Sabbath Trout and a Monastry up for sale

Enjoyed my day off yesterday despite the inclement weather, 9 degree chill with snow capped mountain peaks. We went to examine an old Monastery in Nottingham Road that was up for sale – just for fun. Did some fly-fishing in Mavela dam for an hour or two and hooked a couple to my surprise. Then we went to our dancing lessons, just finished our social intermediate course of Latin and Ball Room and we have so enjoyed our Monday evenings. What a day off. I always try and get out and do something different, away from the madding crowds and the pressing ‘to do’ lists that grow roots as if fertilized from above. If it were not for these moments of solitude, rest, and reprieve I would have left the ministry years ago. No joking! They allow me to process my ministry into my life and give me time to breath God’s air for me. I think I understand what Sabbath is sometimes.

Disciple Bible Study

This is the fourth time I have run this 34 week programme in a church. For those who endure and make the effort it is a life changing experience. So many folk are wanting to walk a deeper walk and are tired of the pith that is so often given to them as Christian education. This provides a well balanced approach to the study of scripture with a the idea of transformation versus information as its goal. For those interested go here for more information.

Walk the dog

Yesterday I fumed so, enough to pop an artery. Thinking it gone I marched off into the day with many a visit and encounter. Alas, the same red fury stormed into my heart and lungs and had to be leashed each time it jumped for a bite. This dog called anger caged and snarling with saliva stained fangs and throaty growl is chained behind civility and decorum. It runs the hardened fence path to and fro looking for a gap, a hole to escape. Oh how I pity the stranger and those unaware of it fury. The beast is taught its tricks from long ago lessons, its an old dog with little penchant for learning. I wonder how those yellow stained eyes might soften if gently spoken, kindly stroked and a bone thrown for easy distraction. Today, the night has passed and the pillow has spoken. I push the dog away as it licks my face and barks for my attention. Another day, another chance at playing fetch and walking in the park.

Heaven’s garden

Turning points are important to recognize, register and rejoice over. God moves the impossible away for us. The disgraceful parts of ourselves are rolled away by mightier hands than ours. Disciplined hope depending on better places to live. New ground growing sweeter with thanksgiving charming the budding path . The stone once rolled sits there in view, a reminder of past lives that were lesser than now. Our garden with stones, some moss ridden once moved and others freshly chiseled and waiting to be rolled. Our gardens of worship growing from glory into glory.

Lasting gratification

If only one could stick to things with the same fervor all the time. Certain things bring temporary fulfillment and we assume we will feel the same when doing them again. Not so, we may feel nothing the next time we do it, or even at times disdain. The truth of the matter is that some things are forever and others are just for the moment. The moment has its place, but the things we deem important are necessary to stitch into our lives in such away that they bring lasting fulfillment. The patterns of conscious discipline working towards higher values will eventually be the true reward. The grace of God that brings life to our limbs grows tall upon the wired trellis of our established and worked out principles and values. Weighing up the moments feelings are critical if we are to become anything but a reacting being. The ability to discern between the quick moving emotion of pleasure and the longer more satisfying feelings that come from learned discipline is critical. Our joy comes from the ability to open up our life more and more to the grace of God. All we are doing is binding and mending the fence upon which this luscious vine can grow. Why is it that so many people seek help but when asked “And how is your prayer life?” they stutter and stammer as if this is not important. We love magical recipes but don’t ask us to do anything to change ourselves. We know we are made in the image of God and for many of us we know we are the very children of God but the crunch comes in how well we are able to live that out. This only happens through spiritual training and hard work. A longer wait, but whoever told us that instant gratification was the answer?

Emotional Intelligence

The book Emotional Intelligence has been a watershed in helping me place a number of unclassified notions of mine. The basics of the book is the importance of being able to define your emotions accurately, and then to act in ways that are beneficial to you and those around you. The book is hopeful too. If you are laden with emotional scars from younger days there is certainly hope that one can re-wire the circuitry of the brain to deal with these out of control emotions in different ways. It was interesting to learn that bulimia and anorexia nervosa are not the result of over demanding parents as earlier studies indicated. Later studies have found that the cause of these illnesses are more likely to result from teenagers who have not been able to define their feelings accurately and then coupled with the societal pressure to be skinny becomes a dangerous mess of emotions. The desire for food is confused and becomes a negative trigger rather than a natural response for nutrition. There are countless examples across the board of emotional problems and the book ends with the ways in which emotional imprinting can be reworked through repetitive acts of positive re-inforcement. I am convinced after reading this book that the importance of emotional intelligence learning is critical during the teenage years. A comment in this book that did not surprise me was that one of the factors contributing to the escalation of childhood depression is the breakdown in religious education. Amongst other factors children are not seeing their lives within the greater framework of a God and how their lives have meaning regardless of their circumstances. They are not sure that they can be a greater person or for that matter be forgiven and thus move on to be something different. The Christian faith in my estimation is one of the greatest contributors of emotional intelligence. Let alone the connection with ones creator, but the repetitive disciplines of prayer, mediation, worship, communion etc, are excellent means of re-wiring the emotional and brain circuitry to help people live more adjusted and productive lives.