Vanity, Vanity all is vanity says the preacher!

Greetings,

NOT MINE

In one sense it is true, it was all for vanity,  it was not for what I have at the moment, it is what I wanted and tried to attain............. A BEAUTIFUL LAWN.  It all started on Monday, I was to take Stephen the student (of Lamb fame) visiting but he had text me to say he was coming on a later train. This gave me extra time and I went down to my study to do a little research, however it was a lovely day, the patio doors were open and I wandered into the garden and gazed upon my 'lawn.'                             Now, you must understand, since I moved into this house three years ago and the new lawn was rolled out l had dreamed of a beautiful green sward with even stripes.....instead I had a garden with brown, green  and bald patches.....SO I BROUGHT IN THE EXPERTS .....they agreed to treat the grass....they also suggested that cutting it each week instead of fort-nightly during the growing season would be beneficial.

                                                         

   'GREENTHUMB'

      Finding myself with a spare hour before Stephen arrived I decide to cut the grass,  my lovely lawnmower started first time, cut a couple of metres and died of thirst......this is the important bit..... do I leave it to another time or do I go to the garage and get petrol?  I take the petrol can and go to the garage and while I am filling it another brain wave hits me, I will top up the car.  This is the very important bit......  I DO..

IT IS NOT UNITL STEPHEN AND I HAVE FINISHED OUR SECOND VISIT OF THE DAY AND THE CAR DOESN'T START THAT I REALIZE WHAT I HAVE DONE.      

                                                           HAVE YOU GUESSED YET?                 

My car is DIESEL!!!!!





My Lawnmower is PETROL!!!

 

With a red face and  apologies to Stephen I sent him on his way and rang the AA  to lift the car and take it to Charles Hurst

      Now.... I don't know your theological thinking on praying for a car...... I prayed .....and fervently, that I would not have caused any  internal damage by driving AS FAR AS Bannagh Corner.

A phone call that evening informed me that the car was  drained, flushed, pampered and restored without damage.  My LOUD PRAYER OF THANKS to God was genuine and deeply felt.  Praise the Lord!!!! He is good.

      I don't know whether  it was trying to absolve my stupidity and self annoyance but I began to think what if....what if Stephen had come on time.....what if I hadn't cut the grass........what if the lawnmower hadn't run out of petrol.....what if.....and then it hit me like a bucket of cold water, there are no 'what ifs' it was all down to me and the desire to have a beautiful lawn....it was then that phrase came to me 'Vanity of vanities says the preacher . All is vanity!   I thought I knew what it meant but did I?

      If we look at the NIV translation of the Bible it reads.   Meaningless! Meaningless! says the teacher. Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless. Eccl. 1:2  The Hebrew word means 'breath or vapour, therefore  the earthly possessions we pride ourselves on are insubstantial, useless or futile. 

      King Solomon (the teacher) has everything, wisdom, power, riches, honour, reputation, God's favour and yet as he looks back over his life ...... all he has achieved seemed meaningless to him, he discusses the ultimate emptiness of all that this world has to offer and tries to show that earthly posessions and accomplishments are not important, what is  VERY, VERY, VERY important ......is the pursuit  of God.        It was a common belief in Jewish thinking that   good people prospered and wicked people suffered but Solomon had found in his experience this was not true.  Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes after he had tried everything and achieved much only to find that nothing apart from God made him happy. He wanted his readers to avoid these senseless pursuits and so he directs them to commit themselves to God to honour Him in all they said, thought and did.   Only by knowing, loving and accepting God would they find true satisfaction and fulfilment.

  Has anything changed? In our time people are unhappy, unfulfilled,  and disatisfied, searching for meaning in life. 

Solomon challenges our thinking, we need to take a long hard look at our lives as Solomon did and we will see how important serving God is over all other desires. It has caused me to rethink my values and desires, I have had a great lesson, an expensive one yes, but one I have taken to heart. Afterall  a stripey lawn is absoulutely nothing in God's great plan of Redemption.

FOR

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.
Stuart Townend, Keith Getty

'How anxious are our cares, and yet how vain the bent of our desires!

Blessings to you and all whom you love,

May you have laughter in your eyes,

a smile on your lips,

a song in your heart,

merriment in your soul,

and share the joy that Christ has given you.

Your Pastor Heather xx

News from Newtownards 'What I didn't know'

This week I have been in Newtownards a lot, not surprising since The Methodist Conference is being hosted by our Movilla Church, you couldn't have had a cup of coffee anywhere  in the town without running into several of our ministers in holy huddles around the 'buns'. 

        My interest was awakened during the Representative Session when Barbara, (head caterer) took off her apron temporarily and as  Society Steward of Movilla gave a brief history of the church as she welcomed everyone to Movilla.  It was then that I realized I have spent my life going to and through Newtownards and did not know much about its long Christian history.

Movilla Abbey or the 'Monastery of the Notable Tree' was founded by St. Finian in 540 AD and is one of Ulster's most important Abbeys.  St. Finian was a local lad from  the ruling eastern tribe of Dal Fiatach, he is credited with bringing the first copies of the Scriptures to Ireland.   His grandfather was Ailill whose brother Dichu gave Patrick, later the Saint, a barn at Saul for a church. How's that for name dropping, but it doesn't stop there St. Columba  attended the school that was established on the site along with quite a few historical dignitries, and the Abbey became famous for  its bronze and glass works.   The Abbey was plundered by Vikings, restored by Norman Agustinians and burned by Brian O'Neill to prevent Sir Thomas Smith getting his hands on it during the reign of Elizabeth I.

      There are many ancient graves within the grounds of the Abbey including one that is pre-Norman, set into the side wall are  three 13th Century Coffin Lids, but the one that took my interest is the more modern grave of Colonel Paddy Blair Mayne of WWII fame.

He was one of the most decorated soldiers in the British Army winning the Distinguished Service Order with three bars ..... from the French Government he was awarded the Legion d'honneur and the Croix de Guerre, the first foreign national  to be awarded such honours. During and after the war  Colonel Paddy's exploits while under the influence 'of a drop of the hard stuff'  are legendary.    I remember my uncles telling me this story.  One night after imbibing a particulary large amount   Paddy and several friends decided to play a prank on another man who owned a small pony and trap.  After seeing the man home and safely asleep on his sofa.... the three friends dismantled the cart and re-assembled it..... pony and all...... in the parlour, when the owner awakened the next day he could not get his head round ...HOW IT GOT THERE!  it may be an Urban Myth but I know several people who will attest to its authenticity.
     But back to Conference..... I am perfectly sure no one at Conference has read my previous Blog so did not know I had been feeling a bit jaded of late, so it was a real blessing to me that the Bible Studies on Thursday and Friday were both on keeping ourselves fresh and our focus on God.
      One speaker related how burnt out he felt, so much so he sank into depression and needed help which he thankfully received.  This proved very helpful when he was chosen to be Bishop and in travelling round his diocese he was able to recognize in many ministers  that glazed look, (no, not from  Communion Wine) but burnt out. He spoke on how we all need to get a balance in  our church/family/working life, focusing and resting upon God.  The Scripture was John 14 where Jesus brings comfort to his disciples in preparation for their task ahead. We broke into groups for discussion,  my friend and colleague Ruth  offered us Matthew 11 verses 28-30 from the Message Bible, I quote.

'Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me....watch how I do it.  Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly.'

Aren't those wonderful promises for us all, we get so caught up in getting things done at home, in church.....even on holiday..... we do push our Lord aside at times, for me this summer I am taking these verses to heart, I am going to spend quality time learning from the Lord, I will walk with Him, however slowly..... in the garden, in forests and fields by rivers and lakes .....learn His rhythms, learn how to live freely and lightly in His Grace.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hears and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:6-7

I love this picture .......  In  prayer: Don't give God instructions....just report for duty!

Like the summer breezes playing,

                                              like the tall trees softly swaying,
                                              like the lips of silent praying
                                              is the perfect peace of God.
                                

                                               Like the azure ocean swelling,

                                               like the jewel all-excelling.

                                               far beyond our human telling

                                               is the perfect peace of God.

                                                                              Michael Perry

Blessings and Peace to you and yours,

Pastor Heather



Don't let your worries get the better of you or 'Brief encounter'.......

Don't let your worries get the better of you. Remember, Moses started out as a basket case!

     Just trying to lighten the moment, but worry is a terrible affliction.  This week I ran into an old friend of  mine, and I was so embarrassed, not only did I not remember her name I did not recognize her at all.  Once my friend reminded me the memories came flooding back, memories of our childhood and teenage years together.   We shared a pair of skates, learned to swim in Victoria Park, tried our first and only 'Gallagher's Blues'  argued over the best pop stars, swore we were  sisters for life..... but as so often happens we grew up.... and grew apart.  

      I just could not understand the change in my friend, not only her appearance but her carefree,  joy de vivre had gone.  I offered a lift and listened as she told me about her failed marriages, her lonliness and worries, I was truly saddened,  as we parted we promised to keep in touch. 

    Driving home I began to think of life and things ......how privileged and blessed I am..... I gave thanks for my family and friends, my church family and began to ponder on how important church is, how helpful a church fellowship can be for the lost and lonely. 

     In a recent article I read that there will be more people attending  church in the UK this weekend than at all the sporting events combined,  and although that gave me great heart I know that  many people  have no idea why they attend church.

    

      Some of them go out of tradition. Some  out of guilt. Some  go out of habit.  Why do we build these buildings? What purpose is it for?

     The Bible says that God created the church to help people fulfil His purpose for their lives and one of the ways a church family can help is to.....help  us centre our life around God through worship.

Worship is simply building our life around God,  God didn’t put us on earth to live a self-centered life. He didn’t put us here for our  own benefit.  We exist for God not vice versa. God wants to be the core of our being, the focus of  our attention the center of our life. The Bible calls that worship.

Anytime God is the center of your life you are worshipping Him. 
      How do you know if God is really at the center of our life? It is simple. You stop worrying. Worry is the symptom, the warning light that God is not the center of our life. When  money, job, family, when anything else except God takes that center place in our life you’re going to be prone to anxiety,  fear and worry. We have to overcome ourselves.

       Jesus talks a lot about worry in Matthew  He says do not worry about what you eat, drink or wear, 'do not worry about tomorrow, for each day has enough touble of its own.'and he gives us the way of solving our worries''Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind.'.....and love your neighbour as yourself,' in other words looking away from ourselves to  others.

A quote from the Imitation of Christ puts it well.

'The greatest daily fight is that of conquering ourselves, but this fight is worth winning. We must be determined to win if we are going to defeat our old way of thinking and make real spiritual progress from day to day.'

When you get to your wit's end, you'll find God lives there!

I tried to tell my friend some of this but our encounter was brief, when we parted and as I lifted her to the Lord in prayer I promise Him and myself that I would keep in touch.

From an emotional disturbance to a physical one.....let me introduce my new alarm clock, 5 am this morning, the disturber of my peace protecting his/her nesting from a feline intruder, I don'd know which was the worse the cat's squealing or the magpie's squawking.

PEACE, PERFECT PEACE,

WITH SORROWS

SURGING ROUND?

IN JESUS' PRESENCE

NOUGHT BUT CALM

IS FOUND.

Blessings to you and yours.

Heather

Greetings,
I don't know if anyone will be interested in my thoughts and reflections but it's 'cool' according to Patrick from church to have a blog, so here I go.

It has been a very busy time both at Church and home and I felt a bit jaded but that phrase kept coming to me from the Scriptures. 'Be still, and know that I am God.'  Psalm 46:10  When it eventually sank in what God was saying to me I decided to take a little time for us both and went for a wander in the woods at Craigantlet, found a nice log to sit and 'think'..... it was beautiful.  The sun was filtering through the trees ,  the bluebells nodded their heads in the gentle breeze, and as I relaxed and drank it the beauty of God's creation my mind drifted to William Wordsworth's poem, Daffodils. 

I wandered lonely as a cloud

that floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.  Couldn't remember the next bit but it continues,

Ten thousand saw I at a glance.

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. Leaving out the next verse,

For oft, when on my couch I lie

in vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills

and dances with the daffofils.

Change that couch for a log and the daffodils for bluebells and you will get a sense of what I saw and  felt,  as the beauty washed my tension away  again I felt God speak to me through the Scriptures. 'There is a time for everything'   I opened the Bible on my iPhone (technology is wonderful) at Ecclesiastes and read.....

'There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heaven; a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.' 3:1-8

It reminded me again how important the Bible is for us, as we read and apply the Bible regularly, one of the great benefits is that we start to see the world in a Christian way.  We also see the Bible as a whole, and not as unconnected fragments.  As young children need a regular diet for proper growth, so the Christian needs to feed spiritually upon the scriptures, applying their truths to daily living.

I give thanks for the Scriptures and pray that no matter how busy we are..... we do not forget to be open to God's promptings and  to  live life expecting God to communicate with us.

 And to finish, a notice outside a church.  WORN OUT?    COME IN FOR A SERVICE!

Blessings,

Your Pastor, Heather