This time tomorrow I will be with hundreds of other Baptists in Blackpool at the Baptist Assembly in England (BUGB - BMS).  Due to structural changes at BUGB this will be the last Assembly in this format before a new approach starts next year.  I am secretly glad that that this one is in Blackpool, the nearest venue for Scotland, and also the one with the lowest priced accommodation.

There was a time when the week running up to Assembly would see dozens of blog posts, but nowadays most of the bloggers have moved to Twitter or Facebook or Australia, or all three and not much is said.

I am, as ever, looking forward to catching up with some friends (have got a breakfast meet with another blogger set up already :-) ) and to reconnecting with a bigger sample of Baptistness than I do on a day-to-day basis.  Lots of people to cheer (silently if necessary) as they complete their NAM period.  Some interesting seminars to attend (focuses on dis-ability, inter-generational church and human sexuality among those I have my eye on).  Hopefully space to get onto the beach or into the pool at some point.  And the meaningful moments of remembering those whose service is complete and now enjoy eternal rest in the embrace of God.

No posting before Tuesday as I'm still too much of a ludite to buy a smart phone or tablet computer (have enough medical tablets thanks all the same!) instead I will sit back, relax and enjoy the ride!

Over the last few days, in my 'down time' I have been collating and formatting the tribute and condolence messages that the group to which I belong want to pass on to the family of our 'littlest hoho' (youngest member) whose funeral is today.  On the front I have added this quote, which I first came across almost a decade ago, which offers a better way of measuring a life...

“We cannot, after all, judge a biography by its length, by the number of pages in it; we must judge by the richness of the contents...Sometimes the 'unfinisheds' are among the most beautiful symphonies.”

Viktor E. Frankl, The Doctor And The Soul

Although I have not shared it in the context of the group, it is too soon and emotions too raw, I also like this poem...

It was beautiful

As long as it lasted

The journey of my life.

I have no regrets

Whatsoever save

The pain I’ll leave behind.

Farewell my friends

I smile and bid you goodbye.

No, shed no tears,

For I need them not.

All I need is your smile.

If you feel sad

Do think of me

For that’s what I like.

When you live in the hearts

Of those you love

Remember then –

You never die.

Gitanjali, an Indian teenager, written shortly before her death from cancer.

In a culture where success is measured by the quantitative 'how much' it is vital to offer the counter point that true value lies in the qualitative 'how rich'.