Greeting

Thanks for dropping by. As you can see, I haven't posted here for a while here. I'm over at benaskew.tumblr.com instead. Feel free to have a look through the archives here though, I still get the odd comment coming through on old posts. Hopefully I'll see you over at the new place soon.

Shelter

We went to Speedwell Cavern yesterday.  Its flooded so you have to get into the cave by boat,  as we journeyed our guide told us about the little blast holes that miners had carved into the tunnel.  Once they had laid explosive they would run to these holes and hide in them as rock, and the lead they were trying to mine, flew past them following the blast.

This morning in prayers we looked at Psalm 84 and were asked to imagine what it means that we describe God as a home.  I wondered if one thing it could mean was that he was my blast hole.  Somewhere to hide and take refuge when explosions and blasts occur.

It feels a little bit like there are blasts in my life right now.  Life is unsettled.  So it is good to know that in God I have a home.

New WordLive

Do you know about Wordlive? Its a scripture union site with great daily readings, thoughts and prayer exercises available for free.

They've had a re-design and it all looks very simple to use, with some excellent God-focussed content. May be a good way of getting some bible in your life.

I like the alt section which takes quite a playful approach to it all. They claim its "Throwing a large rock into the still waters of the quiet time." It just might be...

Go have a look, its good.

Desire and Discipline

When I think about my walk as a disciple I realise there are two things that are critical:  desire and discipline.

Desire sets where I am going, King David said:

"One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple."

Perhaps the longing for God is the only desire that can be fully and truly satisfied.

Discipline gets me moving,  it is what I need to place one foot in front of the other.

Without desire I strive to go nowhere or walk aimlessly.
Without discipline I stay put and more and more frustrated at lack of movement.

Which do you need God to give you today?

God give us the desire for you.  Help us set our destination. 
God teach us discipline.  Help us get up and walk.

Advent Pause 4 - Subtract and Stop.

My friend Andrew has also been blogging an advent series about making space.  I hesitate to tell you this,  because his posts are more frequent and better than mine.

On Saturday he posted this:


"There is so much that needs to be done in preparation for Christmas...
At times – and especially if there are any other factors in our lives that drain us, as there so often are – it is as
much or even more than we can do to get done what needs to be done.
At times, we just need to take time out. Re-focus. Pray.

Pray, even though prayer is elusive; even though the Christ-child, the King of Heaven, is elusive.
And then step back in to the day."
 
 
I re-blog this because I need to hear it.  I have been attempting to write posts on pausing in Advent while at the same time hurtling through a busy life of church, socialisation, family, study and Christmas preparation.
 
My pauses have just been additions to my business.  They've been great and God's blessed me, but over the last few days events have reminded me that they're not enough.  Pausing is not just about addition - it is also about subtraction.
 
What do I need take away, in order to rest?  What do I need to stop doing?
 
Just for a little while I'm trying to get into stop mode. 
I took an hour out to go to our prayer room this morning. 
We had a meeting cancelled tonight so we're going to decorate a tree, then just chill together.
 
This has started to help me feel stronger and more peaceful,  and it will definitely improve the lives of those I love and see every day.
 
So,  may God bless the additions to life that you and I make this advent.  May they be fruitful and may we meet with him.  But may he also bring us to places where we don't just pause,
 
we stop.



The photo is by alykat on flickr.

Advent Pause 3 - Celebrate!

So far these tips have been pretty inward looking. Lets widen things a little. I know advent is a time for reflection, anticipating Jesus coming and contemplating the not-yet. But come on! Christmas is coming, have some fun.

The mix of quiet anticipation and exuberant celebration can work really well. Why not get some people together - even better if they're people you don't always do life with. Get them round and have some fun together. You don't have to plan the party-to-end-all parties, it might even be worth avoiding the consumerism tendancy for a full on blow out. But a little celebration with friends, neighbours or even strangers might help you meet with God in a new way.

Advent Pause 2 - Music

Each year at church we have an advent song. This year it is Take That. I'll admit, the 18 year old me would have been horrified by the thought that I might ever lead a service that featured the music of Mr Barlow et al, but either they've changed or I have because in the context this kind of worked.

Anyway. My next tip for pausing is to find some advent music. Put it on and just listen. Allow yourself the space of a song, or even an album and talk to God about it. You could even hum or sing along.
In the Askew house we might go for a little choral music, but more likely some Sigur Ros or Sufjan. Our absolute favourite though is Low Christmas. We love the first play each year towards the end of November. Listening to it gives a great idea of the mixed emotions - excitement, nostalgia, melancholy, loneliness - many face during this season.

I know there's loads of music out there right now, festive noise bombards us in the shops and on every advert and a lot of its rubbish. Don't let that ruin great Christmas music for you though. Find something you like and listen to it with God.

Speaking and not speaking

I Learned two new words at college today. Apotaphic and cataphatic. I like them.

How arrogant of me to think I can speak accurately of God when he is so far beyond my understanding.
How arrogant of me to not speak of God when he constantly speaks of himself.

They made me think of Pete Rollins' book.

God, help me speak of you lovingly and truthly. And when its time for silence help me to shut up.




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Advent Pause 1 - Walk

In my last post I said I wanted to slow down this advent.  I thought I might think aloud about ways I might do that.  If you like you can play along too: how might you make pauses this advent?

The first way I'm going to do that is quite simple.  Walk.

Whenever possible I like to walk, to meetings, to work,  to the shops, to church.

When I drop my boy off at nursery I like to walk back through the park.
When I got to see someone for a coffee in town,  I like to walk.

The temptaion is to jump into the car, to be there faster.

Or squeeze in with everyone else on the tram.

If I resist that temptation,  I might take a little longer to get to my destination.

I might even be a few minutes late (I often am).

But I will feel a little fitter,

I will have had some space to think,

I'll be able to see real people and places in my city, and notice my environment.

And I might even have met with God.

This advent I'm going to try to walk more.
(The photo is by H Adam on Flickr).

Holidays are coming...

This Sunday sees the beginning of Advent, the time when Christians prepare for the celebration of Jesus birth at Christmas, and remind ourselves of our hope that he will return.

Of course if you looked at the world around us you might think we were already in the season of preperation - stores are decorated, Delia and Heston reminice on tv adverts, and though I've not yet seen the Christmas Coke advert yet (a certain sign Holidays were coming for my brothers and me) I'm sure it can't be far behind. And with the certain motion of festive red lorries, we roll on towards the festive season. Holidays are coming.

Please don't think I'm complaining, I love the fact that I could go with my family to watch the Sheffield illuminations begin on the 22nd December. I love that for a month our city centre includes a german market and an outdoor ice rink. I love that I can start to get excited and get ready.

But there is a sense that as the Christmas juggernaught gains pace life becomes more hectic - we rush to get the shopping done, the travel arranged, the parties planned, and... Oh no! We've forgotten to book anywhere for the cat!

All that is before you add in the extra pressure of church or mission activities around the season. The run up to Christmas is, perhaps rightly, seen as prime trading time for many missionary minded churchgoers and so there is a rush to plan carol services, Christmas fairs, and evangelistic initiatives that make the most of peoples interest in our stories at this time of year.

I'm not complaining at all. I love the parties, I love buying presents, I love the fact that mission can seem a bit more fun because I get to wear a Santa hat. But I can't help feeling that in all this busyness I might be missing something of the wonder and awe, and hope of this season.

Perhaps I need to make some time this advent to pause.

One of the key messages of our Christmas story is that despite everything that was going on, Roman tax legislation, angry tyrannical monarchs, fearful fathers seeking divorce, the son of God is still born.  The incarnation presents an interruption to our furious activity. A pause in the "business as usual" that points to something greater, more beautiful and more mysterious than our current existence.

This Christmas I want to enjoy the festivities, I want to male the most of the opportunities presented to me to share my story, and I want to get caught up with those around me in celebration.  But more than that I want to stop and pause. To and slow down, and consider what this all means. To make space to contemplate the beautiful mystery at the heart of our parties. That God was born as a Jewish man in Roman occupied Palestine, and lives on in the hearts of people here and now.

Let us make the most of every opportunity this advent,  let us celebrate the season wholeheartedly.  But let us also make pauses in our life so that we have the space and time to encounter the one whose birth we celebrate.
Have a great advent.