Listening to the stones

Abram's Stars

spread across
night’s dust covers
galaxies make their way
through the skies
oscillations of light
flickering in the warp of daytime heat
leaving the nighttime atmosphere
now the sun is resting
blips of sliver
in the sheen of midnight
and why do we stare
at such a sight
such an ancient sight
of flickering photons
pulsing in the sky?

because we know
this is not some everyday
atmospheric radiance
disturbing our line of sight
this is the stars
beating out
our names.

Snowtime

If I had time today I would have done this given the wee snowfall we had. It is done my simply walking on the snow. The artist Simon Beck has bed feet so plods around for 6 or 7 hours a day creating patterns in the snow. I'd like that job.

Bigger things, though is having the big image in your head. We're all farily good at the wee picture. The big picture isn't always so easy and when you are on the ground ou can't see it. you have to stand out from yourself, up a mountain. When you are on the ground, you need to trust the boit you are working on now, is part of the whole pattern.

Just a thought...

txt the message

Here's this weeks quiz: can you turn this into txt: (I need it for Sunday. First with the whole thing gets a prize - maybe.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

Bet you can't!

Not the end...

...but the start.

The Mayan prophecy everyone in Holywood got wrong about the end of the world happening tomorrow (21st) is the perfect incarnation moment. we're great at endings. Not so good at recognising beginnings and that is what Incarnation is.

So the Mayans got it right. Periods of time draw to a close and new one begin. The age of the prophets draw to a close and the age of incarnation begins. That will happen for us on the 25th.

So don't put the Christmas decorations away just yet. there is a lot to live for and the thing is, it is just beginning.

Happy Doomsday when it comes!

Try this at home

I had a friend who once did this with her books. She would choose the colour of a book to read rather than the title. Such an excellent way to engage with the world unpredictably and do some discovery. Perhaps we could invent a new way of chosing hymns? What do you suggest...

First person to...

...bake this cake gets a prize.

Seriously.

I'm happy to test it out any time you like.

Just bring it along to the church office or even on a Sunday but don't tell anyone because they'll all want a bit.

Did Noah get this as his birthday cake?

 

A load of bananas

Do bananas make good chips? Do they go with Haggis and Neeps?

Not such daft questions given that as our climate is changing and in many places warming then traditional crops such as wheat and maize and potatoes will be replaced by more 'tropical' produce and bananas could become the stable diet for many in the world.

Whether they'll ever be grown in Scotland I don't know. Scotland is one of those blips in the global warming debate and is also a reason we don't and shouldn't talk of global warming but rather climate change. Anyway, Scotland is certainly going to become wetter with cooler summers and milder winters under one more for the future so we might manage to retain the potato but its an interesting way to engage with climate change: what recipes will become our traditional meals? Banoffee Pie? Baked Banana and chocolate?

The point is that climate is changing but then it always has. Climate change is not a new concept to in the deep time of Planet Earth. It's been a whole lot cooler (snowball earth) and it has been a whole lot warmer where much of the single continent that what the land mass of our planet 250 million years ago was desert. It's just that humans haven't been on the planet when it has had any significant change in temperature. We've built a lifestyle and economy and inventions that work when the temperature ranges seasonally as it does now, except the last couple of years where there have been annual climate volatility and extreme weather patterns and look what happened to food prices and insurance bills.

So go start inventing some banana recipes. Publish them here. We can try them out and be ahead of the crowd when bananas are the vogue stable in our diet.

In honour of tea

 

Because a cup of tea is probably the first and best thing we use to help each other through the crisis in life. No believer should be without a box like this...!

The Strictly New Kilpatrick Bake-Off

I wondered if we could do a version of one of the popular TV programmes on at the moment. Anyone up for a New Kilpatrick Strictly night or a Great NK Bake-Off?

Or is there another themed night we could do?

Open to suggestions.

It was a blog like this that started the book club (which was meeting tonight). So you just don't know where you might end up with an idea.

What would be your perfect night's entertainment?

Who needs theology...

...when you can do this. This has just made my day. Don't worry it is in Chinese. You won't need a translation. Just watch and learn. Tell me you won't be trying this straight away.