It's Good to Talk

There is such a thrill when a baby says his/her first word - Mama or Dada.  After a couple of years we complain and get frustrated at the constant chatter and questions.  We know they are wanting to learn and know how things work but sometimes we wish they would just be quiet.  We long for bedtime and a bit of peace and quiet!  It seems no time at all until they are off to live on their own and then, oh how we miss hearing them.

At the beginning of this week a friend who usually blogs an update on her life in Latvia on a Monday evening wrote that this week her update was being put on hold for a few days as her parents were visiting and they were spending a lot of time talking.  I’m sure they had a lot to share as living abroad they don’t get to see each other as often as they would like.  Yesterday I was in town and was surprised to see a friend I haven’t seen for a few years.  We spent a good while chatting and catching up.  She told me all about her youngest daughter who is now 14 and that she herself has now remarried.  So much news in a few minutes!  Then at the bus stop I met another lady I hadn’t seen for about 18 months and was able to have a brief chat before her bus came.  That morning had been so productive, not just because I had managed to get the things I went into town for but because I had been able to catch up with old friends I hadn’t seen for a while.  It felt so good to talk.

Through the medium of social networks and email I have received a number of requests for prayer this week and have been very happy to bring their needs to God on their behalf.  Talking and sharing with friends can be such a help.  The old saying goes – a problem shared is a problem halved – and it does help to know that you’re not alone when there are troubled times.

This afternoon my elder sister and brother-in-law arrive from the northeast to visit for a few days.  They do this every year about this time on ‘the Christmas run’ as we call it to exchange Christmas gifts before the days gets too dark and weather worsens for travel.  But what is really good is being able to have long chats about family and friends we don’t see very often.  So until next Tuesday I won’t be on the PC so much as we will be talking … … and talking … … and talking.  Exchanging news, sharing experiences and just enjoying the company of friends and family is SO important.  Thank you Lord for this blessing.

Bird Brain

To say 'bird brain' I consider to be quite insulting - to the birds, that is. I think that anyone who has watched any wildlife documentary will know that actually they are quite resourceful and find a way to adapt to most things. The birds that come into our garden to feed know who feeds them and which gardens they should go to. When I go out to stock up their supply of seed, fat balls etc you can hear them chirping to each other as if they are saying 'Look guys, food is being served!' Their ingenuity was proven again to me this morning.




I didn't manage to get a photo of said pigeon but found this one

I was in town with my sister doing a spot of shopping. We went into Wilkinson as we both wanted something from the store. My sister suddenly said 'Look at that! There's a pigeon walking along that aisle' and sure enough there was a pigeon walking undeterred along the aisle not deviating to the right or left but headed straight ahead as though it knew where it was going. We continued on our way up one aisle and down another looking to see where they had the compostable liners for the small food caddies. After we found them we continued to the aisle where the wild bird food was kept as I needed to get a bucket of fat balls for the birds. We turned the corner at the end of the aisle to look for the fat balls and there in front of us was the pigeon. It had pecked a hole in an enormous plastic sack full of peanuts and was enjoying himself pecking away at the nuts. He knew exactly where he wanted to go to get a free lunch! He pecked away for a time and then trotted on, one satisfied pigeon. Bird brain? It didn't seem so dumb to me.



Conditional Independence

The word ‘independence’ conjures up the idea of freedom from being told what to do.  The teenager longs for the days of independence when they are not being restricted by their parents.  Yet they soon find that in order to succeed in life, they must be subject to the rules of others at work or university who keep telling them what they must or must not do.

In every walk of life there are rules to follow and the smooth running of society depends on each member of that society doing what is expected of them.  In that sense it seems that true independence would probably be a form of anarchy where everyone does as he pleases regardless of others … … or maybe opt out of society altogether and live a sort of hermit-like existence, a bit like the hunter-gatherers of ancient times.  So this poses the question, does progress really mean dependence?  I suppose the true freedom of the western world is in the freedom of choice that we have to choose which set of governing bodies we want to have making the rules.

 

Whichever form of government we choose we are still dependent on much that makes up modern life.  My last blog mentioned the dependence we have on electricity and such power sources.  A couple of weeks ago I had one of those moments with a dysfunctional mouse when I couldn’t use my computer.  We rely on fuel for transport and as a knock-on effect everything we use depends on this.  Without transport fuel there would be nothing in the shops to buy, so unless I am totally self-sufficient, (and who really is?) I am dependent on much.

 

Religious freedom is a bit of an oxymoron – a contradiction in terms.  Religions of whatever persuasion all have their rules that must be followed, a certain way of living and thinking.  Religious freedom really means freedom to choose which set of rules we want to live by, not dissimilar to society’s free parliamentary elections.  Jesus often criticised the Pharisees for their overbearing rules with nitty-gritty detail affecting just about everything in life.  Sadly there are today many groups of Christians in organised systems of church who have such control over their members.  Often these rules are not written down; you don’t have to sign up to anything but you are expected to act and think in a certain way - you shouldn’t go there; it is frowned upon to read that book; you mustn’t think along those lines.  The thing that strikes me in the Bible is how often Jesus deliberately breaks the rules to show that His kingdom is about real freedom to be one with God each in our own individual way.
 

 

As I get older, I hopefully am getting to the point of being truly free from what others think of me and what I should or shouldn’t do, say or think.  So are these thoughts those of an independent person who is not conditioned by rules or the ramblings of an old woman?  Maybe somewhere between the two!  It seems that being independent is more dependent than we care to think.

Rubbish Power

On the news this week there was a item about the future of electrcity in the UK. The 'experts' say that if we continue using as much as we do now, then within 3 years we will experience power cuts and black outs as there won't be enough electricity to meet demand. My thoughts went to sitting in silence in candle light - no TV, no PC, no music, unless I sing to myself a capella - even the keyboard is electric. There would be early nights, no heating and having to find an alternative to boil a kettle for a hot drink. It all seemed quite dismal. It took me back to my childhood before we had central heating or a TV not to mention a computer. But at least then we had a coal fire and could boil a kettle or a pan of soup so suddenly those days didn't seem that bad.

Then this morning I was reading through 'Your Somerset', the South Somerset County Council Newspaper where they bring us up to date with the work the Council is doing in our area. There was an article entitled 'From Plate to Power - AD on its way'. Intriguing - I read on. AD stands for 'anaerobic digestion', which has nothing to do with the effects of aerobic exercise on our digestive system!  It is in fact, and I quote from the article, a 'plant that will create methane for electricity generation from 19,000 tonnes of food waste annually.' So the weekly recycling collection that takes away all our food scraps, peelings, tea bags, coffee grounds and egg shells, as well as being used for fertilizer will now be used to create electricity. That made me feel a bit better about the future of electricity in this country.

It did make me think though, that how often we take things for granted almost until crisis point. We know the risks and dangers but somehow brush them off reassuring ourselves that things will all turn out ok. How much do I have every day that God freely showers on me in abundance and how often can I go a whole day without even saying 'Thank You, Lord'? He has given the stewardship of His creation to humanity and that is as much my responsibility as that of those in positions of power and government. We need to look after what we have in order to preserve it for the future.