Short stories, snippets, thoughts and musings. Memories - emotional and factual. A bit of a dreamer - What if?
Wednesday 3 June 2009
Sunset
Friday 29 May 2009
Friends far off
Note to morning office: How excited are you my God, to hear of my adventures; and how much have you to show me.
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Wednesday 27 May 2009
Rievaulx and Dry stone walls
Another day and another walk in the North Yorkshire Moors. Strewn across its length and bredth are dry stone walls, an art still kept by local folk and handed down for future generations. (walls) You have to marvel at the shear size of this task, to enclose fields and moorland. These are not preformed bricks but sandstone rocks of all shapes and sizes, all of them carted by horse to site and each one of them handled and chosen for its size and shape.
Note to evening office: That whatever I am, I am needed and it is the builder who places the stones.
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Tuesday 19 May 2009
At the beginning of the day
I do not know what it will bring,
Please help me to be ready for whatever it may be.
If I am to stand up, help me to stand bravely.
If I am to sit still, help me to sit quietly.
If I am to lie low, help me to do it patiently
If I am to do nothing, let me do it gallantly.
I pray just for today, for these twenty-four hours,
for the ability to cooperate with others
according to the way Jesus taught us to live.
"Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
May these words that he taught us become more than words.
Please free my thinking and feelings
and the thinking and feelings of others,
from all forms of self-will,
--- self-centredness, dishonesty, and deception.
Along with my brothers and sisters, I need this freedom
to make my choices today according to your desires.
Send your Spirit to inspire us in time of doubt and indecision so that, together, we can walk along your path. ..... Amen.
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Monday 18 May 2009
House keeper
However, I did manage to read some, our local library managed to trace a copy of Peter Anson's memoirs "A roving recluse"; this was the caravan man I mentioned in an earlier blog. I can see I am going to enjoy his ramblings, his first recolection was Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee 1897. All is now back to normal, movement around the house and a sense of home.
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Saturday 16 May 2009
Room to Rent
Part of me enjoys solitude and the other part craves community; usually the opposite of whatever is happening at the time. There will be nobody to get frustrated with and if anything goes wrong, its down to me I guess.. Will let you know how it goes.
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Tuesday 12 May 2009
Batty Bat
Sunday 10 May 2009
New places & heaven
And you
Always contemplating
What to do
In case heaven has found you
Can't you see
That it's all around you
So follow me
There was I looking out on the church car park, low walls and streets; somehow they looked different, as if this were a new place to me and I was looking at it for the first time. Weird, I know. It doesn't happen very often, but why? (I think traffic must be moving - I just got a text).
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Saturday 2 May 2009
Retro Pop
I was wondering whether the music influenced the attitude and behavior of the day or the other way round. It seemed the lyrics and general feel good of the music would have an effect on our way of life?
What came first? the Chicken McNugget or the Egg McMuffin??
By the way, do you recognise these guys?
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Monday 27 April 2009
Learning to fly
Note to morning office: learning to fly requires stepping off some high point.
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Sunday 26 April 2009
Similarities
Feels like my head is up in the clouds at the moment....
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Tuesday 14 April 2009
INNER SELF
As we left we bumped into a lady just arriving, she asked the time of the next service and we suggested she went int the hall for a coffee first.
Sitting in the car we could see the lady, walking around the perimeter looking at the hall; she then sat on the wall, waiting.
Thats when it happened; my friend reached into who she is, a caring person that understands feelings. "Tell her, if she wants to go for a coffee, I will go with her" and that's what we did.
Note to morning office: help me to know me and work out of who I am.
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Monday 13 April 2009
Gift of Time
But it must be more than that for it has not left my thoughts since. Our possessions, all that we have - it is not what we have but what we do with it - letting go of possessions is not easy - how much stuff do I/we have in cupboards and drawers and if we could let go of them, then maybe - just maybe we could let go and be who we are created to be. New life indeed.
Note to evening office: do some clearing out.
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Monday walk
Happy Easter.
Sunday 5 April 2009
Eternal Bank Account
So many of us put great distance between ourselves and our bank account when funds are low. The statement, be it on paper or online is avoided at all cost. "I know I am low but I don't want to know how much". It is great to view a statement when we are in credit, spend a little and not worry about the balance (spend a lot and not worry)!
Holy week and leading up to Good Friday, a day of reckoning when our debt was paid in full ,but it is not that simple - our statement needs to be refreshed daily.
Note to morning office: help me to look after the pennies (your sheep).
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Thursday 26 March 2009
Look through any window
It is an action that is good for the Body, Mind and Spirit.
For a window to be effective, it should be cleaned regularly on both the outside and the in. When it is unclean, much is hidden but once the cleaning is done; even the smallest of blemish (even in the corners) is noticed.
The view from the window opposite is taken from Hetton Hall Northumbria; a prayer seat at the top of the first floor looking towards the sea and Cuthberts cave. A bell rings and it is time for morning office.....
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Sunday 22 March 2009
The Caravan Pilgrim
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Wednesday 4 March 2009
Hayburn Wyke
Note to memo: Take time to smell the flowers. (must be almost spring)?
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Monday 2 March 2009
Between sleep & awake
Back at the friary all was quiet, no one around. Great, I decided to do some housework and a little in the garden (it's surprising how much I can get done when there is no-one around); a little lunch and then some more clearing up and mopping the floors. Latter I must have been flagging and in need of some caffeine, I put the kettle on and made a nice cup of coffee. Going through to the sitting room I found the easy chair and put some music on (Classic FM).
Before long I was nodding off, the music just holding me between sleep & awake; it was a pleasant state and not one I wanted to change. The old clock struck the hour and I wondered what time folk would be back. An oboe concerto began and I felt I was listening to perfection; the sound was moving me through emotional dimensions - I guess I could put it down to being half asleep. Excerpt from concerto - let me know what you think.
Note to evening office: All work and no play/ rest makes David a misery.
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Sunday 22 February 2009
Where it belongs
Note to evening office: Romans 8:38-39 - He took the nothing, that we should have hope.
PS - Looking forward to Lent.
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Sunday 15 February 2009
THE POST
The moon was just past full and casting a glow on the parish church, still in the trees were Christmas lights; the glass reflecting the moonlight. Doors open and lights on at the public house but no sound of music or chatter. Someone heading towards me, head down and sending a text; which side shall I step, left or right? "Now mate" he said as he passes; I swear I do not know him. Now post boxes used to display the time of the next collection, but here again it just says Monday - Friday last collection 4.30pm. I am sure it would have been fine to pop the letter in the first box.
Photograph above is blending two pictures, the stepping stones and the viaduct. A walk into town through the woods one fine morning the other week. I was interested in the footprints laid ahead of me; one on each of the stones across the stream. Leading me on, even though it was a route I had already decided on.
Note to morning office: Lead me on Lord this day, however I may step; left or right.
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Tuesday 3 February 2009
Come and see.
Last weekend we had a lodger, a four legged one roaming around the friary; intent on finding the cat. Situation resolved, the cat lived upstairs and Poppy lived downstairs; that is until bedtime. Poppy was used to sleeping in the bedroom so there was a little shuffling of doors, cat & dog until morning when the process was reversed. Brother Cyril was much amused and suggested leaving them in a room together for a few minutes. I needn't have fussed so much for when they did meet, apart from the noise there were no claws or teeth to be seen. She was good company and joined me on my evening walk through the village.
We have had snow, gales, rain - you could say we have had a lot of weather recently. Just the other night as I put the dog in the garden, our tawny owl was hooting for all he was worth only 15-yards away from me, silhouetted against the clear sky. The easterly wind has brought the cold and it is strange to see the waves coming in diagonal to the shore. Yesterday a flock of Lapwings were heading to the moors and the seagulls were charging around as if on a roller-coaster.
"The Mystery never leaves you alone. Behind your image, below your words, above your thoughts, the silence of another world waits. A world lives within you."
Note to evening office: Behold I stand at the doorway and knock - enter in.
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Sunday 18 January 2009
Bible Puzzle
This is a most remarkable puzzle. It was found by a gentleman in an airplane seat pocket, on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, keeping him occupied for hours. He enjoyed it so much; he passed it on to some friends. One friend from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his john boat. Another friend studied while playing his banjo. Elaine Taylor, a columnist friend, was so intrigued by it she mentioned it in her weekly newspaper column. Another friend judges the job of solving this puzzle so involving; she brews a cup of tea to help her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy to spot. That's a fact. Some people however will soon find themselves in a jam, especially since the book names are not necessarily capitalized. Truthfully, from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a minister or scholar to see some of them at the worst. Research has shown that something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have in seeing the books in this paragraph. During a recent fund raising event, which featured this puzzle, the Alpha Delta Phi lemonade booth set a new sales record. The local paper, The Chronicle, surveyed over 200 patrons who reported that this puzzle was one of the most difficult they had ever seen. As Daniel Humana humbly puts it, "the books are all right there in plain view, hidden from sight." Those able to find all of them will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation that may help is that books like Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers. Also, keep in mind that punctuation and spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete really well against those who claim to know the answers. Remember, there is no need for a mad exodus, there really are 30 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in this paragraph waiting to be found.
Enjoy the challenge; I did...
For those looking for answers - Here they are Bible answers
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Friday 9 January 2009
Ask the expert.
Imagine my embarrassment, I am in my element, spotting birds in the wilds of the North York Moors; equipped with my new hi tech scope and camera, when along come some walkers. "Hi, have you seen anything"? I clearly look like the real thing, an expert, with all the trimmings. It is at this time I wish my Italian was better, I could say something and they would just pass by. Yes I had just seen this amazing bird but I don't know what it is till I get back home and look at the book, quite common really, a redshank. What would it be like to be invisible?
I guess we assume great knowledge from those who have the gadgets and the dress. Priests, Doctors, Garage mechanics and Teachers; would we ask a man in the street, when is the next eclipse of the moon? Does God really know how many hairs left on my head? Yet, bump into an "expert" and out pop these questions.
Note to evening office: Give thanks for not being an expert, and not being invisible.
Monday 29 December 2008
Crib & Child
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Sunday 28 December 2008
Outwood bound
Note to evening office; Take a walk on the wild side (often).
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Wednesday 24 December 2008
A Journey a far
Note to evening office: Faith is found often without seeing, but how our faith grows when we see. Such a simple thing as a piece of glass, which in itself - we need to look through and not at.
Lots of love
Every blessing for this Christmas time, receive Love - Peace - Hope.
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