Looking Back

When waiting at the bus stop to go into town, it is interesting to listen to the various conversations.  There is one particular elderly gentleman who regularly gets the same bus as me and his conversation is usually on the same topic - modern technology, computers in particular.  He really doesn't have a good word to say about them.  He certainly doesn't want one and couldn't see himself ever owning one.  Then I started wondering what my life would be like without one!  I would have to keep calling in at the bank or Post Office to pay my bills and organise my accounts.  I wouldn't be able to shop online as I do now.  And I wouldn't have a number of new-found friends that I now have through blogs and Facebook.  It would be more expensive and take longer to keep in touch with family and friends that are scattered throughout the world.  He couldn’t imagine himself with a pc but actually I couldn't imagine myself without one.  It is so useful and helpful for so many things.

This afternoon I caught up with a programme I recorded from last evening about the House That the 50s Built.  It is a series of four programmes that compares what a house would have looked like in 1950 and how it would look 10 years on as it reached the end of the decade.  This week's episode was all about the kitchen.  It echoed a conversation I had with my son only the other day when I told him that when I was a girl we didn't have television or washing machines or fridges (let alone freezers).  Working class people could not afford to have a telephone or central heating.  It was the decade when plastic and melamine became available, when a new drug called penicillin was introduced and gadgets like the automatic kettle, the toaster, the pressure cooker and the food mixer became known.  I remember my mother buying her first vacuum cleaner and non-stick pans were introduced ... ... and I could go on.

The thing is, looking back to 'the good old days', I don't think they were that good really.  So I welcome new technology, although it might take me a while to get the hang of it all!  Or as one lady in the bus queue commented, ‘Well we now live in the 21^st century and things are different, so he’d better get used to it!’

Game Surgery

It appears that the modders have been at it again, modifying new game technology for uses other than gaming. About a couple of years ago, XBox 360 brought out their newest technology - Kinect. This is a hands-free system that reacts to movement and voice commands. This means that your own voice or movement controls what happens in the game without you actually being connected by some cabled control that you click continuously and frantically in order to progress throughout the game.

The latest use for this technology has been in the operating theatres of selected hospitals on a trial basis. Surgeons sing its praises saying that it will speed up operations and decrease the risk of infection as they don't need to use a keyboard or be giving instructions verbally to other people to carry out their requests.

It is a serious consideration that within 10 years this technology will be common place in all hospitals. When you consider how quickly new technology is used to 'improve' weapons or destructive techniques for war, it is so reassuring to know that this technology is being used to help save lives. Some good news indeed.

Slimbridge

We spent a fabulous day yesterday at Slimbridge Waterfowl Park. We took a day excursion with South West Coaches. The weather was glorious all day - no wind, no clouds, just sunshine. We were greeted at the entrance by a heron just basking in the sun. It seemed as though he was inviting us to enjoy the day with him.

The first pool is full of swans, various kinds of ducks, geese, moorhens and coots. The great thing is that a lot of the birds are free to go where they want while the human visitors have to stay on the designated paths. The children love this part as they can get really close to the birds and enjoy feeding them.

A woman (not me) feeding the geese

Further along there are enclosures where they ask you not to feed them as they are from different parts of the world and have a more specialised diet that is catered for by the staff. There were swans, geese and ducks of all colours.




The smew

The white one is called a smew. There were ones with blue bills from South America.




Argentine Ruddy Duck



Puna Teal from the Andes

The strangest one we saw was referred to as the missing link between geese, swans, and game birds. It was called a Crested Screamer, although we didn't hear it 'scream'. 



Crested Screamer

We saw baby coots barely a few days old. There were birds that were large like the flamingoes and others that were so small and looked very delicate like the Red Shank and Avocet.



Avocet



We had quite a long conversation with another visitor who had a camera with an absolutely enormous zoom lens on it who admitted that for her watching and photographing wildlife was not a hobby but rather an obsession. Looking at some of her photographs made me feel a bit like hiding my little digital camera. She was a very interesting lady who obviously enjoyed her single life, sharing it with creation.

To crown it all, when we got back in the coach for the return journey, we discovered while chatting to the driver that he was originally from Gateshead! (for those who don't know, that is just the other side of the river from our place of origin) In July he is taking a group on a tour of the North East, spending time at Alnwick, Bamburgh, the Farne Islands and the obligatory fish and chip dinner at Seahouses. Mmm! Sounds like a good idea to me!

Memories that make you smile.

I was waiting at the bus stop in town when a fire engine passed. There was a small boy also waiting for the bus with his grandmother and he turned so excitedly to her and said, 'Look grandma, a fire engine!' My mind went back to when our boys were much younger. My younger son used to call them dee-dah lorries.

In fact all the emergency services' vehicles were known in our house as dee-dah cars or lorries. At first a neighbour thought that maybe our son had a speech impediment and couldn't say 'fire engine' or 'police car' properly and so called them dee-dah car/lorry. But then my son carefully explained that it was because these vehicles had a light on top that flashed and went dee-dah, dee-dah, dee-dah. They all have dee-dah lights on them. Hence the expression.

I smiled to myself as I remembered us all talking about the dee-dah lights while other people looked at us a little strangely!. Even now if anyone says 'dee-dah' light, to us it means one of the emergency services. Funny how you remember those little things that become part of a family's vocabulary.

What's the Point?

I have been thinking lately about the purpose of life.  Rick Warren wrote a whole book about it called The Purpose Driven Life.  Don't worry, I don't intend to be so long-winded.  It's just that in my younger years I seemed to have more of a purpose.  You know when you feel that you are actually doing something and contributing in some way.  We always talked about 'doing the Lord's work' - whatever that means.  Actually it seemed to mean doing things to do with church and getting other people to join us and come to our meetings.  Everything we did was geared to encourage people into the building and get involved with whatever projects we were doing at the time.

Now, the older I get, I find that I am no longer able to be busy doing things all the time as I was before.  I considered myself an encourager and pray-er and was happy going in prayer teams to stand alongside others in their work.  But now a sense of 'redundancy' creeps in and I ask myself 'what is the purpose of my life?'  I feel a bit like Solomon writing Ecclesiastes as he looks at life and comes to the conclusion that everything is meaningless.  It's almost like saying 'What's the point of it all? What's the purpose of life?'  It reminds me of the old sacred song ‘What is your purpose in life?’

As I get older I realise that the purpose of being a Christian is not about doing or being seen to be active but more about having a deep friendship with the Almighty.  It’s more about who we are rather than what we are doing.  The purpose of light is not to go everywhere in order to actively dispel darkness but rather to just be light.  It should fulfill the purpose of being what it is - light - and the natural consequence is that it will dispel the darkness wherever it is.  But it doesn’t set out to conquer darkness; it just is what it is.  And so my purpose in life is not to be busy trying to accomplish tasks or projects but to have such a relationship with and be so wrapped up in Him that wherever I am, He is seen; to be the person God made me; just simple being.

¿Qué es el Sentido?

He estado pensando últimamente acerca del propósito de la vida.  Rick Warren escribió un libro entero en eso llamado La Vida Llevado Por un Propósito.  No se afligen, no voy a escribir tanto.  Es que cuando fui más joven, mi vida parecía tener más propósito; cuando uno siente que en verdad está haciendo algo y contribuyendo en alguna forma.  Siempre hablábamos de 'hacer la obra del Señor' - sea lo que fuera el significado de eso.  En verdad, parece que significa que estás haciendo cosas perteneciendo a la iglesia y persuadiendo que otros se unen con nosotros y que vengan a los cultos.  Todo lo que hacíamos era para animar que otros vengan al edificio y estar envueltos en cualquier proyecto que estábamos haciendo en el  momento.

Ahora, al tener más años, me doy cuenta que no puedo estar tan activa haciendo cosas todo el tiempo como antes.  Me consideraba una persona que animaba a otros y una guerrera de oración y estaba muy feliz ir con otros en grupos de oración para estar al lado de otros en su trabajo.  Pero ahora tengo un sentido de redundancia y me pregunto '¿cuál es el propósito de mi vida?'  Me siento como Salomón escribiendo el libro de Eclesiastés cuando mira a la vida y llega a la conclusión que 'todo es vanidad'.  Es como decir '¿Cuál es el significado de todo? '¿Qué es el sentido de la vida?  Me hace recordar la canción sagrada vieja que decía '¿Cuál es el propósito de tu vida?

Como voy con más edad me doy cuenta que el propósito de ser cristiana no es acerca de lo que hago o siendo activa pero más acerca de tener una amistad profunda con el Todopoderoso.  Es más acerca de quienes somos que lo que hacemos.  El propósito de luz no es ir a todas partes para activamente disipar la oscuridad pero más bien simplemente ser luz.  Debe cumplir con el propósito de ser lo que es - luz- y la consecuencia natural de eso será que disipará las tinieblas dondequiera que esté.  Pero no busca a dominar la oscuridad; simplemente es lo que es.  Y así mi propósito en la vida no es estar muy ocupada tratando a cumplir con trabajo o proyectos sino a tener tal relación con y estar tan envuelto en Él que dondequiera este yo, Él se hace ver; a ser la persona que Dios me hizo para ser; simplemente ser.

Ser

All Is Not Lost

In the springtime I planted quite a few seeds.  As I no longer do the heavy digging in the garden I figured that I could at least have a few vegetables in pots.  I could manage that and so I planted some seeds and put them on the windowsill while the weather was still cold.  They were growing well and I was really pleased with the result.  They kept growing but the weather outside was still cold, windy and very, very wet! 

At the weekend we had three whole days without rain and so I decided to repot the seedlings into larger pots and put them outside.  I also found the old pots I had put strawberry plants in last year.  I had just left them - dead - as I thought.  But to my pleasant surprise there were about 10 plants struggling for survival in the abandoned pots.  So I carefully took them out and replanted them in the garden - not much digging for those, just the small trowel.

Since the weekend however we have had more rain and cold nights.  Oh dear, I thought, maybe I should have waited a bit longer.  This morning I went out to see how they were all doing and was very pleased to see them thriving.  Plants that had seemed so fragile and quite droopy yesterday were now perking up and apparently doing well.

New tomato plants

Another of nature's lessons!  Never give up hope.  All is not lost.  God created a wonderful world (including us) with an amazing ability to bounce back from adversity and withstand the rigours of life.

Todo no está perdido

En la primavera sembré unas semillas. Como ya no hago trabajo fuerte en el jardín pensé que por lo menos podría tener unas verduras en macetas.  Eso podría hacer asique sembré unas semillas y les puse al lado de la ventana mientras el tiempo estaba todavía frío.  Crecían bien y me gustó mucho el resultado.  Seguían creciendo pero el tiempo afuera seguía frío, ventoso y muy, muy mojado.

Al fin de semana tuvimos tres días enteros sin lluvia asique decidí ponerlos en macetas más grandes y sacarles afuera.  También encontré unas macetas viejas con frutillas del año pasado.  Lo había dejado - muertos- como pensé yo.  Pero que sorpresa linda a encontrar que había como 10 plantas luchando a sobrevivir en las macetas abandonadas.  Con cuidado, los saqué de ahí y los planté de nuevo en el jardín - no mucho trabajo ni fuerza necesario.

Desde entonces hemos tenido aún más lluvia y noches frías.  Empecé a pensar que a lo mejor hubiese sido mejor esperar un poco más antes de sacarles afuera.  Esta mañana fui para ver como andaban y me agradó mucho ver que estaban bien.  Plantas que ayer parecían tan frágiles y decaídas, ahora estaban mejor y aparentemente haciendo bien.

Plantitas de tomates

Otra lección de la naturaleza.  Nunca abandone la esperanza.  Todo no está perdido.  Dios creó un mundo maravilloso (incluyendo a nosotros) con una habilidad sombrosa a rebotar de las adversidades y soportar los rigores de la vida.

All in it Together

I normally try to steer clear of controversial issues.  Everyone has their own opinion and I try to respect that even though sometimes I feel and think quite the opposite.  Each has a right to their own ideas and thinking.  But today on the news my attention was caught by the news that another highly paid boss has resigned from his post as shareholders at the AGM showed their disapproval at his large increase in salary and bonus.  It is not my intention to go into long discussion about CEOs high salaries or whether or not they should receive such enormous bonuses.  What really caught my attention was the BBC's Business Editor, Robert Peston when he said that the average increase in salary of the CEOs of top firms in the past year was 11% (even though they already receive a 7 figure salary).  This is in stark contrast to the shareholders income from shares over the same length of time that is actually down 7% while the average wage increase for an ordinary worker was only 1%. 

Robert Peston

The government keeps insisting that we're all in it together!  But somehow people aren't convinced when many workers have lost their jobs because of firms cutting back, others have had a pay freeze for a few years with no seeming improvement in the foreseeable future and very few others have received an increase beyond 1or 2%.  Somehow when the big boss gets 11% it doesn't seem as though we really are all in it together.  However you try to reconcile the numbers, unless Maths has changed drastically from when I went to school, 11% is an awful lot more than 1% or even -7%!  And try telling someone who is now unemployed because of the financial crisis that 11% increase is a fair price to pay for a CEO.

Recent unrest in Spain

We are certainly living in interesting times when you see in many countries how the ordinary men and women are rising up to let their opinions be heard.  It is not just the Arab Spring that happened but now we are seeing the European countries of Greece, France and Spain showing their disapproval of their leaders and here in the UK people are letting their voices be heard about what they think of the decisions of those in power.

Thank You

I got off the bus at my stop on the way home.  Just ahead of me was a group of about 6 teenagers talking and joking together ... and filling the pavement.  As I got nearer, one young man stepped to one side to let me past.  I smiled at him and said 'Thank you'.  I passed them and went on my way but the youth, almost as an afterthought said in a loud voice 'Thank you for saying 'thank you''.  That was nice, I thought. 

As I walked on I began to think about the small incident.  First of all I was reminded that not all teenagers are a problem and just because they enjoy hanging out together does not mean that they are up to no good.  Just because a few give problems doesn't mean that I should distrust all of them.  A timely lesson for me.

Saying 'thank you' is something I do almost automatically - it's the way we were brought up.  And then I thought of the fact that the young man thanked me for thanking him as though he didn't expect it.  Is that a sad reflection, I wondered, on the fact that many people nowadays never think to say 'thank you' for a small kindness?  I have heard it said in assertiveness training courses that we shouldn't keep saying things like 'thank you' and 'sorry' as this shows submissiveness rather than assertiveness.  I just call it good manners and respect for others.  Or maybe I'm just old fashioned and a bit behind the times. 

Gracias

Bajé del ómnibus a la parada cerca de casa.  Adelante había un grupo de como seis jóvenes charlando y contando chistes ... y llenando la vereda.  Al acercarme, uno de los jóvenes movió a un lado para dejarme pasar.  Sonreí y le dije 'Gracias'.  Seguí en mi camino pero el joven, casi como una idea tardía dijo en alta voz 'Gracias por decir 'gracias''.  Que lindo, pensé

Al caminar seguí pensando en la ocurrencia pequeña.  Primeramente que no todos los jóvenes son un problema y simplemente porque les gusta juntarse no quiere decir que son malos.  Porque algunos nos dan problemas, no significa que tenemos que desconfiar en todos ellos.  Una lección para mí.

Decir 'gracias' es algo que hago casi automáticamente - es como fui criado.  Y luego pensé en como el joven me agradeció por agradecerle como si no lo esperaba.  ¿Es eso una reflexión triste, pensé, en el hecho que hoy en día mucha gente nunca piensa en decir 'gracias' por un favor pequeño?  He oído dicho en cursos de aserto que no debemos decir tanto, cosas como 'gracias' y 'disculpe' porque eso demuestra sumisión y no aserto.  Para mí simplemente es un caso de ser bien educado y tener respeto para los demás.  O tal vez soy anticuada y un poco pasada de moda.

Mushroom that eats plastic

A little while ago a facebook friend mentioned about an amazonian mushroom that can eat non-biodegradable plastic. My first reaction was 'Wow! that's great' but then I began to wonder - if the mushroom was in the rain forest, how do scientists know that it can eat plastic? Is there any such plastic lying around in the rain forest? I looked on websites that tell you about hoax rumours etc but didn't find anything there. I kept thinking about it so decided to browse around and try to find out more.

There are two websites in particular that clarify the situation. They are, gizmodo.com/5880768/amazonian-mushroom-eats-indestructible-plastics and herbeyclopedia.com/index.php?option=com_zoo&task=item&item_id=3. The mushroom is called Pestalotiopsis Microspora. It was discovered in the Ecuadorian Rain Forest but apparently lives in various parts of the world. Some students from Yale university in the US took samples back to their lab and began doing experiments and that is how they discovered that it actually consumes polyurethane, the plastic that has become such a problem in the world as it takes hundreds of years to destroy it. This surely seems to be the solution the world has been waiting for. What good news if there is a mushroom that can devour the plastic waste that we so freely disgard.

This table gives a good idea of how many different uses polyurethane has just in the US

(this data is taken from 2004; its use seems to increase by 5% every year

This special mushroom can live in air or without it. So it can be used to clean the oceans of all the plastic that is polluting so much of our planet. It's ideal condition for growth would seem to be at the bottom of landfill sites, among all the plastic and without sunlight or air! The other benefit from this mushroom is that it produces taxol and that is already used in the treatment of cancer. It seems almost too good to be true. And that is the problem. What if it cannot be controlled? What if it somehow spreads out from underneath the rubbish heaps or moves from the ocean to the land? As the table above shows we use polyurethane in so much of our daily living - insulation, synethetic fibres, plastic for electronics and sealants etc - what if it began to invade our homes? It sounds like something from a sci-fi horror movie: 'The invasion of the gadget-eating fungus' It seems like the solution to one problem creates another. Maybe the best thing is to just drastically reduce the amount of non-biodegradable plastic that we use and throw away so easily.

Recycling

Today on the way to visit my sister, the bus had to stop for what seemed ages because there wasn't enough room in the narrow street to pass the lorry that was collecting and emptying the recycling bins.  The bus driver was very patient but not all the car drivers were.  Yesterday they collected the recycling in our area and I noticed that some were absolutely soaked because of the very heavy rain that we had.  Earlier in the week we had more storms and hailstones.  Yet these poor men were still out in all weathers collecting our rubbish.  We so often just expect things like our rubbish to be collected but give little thought for those people who have to work outside regardless of bad weather and we so quickly moan at the slightest inconvenience.

We know that the planet is suffering because we humans have lived thoughtlessly giving little regard for others or the natural resources.  It is a good thing that at least as a nation we are now recycling much of our waste - paper, cardboard, tins, glass bottles and jars, plastic bottles and waste food.  If that means that occasionally we arrive a few minutes late because of the lorries then the inconvenience is a small price to pay for helping to save the planet.

Reciclando

Hoy en el  camino a ver a mi hermana, el ómnibus tuvo que parar por lo que parecía mucho tiempo porque no había suficiente espacio en la calle angosta para pasar al camión que busca y vacía los tachos de reciclar.  El conductor del ómnibus fue muy paciente pero no algunos que manejaban autos.  Ayer vinieron a buscar la basura para reciclar en nuestra zona y vi  que algunos de los hombres estaban completamente mojados por la lluvia tan fuerte que tuvimos.  Durante la semana hemos tenido más tormentas y piedras de granizo.  Sin embargo estos pobres hombres igual estaban colectando nuestra basura.  Tantas veces esperamos cosas como la colecta de basura pero pensamos poco en aquellas personas que tienen que trabajar afuera no importa como es el tiempo y nos quejamos muy pronto a cualquier incomodidad pequeña.

Sabemos que el planeta sufre porque nosotros los humanos hemos vivido sin pensar mucho en otros o en los recursos naturales.  Es una cosa buena que por lo menos como nación (Reino Unido) ahora reciclamos mucho de las cosas que tiramos - papel, cartón, latas, botellas y frascos de vidrio, botellas de plástico y comestibles.  Si eso significa que en alguna ocasión llegamos unos minutos tarde por los camiones entonces es un precio pequeño que hay que pagar por ayudar a salvar al planeta.

What a Difference

The following photographs were taken only hours apart.  The first ones are of the sudden hailstorm that we had yesterday at around 4 pm.  I heard something lashing against the window and when I looked I saw enormous hailstones and the ground was covered.  This together with thunder and lightning was quite out of season.  Then at 9 am this morning the same place was flooded in beautiful spring sunshine while only a couple of hours later the clouds began to gather threatening rain.  In the end it didn't rain but it was quite windy and very cold.  There is truth in the saying 'what a difference a day makes!'.

Only about three weeks before we were basking in summer temperatures and yet here over the past two days we have had extreme cold and strong winds but also sunshine.  No wonder we Brits are always talking about the weather!  But such a difference in such a short time.  That about sums up life, I guess.

Que Diferencia

Las fotos siguientes fueron sacadas dentro de unas horas no más.  Las primeras dos son de la granizada que tuvimos de repente ayer como las 4 de la tarde.  Oí algo que golpeaba contra la ventana y cuando miré vi unas piedras de granizo enormes and el suelo estaba cubierto.  Eso junto con el trueno y relámpago fue algo fuera de la estación del año.  Luego a las 9 esta mañana el mismo lugar estaba inundado con el hermoso sol de primavera mientras solamente un par de horas más tarde las nubes empezaron a juntarse amenazando lluvia.  Al final no llovió pero estaba bastante ventoso y hacía mucho frío.  Hay verdad en el dicho '¡que diferencia que hace un día!'.

Solamente hace 3 semanas atrás estábamos disfrutando de temperaturas de verano y sin embargo aquí durante los últimos dos días hemos sentido un frío tremendo y vientos fuertes pero también el brillo del sol.  ¡Con razón que nosotros los británicos siempre estamos hablando del tiempo!  Pero que diferencia dentro de un espacio tan corto.  Parece ser un resumen de la vida, ¿no?

Mixed Emotions

I received the online statement from my energy supplier.  The electricity direct debit would remain the same as I was in credit.  However the gas payment was to be increased.  My first reaction was something else going up in price.  But then I noticed that I was a huge amount in credit and that according to their forecast of what I would probably use over the coming year I would still be in credit without increasing my monthly payment.  So I decided to send them a nice email asking for an explanation.

Yesterday I received a phone call to 'explain' and when I pointed out that I would still be in credit and that I didn't mind paying for what I was using but didn't see why I should pay for more than I would use.  In the end they left the payment without the increase and also found me a cheaper tariff.  Yeah!

I was in a happy mood for the rest of the day until the evening when I received the very sad news of a dear nephew living in Argentina who died suddenly yesterday.  I remembered when we lived there and summer holidays were always spent at the home of my parents-in-law and all the cousins played together.  Such happy times.  In recent years we have been able to visit them all again and share in memories and enjoy time together with their children and grandchildren.  Last year I became aware of his condition similar to that of my late husband but this sudden news of his death was still very upsetting.

Nephews, Pablo (left) and Esteban (right)

This morning I awoke early (5.30am) still thinking about Esteban my nephew.  I heard a blackbird singing and opened the window to enjoy it more.  It was pouring with rain but above the rain I could hear the loud song of the blackbird singing his heart out and heralding a new day.  The words of the old hymn came to my mind,

The storms may roar without me, my heart may low be laid,

But Thou art round about me, and shall I be dismayed?   

Thank you Lord for your continuous presence.

Emociones Mezcladas

Recibí la cuenta en el internet por el uso de energía.  El pago mensual de la  electricidad no iba a subir porque todavía estaba con crédito.   Pero el pago del gas sí iba a subir.  Mi primera reacción fue que hay otra cosa que va subiendo en precio.  Pero luego me di cuenta que estaba con mucho crédito y según su propia calculación iba seguir en crédito por el año que viene.  Asique decidí mandarles un email lindo preguntando por una explicación.

Ayer recibí una llamada telefónica para 'explicar' y cuando le llamé la atención al hecho que igual estaría en crédito y que la verdad es que no tengo problema con pagar por lo que uso pero no veo porque tengo que pagar por más que lo que usaría.  Al final dejaron que el pago mensual queda como ahora sin subir y además me buscó una forma más barato todavía.  Síííí!

Me sentía feliz todo el día hasta la tardecita cuando recibí la noticia muy triste que un sobrino muy querido en la Argentina falleció de repente ayer.  Recordé cuando vivíamos ahí y las vacaciones de verano siempre pasábamos en la casa de los suegros y todos los primos jugaban juntos.  Qué tiempos felices.  En los últimos años hemos podido visitar a todos nuevamente y disfrutar momentos juntos con sus hijos y nietos.  El año pasado me di cuenta de su condición, similar a lo de mi esposo ya fallecido, pero su muerte de repente igual me hizo doler.

Dos sobrinos, Pablo (izq) y Esteban (der)

Esta mañana me desperté temprano (a las 5 y medio) todavía pensando en Esteban mi sobrino.  Escuché que un mirlo estaba cantando y abrí la ventana para disfrutarlo más.  Estaba lloviendo fuerte pero aún más fuerte podía escuchar la canción del mirlo que cantaba con toda la esfuerza que tenía dando la bienvenida a un día nuevo.  Las palabras de un himno antiguo vinieron a mi mente,

Las tormentas pueden bramar alrededor mío, mi corazón tal vez sea oprimido,

Pero Tú estás alrededor mío, y ¿pueda yo estar desanimado?

Gracias Señor por Tu presencia continua.

Papal Prophecy!

This week my attention has been taken by a blog by two of my Facebook friends.  I just can't stop thinking about it.  It is an article about something that the Pope said.  Normally I wouldn't take much interest in what the head of the Roman church has to say but this was unexpected and reflects what many modern day prophets have been saying for some time.  You can find the full transcription of what he says on http://lifeondoverbeach.wordpress.com/2012/04/09/benedict-xvi-the-church-will-become-small/.

Here is an extract of some of what he said, talking about the church:

She will no longer be able to inhabit many of the edifices she built in prosperity.

But when the trial of this sifting is past, a great power will flow from a more spiritualized and simplified Church.

And so it seems certain to me that the Church is facing very hard times. The real crisis has scarcely begun. We will have to count on terrific upheavals. But I am equally certain about what will remain at the end: not the Church of the political cult, which is dead already, but the Church of faith. She may well no longer be the dominant social power to the extent that she was until recently; but she will enjoy a fresh blossoming and be seen as man’s home, where he will find life and hope beyond death.

Two books that I have helpful over the past few years are Revolution by George Barna where he talks about how millions of Christians have opted to leave the organised form of church and have stopped meeting in buildings .  For them it has become more of a way of living than an attendance at 'Sunday Worship'.  The other book is Jesus has left the building where Paul Vieira tells his own story of how he came to leave the ministry he had within the organised church and leave the congregation altogether in order to do what God was asking of him.

There are many others who have done the same, not because they are turning their backs on God but just the opposite.  They have questioned what the church as people understand it, is actually doing to change the world and make a difference to the problems of hunger, poverty and justice.  In the New Testament the followers of Jesus were known as People of The Way.  Jesus called himself the Way.  Each one of us must follow what we feel God is saying to us as an individual.  But one thing seems clear - God is reclaiming His church and making it what He meant it to be without all the ties of politics, social acceptance and hierarchy within the organisation.  He wants us to follow Him and be loyal to Him rather than to a religious system.

 One final point that struck me about this article is that I didn't expect to hear that the Pope had said that.  As an evangelical Christian it would be more usual to hear such words from a great evangelist or the latest senational speaker that graces the platforms of some free churches.  But God uses whom He chooses and we can hear His voice in unexpected places and from people we would least expect.

Profecía del Papa

Esta semana he estado pensando mucho en lo que dos de mis amigos de Facebook escribieron en su blog.  Sigo pensando en eso.  Es de un artículo de algo que dijo el Papa.  Normalmente no prestaría mucha atención a algo que dijo el pontifico pero eso fue algo inesperado y refleja lo que varios profetas modernas han estado diciendo ya por un tiempo.  Se puede ver todo lo que dijo (en inglés) en http://lifeondoverbeach.wordpress.com/2012/04/09/benedict-xvi-the-church-will-become-small/.

Acá hay algo de lo que dice acerca de la iglesia:

Ya no va a poder vivir en los edificios que edificó durante su tiempo de prosperidad.

Pero cuando estas tribulaciones han pasado, un gran poder, fluirá de una iglesia más espiritual y simple.

Y así a mí parece cierto que la Iglesia tiene que enfrentar tiempos difíciles.  La crisis verdadera casi no ha empezado.  Tendremos que contar con trastornos tremendos.  Pero igualmente estoy cierto de lo que quedará al final: no la Iglesia del culto político, que ya está muerto, pero la Iglesia de fe. Tal vez ya no será el poder social dominante hasta el punto que ha estado hasta recién; pero disfrutará un florecer nuevo y será visto como el hogar del hombre, donde encontrará vida y esperanza más allá de la muerte.

Dos libros que me han ayudado en los últimos años son Revolución por George Barna donde habla acerca de como millones de Cristianos han elegido dejar la forma organizada de iglesia y han dejado de atender cultos en un edificio.  Para ellos ha llegado a ser más una manera de vivir más bien que 'ir al culto'.  El otro libro es Jesús ha salido del edificio donde Paul Vieira cuenta su propia historia de como sentía que tenía que dejar el ministerio que tuvo dentro de la iglesia organizada y dejar la congregación de todo para hacer lo que Dios le pedía.  Estos dos libros están en inglés y no sé si se consigue en español.

Hay muchos más que han hecho lo mismo, no porque quieren dar la espalda a Dios sino a lo contrario.  Se han preguntado que es lo que está haciendo la iglesia, como gente comprende la palabra iglesia, para cambiar al mundo y hacer una diferencia en los problemas de hambre, pobreza e injusticia.  En el Nuevo Testamento los seguidores de Jesús fueron conocidos como Gente del Camino.  Jesús dijo que Él es el Camino.  Cada uno de nosotros tenemos que hacer lo que sentimos que Dios nos pide como individuo.  Pero una cosa parece claro - Dios está reclamando su iglesia y haciendo que sea lo que debía sin todas las ataduras políticas, aceptación social y jerarquía dentro de la organización.  Quiere que le sigamos a Él y no a un sistema religioso.

Una cosa más que me impresionó de este artículo es que no esperaba escuchar que eso lo dijo el Papa.  Como cristiana evangélica sería más común a escuchar tales palabras de un gran evangelista o el último predicador sensacional que habla de las plataformas de las iglesias libres.  Pero Dios elije a aquellos que Él quiere y podemos escuchar su voz en lugares inesperados y de gente que menos esperamos.