Anyone who knows me will also know that one of the people I admire most in the whole world is David Kerrigan.

This year, he has written the BRF Advent book which it comes highly recommended, and rightly so.

I have just read the first day, and I am hooked!  There is still time to buy this book in hard copy or electronically and find a real blessing in an accessible, honest, common sense, theologically sound, companion for the Advent journey.

Back in 2010, whilst undergoing cancer treatment, I was terrified.  David prayed for me, a woman he then knew only 'online' in a church in Bethlehem whilst he was on a BMS trip.  I have never forgotten that gift of grace, the hope it brought and the fresh possibility of peace beyond understanding.  David tells me off when I say he is wise and wonderful, because his wisdom and humility mean he knows fine well he has clay feet.  But that's the point, isn't it - we are frail and finite humans, searching for truth, hope, love and peace.  And David is someone I want to travel alongisde.

Oo-er- missus! Today we learn about naughty nuns who lived 'fleshy' lives luring men to their cells.  Who'd have thought it.  Made me chuckle as tomorrow I'm preaching on Rahab and Ruth, so there's a connection of sorts to be found there.

More seriously, the thought for today is about the transformative effect of the indwelling of Christ, that means we are not driven by fleshy desires (which doesn't mean sexual desire is bad or wrong, rather it's about enjoying a gift of God appropriately).

Whether it's sex, exercise, work, food, drink, power, status, acceptance or anything else we can think of, normal human desires have the potential to become unhealthy drivers/motivators.  We all know that.  But maybe the tale of some naughty nuns gives us just enough pause to think about our own potential stumbling blocks.

The prayer from the book:

Holy God, make me holy.  May my flesh-lift melt away.  May Christ in me lead me into righteous  living.  Amen.

I oculd have used a stock photo yesterday, but I waited until the delivery a 8 a.m. of my shiny new steam cleaning thing. Well, that's my excuse ofr being late.... again!

What has this to do with Advent?

Traditionally it's a fasting season, a season of spirutal, if not literal deep cleaning.  And my shiny new "early birthday-and-Christmas-combined gift to self" seesm to connect with that.  A new 'year', a 'fresh' or 'clean' start - at least once I've managed to decipher the instructions for the various settings that need to be adjusted before I begin using it.

And maybe Advent's a bit like that too - hard to decipher, hard to make snese of, but, once we've finally got into it, worth while.

Liturgical Advent starts tomorrow, and advent calendar Advent starts today.  Each of these, another opportunity for a new start, a fresh beginning.

I must be getting very middle aged to delight in a steam cleaner as a 'gift' - but it is very shiny and bright!

Today we move into what the book terms Christ's Second Coming - though so far, just one day in, this has nothing to do with apocryphal stuff.  We'll see how it unfolds.

Today's reading focusses on the idea that the Kingdom of God is within us, using a passage from Luke 17 to prompt thought.

As so often with these reflections it's the almost throw away phrases that catch my attention - today it is the term "warrior peacemaker" which feels like something of an oxymoron to me.  The idea of Christ's followers as soldiers, as an army of some sort, engaged in a battle or war of some sort is well established.  It is an image/metaphor that many, myself included, find troubling.  Certainly, I have yet to resolve adequately in my own mind how the Prince of Peace leads a Mighty Army.

There are hymns and songs that speak of 'weapons' of truth, love, courage, and the battle/war as against 'evil'. It is quite hard (for me at least) to come up with a more helpful image. Maybe something medical, with evil as a disease/dis-ease to be treated or cured. Maybe other readers have a better idea?

Then again, maybe the oxymoron concept in itself is helpful... the 'warrior peacemaker' or the 'servant King', or even the "God man" (dual nature of Christ).  Perhaps these create a tension in our thinking and understanding that draws us deeper in to awe and wonder?

Today's prayer from the book:

Christ the King, I simply say: your kingdom come within me; your will be done within me. Amen.

Bingham's Pond on Great Western Road, Glasgow, looking towards the Garnavel Hospitals.

It was teeming with rain, sleety rain at that, when I paused to watch the ducks and swans trenchantly swimming on the pond.

One swan - just about visible at the left hand side of this photo - seemed to have its head under water for an inordinately long time, and I began to worry.  Then, smooth as you like, it drew it up and extended its neck to full length.

This pre-Christmas season can feel a bit like all of that, I think. Dogged determination keeps us going, paddling like crazy under the water whilst apparently glding along the surface. And sometimes, just when it looks like it might all prove too much, we look up, see the horizon towards which our journey is headed, and find new strength to carry on.

A couple more snaps I took whilst I watched the water birds - because sometimes a bit of a pause is just what is needed.