In a Blanket

"As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you." -  Isaiah 66:13

I love this drawing. It's taken from a card we received this christmas. This copy isn't as clear as the original, which is done by Tricia Gray for the The Leprosy Mission. It's so strange to think of Jesus as a tiny baby, completely vulnerable to the hands of man, completely humble and needing His every need taken care of by others. Jesus, who came to serve others, actually had to just sit there and be looked after initially. Even though He was God He had to rely upon God to outwork situations so that He would be kept safe. He entrusted His safety with the Father and in His meekness came to earth as the most helpless being. When you stop and think about it, it truely is amazing. Yet at the same time it seems strangely fitting for Him to be a young child... innocent and unpolluted by the world. This baby was Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. 

beyond the stars

"Is the truth beyond all truths, beyond the stars, just this: that to live without Him is the real death, that to die with Him is the only life?" - Frederick Buechner

I believe it is.

..girl of the wall..

- Banksy, via Global Graphica -

When i stand..

"There is a redeemer, Jesus, God's own Son, Precious Lamb of God, Messiah, Holy One.... Jesus my Redeemer, Name above all names, Precious Lamb of God, Messiah, oh for sinners slain.... Thank you oh my Father, for giving us your Son, and leaving your Spirit till the work on Earth is done.... When i stand in glory,  i will see His face, and there i'll praise my King forever, in that Holy Place."

I'm not sure who wrote this song, but i like it. I remember liking it particularly this time last year.... especially the last verse.

exceedingly

"..when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy." - Matt 2.10

I love this verse so much. It makes me laugh every time i read it. It's talking about the wise men when they saw the star stop above the place where Jesus was born. What makes me smile is the way it's described... "they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy".... surely whenever you rejoice it's with 'joy' and if you rejoice 'exceedingly' then it's going to be with 'great' joy... it's like they state the same thing twice for emphasis. I think i just love the word exceedingly too! I wonder what the wise men did when they 'rejoiced exceedingly with great joy'? ... did they do a little jig or sing and leap around or shout out with loud exclamations?! When you think about it, the whole of what they had been waiting for throughout generations of people was being fulfilled at that moment... no wonder they rejoiced so fervently... it makes me happy just thinking about it.... 

The Northest Pole

"Take me to the northest pole, that there my spices all might flow. I know the north wind strips me bare, but still i ask you'd take me there. Release the fragrances within, may they be to you pleasing. And blow on me that all disease may freeze and die right here."

I was reading the above quote at the exact moment that my Dad called me on Sunday evening to show me the snow outside. He then proceeded to say how it would be good for the ground as it would kill all the bacteria. It is true. Every season is useful for it's own reasons. Trees may be fruitless and bare in Winter, but it's a vital season to sustain the overall life of the tree. So in a strange way i find myself saying... "blow on me that all disease may freeze and die right here."

The man who was healed

I met a man today who was healed of epilepsy 7 months ago. He had been on medication for 9 years, but was still having some seizures. He was then prayed for and was healed, so came off his medication and hasn't had a seizure since. It's a clear cut healing too, not just luck that he hasn't had a fit. He had a serious car crash 9 years ago, which caused brain damage and consequently epilepsy. When he was monitered, his brain waves were irregular, confirming the diagnosis. Anyway, when tested now it is clear that his brain has been healed and the waves are completely normal again. Very encouraging i think. Only God can work a miracle like that.

Poppies

In remembrance of all those who died that we might live.

Jesus Himself being the ultimate expression of this.

(picture by Alicia Bock, via Poppytalk.)

two

"Here dies another day
During which i have had eyes, ears, hands
And the great world round me;
And with tomorrow begins another.
Why am i allowed two?"

-G. K. Chesterton-

...

"I am making a way in the desert, and streams in the wasteland." - Isaiah 43.19

A new song

"Sing a new song to the Lord" - Isaiah 42.10

"I will sing to the Lord, for He has been good to me." - Psalm 13:6

"I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens: your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens: let your glory be over all the earth." - Psalm 57:9-11

See the layers

I completely love this. The original photo was taken by Jake Dobkin from BlueJake. I've previously mentioned his work - he specialises in photographing street art in New York.

I wonder...

I wonder what was going through Mary's head as Jesus carried his cross and neared death? I wonder what the disciples would have thought, when it seemed like their hope of salvation was dying? Did they grasp that this was in fact the way to their salvation? Or did they mourn, thinking all was now lost? Did Jesus' enemies rejoice, thinking they'd won? I wonder if the madman thought he'd lose his sanity again? Or if the blind worried that they'd lose their sight, now that Jesus would be gone? Did anyone know that all was not as it seemed?

I wonder what Abraham thought as he led his son to his death? His only son, through which the promise of a great nation was meant to come. Did he doubt or wonder what on earth was going on? Did he fear he'd done wrong and the promise had been taken back? Or did he trust and know that God would still prove faithful?

I think i would have wept, thinking all was lost. I think i would have feared i'd done everything wrong and now what God had said would no longer come. I think i would worry, til my head was a complete wreck. I think i would forget all that God said.

"He who promised is faithful." - Hebrews 10.23

Poppy Talk

I was looking today at a design blog called Poppy Talk. It showcases a lot of beautiful things done by other artists. The above pictures have no common link, except they are all things from her blog which i noted and like. The top image is by Olivia Jeffries and the flock of birds is by 'Small Stump'. The chest of drawers in the bottom picture is by Wis Design. I know it's very materialistic, but i just really like it (possibly because i'm trying to sort my room out at the moment and have realised how much easier it would be if i had lots of little drawers.)

It is strange how

"It is strange how oftentimes the air speaks.

We are sane as long as we hear voices when there are none.

We are insane when we hear nothing and worse we are deaf."

- Calvin Miller, from 'The Singer' -

B-SIDE (see reverse for more information)

"One leaves with a path in mind but journeys are always full of unforeseeable events... It would be hard to get to a place you don’t know without wandering a little, sometimes that wandering becomes the important thing, sometimes you get lost and make a completely unexpected discovery, sometimes nothing happens and sometimes that’s ok too."

By Andrea Acosta. Artwork entitled "B-SIDE (see reverse for more information)".

I really like these designs, done on the back of street signs. I came across them on Wooster Collective. I like the idea of them too and how she attempts to add a poetic edge to something so normal. She writes on her website:

"As artists I think we have the power to interrupt the everyday, the people, the flow of something, to make something else visible; a brief moment of understanding that perhaps turns into a story, a comment, a conversation, perhaps only you change but certainly at the end energy is moving."

I think we should all aim to live in such a way - not for the sake of art, but for the sake of something greater, something that needs to be made visible in the midst of the everyday.

Passion

I saw this flower growing on a vine at the end of our garden the other day. They are probably quite common but i've never seen one before and think it's completely amazing. It's not easy to tell from the photo but it has so much detail and from the side it looks like a little helicopter or something! Some of the flowers that have died now have orange fruit growing from the centre. Anyway, being the geek that i am, i looked it up and found out that it's a passion flower and the fruit is obviously passion fruit.

Apparently it's actually called a passion flower because it was discovered by Spanish Christian missionaries and it reminded them of the 'passion of Christ' on the cross. All the different parts of the flower are supposed to symbolise different aspects of Jesus dying on the cross, for example the nails and the wounds and the crown of thorns. It sounds like a slightly Catholic thing to do to me. Anyway, apparently traditionally the leaves can also be used to make tea which is meant to heal things such as epilepsy! I don't think i will actually risk making tea out of it in the hope that it will heal me, i read somewhere else that doing that can be very dangerous! I don't want to get overly caught up in the symbolism either and i'm not going to be all mystical about the leaves!! However, i did find that on reading of it's origin and the apparent healing properties of it's leaves i was directed back to Jesus and remembered the verse in the bible which talks about the tree of life and how "the leaves are for the healing of the nations" Rev 22.2. I'm not going to put my hope in a flower, however beautiful it is, but i am going to put my hope in Jesus and do believe that there is healing in him, through his death and resurrection - healing from sin, healing from sickness, healing from all things. Somehow the fact that the same flower that represents Jesus' death also has leaves which are meant to heal epilepsy, simply gave some vigour back to my faith and hope that it is Jesus who will heal me and other people - whether we see that healing today, tomorrow, or when He comes again.

"On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations." - Rev 22.2

full of message

Hannah sent me this post card from Japan. It is in fact called a "post cord" on the back! On the front it says " i have a lot of words to you. but i dared not tell you these words. I'm gonna send it to your heart. everything is fine!" That sounds like a very typically Japanese message! Anyway, i love the picture. It is by Kaori Wakamatsu. Hannah is very good at picking up nice flyers and postcards. It would seem that she is actually my primary supplier!

I potentially made my first friend up here today. At least hopefully we'll be friends. I haven't really spoken to many people under 50 since i've been here (except shop keepers)... i haven't been here long though and i don't mind speaking to people in their 50's and 60's at all, in fact i like it, but it was just quite refreshing to chat to someone younger as well.

There is a lot i could write, but i won't at the minute - it is beautifully sunny and i feel the need to be outside instead.

everlasting

"The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." -Deuteronomy 33:27-

...so here i am, and life has changed - a new town, a peaceful place; yet still the eternal God is my refuge, my real home... there are some things that never change.

And when i fall, then still underneath are everlasting arms to catch me. Underneath everything, underneath all, are the same everlasting arms - wherever i am.

(Picture - Hokusai, Cardellino e ciliegio piangente, 1834)

*One Hundred *

This is my one hundreth post and also my last post from the South of England.

I should be packing but am taking a tiny break to quickly write this. It's amazing the things that you come across when you sort your house out for packing. We seem to have ridiculous things stored in our loft, i've no idea why! Anyway, amongst some old children's books i found this little story, which i happen to rather like. It goes as follows:

'Guess what, God? I know what Hallelujah means. It means, "Praise the Lord!"

And when i praise you, God, I tell you how wonderful you are.

Do you like it when people say nice things about you? I think you must. Because i like it when people say nice things about me. Like yesterday, when i brought my picture of a sun and a tree and a kangaroo home to my Mum. She hung it on the refrigerator door and said, "That's a beautiful painting!" She praised me.

And i can praise you too, God. Just look at all the things you made. The whole world is full of them.... big animals and little animals. Animals for the land and fish for the sea. So many i can't even count them all.

You must really be clever! You can do so many things! You make the rain fall and the sun shine, so that the plants grow and we have food to eat.

I can praise you, too, God - just for being you. For sticking by me, and never changing. For filling the whold world with your love that never ever stops.

But how can i show you how i feel, God? By talking to you as i am now? By singing? By shouting? By clapping? Can i praise you by making music for you to hear? Like clang! Twee-eet! BOOM! Jingle, jangle, clap! Does that say "i love you, God"?

When i think about you, God, i get so happy. It's like a beautiful bubble inside me blowing bigger and BIGGER until it just wants to burst. I feel like yelling, "Come on, you whole big world! Tell God how wonderful he is!"

- by Elspeth Campbell -

There is so much to thank God for...... and as i leave Worthing i thank Him for my life here and all He's been to me..... i've been so well looked after and cared for and am so grateful for that. Recently i've been really blessed by people at church too and appreciate it greatly and am thankful for it. I read Psalm 100 earlier and seeing as this is my hundreth post i want to quote it:

Psalm 100:

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

Worship the LORD with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.

It is true - God is good and His love and faithfulness endures forever. If i had time i would attempt to make this all sound less cringe worthy, but i don't, and maybe that's a good thing; what does it matter what it sounds like, if it's true.

the walls of brighton

I spent the day in Brighton with some friends yesterday. We had a comical photo shoot against this graffiti back-drop and Hannah nicely captured this photo of Aaron as he chatted to his friend in the wall! I like it a lot!

"Art is not to be found by touring to Egypt, China or Peru; if you cannot find it at your own door you will never find it." - Emerson

In His Time

I was getting the bus back from town earlier and i couldn't help but laugh at the fact that everyone else on it was old. They had beautifully aged faces and trendy Granny clothes, but they were old nonetheless and distinctly tired. I watched a lady stumble on and sit down with a sigh of relief. I think i had done the same. It seemed like i had grown old before my time as i sat there with them. But i somehow felt peaceful there and smiled the whole way back. I was thinking about how i wasn't really sitting there before my time at all, even though it seemed like it... i wasn't sitting with the old when i should be running with the young, but i was simply sitting with the old because in that moment it was right for me to be sitting there. Just before i went out i read Jeni's blog, on which she had quoted Psalm 31.15: "My times are in His hands", and i was thinking how true it is - My times are in God's hands, my life is in God's hands. My body may occassionally feel slightly older than it's age. I may sit down on nearly every bench as i pass it or list washing my hair as one of the main activities of my day! But i'm not really living like the aged before my time. Right now, this is my time, because it is His time for me.

"My times are in His hands" - Psalm 31.15

The Hmong People

"We Miao do not have writing. For thousands of years we have been like the blind, it has been very bitter. Everybody knows that there is nothing worse in the world than to be blind, however shimmering is the sun in the sky, however shining is the moon in the sky, however clear are the rivers and mountains on the earth, however beautiful are the flowers in the wilderness, the blind cannot see them anyway." - Wang Mingji, a Miao pastor

I have had a link for the Joshua Project on my page for a while. The Joshua project identifies the people groups of the world that have little or no exposure to the Gospel. It provides the information to encourage pioneer church-planting movements among every ethnic people group. Each day a different people group is automatically displayed on their website, for prayer. Today it was the Qanu people of China. The Qanu are part of the Hmong/Miao people group. I have had a bit of a heart for the Hmong tribes in Laos for a few years now and so was interested to read the full profile for the Qanu people. The quote i included above is an extract from that profile. I hadn't realised before that the Hmong don't actually have writing at all. On reflection it's pretty obvious and makes sense - i know their culture has a long standing oral tradition. I found the above quote quite moving though. Not only does it cause consideration of what it is to be literally blind (though that's not it's primary purpose), but it portrays the value of writing even more. It would be very difficult to translate the Bible into a language which doesn't have a written form as well. It could appear quite a bold claim to compare the lack of a written script with blindness, but when you consider the worth of reading something like the Bible then it is easily akin to blindness. It reminds me of a quote i read a long time ago, by John Piper:

"I love the Bible the way i love my eyes - not because my eyes are lovely, but because without them i can't see what's lovely. Without the Bible i could not see "the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ." Without the Bible i could not know "the unsearchable riches of Christ." Without the Bible i would not know that I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Saviour. I love the Bible because it gives me the wisdom that leads to salvation, and shows me that this salvation is nothing less than seeing and savoring the glory of Christ forever, and then provides for me inexhaustible ways of seeing and knowing and enjoying Christ. "

N.B. I'm aware that it is a bit of a generalisation for Wang Mingji to say that 'there is nothing worse in the world than to be blind' - i'm sure that there are many people who are blind and still quite happy. I'm also aware that God is much bigger than writing and can still meet with people who don't have access to a written bible.

"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face." - 1 Corinthians 13:12

I used to have 20/20 vision, but my eyesight's been getting pretty bad recently... a lot of what i look at is blurred or it's quite a strain to read things.. i think it's just another drug side-effect, so i don't really mind, it probably won't last - in fact it's not even that bad today. It's better than when i was on my first drug anyway; for a period i had double vision. I remember finding it quite amusing when i sat at church and could distinctly see two of Colin as he was preaching! ha ha. Anyway, it got me thinking about what it must be like to be properly blind. My Dad's new job is with an organisation who print books for people who are blind and i may do a bit of work there myself when i can. It must be so strange. We were talking the other day about seeing God when we go to heaven and how amazing it will be.... i guess it will be even more incredible if you are able to simply 'see' for the first time. My Dad reckons that 'seeing' will be completely different in heaven and that we won't just have eyes like those we do now, but that we will see through our spirit and our senses and in ways we've never 'seen' before. I guess in a way we see God like that now - through the eyes of our heart and mind - as we can't physically see him yet, but what we see now is still just a dim reflection, whereas then it'll be face to face. bring on that day.

On a completely different note my orchid has got 4 new flowers on it, and another 7 buds. A few months ago my mother declared that i had killed it. Admittedly it did look slightly dead, but i refused to believe her and knew that it's barren period would pass and it would come to life again. Anyway, although it is very rare for me to be right, i am happy to say that this time i was and my orchid lives on.....

the petal and the wind

So... in my attempt to avoid mundane tasks i've just been sitting here watching a daisy in the garden getting blown around by the wind. I was struck with such amazement at it's ability to withstand the forces of the air that i felt the need to share it with the world. This tiny fragile daisy is capable of being blown to and fro by the wind without being destroyed... in fact it doesn't even lose one little petal in the process, but remains fully intact. Incredible considering the delicate nature of it's frame. Granted it will one day wither and die, but no storm will take it before that time. Pretty intelligent creator i say.

Open mouths

This photo is entitled 'Afrique du Sud 1981' and is by Chris Perkins. I just saw it and it reminds me of a postcard i have on my wall, which i got in Thailand and love. It also reminds me of a very similar image i had in my head this morning... one of people i knew who were so thirsty they were desperately reaching out for every drop that came from the sky... in fact, i think it was raining honey! I don't know why i was thinking/day-dreaming about that this morning, but there we go!

The Straight Story

I was thinking again about the film 'The Straight Story', by David Lynch, from which the title of my blog comes. It's based on a true story, about a guy named Alvin Straight. He drove an old lawnmower 240 miles across Iowa, in order to visit his brother who had suffered a stroke. He was elderly and ill himself, which is why he was unable to drive a car and had to use a lawnmower. He hadn't spoken to his brother for years and wanted to seek forgiveness and make ammends.

The film shows his 6 week journey across rural America and how he is eventually re-united with his brother. It is one of the most simple, yet powerful films i have seen and portrays the beauty of love and forgiveness, especially when it's expressed in unusual ways. This is tenderness which is as abstract as insanity, as David Lynch himself said. Considering the fact that my blog title uses this quote, i thought the film was finally worth a mention.