musicians...

‎"The musician is very close to mysticism, far closer than the philosopher...because music is meaningful without any words; it is meaningful simply because it rings some bells in your heart..creates a synchronicity between you and itself, when your heart starts resonating in the same way, when you start pulsating in the same way."
- Osho, Philosophia Ultima

Gather Together

Gather Together is a new style of stripped-down Christian family praise, designed to be light and airy, to give God room to move.
I started it at the start of the year (Jan 2nd) and have done it each month since, on the first Sunday of the month.
It is starting to attract families, and God is definitely getting Himself in there.
My daughter Jasmine (10) said over dinner:
“Church gets boring when we go all the time”
“Yes it does,” I replied, “We all feel like that sometimes.”
“it makes me not want to go.”
“What about Gather Together?”
“Gather Together is what church should be like all the time.”

Amen.

Faster

The river runs faster today, to avoid freezing over.

Ipod blues

My ipod plays many rivers to cross
As I cross
A river.

Bridge

The rain soddened my trousers as I cycled across the bridge. There was a sausage on the cycle path.

Quick!

Mavis, I need you to say something witty, quick!
What’s witty?
Clever. Clever and funny.
What?

After Spike Milligan

Mavis says:
The wibbly wobbly man
Got up at Nine
Read a Line
And went back to bed at quarter past nine.

Smile

Lord, grant me a ready smile for anyone I may meet, but never let me simper.

Diary

Copying appointments
Into a second diary
Only happens in
January

A small doubt.

I did wonder at the ‘honesty’ of simply repeating phrases from my 6 year old daughter and calling them small stones, it did feel a bit like cheating. Now though, it doesn’t. I’m ‘paying attention’ - to Mavis.

Envelopes

“Right Mavis, we have yoghurt and butter. Is there anything else on your shopping list we need in the dairy aisle?”
“Envelopes.”

St Govan's Chapel, Pembrokeshire

The high crashing waves, white as gulls, emphasise the silence.

Contemplation

After the question, Mavis, having just taken a large bite of toast and jam, chewed thoughtfully. She chewed thoroughly, and slowly cleared her mouth of every last morsel of food before clearing her throat, shrugging, and saying “uh’uh”.

Interview

Cycling 10 miles,
determined to go slowly,
guaranteed to arrive early.

Prayer

Hey God, I’m listening.

Soup

I ate so much soup it hurt.
So I only had one more bowlful.

Jan 2nd

Listening to Arvo Paert at 3am, God is humming quietly to Himself.

Jan 2nd

3am tastes
Of cold Lapsang Souchong

Jan 1st

We pray

birds sing

Jan 1st

in the eyes of a ten year old, the fact that there is only one second keeping 2010 and 2011 apart is nothing short of miraculous.