Going part-time

This is more of a public service announcement than a blog post. 

I love writing my thoughts down, it's quite therapeutic and, at times, cathartic.  It is also quite time consuming.  You are forgiven if you are surprised at that.  When you read some of the rambling rubbish I churn out I'm sure it seems like it's been thrown together in a matter of minutes but that's far from the case.

I am reasonably slow of thought and putting a post together can take me quite some time and, at the moment, is taking me more time than I have.  The upshot is that I am going part-time. 

I'm much too much of a megalomaniac to stop posting altogether so instead I'll put a post up when I'm particularly exercised or enthused to do so.  Updates, as ever, can be found through the might of 'facebook' and I hope you will not forget me in between times.

God bless,

Phil.

Where have all the heroes gone?

(DISCLAIMER: I wrote this while in a bad mood.)

Are people getting increasingly pathetic?

It used to be that when a person committed themselves it meant something.  It was a promise and a promise was a precious thing that should not be broken.  I wonder if that still holds.

Do we molly-coddle our children and young people too much?  Do we indulge them so much that their backbones fail to develop properly?  And at what age does someone become an adult these days?

In days of yore children (there where no kids in those days just children) left school at 12 years old and did one of two things:  they either got paid employment or they worked in the house.  Over the years that age has been pushed up and up to reflect the importance that society has placed on education and I for one think that is a good thing.

The problem is that along with lengthening the period of full-time education the period of childhood has been artificially lengthened in the process.  I fell foul of this myself, I didn't leave home until I married at 28, I should've contributed more to my family home whether with money or with practical things.  In spite of this I still knew what responsibility was, I still knew that if someone was relying on me I had to follow through; if I had made a promise I had to fulfill it.

I'm tired.  I'm busy.  I need a social life.  I'm not feeling well.  These all seem to be acceptable reasons for letting people down, they're not.  (And while I'm at it; 'sorry' seems to no longer be the hardest word.  It's used frequently and disingenuously.)

Not all young people are like this of course.  I know a few who are real corkers, unfortunately they are becoming few and far between.  What do you think?

Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, or you will be condemned.

James 5:12

Broken

Juliet Turner: Broken Things





You can have my heart
But it isn't new
It's been used and broken
And only comes in blue
It's been down a long road
And it got dirty on the way
If I give it to you will you make it clean
And wash the pain away


You can have my heart
If you don't mind broken things
You can have my heart if you don't mind these tears
Well I heard that you make old things new
So I give these pieces all to you
If you want it you can have my heart


So beyond repair
Nothing I could do
I tried to fix it myself

But it was only worse when I got through
Then you walked right into my darkness
And you speak words so sweet
And you hold me like a child
Till my frozen tears fall at your feet


You can have my heart
If you don't mind broken things
You can have my heart if you don't mind these tears
Well I heard that you make old things new
So I give these pieces all to you
If you want it you can have my heart

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Scrubbers unite

There's nothing quite like a thorough spring clean.

It's been a long winter with cold days and dark nights.  You go out in the dark and you come home in the dark.  Housework is not the priority and you go into 'ticking-over' mode.

Then spring arrives. The days lengthen, your mood brightens and you're up for some rigorous scubbing.  You pull out wardrobes and fridges, dust the top of lampshades and rearrage the book shelves.  Things need sorted and you sort them.

Time for a spring clean of the heart too.  You've been tired and let things slide.  You're still not talking to that friend because the first conversation will be too much hassle, you've indulged in something wrong but comfortable, you've been doing the same old things without any thought as to whether they are the right things for you or not.

Take some time with God, let him clear all the cobwebs and help you get back on the right track. Spring cleaning can feel like a real chore but imagine if it never got done!

Create in me a pure heart, O God, 

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Psalm 51:10

Real men make lemon curd

My masculinity has been questioned.

Volunteering to do dishes, making lemon curd and watching Glee have all, in the last few days, been used as evidence as to my declining manliness. Today I plan to do some DIY, growl at some children and high-five a binman to redress the balance. 

But what really makes a man a man, or a woman or a woman?  What makes a man a gent or a woman a lady?  Do these things really matter?

What do you think?

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The prodigal dog

Rocky got knocked down yesterday.

He got out of the house via the front door (special thanks to the silly man who left the door open) and scarpered.  This is Rocky's way, when he's out of the house he just runs and runs, he pays no attention to anyone.  I feared he wouldn't come back.

Having not seen what way he went I jumped into the car and drove around Rathcoole asking anyone if they had seen a wee black dog with white markings.  No joy.

After a bout 10 minutes or so I went back to the house to see if he was around there and lo and behold, there he was in next-door's front garden.



The vet's



I was delighted to see him but soon realised he was in a bad way.  He was covered in scraps and scratches, lumps of hair were missing and he was bleeding from several places.  Into the house we went and he was clearly in pain.  So a trip to vet's, an examination and an x-ray later and he's now in recovery in the doggy hospital.  He 'gotta qwere whack' but he should be OK after a couple of weeks was the assessment. Let's hope so. We hope that whoever hit him is OK too, it can be a real shock to hit an animal.

Rocky ran away from home, made a mess of things but came back.  That is the key thing, the wee dog knew where home was.  He shouldn't have ran away in the first place but when he was at his lowest point he at least had the sense to come home. 



In Luke 15 Jesus tells a parable about two sons.  The lesson of the story is that God loves us.  If we run from Him and live our lives how we want, He won't reject us when we realise that life without Him sucks.  He will love us simply because He loves us.  And if we work hard and do all that He asks but only do it to get His blessing and not out of love, He won't reject us when we realise we can't earn God's favour through good works.

God is patient, merciful, forgiving and loving.  If you've run away from Him, run back home now!

'While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.'

Luke 15:20

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Friends

It was a good day.

The sun was out, the sky was blue, there was not a cloud to spoil the view.  Rocky was in good form.  He had been out for a long walk and swim with the Sage-On-The-Hill and Dennison the Menacin' and now he was out again shortly after.  Little did he know that he was on his way to a playdate with Bailey. 

Roger and I were slightly concerned that they would not get on as well as they might but it turns out they get along just dandy.  Rocky had a quick sniff at the little one before continuing with his usual manic ADHD walking style.  Bailey was just happy to keep up.

Bailey got all the atttention from the many other dog-walkers in the park (do these people have no work to go to?) and Rocky was content to step in every inch of dirty puddle he could find.

Isn't it great when we all get along, when the tension is resloved when peace breaks out.

Who are you not at peace with? Friends, family, work colleagues?  Is it not worth fixing the broken relationships in our lives?

Do it.

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

John 13:34

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