This post reminds me the 'catch phrase' of one of the 'spice girls' (ministers' spouses of the female variety) who has supported me over a number of years... one who is nominally 'of great price' if you know your scriptures.

We - the church - are in it for the long haul as salt and light, as prophets and priests, as pastors and evangelists.  Sometimes we cling on by our finger nails - and any person who claims otherwise is, I suspect, very new to this, very misguided or not very engaged.  Sometimes it is a sheer slog.  Sometimes it is scary.  Sometimes, as individuals, we have to let others do the 'keeping on' for us.  But keeping on keeping on, saving starfish one at a time, transforming the world one prayer at a time, growing in maturity one step at a time - that's what we are called to do.

Hang on in there.  Keep on keeping on.  Whatever the form of words...

And behold, I AM with you always, to the very end of the age.

Last week a friend of mine very generously sent me a Wii complete with balance board and 'Wii fit plus' software.  Having set it up, I have had some fun doing various exercises and beginning to get to grips with how the balance games work - it's far less to do with your balance than about deciphering what to do given the lack of decent instructions (thus spake the reflective-theorist learner).  So, my Wii-fit age has  ranged from 42 to 73 (most of my Wii-addict friends say their age is about 20 because they know the games off by heart...) and I've had lots of messages saying "your muscles are very weak".  Then I do the aerobic and muscle-based exercises and it gives me three and four stars (out of four) at the first attempt, telling me I've got great muscles and 'unlocking' the advanced level!  I'm confused... well I'm not because I don't take it seriously anyway.  My plastic surgeon told me I have good muscle tone and I trust her over a talking computer any day!

Being able to exercise safely and at home will be great during my recovery phase (once I've checked with the physios that it's OK of course)... and if it dares to tell me I'm unbalanced (as it does regularly)  I will just say 'well what do you expect!"

PAYG today used a setting of this prayer of Theresa of Avila:

Let nothing disturb you,

Let nothing frighten you,

All things are passing away,

God never changes.

Patience obtains all things;

Whoever has God lacks nothing,

God alone suffices.

I happen to know that a few of my readers have tough times of their own just now and need the ressurance that this prayer can offer.

PAYG used a Margaret Rizza setting but I prefer the, to me more familiar, Taize setting which you can hear, in its original langauge, here.

There's a nice irony that St Theresa usually drived me nutty but that this prayer/meditation is one I value.

An odd couple of days in prospect, mostly just sitting around and waiting, along with the last of the housework and a few adminstrative tasks.

I now have all the comments on my MPhil work but don't have time to get it tidied and submitted before Wednesday, so it'll have to wait now until after surgery - but it will give me something to focus on then which is probably a good thing.  Given that all the other Baptist researchers I know who started around the same time have now submitted their work there is a healthy incentive to 'keep up.'

So, it's a case of final tidying and cleaning, a few lists to be checked and a bit of stillness before the next adventure.