I've just been hunting around for a suitable liturgy to use with our Advent candles this year.  We are being a teeny weeny bit experimental with our services, and I want to find some words that will connect with our melding of materials based, independently, on the same study guide.

So, just wondering what you will be marking with each candle you light (if anything) and what resources you might be using?

F'rinstance, in what order do you have hope, love, joy, peace, if that is your thread?

Or patriarchs, prophets, John, Mary

Or second coming, Bible, God's people or any other combination or permutation?

Ours will be something akin to the first of these - just checking with the producers of one of the resources we're using their final running order - but it's always curious to see which themes, which order and why.

Not quite sure why that nursery rhyme came to mind - I have not been to market nor have I been purchasing porkine creatures, let alone obese specimens thereof.

A good few days away from it all - despite the Scottish weather doing what only it can.  Seemingly Glasgow had several gorgeous days whilst I had fog, rain, drizzle, and a little bit of sun only an hour's drive away.  The holiday apartment was HUGE - larger than my flat which is not exactly small - so loads of space to spread out and chill.  Some walking in the nearby forest (about 10 miles I reckon by the time I'd walked to and from), a bit of swimming (who said LD muscles are largely redundant...?  You lied!) and some reading of a novel, which I got through about half of.  I also wrote about 150 Christmas cards!!  That may seem very early, but the first one to arrive through my letterbox came about a week before I went away.  I also indulged myself in a couple of restaurant meals - not something I generally do on my own, as I was forced to do it too regularly when I travelled on business.  However, the two eateries at the holiday place were quite friendly and hye food good (I spotted another lone diner also with her book in the the second!)

So, back to work today - a service for Sunday to prepare, visual aids to gather for tomorrow's lunchtime meditation and a printer to be delivered sometime between now and five thirty tonight!  Hold my breath I won't.

Good to be home and back to work, feeling refreshed and relaxed and hopefully a little less tetchy!  Advent here we come.

PS Sorry to anyone who has found the blog 'missing' the last day or so, no idea why, I couldn't get on either, probably means they were upgrading the server or some-such.  Probably some-such...