jedi... in fact he was (and almost certainly still is), a bit of a rogue. He can't levitate X Wing fighters and furniture and he can't perform mind tricks... but what he can do is be honest about his loyalties and the things he has seen.  I think what I'm saying is that for Christians, it doesn't matter how the Holy Spirit has gifted us in relation to things like prophecy, healing, speaking in tongues, leading, teaching and the like... we might think we are fairly lacking in any or all of those areas, but God still speaks through our everyday lives and we should not underestimate the power, relevance and importance of our own day-to-day testimony. It's because Han Solo has known Luke Skywalker and the Rebel Alliance that he is able to speak with total conviction about their reality. Likewise because we have known the presence of Jesus in our own lives we too can speak of him with conviction:

"It's true. All of it. The sinful nature, the Saviour. They're real." 

Over to you:

• What excites or worries you most about the forthcoming Star Wars film?
• What excites or worries you about Christmas?
• Is Christmas true for you? All of it? Is it real?

Unexpected Journeys

Merry Christmas everyone!

I decided to write this post in response to a minor pang of guilt I experienced last night.

I was sat in the Midnight Eucharist service at church and listening to the vicar as he started his Christmas sermon. All was going well enough when he used a phrase... three little words that completely threw my concentration and caused me to tune out completely; just three words.

The phrase he used was "An unexpected journey". I have no idea how the next 5 minutes of the sermon went because I ended up mentally going here instead:

Yes, my mind had drifted over to The Shire. In fairness, I'm pretty psyched about The Hobbit, the trailer has only recently been released and I've been watching it quite a bit through sheer excitement. However whichever way you cut it, that probably wasn't the best time for me to choose to go off daydreaming... was it? Although... that said, some might argue my timing was perfect ;)

By way of recompense, I decided to write a little  bit on The Nativity that filled the gulf left by my lapse in concentration.

It occurs to me that there are a number of unexpected journeys involved in the Nativity story. First you have Mary... the young virgin pledged in marriage to Joseph. I am sure the last thing she expected was for an angel to appear in her pantry and advise her of God's plan to bring about the birth of the Messiah through her. Then there is Joseph. I am equally certain that the last thing he expected while he was working on a door frame, was for his fiance to tap him on the shoulder and advise him that she was carrying a child... let alone God's own son.

What of the shepherds tending their sheep? Did they expect the night sky to erupt in an explosion of light and rhymes as angels pouring out of the heavens announcing the arrival of the Christ child? Of course not. Or the Magi? Even if in their ruminations and studies they had anticipated that such a special child was coming into the world... they had no inkling whatsoever into the manner that child would arrive... or where he would be born.

All of these people were faced with circumstances that felt very alien to them; and each of them were presented with a difficult choice.  Mary had to choose whether she would be willing to carry God's child inside of her for 9 months and raise him to manhood knowing the potential difficulties society would throw at her. Joseph had to decide whether or not to honour his marriage commitment to Mary given the unusual story she was presenting him with... and the burden of raising and providing for a son that was not his own, while all the time hearing the jeers of scoffers and whispers of gossipmongers whose prejudice condemned his family. The shepherds had to decide if they were going to act on their trippy experience... possibly risking their already rubbish jobs, in order to see a baby whose significance they did not understand. The Magi had travel across half the Middle East picking up very expensive trade products based on a whimsical calculation over the movement of interplanetary bodies that might easily have proved baseless... especially when they got to Jerusalem and found things weren't as they assumed.

You see, with Jesus nobody knows what to expect. This was a key point that her majesty The Queen raised in her Christmas speech earlier today:

"God sent into the world a unique person - neither a philosopher nor a general, important though they are, but a Saviour, with the power to forgive."

It is as true today as it was then. In Jesus, nobody knows quite what to expect. People miss out on knowing and experiencing who Jesus is because they look at him through the lens of their own perceived wisdom and expectations. The Pharisees and Zealots failed to recognise Jesus when he appeared because they were anticipating a warrior king, a general. Similarly today, people mistakenly relegate Jesus to the same league as the philosophers and teachers of old - a line of thinking that C.S. Lewis robustly refuted in his Liar, Lunatic or Lord argument.

As a Christian I accept that Jesus Christ is far more than a decent man and a good teacher... but more than this I accept that his sovereignty as part of the Godhead and his role in my own life, give him the authority to step into my life and call upon me to set foot on unexpected journeys... to undertake unexpected things, constantly.

You may be reading this and not actually be a Christian and if so perhaps this is the beginning of an unexpected journey of your own. Confronted with the possibility that Jesus may be more than you imagine or understand him to be, are you prepared to invite him in and find out what his real agenda is in your life and the life of those around you?

Like Bilbo Baggins, if we set off on our own unexpected journey with Christ, we will find that we will have quite a tale to tell... and wherever our journey takes us, we too will be changed. To journey for Christ is to journey with him...

...and that changes everything.

Are you prepared to begin your own unexpected journey?

Sleigh Oddity

In a moment of random madness, I found myself Christmassing up some classic rock hits... I think in my defence, that I was really tired at the time.

The most prominent one I decided to massacre have a go at, was David Bowie's Space Oddity. I decided to pay homage to the original song's theme by having Santa flying off into deep space at the end. I mean when you think about it, where does he go once Christmas is done? Is it really fair to suggest he only works one day a year?

For bonus points I decided to try and explain in a throwaway lyric, how it is that Santa can cover the entire Earth's surface and deliver to all good children on the planet, in a single night.

So here without further ado, I give you.... Sleigh Oddity:

The North Pole to Santa Claus

The North Pole to Santa Claus

Eat your mincemeat pies and put your red suit on

(Dasher) The North Pole (Dancer) to Santa Claus (Prancer)

(Vixen) Commencing Christmas (Comet), space-time paused (Cupid)

(Donner) Check those presents (Blitzen) and may Rudolph (Lift Off!) guide you true.

This is the North Pole to Santa Claus

You've really made their day

And the children want to thank the jolly man

Now it's time to leave the fireplace if you can.

This is Santa Claus to the North Pole I'm climbing up the chute

And I'm squashed up in a most a-peculiar way

and my magic sleigh seems very far away.

For here am I stuck inside this chimney far above the hearth

Planet Earth is white on this holy silent night.

Now I've clocked 100,000 miles I'm feeling very ill

And I think my reindeer know which way to go

Tell those kids I love them very much, they know.

The North Pole to Santa Claus your sleigh bells stopped where've you gone

Can you hear me Santa Claus? Can you hear me Santa Claus? Can you hear me Santa Claus? Can you...

Here am I zooming off in deep space, far beyond the stars

Kids on planets new, need to get their presents too.

If  you want to try singing along and seeing if it tracks, I've added a link to an instrumental of Bowie's original below.

 

Over to you... what classic songs of yesteryear can you rework with a Christmas theme?

Give and Take

You can't have failed to have seen the new John Lewis promotional advert that has been inundating TV screens on all commercial channels for a couple of weeks now.

It's a very clever advert that tells the story of a little boy anxiously waiting for Christmas morning. Having all been children, we can immediately connect with the advert because we empathise with that gnawing sensation of our stomach tying itself in knots as the days agonisingly edge towards Christmas. It's a feeling we can all associate with.

The backing track of Slow Moving Millie's cover of The Smith's "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want." harnesses the emotional connection and ratchets it up wonderfully.

However, there's a wonderful twist in the tale. When Christmas morning finally arrives, we discover the boy was not anxious about the presents he was going to receive from his parents... but instead he was desperate to give a gift that he has crudely wrapped up for his parents to receive.

Some Morrissey and Smiths fans have shown a lot of contempt for the fact that John Lewis chose to use a cover version instead of the original. They've also attacked Amelia Warner (Slow Moving Millie), for being one of the commercial cash cows that are engineered by the likes of Simon Cowell and ripping off a classic. I completely and utterly disagree with them. The melancholic nature of the original track makes the song extremely downbeat. It's a lamentation and almost resignation that life doesn't seem to ever go the way the songwriter wants. The cover seems to transform the sentiment and carry with it the hope that luck, consequence and fate will change and the wheel will turn. If you think about it in context, the advert actually needs this sentiment in order to work properly. For those who contend with Ms Warner herself, I would point out that she is an established songwriter herself and I would contend that having written songs that convey her own feelings, she has earned the right to channel someone else's. Oh and apparently Morrissey himself said he liked it.

The time of year being what it is, the advert got me thinking about the nature of expectation and giving and the way we perceive God.

As Christians, we live or lives in the context of eternity... and our hopes and expectations are set on heaven... Advent reminds us of this very fact. Even though this is the case, we also live temporal lives... our "earthly tents" and we naturally have hopes, desires, aspirations and expectations for the time we spend here too. If we aren't too careful there is a real danger that we become like children waiting for Christmas. We sit counting the hours, peeling away the doors on the advent calendar of lives and looking at the pictures... and we miss the moments.

While we wait expectantly and hopefully on God's promises... shouldn't we be more proactive and beneficial? Maybe we can learn a lesson and be like the kid in that John Lewis advert. Perhaps it is time for us to start trusting in God's promises... accepting that they will be fulfilled in the time he has deemed right in his wisdom. Having accepted this, perhaps we can instead turn our attention and contemplation to how we can serve him. We need to move the big red presents from the back of our wardrobe and bring it to God. While we wait on his goodness we can be sharing that same goodness to enrich the lives of others in a godly way. Inasmuch as we are expectant beneficiaries of God's blessings, we are also agents of such blessings... and we have a roll to play in distributing God's gifts & fruit to the people we meet in the world everyday around us.

For it is indeed more blessed to give than to receive.

But it also works the other way too... doesn't it? While we live in these shadowlands, following in the footsteps of an omnipotent God, it's easy to fall to the temptation that everything we do is solely for his benefit... particularly when times are tough. We would certainly not be the first of God's people to question his motives - the Bible has plenty of examples from prophets to kings to apostles. I think we have to take a look at ourselves an honestly ask the question:  Is there a bitter seed of distrust in me that believes God is taking advantage of me?

Is there a part of us that considers God to be a kid pouting in the corner selfishly waiting for what he will get from us, without consideration of our mortal needs and desires?

Scripture teaches us that this is not the case at all:

"Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?  If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"

Luke 11:11-13

 and:

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

Romans 8:28

If you do think that, then you are either in for an awful shock or a wonderful surprise on "Christmas Day". You see, I believe God is just like that kid in the advert too! While we may regard him with petty suspicion... he's sat there, not pouting about what he's waiting for from us... he's agonising over the wait to give us his good things. There are times when the time, the person or the circumstances are not right... and God has to patiently wait while he refines us or grows us or makes the necessary changes for him to be able to pour out his blessings.

And if we had any doubt at all about God's ability to give selflessly, then we need look no further than December 25th. At this time of year Christians across the planet recall with special affection the day that God became incarnate as man and gave himself completely and utterly to the cause of totally redeeming us.

I want to leave you with one more thought. There's another advert... a Channel 4 spoof commercial featuring Gordon Ramsay (promoting his Christmas cooking programme). It pretty much matches the John Lewis advert with one exception... as the little boy heads through the house to give his parents his lovingly wrapped gift, he opens the kitchen door to be greeted by Gordon Ramsay who aggressively sharpens some knives and curtly tells him to get peeling the spuds.

Let's not be like that.

If God has something really precious to give us... lets not lose sight of that. Let us not become so obsessed with our small potato spiritual shopping lists that we miss the really big things that God has for us.

It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Stay.

A very Merry Christmas to each and every one of you... we've finally made it to the big day.

But now all the waiting is over, what should we do?

The modern world moves at an incredibly fast pace - once the counter gets to zero... we move on to the next big thing. Take a look around you: Britain's Got Talent, Dancing on Ice, I'm a Celebrity, Strictly Come Dancing, I'm a Celebrity, X Factor... society builds itself up for the hype, gets over excited at the climax... and then forgets all about it and moves on to the next thing in the calendar. I was watching The Truman Show again just the other day (brilliant film), and was reminded just how much the closing scene of that film perfectly captures the behaviour I'm describing. If you recall, the global viewing audience are overcome with euphoria and cheer ecstatically  as Truman (Jim Carrey), asserts his humanity over the false reality that has been built around him, steps through the doorway at the edge of the set... and finally enters the real world. Yet having been witness to this incredibly real and utterly human event... does it touch them in some way? No. Within seconds of the programme ending, they look in the TV schedules and switch channels to watch something else.

It is exactly the same with how we celebrate the seasons. No sooner is Christmas over, then the card shops will be promoting St. Valentine's Day, then Mothering Sunday, Easter, Father's Day... before completing the circle and returning to Christmas. I'll also wager that within a matter of weeks... maybe even days, the shelves will be crammed with Easter eggs. On Twitter I even saw tweets suggesting this was already occurring before Christmas! I wonder if it was like that in ancient times?

I wonder if it was at all like that for the first Christmas?

When the startled shepherds raced down from the hills after their angelic encounter... and stumbled, panting and exhausted in through the stable entrance, to witness the newborn infant Jesus; how long did they stay?

Did they just poke their heads round the door and say "Wow!!! That's awesome!!!" and then stroll back up the hill and go about their own business? Or what of the Magi... who encountered Jesus later in his infancy? Having travelled the breadth of the Middle East, did they just part with their precious gifts and head off back home?

I doubt it.

In both cases - the shepherds by virtue of special revelation; the Magi by virtue of their studies, each party understood that the event they were being called to witness was a deeply significant one. Every child born on Earth changes and shapes the future of this world... but the birth of Jesus heralded the arrival of the One who would alter the very destiny of humankind, both collectively and individually.

I somehow giving the circumstances of their visit, the shepherds and Magi may have remained in Christ's presence for more than a few minutes. I suspect that they remained for an hour or two at least. The Magi may have stayed somewhere in Bethlehem overnight, as they were warned in a dream to return home via another route.

But my question to you all this Christmas is simply... how long will you stay?

Will you simply tip your hat in Jesus direction, making the slightest acknowledgement of the reason behind the modern celebration? Or will you make an annual pilgrimage to a family church as an act of tradition... and then move on? Or perhaps you will shun the nativity in it's entirety... seeing it as no more than mere myth and an affront to your deeply held conviction in the power of reason? Or maybe, just maybe like the shepherds and Magi... you may find yourselves pondering who this child actually was or is.

And that is the one thing I want to leave you with this Christmas - the one challenge I ask of you:

Find some time to sit down amid the festivities... today, tonight, tomorrow or some other time this week when perhaps it is a little more quiet for you... and contemplate for yourself who Jesus is. Look on the child and think on he was, who he will become and what that means for you. Do not belittle the question with your own presumption or previously held convictions (Christian or not). Take a little time to sit down and think. Use pictures, use music, use words... whatever helps you to focus.... just find that space to think and.... stay.

The Nativity

In those days Caesar Augustus issued  decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.  (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

  “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
   and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.”

 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Luke 2:1-20

 Merry Christmas and blessings to you all.

Gold, Frankincense and Merc?

We all know the story... three travellers from a distant land spot a star in the East and head westwards on an arduous, challenging quest.

Okay, so there's no biblical evidence that there were only three magi and the star may have been a number of perceived astronomical events... not necessarily a single star. Yes, I'll even grant you the fact that the wise men of old were not even in the nativity scene, but actually made their visit at a later date (hence being acknowledged during Epiphany rather than at Christmas). However, that didn't stop me getting excited and pricking my ears up when I saw this trailer:

 

I wasn't so excited by the New York Christmas special... but I was going as giddy as a kipper with the second special... where Clarkson, Hammond and May seem to be starting a journey in Iraq, that requires them to acquire gold, frankincense and myrrh...

... destination Bethlehem anyone?

I'm particularly excited about this because about a year or so ago, I actually wrote in to the Top Gear offices with a suggestion along similar lines. I doubt the producers have drawn inspiration from anything I put forward... after all this idea is a sitter isn't it? I mean come on... three kings/magi... three presenters; an epic journey (Top Gear have recently made a big thing of making specials that feature extensive road trips); and finally, it's Christmastide. All these ingredients make a Christmas Top Gear Magi Special seem to be an until now, overlooked inevitability. So as I said, I doubt my contribution via email all that time ago has had much resonance... but I can dream can't I?

Now... I wonder whatever happened to my idea for a Doctor Who Christmas story involving multiple incarnations of the Doctor and the Magi....

Steven Moffat are you listening?

The Waiting Game

I want to share with you a small picture... something I observed last week that taught me something about the process of waiting.

Last Sunday at church, we had a minor prop malfunction, as it came time to light the first candle on the advent wreath. The safety matches wouldn't strike up and in the end, the only way to get the candle to light was to take the taper up to the altar and use an already lit candle to ignite it. Then it was a case of precariously wandering back to the wreath and lighting the candle.

Fire is a very powerful element - difficult to control and a force that in full flow, consumes all in it's path. However, when fire is made up of just a single flame... it is easily snuffed out, it is vulnerable.

So as I observed the taper going back down the chancel - it's flame dimming and flickering, constantly flirting with the threat of being extinguished; I couldn't help thinking it was a picture that perfectly summarised the meaning of Advent.

Advent is all about waiting.

Advent is about waiting for a number of things - it is about waiting to celebrate the birth of Christ on Earth, some 2 millennia ago. It is about waiting to celebrate the Christmas in our present day, a time when we give and receive gifts... and are reunited with friends, family and people who are near and dear to us; when we give thanks for all the gifts and relationships we have been blessed with. Finally, advent is about reflecting on the wait for Christ to return at the Second Coming (something that is a central tenet of Christian belief... and is in various forms of the Creed, but is often overlooked... or even seen as a fringe fundamentalist belief by some even within the Church).

What is it about waiting? It invokes emotions from deep within us... right across the scale. In Britain we've even turned the process of waiting diligently into an art form. I don't think anybody else in the world queues in orderly fashion, quite like the British.

What we are waiting for... often affects our anticipation, our experience and how we wait. For those who are waiting for something negative, the waiting process often incorporates feelings of dread, panic, anger, nervousness or anxiety; whilst those who are waiting for a good thing will often experience longing, doubt, impatience or frustration.

The point I'm trying to illustrate is that whatever we are waiting for, there is something we universally share as a collective... waiting is uncomfortable.

This is especially the case when we are waiting on the promises of God because by their very nature they are invisible and immeasurable... we often can't see them until they are realised. This is something that is echoed throughout scripture. How many times in the psalms do we hear the anguish filled question: "How long?" Or for just how many years did the Israelite slaves languish in suffering and misery waiting for deliverance from their Egyptian oppressors? Even when the time scale of certain events were known (such as the prophecy concerning Babylonian exile), the feelings of doubt or hopelessness must have been immense.

The problem with waiting upon the divine, is that it is out of our reach and beyond our control; we have to wait until the divine promise comes to us.

Think back to my anecdote about the advent wreath. The taper could not be lit at source by the matches provided. It had to be taken to the altar (the place that is symbolic of the divine), lit there and then there came a tense wait as the flickering taper returned to light the candle.

That's what waiting on God is like. You can't even begin to receive the promises of God until you abandon your ineffective matches and take your taper to the one who can ignite it with hope. Even then when the hope is kindled... there is often an even more anxious wait as time passes by as the fragile flame gradually journeys towards us.

There's a verse in the Old Testament that has had a strong impact on me in the past... and to my mind sums up perfectly the agony that accompanies waiting:

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

Proverbs 13:12

Waiting is by definition the process of enduring while your hopes and dreams are deferred. Realization of those hopes and dreams then, is the fulfilment... the tree of life that comes as a reward for our patience and long-suffering.

In The Lord of the Rings, the kingdom of Gondor has been awaiting a king for a very long time... in fact so long has the wait been that some (including it's corrupted steward, Denethor), have even dismissed the need for a king. With the forces of darkness gathering around the city of Minas Tirith, Gandalf resolves to do something about the situation and persuades Pippin to light the beacon of the city in the hope that Gondor's allies will rally to her defence. Even when this happens, it takes time for the successive beacons to get their message to Rohan... and it takes even more time for Aragorn and Theoden to muster their respective forces, save the city and restore the throne to Aragorn.

Western Christians in the modern age live in a time where many in the world around us have similarly grown either doubtful, sceptical or resentful of the idea of a God who is king.

Christianity started out as a single flame... Jesus. Revival begins by putting down our useless matches and going back to that one, original sacred flame. I believe as Christians we can set the world ablaze in two ways; if we do it in our own strength we will misrepresent the Gospel... burning and consuming those we meet. Yet if we take God's flame it will enrich the lives of others... only consuming that which separates them from him.

Finally I want to offer a word of encouragement to all who are waiting, but can see no end to their wait.  Perhaps you are waiting for the end of some difficult circumstances... or perhaps something you feel long promised by God, has not materialised after an extremely long wait. I shall leave you with this final passage which I feel is appropriate in advent... for it reminds us that in every given circumstance (his birth, our lives, and his return), the promise and the presence of Jesus... is not far away:

Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

Revelation 22:12-13

Disruption & Confusion

I have to confess that in many ways I'm glad to be back at work, following my Christmas break.

I've found the recent holidays a struggle. This is because the way I discipline myself revolves around work. I tend to have a quiet time to study during my lunch breaks; I find without some kind of structure to my day, I just tend to not bother. Usually this isn't a problem because I've normally got church to fall back on.

This last year's been very different though, because of the way services have been structured. Before this morning, the last time I went to church to take part in active worship was Christmas Day -which seems a lifetime away. I took my foot off the pedal a little and paid a bit of a price. Psychologically, I lost complete track of time and space and became utterly disorientated because all the days were the same.

Spiritually I got a little slack... which disappointed me.

I've recently reflected that often the annual message wheeled out at Christmas, is aimed at non-Christians, backsliders and people who generally are only likely to attend church during the seasonal period.... and rightly so, in many ways. However my own recent experience has given me reason to consider the other side of the coin - Christians who are solid 95% of the year and then coast for the last couple of weeks or so.

Some of you may be reading these words and thinking - this is typical slavish nonsense from a man who is bound in chains by the oppression of organized religion. You'd be wrong.

Christianity is full time - it's not a pastime, it's not a robotic regime of enforced servitude... it is a relationship with the living God. In a marriage, you are bound to your partner; in rearing children, parents and legal guardians are bound to those they are raising to adulthood. However... do you seriously think either of these groups - married couples or parents, regard the legal aspects of these relationships as their defining principles?

No.

In the majority of cases, the binding principle is LOVE.

It is no different in a relationship with God. In fact two of the strongest images we have in the Bible for the relationship God has with his people, is that of the bridegroom to his bride, and also that of the father to his children.

Jesus (and other Jewish teachers) even summarised the Law from 5 books of numerous rules and regulations, into two sentences about loving the Lord your God and loving your neighbour.

So for the cynics out there, I wish to make it clear... we do not love because we obey, we do our best to obey because we love. For the Christian, love must be at the root of all our actions... and not just our love, but God's.

My greatest concern about the Christmas lull is not about failing to attend services or observe rituals, but that it means time away from God as a loved one. It's similar to locking yourself in your room and not talking to your spouse or your parents for a week.

However, I'm finding that now we are back in the swing of things, I've found my feet again. Hopefully this means I'll be a lot more communicative in the weeks to come.

Until next time, my hope is that you have had a blessed new year.

Christmas Presence

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.

We had a bit of an interesting situation for ours. To explain, let me take you back a few days to when I was wrapping my presents. Most of them were done except for a few main ones that had no real bulk... I'd left them in a small carrier bag by the pile of wrapped presents and intended to wrap them last on Christmas Eve.

When I came home from work though,I discovered to my horror that they were missing. I searched high and low... I completely trashed my room looking for the bag. I had a familiar suspicion in my mind as to what had actually happened to them but I tried not to entertain that thought.

Fast forward to just after the Midnight Eucharist in the early hours of Christmas Day; the bag still hasn't shown up and I'm really bothered now.

Now my mother has a certain reputation... and my father is very quick to point it out. She has a habit of throwing out important things like ooh I don't know, cheques, bills and cold hard cash... into the rubbish. This had been my initial suspicion about what had happened to the presents... but it was Christmas and I had chosen to ignore it (it being the season of goodwill and all).

Nevertheless, when I came home from church after the morning service... Mum, true to form handed me a small plastic bag... and there inside were the presents for my sister, her boyfriend and mum herself.

So it was not under a pristine tree laden with gold and silver tinsel, flashing lights and baubles... that my mum's present was found. Nor was it wrapped in fine shiny paper. No... mum's present was found to be in the most unlikely of places... a smelly rubbish bin in the kitchen.

It got me thinking of a parallel with the Christmas story (well actually Epiphany, but seeing as most people tend to think of the wise men arriving at the Nativity, I thought I'd play on that a little.)

It also has a lot to do with what I was saying a few days ago about God's choice. First lets look at the scripture:

"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him." When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:

" 'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.'"

Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh."

Matthew 2:1-11

Jesus was not be found in the capital city... the seat of power from where king's reign. Nor was he to be found in a richly decorated palace - the magnificent home of a king.

No. Jesus was found in a sleepy rural backwater village that few people remembered or cared about... except when it came to taxing the people, making a census... or remembering the glory days of King David - Bethlehem's other great son. Again, God's choice was not man's choice.

So the question I want to ask today is... where do you look for your presents? Or more to the point: where do you find you Christmas presence?

Did you go to church expecting to find Jesus amidst the bells and smells - the pomp of the usual annual service? Did you come away disappointed? Did you come in search of meaning and find an empty box inside your wrapping paper?

I want to encourage you today that there is hope. Go and look in the garbage. Scary as it may seem, delve through all the banana skins and stink of superficial stuff... dig right to the bottom - I'm not talking about the bin in your kitchen...I'm talking about the human heart. We have a tendency to get bogged down by things that really aren't important... and we miss out.

However, God gives us this promise in scripture - that if we look for him with all our heart... we will find him:

"But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and obey him. For the LORD your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon or destroy you or forget the covenant with your forefathers, which he confirmed to them by oath."

Deuteronomy 4:29-31

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

Jeremiah 29:13

I really encourage to find a quiet place and look for God in your heart through prayer.

May you find that place in your heart... and be overjoyed.

Christmas Conundrums

I decided to write this blog in response to the Archbishop of Canterbury's recent comments on BBC Radio 5 as reported in the Times, with regard about the level of truth in the Christmas stories.

Before saying anything, I should point out that Rowan Williams actually does believe in the Virgin Birth himself, so his aim was not punch holes in the bottom of his own boat. His intentions were good - he was aiming to make the gospel message less hard to swallow for people on the outside.

Dr Williams is quite correct in his assertions about the Magi, we do know very little about them... and we have embellished who they were somewhat - but I do not doubt they made their accredited appearance; their gifts would have provided the resources necessary for Joseph, Mary and Jesus' time of refuge in Egypt. I also know that one of the reasons Matthew included them in his narrative, was that he was aiming to point out right from the very start that Jesus had come to be the Gentile Messiah as well as the Israelite one.

It's also true that we don't know exactly what was in the stable at the time of Christ's birth. I would hazard a guess that there were animals in there, because of the fact that Jesus was placed in their food trough upon birth.

It's also true that the weather in the Middle East is not the same as British weather...and that Jesus was not actually born at this time of year. The move to celebrate Christ's birth in December was a political one. However, you could argue that Jesus is like the British monarch, he has his actual birthday and an official one too. He is the King of kings, so it is totally appropriate as far as I am concerned.

As to stellar behaviour, the simple truth is we don't know what astronomical event was being observed, nor how the Magi with their background had decided to interpret what they had witnessed. The biblical narrative suggests that they reached Jesus later in his development, not whilst he was a baby. That doesn't mean that we have to dismiss the idea... we merely have to accept that there are other ways of understanding the star. Some are recorded here on Wikipedia.

However, the main controversy I wish to address is the issue of the Virgin Birth. Dr Williams believes in it... but according to a 2002 survey of 2000 Anglican clergy, many of them do not personally accept it, some do not even believe in the resurrection! I find that statistic quite disturbing, it is one thing to struggle with a theological concept as a believer... it is quite another to ask others to accept a belief you do not hold yourself. Some, like the chaplain who was denouncing the nativity as myth, are worse; they actively encourage people NOT to believe in the Virgin Birth. One wonders why they signed up in the first place. If you can't accept the basics of Christian belief... what business do you have shepherding a flock of Christ's sheep? It is being a blind guide to others. I sometimes think (whetther they are aware of it or not), that the reason behind some of these people's ministries is not divine calling... but self righteousness - "the Church is wrong, but I am right... I will show them". That is ego on the throne and not God.

Back to the Virgin Birth and I personally feel that it is pretty important.

If Jesus was born of a human union... there would be nothing to make him any different to us. He would be a sinful human because he would carry Adam's sin. He had to be perfect, he had to be supernaturally born in order to be free of the sin that he came to deliver us from. He also had to be human so as to be able to represent us. He had to be our righteousness and in his resurrection, our mediator.

The chaplain I spoke of yesterday and referred to above, spoke scientifically about our knowledge of conception and how it biologically works... but he missed the point. He was trying to rationalise the birth of Christ based on the observed scientific reproductive process with regard to a normal human child; not that of God translating himself into a human body. We have seen in cloning how genetic data can be completely removed from an egg and replaced with data from another being. There are so many different ways we could look at it scientifically and still not understand exactly what happened. You cannot reason everything out with God... sometimes you have to just accept it's above you... and run with it.

I disagree to an extent with Dr Williams. I do believe it's important to accept the virgin birth...I do agree that people who struggle with it shouldn't get hung up on it. Crucially what I am saying is that I don't believe you make Jesus Christ any more accessible by watering down who he is.

In 2005 Jamie Oliver had a problem with making school dinners. He wanted to replace turkey twizzlers and Frankenstein foods with real wholesome food... however he had to contend with school budgets. It came down to him saying something like "you could reduce the cost and get cheaper ingredients to a degree... but you could only do it so much. There comes a point where the end product isn't what you are advertising it as it anymore."

That's the problem the church faces if it constantly waters down the Gospel. It won't be proclaiming the Gospel any more... it'll be some other message; cleverly packaged but devoid of the power that only God could give it. I'm all for making the Gospel accessible - how many times have you seen me use popular culture or allegory here, in order to get the message across in a more understandable way? The one thing I won't do is change the essential message at the heart of the Gospel and that's because the message of the cross is God's wisdom and not man's. It is foolish to understand the Gospel on the world's terms, you have to accept it as God gives it to you. He took on human form and he died to deliver us from our sins.

Many of you here will go to church in the next 24 hours and hear the words from the following passage you hear every year... because it might be the only time of year you go, which is entirely your choice and privilege. However my challenge to you is to look at this passage and contemplate what it means to you personally, who is this child to you?

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.

Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' " From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father's side, has made him known."

John 1:1-18

May God bless you this Christmas. May you know him more deeply than you have ever known him.

Way Beyond the Red Line

Various things have happened to me over the weekend which are leading me to conclude that God is totally putting me through the ringer at the moment. I've been contemplating what my calling should be and the direction my life should be heading in for a while now; all of a sudden though, it's gone completely mental.... like riding a horse you thought was tame but then explodes off into a gallop at breakneck speed unexpectedly. I decided to write it down here, partly to share but also to make sure I do not forget.

It started off subtly. Earlier in the week, I had a dream where a deceased friend gave me a lift in his car to somewhere random... and upon waking it reminded me of a blog entry I had written - a blog entry that I discovered had been accessed later that day by someone who was searching for that friend's name on Google. It was this entry.

Then over the weekend,for reasons I don't need to go into, I was reminded very strongly of another post; one where I adapted a philosophical quote by the Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi:

One night, Zhuangzi dreamed of being a butterfly — a happy butterfly, showing off and doing things as he pleased, unaware of being Zhuangzi. Suddenly he awoke, drowsily, Zhuangzi again. And he could not tell whether it was Zhuangzi who had dreamt the butterfly or the butterfly dreaming Zhuangzi. But there must be some difference between them! This is called 'the transformation of things'.

Back then, I reworded it to suit a more personal challenge:

"Are you the man of God who dreams of being a man with a normal everyday life... or are you the man with an everyday life, who dreams of being a man of God?"

I deduced that I was more the latter... but I didn't come to any hard and fast conclusions as to what that might in terms of calling or vocation.

I found myself in a position last night where my peace had been disturbed... but that's not a bad thing. We can get too settled with peace and become stagnant if we are not careful. It's a bit like hitting the snooze button repeatedly when you know you need to get up for work. During this time I was reminded of a passage in the Bible that I believe was a personal warning:

"Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?'

" 'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.' "

Luke 13:6-9

Upon waking this morning I caught the end of a debate about the realism behind the Christmas story (something I intend to cover myself), I was appalled that the man who most readily dismissed elements of the nativity as fable... was a Church of England chaplain; it was left to two doctors of theology to defend certain elements of the Nativity.

Then when I came to check my email, my Last FM player pipes up with a track from the Prince of Egypt:

This is a film that always evokes an emotional response from me, most notably in the sequence where God meets Moses from within the Burning Bush. That sequence can be found in the middle of this clip:

Interestingly, all the personal back references I have made are all interconnected.

Back to today... and I decided to set off on foot for my church 2.5 miles away. It's something I recommend, it's a great opportunity to communicate with God when no one else can distract you... and it was a very busy discussion today. The passage from the previous evening came back to my mind and I was also reminded of a vision I had a while back of an eagle stripping it's nest so it's young could fly.

I felt God say to me that he doesn't need to strip any more away from me in order for me to leave. I am ready and I am able, but he is frustrated that I have not been completely willing. Like Moses and Jonah before me, I have clutched onto the tatters of the nest in order to resist facing what is before me. God doesn't want to take anything else away, but by being stubborn I run the risk of forcing his hand... and anything I lose now is as a consequence of any reluctance I might have.

Then I was brought to thinking about Smallville. Yes that sounds pretty random but bear with me. I actually like the programme, but am frustrated with it. I was asked in my heart "What do you not like about Smallville, Nick?" The honest answer to that is the fact that it has been dragged out, it has gone on and on. The writers have found newer ways to stretch out Clark Kent's evolution into the Man of Steel. At the moment he's ready to do his training... but he's got to clear up his mess. Everything is set for him to become who he is destined to be... but he's still hanging round Smallville. Typing this reminds me very much of a scene from The Lord of the Rings, one that it now occurs to me I have also referenced in this blog:

"The man who can wield the power of this sword can summon to him an army more deadly than any that walks this earth. Put aside the ranger. Become who you were born to be."

Elrond - The Return of the King

So it seems I'm in the same position as Clark and Aragorn... remaining in the wilderness when I should be committing myself to who I really am.

I wasn't even safe when I arrived at church. The combined theme of the carol service, the readings and the talk was spiritual offering. And one of the things that was raised was calling/vocation. We were shown a picture of a statue - a monk standing cruciform and holding his possessions before him. It was quite striking:

It gave me a fair bit to think about. Then we were challenged to think about something we could offer God and wrap a stone that representing it in Christmas paper...and leave it at the manger. Three guesses what was on my heart and mind to put in there. While we were being asked to do that, my mind drifted to the carol "In the Bleak Midwinter", specifically the last verse:

What can I give him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
if I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
yet what I can I give him: give my heart.

It was not on the carol sheet for the service... but do you know what? The organist started playing it about 30 seconds after it popped into my head.

Finally after the service I spoke to a couple of friends who were visiting my church for the day. I told them what I was feeling challenged over and their overall reaction was pretty much "Oh Nick, it's about time!"

I chose the title for this blog entry because I feel that in such a short space of time I have been catapulted into a different place. I wasn't entirely comfortable with the sudden burst of speed. However I much prefer this to silence... and so whilst God has seemingly given me a lot to act upon, I am grateful for the activity.

God bless you all

Nick.

Look What I Received in My Email Today!

Dear Nick,

Thank you for writing such a wonderful letter! We have had a great year at the North Pole. The reindeer have been playing reindeer games to get in shape for the long trip Christmas Eve, and the elves have been busy getting my sleigh packed with lots and lots of toys.

Once my sleigh is packed and ready to go, I'll be off on my journey around the world. I'm reading your letter right now, and it looks like you've been a very nice boy this year. That makes me so happy. Keep up the good work!

While you are asleep on Christmas Eve, the reindeer will land my sleigh on your rooftop so I can hop down your chimney.

I see that you like cars and trucks. I like cars and trucks, too. They are lots of fun to play with, and we have some very exciting new cars and trucks this year. The elves have been very busy this year making many new and different cars and trucks for Christmas!

Well, I must get back to my workshop now and help the elves finish up the rest of the Christmas toys. We have to have them ready to go soon--we don't have a minute to lose!

Ho! Ho! Ho! Have a Merry Christmas!

Your Special Friend,

SANTA

Things to Come

I sadly have not yet had the honour of becoming a parent, knowing the agony and ecstasy of watching something that is a part of you grow up and realising their own personal destiny.

However, I am knowledgeable enough to realise that when a child is born, nobody really knows quite what to expect along the rocky path of pilgrimage that is life on Earth.

Though this is true of every child, it was especially the case with Jesus Christ - not just for his parents, but for all those around him.

When you look at a child it easy to project your own ideas and aspirations about who or what he shall be... because to our eyes a child is an open book.

Even if you take the slightly unsubtle angelic gesture proclaiming the birth of Christ, then just a week into his natural life... Jesus was causing a lot of commotion.

Simeon spoke of him:

"This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

I wonder what Mary made of that? As far as we know, it is the first time she had any hint that the life of Jesus would be marked with controversy and suffering.

A short while later and Mary, Joseph and Jesus get a visit from some foreign wise men. They bring gifts "gold for a king", no surprise there... that's in line with what the angel said... Son of David, reigning over his kingdom - no problem. "Frankincense for a priest" - hmm interesting - whatever could that be referring to? After all Jesus was of the tribe of Judah - not Levi. What could it mean? Finally, "Myrrh" for the grave. Now everybody dies... but these gifts were to signify that kingship, priestly virtue and death were to play a major role in Jesus destiny. What could it all possibly mean?

As Jesus grew into a healthy teenager, favoured by God and men... he began to openly recognise the unique nature of his relationship with God in heaven. Hew began to say and do things that made his earthly family uncomfortable.

Eventually as a man, he struck out on his own... pursuing his Father's business, THE Father's business - namely making known the good news of the Gospel message: healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, feeding the hungry, raising the dead, proclaiming the forgiveness of sins and the coming of the Kingdom of God.

Just three and a half years later, his body hung limp on a cross - bruised, battered, cut to ribbons, drained of blood and life.

Just three days after that he was ALIVE. Not just revived, he had gone beyond death and become something so magnificent and wonderful... we can barely grasp the concept.

No one could have seen that coming as he lay gurgling away in the straw of Bethlehem. Who could have seen it?

My Christmas message to you is simply this:

What is Jesus to you? What do you expect from him? Is he merely forever frozen in time and space as an infant fairy tale on a stained glass window? Is he a wise teacher? Or is he the magnificent and wonderful risen Lord who comes to change the destiny of mankind? My challenge to you, whatever you see Jesus as this Christmas... is to let him grow in your heart.

"Don't be afraid!" That is what the angels said to the shepherds... and that is what I say to you. Don't worry about what Jesus will become in your heart, or fret over who or what that will lead you to become. Unleash God in your heart and just wait and see what happens.

God bless and Merry Christmas!

Nick

The morn of Christmas Eve

Today is quite surreal for me. It is Sunday, but my church doesn't have a service this morning, because it's got a midnight service in the evening. It does have a kiddy carol service in the afternoon but the style of that service won't suit me., so I don't feel like walking or cycling 2.5 miles just to go.

There is a service at my hometown church, but I struggle at that church - the prayers and songs are done in very much the kind of style I criticised in my "Madvent" post. I can handle St. Nick's in small dose. As I will be going to the midnight service at that church, I will skip this morning.

So for the first time in a long while I find my self at a loose end on a Sunday morning.

I'm going to spend a little time cooking up a Christmas blog that I shall post later today, but for the most part I shall be chilling out listening to my Last FM radio station or viewing my Myspace profile.

Most importantly I must remember to walk around St. Nicholas church and pray for the midnight service just before going in. It's a tradition I started two years ago. I went to the service with a couple of friends and was embarrassed because the vicar preached about nothing but store loyalty cards - no mention of Jesus whatsoever. St. Nick's is rocky soil, it is very hard for anything to grow there... I should know, it is where my journey of faith started. I have resolved every year since to walk around the church and pray for that service. Do you know what? The past two years I have done this, have had some of the most evangelical sermons I have heard in that church.

I'm also looking forward to going to church with my sister who would probably describe herself as a lapsed Christian. It is fun because she enjoys joining me on my mission of "positive mischief". When it comes to the prayers, she will say them slowly with me, rather than race through them in a single breath like everyone else - for pities sake we are talking to God, not commentating on a horse race! We will both belt out the carols at the top of our voices... and we will both miss out the line of "Once in Royal David's City", that I theologically disagree with.

So apart from having an opportunity to praise God, I also have an opportunity to be a bit of a rogue (albeit for the right reasons), and to have a lot of fun.

Don't be deceived into thinking the Christmas tradition of the Midnight service is dull... if you know what you are doing it is anything but dull.

I Have Seen Him...

Christmas is well and truly coming.

I have encountered the jolly bearded one three times already.

I was typing on the computer when I heard the familiar sound of Christmas carols booming from a loudspeaker... and I lost all conscious thought as a long established childhood instinct took over. My heart stated racing and I frantically ran round looking for my wallet and my camera, the doorbell rang and I race to the door to be greeted by an elf. I made a donation and was given a dairy milk chocolate bar from Santa. You see, every year the local Round Table go round raising money for charity b y towing Santa round all the town streets on a trailer. There is something quite magical about it. For a few short minutes you are transported back through the mists of time until you are that little boy or girl, filled with the excitement of Christmas spirit again (not that I am saying adults cannot get excited... but it is a different kind of excitement).

When Santa had waved and raced past me at a blistering pace of 5 miles an hour, I found my mobile phone and sprinted up the other end of the road and captured him in all his glory:

It's kind of a fun photo because it almost looks as if he is magically teleporting into the street surrounded by a mystical aurora of light.

Earlier in the week I had received an anonymous tip off from an elf that... yes indeed, Santa was going to be visiting my best friend's street the night following his visit to me. Rob set the kids up for an early bath that evening and I stood on sentry duty, watching out for Santa from the back bedroom window.

Sure enough the telltale sound of Elton John's "Get into Christmas" came booming through the streets of Alcester, I sounded the alarm and Rob got his kids ready just in time to see Santa arrive in the close!

The following night, I was walking to the supermarket to get some food when Santa shot past me on his trailer... and he was clearly doing it for kicks. He was stood waving from his trailer as the utility truck that was towing him powered up the Birmingham Road suspiciously close the speed limit.... I hope he didn't get pulled over... what are the odds of Santa not being over the limit?

Actually I have to confess to having delusions about one day being Santa myself. Lets face it, I have the right name and I'm a Christian too which makes me a saint (saints in the correct context aren't men and women in fancy stained glassed windows with shimmering halos, they are just believers in Christ)! So therefore I already am Santa Claus because that is what his name is - Saint Nicholas! The only trouble with this is that I'm not fond of alcohol and I'm nowhere near rotund enough. Below is an image that might give you an idea of what I'd look like if I became Santa... do you think I'm up to the task?

If you don't pass this way again before Christmas... may you have a blessed one.

Debtwatch 2

Walked into the bank.

The outstanding loan figure this morning stood at £2862.50 (after interest). I walked into the bank and pulled out a sawn off shot... ahem I walked into the bank and transferred £300 from savings and £200 from a work bonus I received and transferred it to the flexiloan. At close of play tonight, £310 will transfer as normal onto the loan and despite interest going on, the simple fact remains that I have by the grace of God practically clobbered two months off my final repayment time.... HUZZAH!!!!!

According to my calculations, this will bring me towards a completion date of 1st August.

This month is a real acid test though. I have drained my resources down as far as I dare. Christmas is coming and I have friends and family to take care of...

...oh yes and one rogue tooth that requires a filling on Tuesday.... fun fun fun! Still at least I'll get half a day off work. Oh and may I say a special thank you to my father who decided to watch a spy thriller where some thugs did a DIY dentistry session on some poor bloke using nothing more sophisticated than a Black & Decker power drill!!!!!!!

I have three weeks left before I break up for the New Year, a new year full of hope and promise already.

I estimate that if I have the will to, over the next six months I can push to bring that clearance date forward by two more months. However, realistically I need to make sure I have enough money to pay my way at Scripture Union camp next year. I think I might save up for one more definite advance payment and then see how I fare over the remaining course.

Anyway, just signing off my second report as to how God is continuing to bless me in my attempts to get back on financial level terms.

Again I want to encourage and remind you that whatever millstone is hanging round your neck... emotional, financial, sinful, physical, mental... it is not too heavy for God to take off of you if you let him.

On a much lighter note, here is a pic of the present I've got Benji.... I can't stop pressing the eye laser button. The battery will be flat by Christmas at this rate.

Loan balance as at 1st December 2006: £2052.50