Thursday, December 28, 2006

Ministry

In season and out of season.

These are my words for this year. As I was pondering over the writing and thinking of which direction next, this verse came to mind.
2 Timothy 4:2 preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching.

If I consider this writing to be a ministry gift then I must write if I feel like it or not, motivated or not, inspired or not. That does not mean putting out shoddy work but it means that I no longer have the excuse of not feeling like writing and I must write every day, whether it is a line or hundreds of them.
What matters is that I do it all for the glory of God as a minister of the gospel; So in season or out of season, I write the words I hear in my mind.

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Morgan Freeman link

Somehow people like to talk to me and I have even had a stranger share with me the hunch that she was pregnant and I could see the glow as she described her feelings. She was older than me and had probably given up the thought of ever being a mother and suddenly felt like she was pregnant. Whether her feeling turned out right or not, I never got to know since she was a complete stranger but what I was amazed at was to be able to share her joy in those few minutes that she confided in me.

This week while waiting to get a DVD for Michael’s birthday, the lady in front of me started chatting with me about the DVD which had Morgan Freeman in it and she said that if she were dying and was asked for her last wish, she would wish for Morgan Freeman to read to her.

I understand what she means. I like him a lot too; he is cool, self-assured and completely comfortable in his skin, I feel. And his voice, ah, what a voice. Well, this lady waxed lyrical about his voice too and then she also told me she was expecting her first baby and again I shared in the joy of another stranger.

I don’t know what it is about me that makes people talk to me but it is something I do not take for granted at all because it is one sure way in which I receive inspiration to write. A conversation sets me thinking and then gives way to the desire to jot down my thoughts and in that way have I been privileged to share a lot of my thoughts.

Maybe I should do a search of Morgan Freeman on the web and see where that also leads me.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

My good friend, the journal

Each time I read an old journal I get quite tickled and pleased at some of my musings in there and I also find out whether I have grown up at all in any way. Sometimes I get quite surprised to see that I have written something I am still grappling with or realize that I have had answers to questions or prayer requests I have jotted in there. I am glad I keep a journal. I have recently come across a market for submissions and I have spotted a few lines in one of my old journals that I could pick up and follow through to submit to this market.

I am also hoping to get out a vision letter to Barbara,my coach, about what I want to achieve next year and even though I am feeling physically tired at the moment, I am at the point where I realise that if I do not push forward my dreams tired or not, they will remain exactly those: dreams and who doesn’t have dreams, tell me? We all do but few realise the grand things they picture. All the boring words I normally do not like to think about are necessary to achieve my dreams. Diligence, perseverance, hard work, preparedness, etc,etc and all those “lovely’ words come into play over here. I have at least one thing to help me. A journal to pour in my difficulties and of course prayer, music, the Word and all the support I have from those who love me come to mind.
And of course, keeping a trusty journal to keep me company along the way is always a good thing.

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Monday, December 11, 2006

The Cosby show

It has been a busy week with the school activities around this time of year but a day at a time is always good practice during times like these.
And as I have prayed about how to discipline the boys without shouting at them all the time and antagonizing them in the process, help has come in the form of an old classic comedy: the Cosby show; a show I really enjoyed in my more youthful days.

We have discovered a channel that airs two episodes in the evening and they are providing a lot of laughs in this household and a good means of talking to the boys about bad behaviour and manners. I am grateful to Bill Cosby for sharing his gift and hope to do likewise with whatever I have.

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Friday, December 01, 2006

I do hope the little lady has some fashion sense more in tune with her granny’s than mine. I have had this hairdo that I am not too sure about for a week and she has been staring at the hair more than at my face. I guess she is wondering whether her hair is going to change into that too. Hmmm.
Anyway it has been a week of still smiling and waving and calling upon friends to pray about certain things with me. God is good and I believe I am the most blessed of all his children with such friends in my life. Friends I can call on when I am in need of a pick-me-up and some friendly advice and encouragement.
I met a lovely man when I was doing the PGCE who was also a Christian and though we did not become bosom buddies, we did have a few interesting conversations and there was once he offered to drop me home but I refused because he lived way out of London and I though it would be inconsiderate of me to take him out of his way to my area. Well, he also dropped the PGCE and he was even more advanced in the program than I was but thought it was somehow not suited to him either. Well we have kept in touch and once in about every three months we drop each other a line. He just wrote to me this week to tell me that he and his family are trying out the good life by taking a smallholding; that is they have gone into farming! Now I was so excited about that because of my farming dreams and very happy for him, needless to say.

Each time my man-made plans do not seem to go the way I want them to,
I remember that the Christ child was born in the least likely place,
For me He came, for me He lived on earth,
For me He died and rose again,
To give me life everlasting that never fades or passes away
In the presence of His Father.
Hallelujah.
My man-made plans are nothing without Him.