Goodbye for now…

Well, the time has finally come. Phil and I are off to sunny South Africa for three glorious weeks! I will hopefully keep you up-to-date on the sunshine, good food, safari experiences etc while we are away…

See you on the other side..!

Dad’s 50th birthday bash!

On Saturday night it was my Dad's 50th birthday party at 'Food for Thought' in Westerham, Kent. It was a really fantastic evening: great food, brilliant company and a lovely relaxed atmosphere. I was even brave enough to give a speech! Mostly I was filling in the guests on what it was like having Mr Douglas Ellish as my father, with witty stories and anecdotes (as you do!) but I also wanted to thank him for being a fantastic dad to Matt and I. He is generous, loving and caring. Dad has supported all manner of strange ideas from both of us and also been there to pick up the pieces when it is goes pear-shaped. I didn't get very far into thanking him before I could feel myself start to get a bit choked up though! So yeah, luckily for everyone else I couldn't carry on too much longer! But it was great being able to say a few words.

It sounds really odd, but Mom had organised a magician to come for entertainment. Don't imagine anything like what you may have seen when you were a kid (which is exactly what I did!). This guy was cool. He was 25 years old, short funky hair and wore a sharp black suit. He (Richard the magic man) did card tricks and some disappearing tricks also. I have never been so impressed by 'magic'! He came around to each table and did different tricks, so its not like he had the safe distance that a stage would give… he was right by your side! One trick that he did kinda stood out to me. Richard asked my mom to take off her watch and hold it in her clasped hand. Then he asked my dad to take off his watch. Richard then asked my dad what time he wanted to change it to. Dad moved it forward an hour. Then whilst holding my dad's watch in one of his hands, he placed his other hand over my mom's clasped hand, kept it there for a moment and then asked her to open her hand and reveal the time. Obviously it was exactly the same time that was on my dad's watch! How did he do it (we all cry!)? It was very good. We were well impressed!

The only down side to the evening was that my little brother wasn't there. He was supposedly 'revising' for his exams (a likely scenario!) No, really, I do believe that you were studying hard Matt. You were missed though! Good luck for all the exams to come.

I have tried but failed to upload a picture from Saturday night. If I have any success, hopefully you will see the results!

What goes around, doesn’t come around…

Sometimes injustice goes unnoticed.

Sometimes hearts are broken and feelings hurt.

Sometimes your hands are tied; your mouth is gagged.

What goes around, doesn’t come around.

Those that cause hurt will not feel the pain of their victims.

Those that oppress will not be made to cower in fear.

But, there is a time coming when righteousness will reign.

The afflicted will not always be silenced,

the oppressed not forever forgotten.

Those condemned to the shadows will be released.

Justice will truimph!

                                                         Anonymous

Lucho Velez – the most inspiring man I’ve heard in church in a while

OK, so that's quite a title to live up to, and I haven't been to Bellevue for a couple of weeks now. I would not like to take anything away from such men as Paul Graham or Grant Campbell. But Lucho Velez on Sunday morning at Bellevue was flipping brilliant! He was speaking about 'How God's word has helped me.' He highlighted Ephesians 2: 8 – 10 as verses that through his life he had found most inspiring and most helpful. They are as follows: 'For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.' They are pretty awesome verses, and ones that I think that many Christians would be at least able to recognise! But how he explained his life and story around them was just awesome.

As you could probably work out, Mr Velez is not Scottish. He is Colombian. He grew up in Colombia and he related how at university he was searching for meaning and direction in his life. While 15 of his friends went into the drugs trade and became very wealthy, he was faced with the choice of following them or doing something different. He became good friends with a fellow student who was a Christian and from there he began discovering who God was and what He had to say to him. For Lucho, these verses hold great power because they tell us to remember that we are completely saved by God's grace and not by anything that we do ourselves. However, instead of flogging ourselves for how undeserving we are, he points out that God had already prepared good things for us to do! We are saved by God's grace because He has a plan and a special calling for each of us. Although this may not be new to us, the reality of God's hand in each of our lives was really brought home to me. Lucho went on to say that not only are we saved by God's grace, but this same grace motivates us and inspires us to do good things. God's grace gives us the freedom to choose to do good or to do bad, that choice is absolutely real. But His grace challenges and empowers us to do the good that He has planned for us to do!

Lucho's final challenge to us was to do good in our communities. To do it because we can, not because we should. He spoke out against the bigotry, violence and injustices that had been committed in the name of the church. He condemned the fact that the church is hardly ever known for what good it does, but instead for the religious legalism that has injured so many people. It was more a war-cry than a sermon! We are to do good because we can! We are God's workmanship… and we are a work in progress, but God believes in us, and His power can spur us on and keep us going.

It took everything I had in me to not jump up at the end of his talk and applaud him!! We need more people in church like him. Less of the 'how do we be good' and more of the 'how do we DO good'. Anyway, it was incredible. What a guy!

Travels and tales…

Its a gloomy Tuesday afternoon here, and Phil and I are still in bed! (Its 2pm!) (But I did get home from work at 3am this morning, so I don't feel that guilty!) He is reading 'The Da Vinci Code' and I am sorting out my big messy email account. Fun. But its one of those things that I have wanted to do for ages but could never be bothered! But I've finally done it. Cloudy, rainy days are perfect for that sort of thing.

This morning I woke up after having an absolutely beautiful dream. It started with me and some friends just sitting around in a park on a sunny day, not doing very much. Then this guy came up to us and asked us to follow him. As in dreams you don't ask questions, we went with him. He took us to a big warehouse/factory sort of place and to a huge big storeroom filled with loaves of bread. He handed me some bags and asked me to put a few loaves in each one. I indignantaly said that this was his job and not mine and he wasn't going to get to to do his work! He just looked at me and smiled. I managed to just get on with it, and as I did, he explained that in this factory they baked bread to give to people outside who needed it. They gave it to poor people on the streets or to charities, or whatever. Whoever needed it. I was obviously kind of embarassed by my bad attitude and bad grace, so I quietly got on with it. I was then called away to talk with some person, I think the manager or something. I can't really remember what she said to me, but while she was talking, it dawned on me how amazing it was that this factory existed. I was totally humbled by her. The factory was overwhelmingly staffed by people who would not have been able to get jobs otherwise. People with disabilites, mental and emotional struggles and other marginalised people. Around the factory were houses, schools, shops and all the other facilities that a community would need. The people who worked in the factory lived and worked together. They supported each other because they were so interconnected that they all needed each other to survive and flourish. And flourishing they were! After my meeting with the manager I went back into the factory and asked the main guy if I could please fill some more bags and help to distribute them. The people in the factory were delighted..! They asked me to stay for longer as it was nearly dinner time. For some reason I could not stay, but their generousity was tangible. The whole experiece was so amazing. These people who did not even know me had showed me such great kindness, hospitality and love. I was so deeply moved by their actions. As I was leaving, the main guy said to me 'We all have to go home at some point. If I go home before you, remember to work hard and play hard, and to enjoy every moment that you are blessed with.' And then I woke up. It was the most extraordinary dream that I have ever had. I really felt like I was actually experiencing the whole thing. Usually my dreams aren't so logical or rational. But this felt so real. It was incredible. Phil had some interesting insights about this all, but I will leave it for you to decide what you think!

This is our last couple of days in Edinburgh before we go down to Kent for my dad's 50th birthday party, and then we go to South Africa for 3 weeks! Yeeha! Can't wait! Phil is going to meet my extended family and some of my old friends in Johannesburg and then we're going on a walking safari, down to the south coast, then the Wild Coast and then Cape Town. Its going to be such fun! Hurrah! I will try to keep you posted while I'm away but we might be too busy enjoying ourselves! (sorry)

Keep well and enjoy the lovely summer sunshine!

Christian bigotry and insensitivity!

I recently received an email from a well-meaning friend asking me to sign a petition to get a film banned which apparently depicts Jesus and his disciples as homosexuals. Although I can see how this film might be offensive to certain people, I was greatly frustrated at the call to defend 'our Lord's honour' by trying to get this film banned in South America and Africa. Firstly, I obviously have not seen this film and so I do not feel that I can judge it without seeing it. Therefore why should I try to get it banned? Secondly, I believe in freedom of speech and expression. People have the right to say what they feel. If that means that they want to make a film depicting Jesus and his disciples in a way which I believe directly contradicts what the Gospels have to say about them, then that is entirely their own choice. Why do Christians get so upset about this sort of thing? Surely we can recognise that it is not true? In no way does it sound like this film is claiming to be the truth, so why not just let them get on with it? I don't seem to get emails from people asking me to sign petitions to try to cancel third world debt, or calls to email our MPs with concerns over people trafficking. But as soon as the word 'homosexual' is dropped in, everything changes. On that note, what about anyone who is homosexual that might have read that email? The insensitivity is appaulling! Didn't Jesus ask us to accept and love everyone, as he himself demonstrated? He did not judge, condemn or separate himself from those people that the religious Pharisees labelled as dirty or evil, instead, he spent time with them and showed his love to all who he met. I am frankly sick of Christians being self-righteous and 'holier than thou'. I believe that in order for us to become more like Jesus we have to stop sitting around in our holy huddles and looking out at the world saying how evil it all is, and actually get out there and engage with people. We need to relate to people, live in the real world and be part of our own communities, not just church communities. When we start doing that, then other people will stop seeing the church as old-fashioned, backward and hypocritical. Christianity will actually look appealling, because it will be modelled on Jesus' love, acceptance and forgiveness. This is the challenge that faces me, and anyone else who wants to truly reach out to others.

Also, if you want to do something that will actually make a difference, go to www.stopthetraffik.org and sign the petition to help to end people trafficking.

Hello world!

Wow, its good that they help you with that opening title, otherwise, what would you say?!

This is officially not my first blog, as I did have a short foray into the blogging world a while ago, but I kinda lost interest and patience, so I gave it up. However, a friend Neil encouraged me to give it another go on a 'superior' host (!). I also received an email which nearly made me burst an artery, which I felt like a had to vent about, and hence the need for a blog!

However, as I have just returned from a lovely weekend in Belfast, I will save angry venting for tomorrow.

Goodnight and good luck.