Advent 14 - Love in a hopeless place

Today a hymn from Rhianna:

Yellow diamonds in the light
And we're standing side by side
As your shadow crosses mine
What it takes to come alive


We found love in a hopeless place 
We found love in a hopeless place
We found love in a hopeless place 
We found love in a hopeless place


Shine a light through an open door......


Thanks Rhi - what it is to find love in a hopeless place..what sweet relief! Sometimes the best gifts come to us when we least expect them, when we've even stopped hoping for them. The great thing about life is it still has the power to surprise us and, in a funny sort of way, that is what we celebrate at Christmas.

'The people walking in darkness have seen a great light - on those living in the land of the shadow of death -on them a light has dawned' Isaiah 9 v2.

Adviento 14 -El amor en un lugar sin esperanza


Hoy un himno de Rhianna:

Diamantes amarillos de la luz
Y estamos al lado del otro
Mientras tu sombra cruza la mia
Lo que se necesita para revivir

Hemos encontrado el amor en un lugar sin esperanza
Hemos encontrado el amor en un lugar sin esperanza
Hemos encontrado el amor en un lugar sin esperanza
Hemos encontrado el amor en un lugar sin esperanza

Brillar una luz a través de una puerta abierta ......

Gracias Rhi - que bueno es encontrar el amor en un lugar sin esperanza .. que dulce alivio! A veces los mejores regalos vienen a nosotros cuando los menos esperamos, cuando incluso hemos dejado de tener esperanza para ellos. La gran cosa acerca de la vida es que todavía tiene el poder de sorprendernos y, de una cierta manera, eso es lo que celebramos en la Navidad.

"El pueblo que andaba en tinieblas vio una gran luz - en los que viven en la tierra de la sombra de la muerte-sobre ellos una luz les ha amanecido" Isaías 9 v2.

Avent 13 - Joy :-) :-) :-)

Today @24-7 prayer we lit the advent candle representing joy. I think joy is a much neglected attribute of God. Sometimes we think the holier a person is, the more serious they must become, but in my experience the reverse is true. The people who have reflected God the most to me have been people full of warmth, joy and enthusiasm.

When the subject of joy comes up in Christian circles it is quite common for people to affirm that joy is not an emotion of happiness but a state of spiritual security that runs much deeper than that. I have signed up to this in the past, but am now wondering, is this a Christian conspiracy to cover up for the fact that we are not really experiencing the joy we were made for? I’m going to throw the cat amongst the pigeons and suggest that a joy that doesn’t touch us on an emotional level and provoke in us say a smile or even –shock horror – a laugh, might not really be joy at all.

So it’s like this: Moses and the Israelites are in the desert and they’ve been there a good while. The Israelites are, let’s say, flagging in their joie de vivre. All they now know is thirst and all they can see is dry rock. Stone. Cold. Sober. No water=thirst. No joy=unhappiness. That is the reality.

The solution to the problem is not in redefining water or redefining joy but in reviewing where we go to find it. In this story, all natural and obvious sources of water are gone. Moses is instructed to strike a rock with his ooba cool spiritual staff and low and behold water flows in a place where it seemed impossible. And they drink and thirst is actually quenched.

I believe there is a limitless source of joy available in God – the kind of joy that actually puts a smile on your face – the kind of joy that wipes tears away. His Presence is Love, His Presence is Peace, His Presence is Joy. His Presence is always available even in the hardest of deserts. The challenge is to fight through our circumstances enough to make connection with that Presence -sometimes we have to strike rocks hard.

So it’s ok to say that joy comes from a deeper spiritual state but I believe it’s a mistake to imply that it is disconnected from our emotions. A genuine sense of security or value should produce in us positive emotions even if they are mixed in with pain (to have joy is not to deny pain) and if not, maybe we should just get real and say ‘I aint feeling it’ or ‘I’m thirsty’. Maybe then we could help each other to drink. 

Advent 12 -Small things

'who dares despise the day of small things?' Zech 4 v 10

If you crush the acorn you'll never get the oak tree. If you neglect the baby you'll never get the man. It seems that things are set up to start small and small things like acorns, babies and ideas need help to grow. So if you find a seed today water it, if you see a hint of talent applaud it and if you have a little plan - take it by the hand and walk with it.

Adviento 12- Las cosas pequeñas
"¿Quién se atreve a despreciar el día de las pequeñeces? Zacarías 4 v 10
Si aplastas la bellota, nunca obtendras el árbol de roble. Si descuidas del bebé, nunca conseguirás el hombre. Parece que las cosas están hechas para comenzar pequeñas, y cosas pequenas como las bellotas, los bebés y las ideas, necesitan ayuda para crecer. Así que si encuentras hoy una semilla que la mojes, si ves una pizca de talento que lo aplaudas y si tienes un pequeño plan - que lo tomes de la mano y camines con ello.

Advent 11

We live in a world
of long nights
and fragile dawns
but today I give thanks
that we live in a world
where dreams can come true



Adviento 11
Vivimos en un mundo
de noches largas
y amaneceres fragiles
pero hoy doy gracias
que vivimos en un mundo
donde los sueños pueden hacerse realidad

Advent 10

Ode to Covarrubias

As God swept the autumn away

He gathered it to you

The rake’s rusted tongs

Laced stones with amber hue

Where coffee cream houses

Melt against the air

And cracked chocolate beams

Hold tight to keep them there

Leaves like brandy snaps

Crunch against your feet

And wood smoke fills the lungs

Of every narrow street

Surely the winter will wrestle

And spring will struggle too

The summer soon forgotten, for
You are autumn through and through

Advent 9 - Enough already?

If I'm honest, I think I have always understood the world in terms of scarcity. Not enough money to go round, not enough food, not enough time, not enough love, not enough understanding. But what if the reverse were actually the case?

Take the humble potato - plant one and you get loads back –how cool! Is it possible that written into the codes of nature there is actually a scheme for ABUNDANCE and not poverty? What if loving one person could unlock the power in them to love many more? What if we are sat on our resources for fear that they will run dry when releasing them could cause a ripple effect beyond our imagination?

It might be insane idealism but I'm up for experimenting with this. Maybe if we got a bit creative with what we've got, got a bit happy, loosened our grip, got a bit generous, got dreaming, got planting, we'd find there was plenty to go round.

Adviento 9 - Basta ya?

Si soy sincero, creo que siempre he entendido el mundo en términos de escasez. No hay dinero suficiente para todos, no hay comida suficiente, no hay tiempo suficiente, no hay amor suficiente, no hay entendimiento suficiente. Pero ¿Qué pasa si al contrario es en realidad el caso?

Contemplad la humilde patata- plantas una – y recibes un montón devuelto –¡mola! ¿Es posible que por escrito en los códigos de la naturaleza es en realidad la ABUNDANCIA y no la pobreza. ¿Qué pasa si el amar de una persona puede desbloquear el poder en ella de amar a muchas personas más. ¿Y es que estamos sentados encima de nuestros recursos por temor a que se agotaran cuando, al soltarlos, podríamos iniciar un efecto domino más allá de nuestra imaginación?
Puede ser que sea el idealismo loco, pero estoy dispuesta a experimentar con esto. Tal vez si nos pusiéramos un poco creativos con lo que tenemos, un poco felices, un poco, generosos, si soñáramos un poco más, si plantáramos encontraríamos que hay mucho para todos.

Advent 8 - Is the future written?

Is the future written? Was chatting about this with a friend of mine last night and I'm thinking of a switch of mind set. Are we here to discover the plans that the Divine Being has made for us or are we here to create new ones in partnership with Him? What do you think? Is it literally an open book?

Adviento 8 -Es el futuro ya escrito?

Es el futuro ya escrito? Estaba hablando de esto anoche con un amigo mío, y yo estoy pensando en un cambio de mentalidad. Estamos aquí para descubrir los planes que el Ser Divino ya ha hecho por nosotros o estamos aquí para crear otras nuevas, en colaboración con él? ¿Qué te parece? Es, literalmente, un libro abierto?