Greetings bloggites. I have now started my sabbatical leave and have decided that I will continue to post bloggerel here. There are two reasons: vanity and necessity.

The vanity part comes from not wanting to lose any bloggites like you from my list of followers due to inactivity. I love to see the hit ticker counting upwards and it won’t do that if I am silent here.

The necessity part is not because of some compulsive blogging disorder, but because for me my blog is one way in which I reflect on what God may be saying to me. If I stop and / or get out of that routine I reckon it would undermine one of the purposes of sabbatical leave – to reflect. So, when it is possible I will be continuing to pour out the usual bloggerel.

Today’s comes in the form of a clock. This was a kind and mischievous gift from some good friends in the church, and is designed to help me keep track of my time and plan my days.

Thank you!

Last week was a family holiday week in Devon, and when we got home there was an envelope waiting for me with some money in it to boost my coffee fund during the sabbatical leave.

The gift was anonymous, but if it was you: Thank you!

Another kind person in the church has given some money towards the cost of the sabbatical leave.

Thank you!

I have received a grant from BUGB towards the costs of the sabbatical leave as well.

Thank you!

And then there’s the opportunity to take sabbatical leave at all. The church has been generous in making this possible: giving me the time and space to reflect, refresh, re-envision, (go on) retreat, relax and alliterate.

Thank you very much!

People have been very generous to me, and I feel incredibly blessed by it all. And that does not even begin to scratch the surface of how I have experienced generosity:

My brilliant colleague Lynsey has been generous in taking over while I have this leave.

Thank you!

My family are having to adjust their routines a bit to cope with me being around a bit more (especially in the evenings).

Thank you!

Many people have assured me of their ongoing prayer support during this time of sabbatical leave.

Thank you!

Others have sent me messages of blessing and good wishes.

Thank you!

And then there are all the blessings I have received from God, exerpeienced through and because of the greatest gift of all, Jesus:

Love, grace, forgiveness, eternal life, His Spirit, peace, spiritual gifts, spiritual fruit, perseverance, his presence, fresh starts, refreshment, the Bible, this church, the list is as endless as his blessings.

So, finally, an enormous THANK YOU! goes to him.

How have you been blessed recently? Whom have you blessed?

Be blessed, be a blessing.

 

There’s this guy who had been lost and walking in the desert for about 2 weeks. One hot day, he sees the home of a missionary. Tired and weak, he crawls up to the house and collapses on the doorstep. The missionary finds him and nurses him back to health. Feeling better, the man asks the missionary for directions to the nearest town. On his way out the backdoor, he sees this horse. He goes back into the house and asks the missionary, “Could I borrow your horse and give it back when I reach the town?”

The missionary says, “Sure but there is a special thing about this horse. You have to say ‘Thank God’ to make it go and ‘Amen’ to make it stop.”

Not paying much attetion, the man says, “Sure, ok.”

So he gets on the horse and says, “Thank God” and the horse starts walking. Then he says, “Thank God, thank God,” and the horse starts trotting. Feeling really brave, the man says, “Thank God, thank God, thank God, thank God, thank God” and the horse just takes off. Pretty soon he sees this cliff coming up and he’s doing everything he can to make the horse stop.

“Whoa, stop, hold on!!!!”

Finally he remembers, “Amen!!”

The horse stops 4 inches from the cliff. Then the man leans back in the saddle and says, “Thank God.”