Way back in 2005, I attended the BWA Conference in Birmingham, and one day we arrived to find vast numbers of armed police and sniffer dogs checking out the conference centre... former US President Jimmy Carter was due to be speaking in the evening.

I can't remember the detail of his 'Sunday School lesson', as he described it, which was one of the finest sermons I've ever heard, though I recall it being about unity, diversity and inclusivity, about true Baptistness at a time when the US SBC had left the BWA over (ostensibly at least) ordination of women.  I think the text was from Colossians 2 (that would make sense given what he said) rather than Galatians 3, which I'd expected from his introduction.  It certainly made an impression on me, and I am glad I had the privilege of hearing him.

A man of integrity, who lived out his faith in practical service: faith expressed in deeds is faith fully alive.  May he rest in peace and rise on glory.

This morning I have tidied my desk, transforming it from 'peak Rachel' (IYKYK) to tidy ready for the next few months.  One day, maybe, I will learn how to be tidy, but as the saying goes 'a clear desk is the sign of an empty mind' and I like my mind not to be empty all the time!

The first company I worked for had a clear desk policy, which meant we all had 'work baskets' full of files that got stuffed in a locked cupboard every night, a kind of fake tidy.  The second company I worked for, we all had large under desk cupboards, which meant we had enough storage for whatever we were working on. 

Nowadays, my office at home is usually decidedly cluttered, with books and papers all over my desk that I never quite get around to re-shelving (and in any case my shelves can't take all the books!) until it reaches the point that either I just can't work any more, or it's annual leave and I blitz it.  I keep telling myself I can do better, and I keep failing... but, hey, in a few years I will have retired, re-homed most of the books and will have all the time in the world to be tidy! 

BlogSpirit subscription renewed for another year - the first time in several years I haven't felt the need to debate this with myself! 

Wishing all my loyal followers - some of whom have been loyal for nearly twenty years (this blog was 'born' in October 2005) - a very Happy New Year when it comes along.  This also means that I have been in some form of Baptist ministry for quarter of a century as my training began in September 1999!

This morning I went for a decent length walk, following a 'new to me' footpath and joining up a bit more of Crewe.  It was decidedly misty and murky, but i was glad for some movement after the last few days.  I found it more than a little amusing to see this deflated Santa (and other gardens with equally deflated decorations) but was also mindful that for so many the days after Christmas can feel very much a let down after all the hype.

Today I also saw...

• buses impersonating trains
• swans not a-swimming
• geese not a-laying
• a giant inflated Grinch
• no partridges or pear trees

The cats and I slept nearly all afternoon (I was ostensibly listening to an audio book) and are all feeling the benefit.

Whatever your day has brought, and however you are feeling - bloated, deflated, inspired or anything else - I hope that this nonsense has in some small way lightened your day.

This Christmas pudding apparently serves 'approx 4'.  I had one quarter yesterday with cream, and one quarter today with custard and cream... and both were delicious.  When I was younger and thinner, and my metabolism moved faster, I could have eaten the whole thing in a single sitting, so I guess it depends who is eating it.

It was one of the very few occasions I've eaten Christmas dinner at home in quarter of a century, usually I've been helping out at a community lunch or something similar.  It was a real treat to sit down in peace and quiet and eat something I had chosen rather than what was left after serving everyone else.  A bit self-indulgent for sure, and I always enjoyed being part of the Community events, but this year I just needed a bit of 'me time'.

Whatever your Christmas Day was like, I hope you found a bit of what you needed.