10 Things I Will Never Do

Help - I can't think of 10 things! Lynn & Wood St Girl have already picked the best ones.
So, with apologies for duplication:

1. Bungee jump
2. Go into a shop (any shop) on Christmas Eve
3. Sing in church without dancing (at least a bit)
4. Run for parliament
5. Eat frogs
6. Ski
7. Go to Starbucks, Burger King or McDonalds
8. Climb a Munro
9. Complain about the quality of a glass of wine
10. Buy the Daily Mail

All this is with the proviso that I'm terribly inconsistent (see previous post) so don't shoot me if you see me eating a frog sandwich!!

I don't know how to tag anyone, but if you want to suggest your own 10 things, please add it as a comment. Thanks.

Transformation

I have been through quite a difficult time in the last year where I have been conscious of my failings (e.g. short-temper, inconsistency etc) & have despaired of ever overcoming them. I felt I was in a bit of a cycle where I would feel close to God & things would get better for a while, then I would lose the plot again & go downhill. Due to my temprament, I would get quite depressed about this & I came to a point in February where I felt I would be short-tempered, picky & inconsistent for the rest of my life.
Now I know the Bible says otherwise & we should just accept that this is absolute truth & anything else is a lie, but I just didn't have the energy to accept that in the face of my experience to the contrary.
So what happened? Did God strike me down for my unbelief? Absolutely not!
What has been happening since then has been God's gentle hand pointing out the baby steps I have made in terms of growing more like Jesus. He has helped me celebrate the little victories when I managed to hold my tongue for half an hour, or bitten back the negative retort & managed something vaguely positive instead. I know there is a long way to go, but I have become convinced by experience (God speaking to my heart), rather than by doctrine (God speaking to my mind) that He is changing me.
In fact, although the theologians may correct me, I have become aware that Rom 12v2 says "be transformed" not "transform yourself" I think this is something that God does, not something He expects us to keep trying to do for ourselves (impossible)
Then on Saturday, I heard a song which totally sums it up & confirmed what God has been saying to me. It is written by my friend Ilse Clark & I heard her sing it at the launch of her album (which is totally sublime by the way). Part of the words say: "You never give up on me / This work in progress / You will complete" At last God has brought me to a point where I can say this is true for me.
So if you hear me sounding off, or getting totally frustrated & depressed with life, please cut me some slack - I'm still under construction, but at least the workmen haven't disappeared for a permanent tea-break!

Citizen of the World

This morning, as per usual, I woke my 10-yr old son up at the unearthly hour of 7.20am. I put the lights on & was greeted by a groan of "Turn the light off!"
"Is there a word beginning with P in that sentence?" I asked (this is mum-speak for: You need to say please!)
Immediately came the answer: "Por favor"
Quick thinking, in Spanish, at that time in the morning...........I'm impressed!

Advent

Hoorah, the first weekend in December has arrived & it's time to deck the halls (and all the other rooms too)! We had a wonderful burst of creativity this afternoon as we put up the Christmas tree, wreaths, stars etc etc. (accompanied by the Christmas carols CD of course)
Our decorations have been bought over the years in 2 different colour schemes: red & gold or blue & silver, so I asked "Which colours will we use this year?" To which big bro decreed: "Let's just make it random!" I was about to protest & say "Wouldn't it be nicer.........." when I thought - stuff "nicer" - if he wants random, let's have random. I've spent a lot of years being "nice" & in control, so this year we have tinsel actually thrown at the tree to see where it would stick and a paper hand-puppet angel on the top (made by li'l sis). The halls are well & truly decked & it looks great!

In the midst of all this fun & laughter, I have been trying to reflect on Christ's incarnation in a fresh way this year. Today I was reading Rob Lacey's "The Liberator" (which I highly recommend by the way) It opens with his version of John ch1, about Jesus "Light of the World". I often imagine the Light of the World like a candle, but "His words were life itself and they lit up people's lives. His light could blast its way into the dingiest corner" This is not a feeble candle flame. Although Jesus never forced his light on anyone, this speaks to me more of a powerful spotlight. I can't imagine the dynamic force that Jesus must have had when he physically walked the earth. People were so irresistably drawn to this light. Although we don't have Jesus' physical presence, I'm once again amazed that the Light of the World still attracts us and, by his Spirit, light up our lives with freedom & love. Although Christmas is often bound up with rituals & traditions, this is not a religion - this is a life. To quote Rob again: "Okay, Moses gave us the contract, but Jesus The Liberator gave us God's gifts and God's truth - loads better. Who's seen God? No one. But we've seen his only Son, Jesus, and you don't get much closer than that."