The Joy of Carousel Creates

I wrote this on Wednesday 8th May.

Most Wednesday mornings I have a real treat. It’s an opportunity to get out of the apartment and up into the Dublin Mountains to a cosy house which overlooks the city. On a clear day, the views are fabulous!

This house is the home of Carousel Creates. A place where people can come to write. It is run by Carolann Copland, who is herself a writer. There are seminars and writing workshops on weekends from time to time, but the Wednesday morning event is called Carousel Creates Cafe. We arrive somewhere around 9.00 am and start with coffee and a chat. Then each of us will go to our laptops or notebooks and write. Some write poetry, others short stories, still others novels. I write theological reflections. We break for coffee at around 11.15; at this point someone gets an opportunity to read something that they have written. Then it’s back to work until finishing time at around 1.00 pm.

It is really good to get out and go to such an idyllic spot to write. There are fewer distractions (I don’t even use the wi – fi on my computer while I’m here, although as I write this I am slightly distracted looking at the Twitter feed on my phone because of Sir Alex’s retirement!).

As I have said elsewhere, I am not the most organised person in the world, and need a structured environment to get things done. When I am at cafe, I can concentrate on getting things written. It is great, as well, to meet other people during the break time.

I would certainly recommend coming here to anyone who would like such an opportunity to write. Further details about Carousel Creates are here.

The Weekly Hymn

A little late this week, but here it is:

A classic hymn attributed to Francis of Assisi. A great reminder that when we praise God we do so along with the rest of creation!

All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice and with us sing,
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Thou burning sun with golden beam,
Thou silver moon with softer gleam!
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thou rushing wind that art so strong
Ye clouds that sail in Heaven along,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou rising moon, in praise rejoice,
Ye lights of evening, find a voice!
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Thou flowing water, pure and clear,
Make music for thy Lord to hear,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Thou fire so masterful and bright,
That givest man both warmth and light.
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

And all ye men of tender heart,
Forgiving others, take your part,
O sing ye! Alleluia!
Ye who long pain and sorrow bear,
Praise God and on Him cast your care!
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Let all things their Creator bless,
And worship Him in humbleness,
O praise Him! Alleluia!
Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,
And praise the Spirit, Three in One!
O praise Him! O praise Him!
Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!

The Weekly Hymn

Last Sunday was what is known as Pentecost Sunday. It’s an opportunity to remember when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, and they were empowered for work and witness. Every Christian has the Holy Spirit within, and every Christian needs his fresh empowering constantly. Stuart Townend and Keith Getty have written a very helpful hymn that expresses this:

Holy Spirit, Living Breath of God,
Breathe new life into my willing soul.
Let the presence of the risen Lord,
Come renew my heart and make me whole.
Cause Your Word to come alive in me;
Give me faith for what I cannot see,
Give me passion for Your purity;
Holy Spirit, breathe new life in me.

Holy Spirit, come abide within,
May Your joy be seen in all I do.
Love enough to cover every sin,
In each thought and deed and attitude.
Kindness to the greatest and the least,
Gentleness that sows the path of peace.
Turn my strivings into works of grace;
Breath of God, show Christ in all I do.

Holy Spirit, from creation’s birth,
Giving life to all that God has made.
Show Your power once again on earth,
Cause Your church to hunger for your ways.
Let the fragrance of our prayers arise;
Lead us on the road of sacrifice,
That in unity the face of Christ
May be clear for all the world to see.

Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music

The Weekly Hymn

Many hymns were written from the life experiences of their writers. One such well known example is “When peace like a river”. This was written by H.G. Spafford in the 19th century. His wife and children were on a boat which was involved in an accident, and tragically the children were all drowned, just his wife was saved.
It was in the middle of such tragedy and personal sadness for Mr Spafford that he wrote these inspiring words. They have become a source of comfort and hope to many who have had such tragedies in their own lives.

When peace like a river attends all my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll.
Whatever my lot you have taught me to say
“It is well it is well with my soul.”

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come
Let this blest assurance control.
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate
And has shed his own blood for my soul.

My sin – O the bliss of this glorious thought –
My sin not in part but the whole
Is nailed to his cross and I bear it no more
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord O my soul!

For me be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live
If Jordan above me shall roll.
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
You will whisper your peace to my soul.

But Lord, it’s for you, for your coming we wait
The sky not the grave is our goal!
O trump of the angel, O voice of the Lord
Blessed hope, blessed rest for my soul!

H.G. Spafford

The #atozchallenge – Reflections

It is now a week ago that I finished the A to Z Challenge, so having had some time to ponder, here are a few reflections.

Firstly, it was an excellent discipline for me to have to come up with a new post for every day of the month (except Sundays). I am not the most self – disciplined person in the world, and do not function well without some sort of structure.

The fact that it was an a to z; a different letter for each day was also useful. It meant that I didn’t have to start from scratch each time, wondering what to write for that particular day.

Theology is a wide ranging subject and there was no shortage of subjects for the majority of letters. I did have to give a bit of extra thought to q and x, though. There were quite a few possibilities for z! I made a list of possible subjects at the start, but I did change some of them when I came to write.

However, even though the posts were all about Theological/Biblical issues, they were slightly random. I don’t think that necessarily matters; it’s not as if I was writing a novel where people were waiting for the next installment, or even a textbook which would have to have some sort of logical progression.

What was most important for me was that for each post, I had to spend time considering the issue about which I was writing, and to meditate upon such great themes was greatly beneficial. For a Christian, to spend time considering the great truths of the faith is uplifting and challenging.

Also of supreme importance was that I was passing these thoughts on to the readers. I trust, too, that they will have been helped and encouraged. I was delighted to receive comments along the way from those who had read the posts, and was pleased that people had found them helpful.

What I now need to do is to make sure that I continue to write blog posts on a regular basis, I do not want to lose the impetus of the past month. I think I am going to have to have a big sign that flashes up on my computer that says “Have you blogged?”

I am also considering putting the posts together to form a short eBook.
Thank you again to you for reading and commenting. The next post will be along shortly!

Z – Zealous

So, we come to the last post in the #atozchallenge. Many thanks to you all for reading/commenting/liking/sharing, it’s greatly appreciated.

Z was actually not a particularly difficult letter in Biblical terms. There are quite a few people whose names begin with it that I could have chosen. Instead, though, I have gone for this word zealous. What does it mean? Dictionary.com defines it “ardently active, devoted, or diligent.” That is how we as Christians should be about the Lord and his Kingdom.

Of course, it is possible to be zealous in a negative way about something that is not good, but the Apostle Paul encourages his readers in a positive way:

“It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you” Galatians 4: 18 NIV.

I trust, as we have come to the end of this series that we have seen how important it is to be completely committed to God, and how we can be made to be so – through Christ and what he has done.

We can show this by our devotion to him, wanting to spend time with him, and by our actions as we live our lives. One follows the other. Being zealous for our relationship with God leads to us being zealous in our service for others. And the Apostle Paul encourages this to be something that is always true of us.

I trust that you will all know God’s blessing in these things.

Y – Youth

The Bible has a lot to say to and about youth. In the Wisdom Literature, particularly Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, there is much instruction and advice given to those who are young. Much of those two books was written by King Solomon, apart from Jesus himself probably the wisest man who ever lived. And yet even he with all of his wisdom failed towards the end of his life.

He wrote from his life experiences, as if he did not want the young people to whom he was writing to fall into the same trap as he had. Probably his most important words to them come at the end of Ecclesiastes:

“Remember your Creator in the days of your youth” Ecclesiastes 12:1.

He then goes on to list the reasons why it is so important. He himself had found that as he became older there were other things which distracted him from doing so. In other words, younger people have clearer minds.

He ends the book by giving an instruction to all, but is especially directing it to the youth he has been writing to:

Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind.
For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil. Ecclesiastes 12: 13 – 14 NIV

In our 21st century world, whether young or not so young, we need to take notice of that. Of course, we are not in ourselves capable of perfectly fearing God and keeping his commandments. So, as we have reminded ourselves so often in these posts, we can trust completely in Jesus who did!