Journeying moments

Last Sunday I had the great privilege of speaking at a church in Glasgow.
This meant my whole day was filled with doing great things. Sunday always are for me but the driving component is woefully short. But last Sunday I got to get up early - as usual. Drive into the dawn with the the sunlight bathing the snowy mountains in that rich golden pinky light that I'm certain only occurs in Scotland. Barrelling down the A9 with magnificent vista unfolding all round me. Then I get to the Revival Evangelical Mission International Church of God in Sighthill and meet up with my friend Pastor Ambakise Mwafula and just really enjoy prayerful fellowship, great praise, great time sharing my heart and then a special time at my friend's home talking shop. Then I got to drive home through the wonderful countryside all over again. This time into the dusk!
My fellowship has made an audio recording of the New Testament [ KJV ] which we call "Faith comes by Hearing". So to have the fun of driving and listening to the Word as I drive through the land. MmmmmMMMMMM! God is so good!
This week has been difficult for me with too much coming too quickly on occasions but in the last moments of my drive home today, again I got an overwhelming sense of God's presence and love which just lifted my mood, re-directed my thought processes and turned my heart even more to Him.

Isa 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee.

Thank you Lord!

A nice break - Part Two

I can't believe how long it's been since I last had the time to blog.
However, I'm going to finish off the testimonial about mine and the Mem Sahib's break WAY back in mid October.
You may [ or may not ] recall the first part were I had a wonderful experience driving some superb cars. That was a tiring time believe it or not. But once that was over, we headed back into the real world of family and fellowship, heading up to the North West to stay with our new outlaws, John and Hil Hutchison in Aintree.
I bless the Lord for the quality of outlaws he has given us, firstly with Willie and Moira Duncan and now with John & Hil.
Hospitality has been re-defined for me. It was just like going home or back to friends we've known for decades. After a long journey, you just want get your slippers on and have a cuppa - don't you? That's just what happened. Then we gassed the time away like you wouldn't believe.
This is only the third time we've been together and one of those was the 'heightened reality wedding experience' when you know you're deep in a vortex of events that won't let you go till it's all over.... But what a way to relax, letting your conversation roam from family to faith and back again. Even politics couldn't ruin the evening!!!
Next day we went to church with the Hutches, to St Peter's a 20th Century Anglican church on the periphery of a housing scheme. It was Reader's Day, the service very warm and intimate, and just as the communion lesson was being read, I felt as if the Lord just showed me a timeline of my life and how often He had been upholding me, alongside me, blessing me all through my life from being a choir boy to being a pastor. It was one of those tangible experiences which you know in your knower that He is and will be very near. Sweet!
So next day we got the tour of Liverpool.
Here's an end view of 'The Three Graces' soon to be blocked up by a new museum. Dockland here is very interesting with so much to see. It reminded a lot of my childhood, visiting Hull on a regular basis. We went on a city tour that afternoon which ended with an amphibious trip through several docks in a DUKW!
Note the cranes in the piccy below. Every where you look in Liverpool it seems that a building is sprouting!











Also visited the amazing
Cathedral of Christ the King.
Architecture has always held a fascination for me,
so this place was a real treat. The interior is both vibrant and peaceful....and the accoustics ! Well, I just wanted to sing praises!! So I did - but quietly and in a corner, amazed to hear how my voice carried even so.
















Note the huge crown of thorns repeated both inside and outside the building.



Next day it was adieu to Liverpool, but I know we'll be back.
So we took a short hop up to the Lakes, stopping off at the amazing sub-terranean shopping mall called Regedh. They have nice loos and a very good tourist info-point. We made sure that the Ullswater ferries were running, then drove to the south of the Lake. Here we parked at Glenridding then walked up the east side to Howtown - 7.5 miles -

and caught the ferry back.





This ferry was first commissioned in 1889 and still in beautiful condition.

Yes - that is heat haze.... pic taken whilst we walked during the afternoon.
On arrival back at Glenridding the rain began to fall getting steadily heavier. We had miscalculated how much hard cash we had & so were unable to find any B&B's. Circumstance forced us to take shelter in the Glenridding Hotel where we managed to cheer oursleves up with a hot shower and a fine evening meal.
The following day saw us wend our merry way home - rejoicing!

Since then it's been business as usual. I'm not sure how often I'll be blogging. That was always my problem beforehand. Time and the fact that I'd rather read one than post one. Everyone else's blog seems so witty and eloquent, the blogger so much more well read than I.
But that's a bit more of my life outed. And the Lord continues to bless me real good.