Virtual Methodist

So here I am, 2nd day in and I'm already 4 days late... But I did say this would be a bit sporadic... Anyway, today it is supposed to be 9 loves. OK... (I really can't wait to get to the simpler ones like books)... Let's clear the decks and take it as read that I love my family, God and pet cat... So in many ways I'm giving you 12 loves for the price of 9... But there is no way on this virtual planet that you are getting me bearing my heart on those three... The first 2 because this is entirely the wrong forum to do them justice, and the third because there is already too much cat-related wackiness on the web, and I don't want to be associated with that... So here goes on a variety of things that I love in no particular rank order: 1) FOOD - Now there is an entire day given over to foods... but this is food in general. I have a serious psychological problem with food. It is my primary response to any emotional state; I'm happy - I eat,  I'm sad- I ea...

My post of yesterday seems to have struck a chord or two given the amount of traffic it has generated on the site... That's encouraging, as I was very reluctant to post it, because, contrary to popular perception I'm not grumpy about everything all the time. I'm forever telling my congregation that we are good news people not bad news, so in contrast to my 12 mid-winter gripes of yesterday, here are 12 signs of hope that keep me going. They are not direct responses to the issues I raised, but are examples of the things that remind me that, in the midst of a fallen world, God in his grace is at work redeeming and renewing that which he once looked on and called good... So here goes: The commitment of Christian people across the UK to help the poorest in society through food pantries and other initiatives, including the Trussell Trust Foodbanks which have grown into a 300 strong network over the past 13 years, with 100 being established in the last year... with, hopefu...

Just got about as wet as I have ever been with my clothes on yesterday, standing watching Ulster play Harlequins at rugby in the pouring rain and a howling gale. It was so bad that the temporary stand at one end of Ravenhill was evacuated because organisers feared that it might just blow away. But despite the weather (and perhaps because of it) it was one of the best afternoons I have had recently, in what has been a pretty annoying week/month... And although Ulster won (21-10 I think) it had little to do with the score. No - it was good because it was something that I shared with my son... my eldest son Owain... Indeed, he had arranged it... I had tried to ge tickets earlier in the month but it was sold out, then a few days ago he heard that one of his rugby team-mates had a couple of tickets he couldn't use, and asked if I wanted to buy them... So thanks to him we spent two hours getting wet and freezing cold on a rugby terrace... But it reminded me how few things we do together ...