Nightly show

The sun bleeds through the clouds

It touches the water

and melts

spreading to the beach,

 tendrils creeping to the shore

Everything takes on its hue

and reinterprets:

from orange to red

from gold to ochre 

and every variation along the way.

A nightly display

of spectacular beauty

no two performances the same.

Commonplace, perhaps

but always worth

taking the time

to view

and marvel.

I saw Jesus

I thought I saw Jesus tonight

walking on water

As the sun set over Holy Isle

a man skipped through the water

taking pleasure in the pyrotechnics

of sun and sea and sky

He was capturing the sunset too

and I realised

that his pleasure 

and playfulness

in the breathtaking beauty of creation

made him Christ to me this night.

I did.

I saw Jesus tonight

walking on water.

A dog's life

Ruca, a border collie, came to live with us, almost 6 weeks ago - she is now 3 and a half months old. What a difference she has made already - here are just some of the benefits of our addition to the family:

• Early mornings in the garden.
• Taking after dinner coffee outdoors so that we can play with her.
• Regular lunch breaks - to play and eat.
• A warm welcome any time of day or night.
• Great excitement in little things.
• Conversations with other dog walkers.
• An ever willing foot warmer.
• Unconditional love.

God is dog spelt backwards - for sure.

Harnessing dreams

Slaying giants—

the stuff of dreams

made real when God gets involved.

Stories of old coming to life

when told to a new generation.

God’s word is not safe,

it is dangerous.

It’s not benign,

it is powerful.

It encourages action and dissent

and sounds an alarm for us

to take up its challenge

and fight the monsters of today.

For God does not dwell in the past,

and stories do not remain on the page.

The Good News is a living word

that speaks in every age,

that calls on God’s people

to rise to new challenges,

to seek new ways,

to love and to serve

all God’s people.

A reflection on the story of David and Goliath written for Spill the Beans.

The longest day

The Summer Solstice finds me reflecting on the light and the darkness that is ministry for me just now.

• The light of sharing with young folks as they celebrate the end of school term and their readiness to move on, their buoyancy and resilience shot through with hope. 
• The affirming of vocation in folks struggling to discern the will of God. 
• The commitment and support and enthusiasm of willing volunteers prepared to share their wisdom and learn new things.
• The darkness of a couple who have grown old together and who now face debilitating illness, also together. 
• The light that they share as they consider themselves fortunate to have had the opportunity to talk about death and face it together.
• The light of creativity recognised and encouraged. 
• The darkness of those who feel threatened by such creativity.
• The darkness of those holding on tight to systems and traditions that no longer work.
• The light of those willing to step out and embrace the new.
• The darkness of knowing I am not enough.
• The light of the assurance that the love of God is enough.

On this day of reflections, I am thankful that there is more light than darkness and, when most days are simply not long enough to do all that ministry requires, remind myself that God has it covered.

Feeding the soul

I've been fiddling around a lot lately. I'm a promiscuous fiddler - I'll play any genre - with any outfit that will accommodate me (or is desperate enough!) This weekend I had the privilege of playing with New Scottish Arts, supporting Keith and Kristyn Getty and Stuart Townend on their Celtic Islands tour. Although the accompaniments demanded lots of focus and energy, I found myself overcome with the passion of the music and with the poignancy of the lyrics being shared as these amazingly talented hymn writers and artists performed. These hymns get right to the heart of contemporary faith. What a generous and effective ministry. I wondered if, back in their day, Moody and Sankey had a similar effect on their contemporaries. There is such power in sharing the gospel through music.

Enlivening Spirit

I LOVE Pentecost. At this morning's service I was beside myself with joy, celebrating God's gift of the Holy Spirit. We had lots of fun, hearing God's word in different ways, listening to God's word read in different languages - Spanish, Dutch, American Scots and even a Pentecost rap! It felt like what we did this morning - the babble and the buzz - must have echoed that first Pentecost when the Spirit blew through festival goers, ready to party.
I don't subscribe to the notion of Pentecost as the birthday of the church, so I do my best to avoid the cake and the candles but I'm always ready to celebrate the gift of the Spirit that radically and irrevocably changed the church - and the world - forever. Pentecost - not a birthday - but a wake up call.