As my Dad used to say, all four seasons in one day! 

A lovely walk yesterday alongside Loch Lomond on part of the WHW from Inversnaid towards Rowardenan

And this sign on a memorial bench overlooking a singularly idyllic spot:

Prof Tom Wheldon was a specialist in radiotherapy who moved from Hammersmith in London to work in Glasgow.  As the plaque shows, his life was short, he died of secondary cancer in 2000.  At the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, the radiotherapy building is called the Tom Wheldon Building.  I was pleased to see his memorial bench and in a way to thank him for what his work has given me...

Today we explored Psalm 90 as part of a very short series praying with the psalms.  This psalm of lament/disorientation is not likely to top anyone's list of favourite psalms, it is rather gloomy!  But right in the middle of it comes these verses (12-14 KJV) ...

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.
O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

It is the middle line which is so shocking, and so far as I can ascertain only the KJV translates accurately from Hebrew... the writer tells God to repent!  This eternal God, whose essential nature is unchanging, is angry and vengeful, so the writer demands that God repents, turns round and changes direction.  Stop being angry, stop judging, stop punishing and instead be merciful, forgiving, gracious.  Flip'n'eck!  Would I dare address God thus?  Wow!  Or whoa!

Psalm 90, attributed to Moses, is a complex psalm, and it is one that arises from life in the raw, whether exile and slavery in Egypt, or confused wandering in the wilderness.  It is a psalm that acknowledges the shortness and frailty of human life and contrasts this with God's timeless eternity.  It is a psalm that basically says, given life is short, difficult, painful, brutal perhaps, how best can we live it?

Not an easy psalm, but one with which it is worth wrestling, and from which we can, perhaps, learn to pray with greater authenticity.

I rather like this photo of me on my way up Ben Nevis last month, with the Half Way Lochan in the background, so for no better reason than that, I am posting it:

The angle of the photo belies the slope of the incline!

My sponsorship is now at a little over £1750 which is absolutely amazing!  Huge thanks to all who have donated, including a few people who I know only online.

I recently heard of another woman minister who has a probable cancer diagnosis (different part of the anatomy altogether), so as she climbs her own metaphorical mountain, I hold her in my prayers.

I am trying to track down a book I read somewhere between eight and ten years ago, and about which I recall almost nothing except that it had a chapter/essay/section on how the biblical narratives of Christ's birth have been interpreted/received with reference to portrayal in art.  In this account rather than deriding the Victorian Christmas card images, the author seemed to feel that they added new layers of meaning.  Alas even the fount-of-all-knowledge who was my tutor at the time cannot recall the book either (it was a long time ago, perhaps unfair to think he might).  I think it might be one on hermeneutics, he thinks it could be on reception history - either or both is plausible, or it could be something else (pretty confident it's not Barth's Church Dogmatics or Green's take on the Pastoral Cycle though!!!).

Should it ring any bells for you can let me know?  Commenting on this blog platform is unpredictable but *usually* something as short as a book title will post...

We have two very different Bible Study groups, each exploring the same material - The Big-hearted Lyfe from the Bible Society, prepared by Chris Duffett.  Whilst I had some reservations after the first study with the first group, I am now more comfortable with the material, not least as we have some brilliant people taking a turn at facilitating.

One group meets fortnightly on a Thursday afternoon, and we are now half way through the series.  We have had some wonderful discussions and shared some profound thoughts.  Those who come along are older than me and numbers range from 4 - 8 but usually around half a dozen.  We have grown a little since last year and now have one very brave man attending!  Each week ends, after prayer, with tea and home-baking or posh-shop bought cakes!  Laughter and love permeate the meeting, and it is always a delight to be there.

The other group meets monthly on a Monday evening and has now completed two studies.  Discussions are wide-ranging and complex, enquiring minds refusing simplistic answers or trivial explorations.  It is a large group of around 10-14 and ages range from early twenties through to folk who are long retired.  We begin with tea and snacks and engage in a variety of approaches - private reflection, talking in twos and plenary work.  This group has a very different feel to the afternoon one, largely because it is new and still working itself out, and is every bit as enjoyable, just in a different way.

I've never really been a fan of attending Bible studies as "the minister" because I feel it skews the dynamic and can undermine the leader(s) but I do love these two groups.  And they serve as a wonderful illustration of communal reading and reflecting in an authentically Baptist way of being 'at liberty under Christ'.

Sadly I will miss the next couple of afternoon studies due to prior commitments, but know they will be well guided and enjoyed by those taking part.