Crazy

Calm Me ...

 

All Is Calm

It's just after 4 in the morning as I write this. I'm up all night tonight, doing some voluntary work at the local winter night shelter. The night shift.

It's very quiet.

And I've found this evening has been particularly useful.

I've done a full set of minutes for a recent business meeting; prepared detailed notes for a church meeting that I'm leading next month; reorganised a set of photos on my laptop; and listened to a sermon, a podcast and two whole episodes of the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy.

I feel good. :)

Keeping My Cool

As the clocks change and the nights draw in, the cycle of the seasons will start to indicate when I'll need to wear a thicker coat when going off to work. It's nearly time!

However, there's no indicator to tell me when I need to 'keep my cool'. And I really found it hard today.

Hard to stay cool when chaos reigns during a particularly busy day in the office. Raised voices and lots of phone interruptions made the office far too noisy for me today! Thankfully I wasn't one of the raised voices!

Hard to stay cool when someone asks you to help them - five minutes before you're due to go home. Sorry, I can't stay late tonight, another commitment later... it'll have to wait until tomorrow.

Hard to stay cool when it's standing room only on your train, as they cancelled the one before and this one only has four coaches... and add to that the fact that the kids are off school and all the noisiest ones are in my carriage. It's cramped, noisy, hot. Horrible.

Because I'm on the train now. Nothing to see outside, the winter nights have descended. On go the headphones, so that I can try and find my own little oasis of calm before my evening's voluntary commitment. I'm concentrating on writing some words for my next blog entry. These very words.

Enhance your calm. Breathe. It'll only be a little while longer.

Keep cool. :)

Decluttering...

I've spent what seems like an eternity recently, decluttering one of the rooms in my house.

I'm assured that it's only actually been two days. However, it seems like forever... because I've been a little unprepared by all of the emotional baggage that has been unearthed at the same time. Mementos trigger memories which in turn trigger emotions. Before too long I am reliving times in my life that I had forgotten, little details from the past that have been long buried. Details flood my mind, roll around in my thoughts. I've been travelling in time - and I feel a bit jet-lagged!

I've also quite taken aback by the pleasant feelings when I reach a milestone. When it's out of the away, cleared away.

I am also reliably informed that outer order contributes to inner calm.

I hope so. 

Journey To The Centre...

I've been doing some preparation for the coming weekend, as I am responsible for leading this Sunday's worship at my Corps. The reading I have been doing for this week's theme has led me to reflect on 'finding your centre'.

The phrase is used a lot nowadays when talking about spirituality, usually in terms of where 'you' are and where 'you' want to be. Now I'm not talking about a physical place, but in terms of reconnecting yourself to a place of equilibrium deep inside yourself. A little place of calm, of certainty.

It's important that we all try and find our own centre. You'll need it when everything starts going crazy; when your world falls apart; when all around you are 'losing it'.

I understand that your 'centre' is that special place where you and God finally connect. It's where you find that inner strength in times of trial. Inner peace.

"Jesus, be the centre
Be my source, be my light
Jesus

Jesus, be the centre
Be my hope, be my song
Jesus

(Chorus)
Be the fire in my heart
Be the wind in these sails
Be the reason that I live
Jesus, Jesus"
(Michael Frye)

Contemporaneous Circumstances

(definition of Contemporaneous: existing, occurring, or originating during the same time)

God is so good. Over the last fortnight (which has included a rather busy week's holiday from work) I have experienced so many blessings that blogging about these has been difficult, they've all seemed to have come as a rush, one after another. Some have occurred all at the same time! It's tough to recall all that has happened, it's been such a rush! Highlights include:

• five separate opportunities to be 'salt and light' on the streets of  my home town after the hours of darkness, thanks to The Salvation Army, to Street Pastors and the local Council. Although sometimes this has meant 'burning the midnight oil', I didn't miss the sleep, this was more than made up for by some very unique experiences.
• two occasions where I was privileged to assist my wife with her work with the local Cub Scout pack. Awesome - and often very noisy!
• some wonderful experiences at the Corps - one young person kneeling in commitment and coming to faith during our Corps Anniversary; other young people really responding to a prayer invitation the week after; even an awesome send-off to one of our more mature soldiers at her funeral service. She completed over sixty years of valiant service; the Hall was packed!
• several occasions where God has really got to grips with some of our family's more personal requests for prayer. Some of the answers have been right in front of us all of the time!
• I've even found that 'little area of calm' that I've been looking for (see my earlier blog entry). And I found it within me, so the good thing about it is that it's portable!

As I start to prepare for still further opportunities to serve that will be headed my way at this year's Territorial Congress (next weekend), I'm intrigued to know what else God has in store. Because I'm so up for it at the moment!

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thy own dear presence to cheer and to guide;

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
(Thomas O. Chisholm - William M. Runyan)

All is well...

I'm looking back now to Tuesday, to what has proven to be a rather peculiar day. A most strange period of my life; a day of confusion. However, part of the puzzle is because I reflect back on that day with a calmness that is simply amazing. Because on the whole I'm fine, truly convinced that all is well because the choices that I'm making in my personal life at the moment are leading me closer to Him. I hold that fact close to me.

On a day like this when 'all is well', it's all the more strange then when I see all around me plenty of evidence to the contrary... that things are far from well. Without too much effort I see disputes, anger, resentment. I see sickness, pain, disrepair. I see lies, chaos, even death. I see people asking questions and not prepared to listen to the answers I give.

What is the answer? Why do I have such a peace in my heart?

And do you have that same peace in your heart?

:)

Enhance Your Calm!

The title to today's blog comes from one of those self-help books you sometimes see on the bookshelves. Whenever I hear it, I always think of the movie 'Demolition Man', the SF action movie starring Sylvester Stallone and Sandra Bullock. Set in the near future, it depicts a sanitised world where they speak to each other in aphorisms, like the one above. "Be well..."

I'm endeavouring at the moment to do just that - to keep cheerful at all costs, to "enhance my calm”. There's plenty of things going on in my life at the moment, and to stay on track to where I need to get to I've got to stay focused on the task at hand. And that's means staying positive, sometimes against all odds. However, on some days this seems to be an uphill struggle!

What's seems to be your boggle? :)

John 14:27 (New International Version)
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.