Raising your game

It had been a terrific day in so many ways. The bride had turned up on time, the ‘I do’s’ and ‘I will’s’ all came out in the right order, the sun had radiated its’ beams on cue and the parents of the bride had come out of the day without administrators filing for their bankruptcy. To top off what had been a great wedding, a Ceilidh had been arranged into the wee hours of the morning. (for those who are not sure what a Ceilidh is, imagine lots of rhythm-less  people trying to follow a bearded man shouting out complex instructions, involving intricate footsteps and body movements – all accompanied by fiddling folk music!).

Our kids had lasted well - stuffed with more buffet food than is surely good for them and fizzing with E numbers from their steady stream of soft drinks. But now they were ready to drop and they required a little assistance from dad in order to make their way to the car before a long drive home.

We normally keep quite a strict routine in our home regarding bed times and this was certainly a significant exception - one that has often been referred to. In fact whenever a late night was proposed in the following years, they would ask the question ‘will it be later than the wedding?’ The exceptional late night experience had set a ‘benchmark’ – something they would use for years to come in order to measure true lateness.

Benchmarks can be such experiences that set a standard – a standard that ‘things’ either rise to and exceed, or fall short of and miss. They create definition of what we would either like to achieve or avoid – articulating our hopes and expectations. We all create them - benchmarks that set ‘our’ standard.

I enjoy playing the piano and I’ve played in various bands (although I lacked the foot tapping skills for a ceilidh band) over the years. In some of these bands I may have been perceived as one of the stronger musicians – possibly a benchmark? I would try and help others in developing their musical abilities in order to see their standard rise. But I was in danger – I had reached my own standard and was consistently satisfying my own expectations. Complacency, mediocrity and apathy often lurk around the corner in such circumstances and all of these become a real anaesthetic in our lives. I needed a new benchmark!

I remember feeling my jaw dropping as I looked on in amazement at the piano keys being played at super speed at a Jools Holland concert – it was so inspiring. I had never seen the piano played in that way before. I also remember feeling astounded when I began to play with some professional musicians who were light years beyond me in their ability. They pushed me and made me feel like a learner again but it was good - So often feeling like a ‘comfortable pro’ can be more dangerous than feeling like a ‘developing learner’. I valued the ‘L’ plates that I had reapplied and knew that the impending sedative of complacency was gone – a new benchmark had indeed been set.

Maybe there are others who consider ‘us’ to be their benchmark of Christian spirituality. They look on desirous to learn from our example, hoping to rise to the heights they may have perceived in us. Maybe we’re aware of the way they look to us and so do all we can to assist them on their journey. It’s good to realise they are there and look in their direction. The apostle Paul in 1 Corinth 11:1 faced all those looking up to him and said ‘Follow my example’. For many this missionary journeying, faith filled church planter had become their benchmark.

But Paul wasn’t complacent. He goes on to say ‘Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ’. Despite all his achievements, all his acts of adventure, all the crowds who hung onto his words, Paul had another benchmark – the person of Christ Jesus.

Does your benchmark needs raising? Do you need to be in the presence of a higher standard? Can you see a pacesetter ahead of you? Ask Jesus to renew your vision of him and reveal a new level through others who are ahead of you in their Christ following journey. Don’t let complacency create a premature finishing line in your life – there is more of the journey to travel.

Take a Break!

I’m often found sampling the great British tarmac on motorways across the country. Some of them feel more like car parks at times but given the choice I would probably prefer to drive in a morning traffic jam than I would on a late night empty road.

Dark roads, tired eyes and engaging late night radio ‘phone ins’ were all fine a few years ago but something has changed.  I may start out ok as the adrenaline is still flowing from the previous meeting and my mind is captivated with gratefulness to God for impacting lives. But as the journey progresses and the clock on my dashboard creeps into the early hours of the morning, my eyes begin to feel sleepy.

My ‘sat nav’ reminds me that I have a further two hours of travel to complete before I creep into my sleepy home and I begin to think of some strategies that could hold back the onslaught of tiredness. I move a few dials on the heating system and the fans begin to throw cold air into my face – it has a momentary effect on me – I sit up straight in my seat and begin to focus clearly but quickly the windscreen begins to complain that it’s not getting enough warm air and refuses to remove its internal fog of condensation until I meet its need.

The heater is turned back on and compensated for by opening the driver’s door window. As the two temperatures battle it out, the monotony of unlit roads, the waning adrenaline and the fact that I’ve had too many early mornings and late nights begins to grip me once again. I’ll put some loud music on – I’ll sing along, who in the world has ever been able to sleep when loud music is being played. It works and as I look at the predicted length of the remainder of my journey I see I only have 1 hour and 55 minutes to go.

I notice that my singing is more of a slur now – maybe what I need is a stimulating news item on the radio. I scan through the channels and find something mildly interesting to engage my mind. I sit up straight in my seat once again and begin to think of the issues I am hearing. I’m moved by the sad stories, inspired by the heroes contained within but within seconds I feel my eye lids getting heavier and realise that I didn’t really hear any of the last few sentences.

‘Tiredness Kills’ I read – ‘take a break’. The next services are five miles away and I must stay focussed till I get there. I find a bag of sweets, bought earlier at the fuel station and begin to chew on them in the hope of an energy rush from the sugar. I feel a rumbling under the tyres as I realise I have verged too close to the hard shoulder – services only 2 miles to go.

I’ve never been so glad to indicate left and pull into the deserted car park of an overpriced facility. The sweets, cold air, radio debate and even the questionable practise of slapping myself in the face were unable to break the impending sleepiness. What next – should I lay my seat back and sleep for a little while? Should I purchase multiple shots of expresso? I conclude there is a time for everything – and right now it is time to sleep. I recline in my seat, close my eyes and lay there enjoying a quiet rest away from the stresses of driving.

It may not be a late night drive for you – it may be the sluggish pace of your work in the office or dulled thinking in the classroom. You may feel like you’re not matching up to your own aspirations for being alert and sharp. God ordained that within the rhythm of our lives that there should be times when we pull over and take a break. We all need to have times when we withdraw from the stresses and strains and draw on Gods refreshing within our lives. Maybe that’s what you need right now.

After a 30 minute snooze in the car and a strong coffee I set out on the remainder of my journey, reinvigorated, ready and renewed for the next stage of my journey.

A bundle of joy!

‘What was that you said?’

‘I’m sorry I don’t understand what you mean?’

‘Please say that again in a way I can understand’

‘I haven’t got a clue what you’re talking about’

In our minds we may know exactly what we mean. It’s crystal clear to us, obvious in fact. Simple, perceivable and surely understandable – but something can often go wrong when we attempt to communicate it to others. Instead of our illuminated thoughts switching lights on in the understanding of others, it can seem that we have simply managed to draw the curtains in their mind and created a haze of perplexed misunderstandings.

I have a friend who had been encouraged by others in his church to join them for an after meeting takeaway. The dish of choice was a mixed meat kebab and although the experience was new to him, it was quite a regular custom for the others. As they sat in the service listening to a scintillating message their rumbling stomachs ached for the moment that was drawing ever closer – the moment where they would feast on their ‘bundle of joy!’ That’s what they called it – the delights of this pitta bread stuffed with chicken, lamb, salad and oozing with spicy sauce had been given its own nickname.

After the service they made their way to the takeaway and talked freely about their inevitable ‘bundle of joy’. My friends anticipation grew as he looked forward to experiencing this for the first time. He made sure he was at the front of the queue and aware that he had the attention of the obliging worker the other side of the counter asked ‘can I have a bundle of joy please?’

The others rolled around the floor with hysterical laughter and my friend wondered what was going on. Why were they laughing? Why was the man serving him looking so confused? ‘Bundle of joy?’ he asked ‘What are you talking about?’ The others were now holding their stomachs with muscle cramp from the laughter. ‘A bundle of joy’ my friend repeated – ‘one of those please’ pointing to a picture of what he had seen in his mind all along. ‘You mean a mixed meat kebab – why didn’t you say that in the first place?’

So often the church can have its own language – expressing real things in ways that mean real things to us. But to those outside the church in the Post-Christendom world we are now living, the response can often be ‘What are you talking about?’ But rather than asking us to clarify what we mean, they just walk off confused with their understanding dulled.

Romans 10:14 asks how people can believe unless they hear - but this cannot just be the resonance of an audio sound in their ears – it must be the communication of a truth with their understanding and for many people today this will involve example – it will call for us to point to an articulated picture of what we mean, a story, a testimony as an expression of what we are trying to communicate.

Do our neighbours, families and communities know what we’re talking about? Do they understand us or our churches? Faced with stares of perplexed faces that are simply confused about God, these are great questions to ask. Let’s be patient, creative and authentic as we seek to express what we mean with living stories of what the gospel means and what it can also mean for others.

Simple words with special outcomes

The day had seemed longer than it had actually been and now my feet were aching. I wanted the shopping trip I was accompanying my wife on to finish. I didn’t want to entertain another moment of browsing and regular glances at my watch communicated this clearly.

‘Just one more shop’ I heard, but I was sure I had heard that somewhere before. We walked into the local branch of a famous department store and headed towards the counter of a well known skin-care range of products. The atmosphere was alive with an intoxicating mix of scents and the staff all wore their multiple layers of foundation cream very well. ‘Can I help you?’ a friendly voice enquired.

My wife began to take her up on this offer of assistance and I could tell from the direction of their interaction that this could be a long visit in this ‘just one more shop’. Another member of staff joined in and my wife seemed to be in her element having two people help her spend money. I may have had one eye on the approaching expiry time of our car park ticket but I couldn’t help but be impressed by the way these two shop assistants were engaging.

I pointed at my watch and nodded at my wife and she knew it was time to bring this shopping fest to an end. She picked up the items she wanted to purchase and the two staff accompanied her to the till where she paid for them. I was looking forward to retrieving the car without any penalties when my wife threw a spanner in the works. ‘Would it be possible to see your manager please’ she enquired of the staff. My hopes of a swift exit were dashed and the two staff members looked perplexed, even worried. Had they done or said something wrong?

They put a call out for the manageress who arrived with her ‘shield and armour’ ready to face the barrage of another customer complaint. ‘I just wanted to commend your staff’ my wife said. The ‘shield’ dropped and a sense of the unexpected could be felt. ‘In all my years of retail work, I have never come across customer service as good as I have experienced from these two members of your staff today – I just wanted to say thank you’. It was a lovely moment and I could tell it had made their day. As we exited the shop for a very brisk walk to the car I commended her for doing such a lovely thing.

When we arrived back home I could hear my wife on the phone in the next room. She was now phoning the head office of the department store giving the names of the two staff members and lavishing praise on them for their excellence. The lady on the other end of the phone in the customer services department expressed that she had received lots of complaining calls throughout that day and was feeling quite affected, but that ‘this call’ had made her day.

The following week we were visiting the store again and as soon as we walked through the doors, these staff came towards us and gave us a big hug. One of them began to share some of the challenges she had faced recently but when she came into work at the beginning of the week, their names were printed on the wall of the staff room with a congratulatory message. With tears in her eyes she said ‘that is the nicest thing that anyone has ever done for me!’

The bible encourages us to ‘Let our conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt’ (Col 4:6). Christians can often be perceived as judgemental, complaining and highly skilled at articulating what is wrong and while there may be a ‘time for everything’, there is definitely a call for each of us to ‘season our conversation with grace’ and look out for opportunities to communicate the taste of Gods grace to others.

We’ve had some great conversations with these staff and we’ve had further opportunities to share the love of God. We don’t believe this story is quite finished yet...

But it’s a story that wouldn’t have started if I had followed my tired feet. The story began with my wife being a blessing by seasoning her conversation with the inspired grace of God. We can all be too busy, too self absorbed, too concerned with our own demands and aware of our own ‘tired feet’ and miss the opportunity to start stories. Let’s reach beyond ourselves and offer encouragement and blessing to others. Wouldn’t it be amazing if we were known for the traces of grace that we leave behind in every conversation?

Heaven and Earth - tensions for headspace

The space in my head has limitations. It’s like a soft sponge cake (no insults please) that can only be cut up into so many portions before it runs out. Lots of issues and people are vying for their own slice and I sometimes I feel like I need a ‘feeding of the five thousand’ miracle – I would be delighted if I could have 12 baskets of leftovers! I know I have limitations and restrictions and like us all I can simply run out.

As well as the demands of others, I have my own wants and desires that place demands on me – managing these can be even more challenging. One of my simple pleasures in life is a compulsion to know as much about what is going on in the world as possible. This drives me to instinctively reach for my smart phone as soon as my alarm clock announces the dawn of a new day to catch up with the breaking day’s headlines. I scan through subjects of world affairs, UK politics, technological announcements, entertainment news, sporting headlines and the local news – all on my tiny hand held device before a single grain of caffeine has even participated in my morning.

Sure that I am now familiarised with the main things taking place in this world I make my way to the kitchen to rectify the caffeine situation. I promptly put on the radio where the issues I had just read are being discussed. After making the family breakfast, fulfilling other morning duties and delving into my daily bible reading I may even get chance to switch on the TV to see videos playing of these same headlines.

Throughout the day I have ‘twitter’ to help inform me of any further developments of the day’s news. On arriving home I will try and catch up with the evening news – most days there has been little change but I still find it fascinating hearing the headlines and seeing interviews with experts and reporters about latest perspectives. Later that night I may get an opportunity to watch the late news, observe the ‘Question Time’ mob and even watch ‘Paxman’ maul his interviewees.

Informed I may be. Aware of world developments, trends and perspectives may make me feel connected and of course this is not all together a bad thing. But I have a limited ‘cake’ of thinking space, energy and perspective and God has challenged me about how much of that I’m dedicating his way.

Colossians 3: 2 hit me between the eyes saying ‘Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth’. Now we all know the saying that says of someone that they’re ‘too heavenly minded for any earthly use’ but honestly that is usually meant for people who are just being a bit ‘wierd’ – you know the ones who insist their breakfast choice of ‘Weetabix’ was the result of a direct revelation from God or the odd socks they are wearing was the result of a prophetic instruction from the Holy Spirit. God wasn’t challenging me to join their ranks and become a ‘spiritual funny-bunny’ but he was challenging me whether I knew as much of what was taking place in His kingdom as I knew about this world. I may be up to date with likely trends across a multitude of areas but was I as aware of what God was planning on doing? Was my insight prophetic and insightful? Was the predominance of my thinking committed to setting my mind on ‘things above’?

I thought about just how much ‘cake’ I was giving to follow ‘earthly things’ and decided it was way too much – most of it was repetition of the same story anyway. For me it was limiting how often I would engage with the news but that may not be your issue. For you it may be something else – your work, your hobby, your sports team, your social media, your gadgets, your craft making – none of these things are wrong and I’m really not suggesting that they are – but maybe like me you feel challenged about whether you’re giving the best bit of your ‘cake’ to the ‘things that are above’. Look up and enjoy the start of a new day!

Derren Brown - Miracles for Sale?

Derren Brown, the ‘innovative entertainer’ has captivated audiences for years with his mind games, illusions and trickery. His latest project was shown on Easter Monday on Channel 4 in the UK and targets so called ‘Faith Healers’.

In trailing the programme Derren says 'You are about to see a world where greed and deceit raise their ugly heads, where lives have been needlessly lost and where hope, the most precious gift of all is pedalled at a price....’ The project featured an actor being given a crash course in biblical heresy, shown techniques on manipulating audiences and taught charlatan trickery on how to appear to heal people from deafness,blindness and shortened limbs.

Thought 1:
If people are manipulating the vulnerable and needy to satisfy their ‘Greed’ then I’m with Derren in wanting them to be exposed. Certainly the people shown on the programme wouldn’t be given any opportunity to speak from platforms of any churches I am aware of.
If anyone is knowingly claiming ‘cheap tricks’ as miracles from God, then they need to be brought to account. Lies, manipulation and deceit have no place in the Gospel of Jesus.


Thought 2:
There were significant generalisations in the programme that reflected a real lack of research. The programme showed circumstances where audiences were manipulated into believing miracles were being witnessed. In the hours, days and weeks following, the longevity of any relief from their physical disability would become sadly clear.
But there is a danger that many truth loving, people of integrity, with hearts of compassion and lifestyles dedicated to serving the needs of the vulnerable could be implicated wrongly. I and thousands of other Christians in this country will regularly pray for ill people or those in need. Our motivation for doing so is:


1. A compassion for the persons pain, need or disability
2. A belief that God, who we believe designed us, can be a masterful physician and repair things that go wrong


Does everyone get healed? No. But some do and if the researchers had so desired, they could have found medical documentation of ‘unexplained miracles’ that have resulted in cured patients. I’m deeply saddened that there are those in our world who use trickery to con people, but I’m encouraged by those who follow the example of Jesus and faithfully pray with others to genuinely help them find comfort, hope and healing. These are not faith healers – they are compassion filled Jesus followers!


Thought 3:
There are questions to be asked about the ethicality of employing techniques of deceit to expose deceit. A number of times in the programme it was clear that the production team were uncomfortable with the lies they were spinning to try and pass off the actor as a ‘faith healer’. Was this justified or was it just the ‘best angle’ to create a controversial TV programme? Maybe Derren cares so much about exposing this issue that he took no money from it but I suspect these dubious ethics maximised the programmes popularity and earned the production team a nice little earner.


Has the programme changed anything?
Not really. As long as the world has both greedy and needy people within its borders there will be unscrupulous attempts to manipulate and take advantage. All of us, particularly the church should ensure we are not indifferent to such practise and oppose them when seen. However the programmes generalisations may cause some confusion by failing to refer to the featured examples as extreme and unwelcome to the large majority of churches and we could take this opportunity to respond by telling good stories of genuine hope and healing found, not in the crossed palms of a slippery con man, but in the palms that were on the cross.

Go with the flow

Near gale force winds and high mountain top walks don’t usually go hand in hand but I was so determined to get my kids off their computer games that I was going to mobilise them into the world of fresh air and physical exercise whatever the conditions.

Warm, sunny weather was definitely not on the day’s menu so we were suitably dressed, ‘triple glazed’ in our most resilient winter clothing. We pulled into the car park at the base of the mountain and felt the parked car being shaken by the aggressive wind as it whistled over the bodywork. I looked over my seat to see the look of disbelief on my kid’s faces – they didn’t protest in words, but I knew they were thinking that their dad had lost the plot.

‘Come on kids – time to get out!’ I said with an unreal sense of enthusiasm. ‘Let’s get some fresh air!’ As we tried to gently open the car doors, the wind decided that a more dramatic approach would be appropriate and swung them open at high speed. The fresh air I had been commending rushed through the car and proceeded to taunt us all with ferocious slaps in the face. ‘Make sure you do up your coats kids’, I advised as we battled our way out of the sieged vehicle.

We began to make our way up the steep footpath but this felt more like a ‘push’ than a walk. Each step encountered an invisible resistance which required us to contribute much more energy than we had come to expect from this incline. We pressed on past the fallen branches and the upturned wooden benches, regularly waving off the onslaught of kamikaze leaves that were attacking our faces like iron filings being drawn to a magnet. Our strength was being tested and our muscles were being exercised more than was normally necessary.

Conversation was limited out of fear of what may enter on opening our mouths but we pressed on. I was determined to get to the top and my kids knew that it would be folly to try and dissuade me. Our winter coats were beginning to behave like kites and it was possible to feel the lift as we ascended to the most exposed area of the summit. This was hard work and I was beginning to wonder if I should have made my youngest carry an anchor just to make sure he stayed on the ground.

One of the images used for the Holy Spirit in the scriptures is that of wind and the writer of the gospel of John reminds us that ‘The wind blows wherever it pleases’. God, who cannot work in any other parameters than those of love, justice, truth, mercy and faithfulness, chooses which way he decides to go – where He decides to go and what He decides to do are completely His choice. It is all too easy for us to set the course of direction that we believe the Spirit should ‘blow’ and ask for Him to follow but this is not our prerogative. He chooses and if we go against His choice of direction then resistance will make our life difficult. It’s not that God is resisting us, but more that we are resisting Him. It is our call to discern which way the wind of the Holy Spirit is blowing in order to follow. If He changes course so should we.

Before I reached the summit of the mountain I came to the conclusion that resistance was futile and out of fear of seeing my kids fly off into the distant horizon we turned around and went with the wind. What a joy it was to experience the wind accelerating our journey and aiding our steps.

Do you know which way the wind of the Holy Spirit is blowing in your life, family, church or ministry? If not take time out to discern and discover, and then go with the flow – it will make all the difference in your life.

Confidence in what?

Italy is not a million miles from England but I was unable to get a direct flight from Birmingham airport to the needed destination in Pisa, resulting in a need to take a connecting flight in Paris. On checking in I was issued with my boarding passes for both flights and assured that my baggage would automatically be transferred from one plane to another.

The first flight went very well - on time, turbulence free and pretty roomy for such a bargain price. The pilot landed with great skill and the runway tarmac held the full weight of the plane creating an unspoken sense of relief in the cabin. Bonjour France!

Checking I still had my passport and boarding cards I disembarked and made my way to the terminal building where my connecting flight was due to leave. I had plenty of time but was keen to get to the correct departure gate as soon as I could. I passed through the necessary security checks and took my seat in the departure lounge.

I had 30 minutes until the gate was due to open and kept myself entertained with the continued reading of a good book. Airports are often announcing things over the speaker system but only on rare occasions does it ever seem relevant. The many screens hanging from the ceiling and walls give the most critical information regarding flight times and departure gates and so the voice sounded without much attention from me. I noticed that the same message was being repeated and the voice sounded increasingly anxious with each reiteration. I lifted my gaze from the book and listened carefully.

‘Could Mr Mark Pug please report to the departure desk?’ After a split second of bemusement at someone having a similar name to my own, I quickly considered that I should enquire to see if it was actually me they were trying to contact. Indeed it was! The poor exasperated lady behind the desk looked half relieved to see me and half annoyed that I had taken so long to respond. In broken English, she began to explain that there were less seats available on the plane than people who had bought a ticket – the result being that I would be unable to get on this flight. The apparent ‘good news’ was that another flight would be leaving in the morning on which they had reserved a seat for me.

In some circumstances a complimentary night in a good hotel in Paris with some financial compensation for the inconvenience may be an acceptable offer but I was due to preach just two hours after my booked flight landed in Pisa and I simply had to be there. I smiled and for a moment considered carefully about whether I should try and communicate with the little French I learned in High School but realised that saying ‘My name is Mark. I am Eleven years old’ was not the most relevant piece of communication in this circumstance and so stuck to what I know.

‘I have to get on this flight’ I protested. ‘We’re very sorry sir but there are no seats available’ came the reply. I retorted ‘You don’t understand, I need to be on that flight and my boarding card complete with seat number is evidence of my right to do so!’ She explained further that they acknowledged it was their mistake and that they were very sorry for the inconvenience. I thanked her for her apology but said that she needed to find a way of getting me onto that plane – they had to fix their mistake. I continued to hold firmly onto the boarding card.

There would have been a time when I wouldn’t have been so persistent – a lack of confidence would have eaten away at my position and caused me to just accept the situation but my insistence was confident because I knew that in my hand I held the ‘rights’ to be on that flight. Amazingly they found a way to make it happen and I got on the flight, arriving at the church in good time to preach. I know it wouldn’t have happened had I not stood my ground with confidence.

Confidence is an important part of our Christian journey and it comes from knowing who God is and what He has promised. When our enemy sows doubt into our minds, Gods truth gives confidence. It doesn’t come from a strong personality but from a revelation of God. Hold the promises of God in your hand and be confident as you walk into their reality. Be confident in His work of Salvation, His ongoing work of sanctification and His promises to guide your steps. His work on the cross has made it possible for our entry into His presence - nothing more, nothing less. Stand firm, stand your ground and be confident in God!

Good gifts?

For many years I have been under concerted pressure to welcome the pitter patter of tiny little puppy’s paws into our family. Despite pressure from my wife and kids, I’ve managed to stand strong and defend my ‘no dogs’ position resolutely.

They have tried all sorts of strategies to melt, what they perceived to be my hard heart, such as slipping ‘puppy books’ in my direction during bed time stories, playing endlessly on ‘virtual pets’ computer games and adoring anything on four legs that may walk within a 100 mile radius. There were moments when I almost succumbed, but I managed to get through it by forcing myself to think of things like ‘poop scooping’ from an inverted carrier bag or endless white hairs on my black trousers.

It felt like I had finally won and the topic seemed to go off our family radar – that was until we moved to our new home in Malvern. We experienced a terrific welcome from our neighbours with hot and cold drinks in abundance and the offer of assistance. We were also quickly invited around their home in celebration of something that had happened that morning. When my family found out the reason of their celebration, their little eyes lit up and they suddenly seemed uninterested in unpacking boxes and getting their rooms in order as they focussed their attention of 8 little puppies which had just been born.

Over the following weeks, between the achievements of emptying another Pickford’s box, multiple sets of eyes would peer over our neighbour’s wall as these little floppy eared pups got used to scampering around their garden. I was dragged into their home on a number of occasions and had one of these wriggling fluffy things thrust in my arms numerous times. I knew what was going on and refused to concede any acknowledgment of cuteness. One by one, the ever growing cocker spaniels were taken away by delighted new owners as my kids enviously watched on. There seemed to be an abundance of waiting families keen to give these ‘allegedly’ cute fur balls a home.

After doing a quick headcount of the number of puppies who had been collected, I concluded that all the puppies were now spoken for and thought of them busily chewing their new owner’s furniture and laying smelly little deposits. Assuming I was on safe ground, I enquired of my neighbour whether they had all gone. ‘All except one’ was the surprise answer. My kid’s eyes lit up like torches as they heard this remaining puppy was struggling to find a family. Thinking on my feet in front of an expectant gathered throng, I began to say that we would be interested if we weren’t required to go away so often. That’s been the ace card to outmanoeuvre all argumentation in the past and I was expecting it to be the catalyst for a change of subject. ‘We’ll look after her every time you go away’ was the response that came back. The ground felt very shaky as I struggled to think of a next move.

 The pressure mounted that evening in our home and our kids were so well behaved as they pulled out all the stops to break me into submission. Once they had gone to bed my wife and I talked seriously about it – listing all the pros and the poos and after sleeping over it for the night, pondering over it the following day, discussing it further that night and then amazingly concluding that if we were to ever go for it then now would be the time. I discretely popped around to my neighbours home without the kids knowing my movements and struck the deal. We would become the new family for little ‘Poppy’ in just three days time. We agreed we would announce it to the kids the following evening.

24 hours had passed and the evening meal dishes had been washed, the kids had been showered and were enjoying a bed time hot chocolate treat. We all sat together and began to give our news to our kids. They were trying to assimilate what we were saying and then the penny dropped! Tears of joy began to flow and the most touching moments of gratitude poured out in full display. The overwhelming sense of amazement and delirium was tangible in the room as we realised just how special a gift this was for them. As a tear filled room, flowing in demonstrative displays of love and affection was at its peak the scripture came rushing to my thinking ‘if you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!’ (Matt 7: 11)

I’m sure that moment will rank as one of our family highlights for many years to come. I understood something of the joy that God gets from both blessing his people and seeing us blessed. I understood in a new way the power of expressing our gratitude to God as he receives the overflow of our amazement and wonder.

Thank you God that you love to bless us – you know how to give us amazingly good gifts! We are blown away by your generosity, love and grace toward us.

Cutting Edge?

It’s a familiar scene - a Sunday roast dinner is being lovingly prepared and cooked and its aroma fills the home with a sense of well being and anticipation. There are so many flavours waiting for their moment to come alive in the mouths of a very grateful audience and their simmering smell is but a small tease conspiring to get the stomach rumbling with an impatient concerto.

As my wife prohibits me from meddling in the process of cooking such a feast I am delegated a few tasks that she hopes are unlikely to have any spoiling impact on her masterful endeavours. As I set about the first of these, I straighten the table cloth and then begin to add the placemats, cutlery, condiments and drinks glasses. Task two has the artistic sounding title of ‘carving the meat’. In all honesty that is probably too elaborate a description – ‘slicing, cutting or tearing ‘may be more appropriate.

I’ve often come to this theatrical moment and felt that the shining piece of steel in my hand was inadequate for the job. I’ve watched others demonstrate how it should be done and notice the ease with which the knife glides through the succulent juicy meat (sorry veggies but this story just wouldn’t work with a ‘Quorn’ substitute). I’ve tried different knives from the kitchen drawer and all of them seem to attack it like an angry rugby scrum, leaving the strips of meat looking worse for wear. As these ‘chunks’ are served out onto the warm plates along with the perfectly cooked vegetables and fused with amazing gravy, it somehow seems to spoil an otherwise perfect looking meal.

Surely to achieve those evenly cut, aesthetically pleasing slices I would need to buy a new knife – one that is made for the job - one that will gently and graciously interact with the meat and cause it to comply willingly. After years of serving up disappointingly shaped meat because I resented paying the apparently high cost of a professional meat carving knife, I had an idea. I’d recently bought a sharpener to maintain some of my gardening tools, and like a cartoon cloud containing an illuminated light bulb above my head, the thought came to me that I should try using it on the kitchen knives.

With a bounce in my step I got straight to it, expending generous amounts of energy by quickly moving the edge of the blade against the sharpening stone. Occassionaly I would stop and inspect it visually to see if I could notice anything different before repeating the process again... and again and again.

The moment of truth was now sitting in front of me on the kitchen work-surface as a freshly cooked chicken awaited my attention. I stood in front of it, rested the knife edge gently on the seasoned skin and applied a little pressure. Incredibly the knife just cut through the white meat with such ease and perfection. What a moment of great satisfaction.

For years, I had been wishing for a different result and assumed that I needed a different tool in order to achieve it, when all along I simply needed to sharpen what was already in my hand. All too often we can assume that we’re holding inadequate resources to achieve the things we believe we’re called to do. We often either give-up or just make a poor job of it – but so often the answer is to sharpen the gifts and strengths we have. A ‘blunted’ hospitality gift needs to be sharpened. That gift of encouragement which has fallen victim to fatigue needs to find its cutting edge again. Your generosity to others needs to have its incisive impact rediscovered. Whatever we hold, we need to guard it from dulling, tiredness, poor finishing and complacency and ensure it stays very sharp and very effective.