the carpet

the carpet

Originally uploaded by mackirsty

I’ve been dragging my heels this last few weeks, just a little busy and maybe kinda tired out. Getting a couple of jobs to earn my keep has been fun if a little crazy in transition. I’m your friendly piano teacher, barista, secretary, musician and church staff…
The other day I took the time to go get my new favourite heels re-heeled at the wee shop of repairs. It was a good feeling to have taken the time out of my schedule to drop them off by hand, wait a couple of days, and then feel like I have a new pair of shoes all over again.
TIme is passing by, and sometimes I feel like I miss it, like I trample it underfoot and march on to the horizon. Stopping for a minute to take things in is a must, it’s life giving and.. last time I did it fully, I took these autumnal photos and had one of the most beautiful hours on the planet. When I have the opportunity to make days on this planet sweet, I know I should capture it, because photos like this are the colour of hope, the carpet of flying, the soaring of peace.

Sea. Soar.

sea

Originally uploaded by mackirsty

Today a rainbow held back the rain for a couple of minutes whilst the sun sat low on the horizon and glowed over a city. Like the pregnant skyline, there seems so much to hold back with a smiley bow, and so much to anticipate once the clouds pass.

Rain was a hindrance today – keeping me inside and running late… but also wonderful, I walked home in a heavy shower, arms wide to catch the massive drops.

There are moments that feel like your being soaked, unwelcome as the rain may be, and cold as it feels. Or sweet moments, depending on how you view them, that you are dancing in the waterfall of a warm evening’s downpour.. moments like when you pick some fresh basil, or hold sweetpeas on a breeze… when you take a break in your dayto swirl a warm coffee around over a coffee table face to face with an empty seat and an open book…a moment’s glance at the sight of New York City on a postcard, a plane ticket, or the tail end of a blink.

This photo captured said ’sweet moment’ for me lately. Just imagine you’re this guy, the beautiful (when silent) bird we all know so well, soaring with the good view… the Seagull… this time, for once though, he was where he was meant to be – at the seashore.

standing up.. an immovable thing

Something else beautiful? To go out and love the world. To go out and give of your rejuvenated, Spirit-filled soul and serve people. There is nothing I would like to grow in more. than that kind of love that acts selflessly and in the right time and the right place- ie to give hope where someone has just run out…

I know passion is best used when it’s spent on helping and, not condescendingly so, spent helping people who need it.  I want to look out for folk who have need for love and beggars who ask for money and wee ones who God puts in my way to bless.  There is so much pain and negativity in the world to stand up to.

“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way.”

sitting down

Lift your gaze

Release

Loch Lomond

watching time float by

Things have been so beautifully busy lately with the church move. We had a wonderful day on Sunday holding our service in Qudos again and seeing everyone pile into the venue with its stale smell of beer and its dingy exterior giving way to worship and fellowship.  It was also a real gift to get to go outside of Glasgow later in the day and hit the most secluded spot of Loch Lomond for a bonfire and the scenery.  I think its been hard to keep up with folks from Re:Hope and to stay connected because we don’t have a centre point, nowhere to catch up through the week.  I miss that.  I have been thinking a lot about how my work life will change over this period because of the change of venue etc and how I want to keep it ordered and keep the important things as the important things- seeing as I personally have soon to stretch out my muscles again, this time to move house.

It’s a good question, a profound one, to ask oneself, ”who does God want me to be?”.. like the question ”who do I want to be tomorrow and how am I changing to be that person?”  Amidst the busy things and the frantic moving and shaking of life and lifestyle, I know that I need to stop and realign.  I recently chose four words that I believe are lacking in my culture, lacking in my self and ones that I feel encapsulate who I’m meant to be.  They are the four words at the top of this blog.  So, in order to be the passionate, loving, hopefueled and integrity-filled person, I know that there are some things in life that I need to make immovable that will help me bring about change and growth even with permanency.  Times of reflection and creativity allow me to work on the gifts and skills that I’ve been given, time spent reading and pondering are far too few in my week and teach me about life, about my heart and the world.. reading the Bible is the best way to start my day to train the thoughts and put at ease all the worries, to learn about God and inspire prayers of gratitude for life.

I have found that rest should be one of those immovable things in my life which so easily claws itself out of my diary.  Don’t let the resting escape! Although I watched Yes Man this week, I find myself loving to say no, in order to stop and breathe for a moment. When we rest though, it’s so easy to veg out and escape. I’m wanting to rest in rejuvenate.   I think that means we have to address the mind and look after it and be refreshed when we rest.

I wanted to take time this morning to share some ways in which all of these immovable things come together… listening to this and this… reading this and this and always this, getting to know Jesus and God’s grace through the gospel… I’m reading this.

reflecting on things like this- “The shape of our character is cast in the mold of our concentration”

and this-

”It’s time for something more real than all these words
While the least of these are broken and dying
We count the pearls in our purse
It’s time to live in love
It’s time to live in love

So open up your doors
Let the Son shine out into the night you’re hiding from
Let your hearts bleed with love because when all is said and done
Love’s the only voice that’s heard

With all that we’ve been given and all we hold to be true
We’ve thrown away the one key that unlocks the door
We ourselves crawled through
It’s time to live in love
It’s time to live in love…”

what is this life, if full of care, we have no time to stop and stare…-

lift your gaze

Qudos Sunday Morning

Qudos

This photo shows the set up after many-a-helping-hand put to work at getting us all ready for the service at 1030am on Sunday. It was an amazing privilege to be there Sunday morning; mingling with the staff, running around to set up seats and sound stuff -all inside a bar! Spilling stale beer on my Birkenstocks included, it was an adrenaline-filled experience of team work and fun, just to make this place look less of a club… and as we stood singing this song, I couldn’t help smiling and thanking God for all that has been and all that’s to come!

By the way: wow!

Qudos

So, today I spent most of my time trying to organise the final touches to our transition from having worship services in our regular building to now holding them in Qudos. We have had so many wonderful blessings and generous offers of help, accomodating storage and just generally friendly chat from our interactions with the staff and with settling into the QMU as our summer venue. I’ve been relating this time back back to how things were when I was putting together the weekly GUCU meetings in Qudos just over two years ago, same venue, same staff, but different thing.

The process then was in some ways similar- having to organise each meeting to a tight schedule with setting up PA and chairs too, and welcoming people and getting the word out as to where and when the meeting would be so people would show up. This time round it’s amazing to have a whole community of keen team members and church members who are all working together though, as well as unusual favour that is making the move to the QM really blessed

I’m sitting here, just very thankful. Having no clue how long we will be without a permanent meeting place, I’m thankful we can have Qudos for now, and it is a silver lining to a week where we say goodbye to the red building and having a place to meet through the week with the prayer room, band rehearsals, kids place and lounge area as well as a kitchen and office space.

So although things are heavily busy for now, especially for the church staff, and there’s going to be an upheaval beyond what we can expect, I’m sitting down to notice what God’s doing in paving our way across the rough patches. I’m praying and hoping that we will get to return to our building after a time away from it, that this crazy journey is exactly the one which we’re meant to be on!

Rather insignificant to it all is this photo-I put it up because I’m still listening and working out where my keyboard is going to live this summer since it had been settled in our building. I realize this detail is just a spec in the mosaic of God’s picture for Re:Hope and for all the moving and storing and shaping he’s doing…but I see that He’s got the details and we’re part of it, mosaic piece by mosaic piece.

“Who among the gods is like you, O LORD ?
Who is like you—
majestic in holiness,
awesome in glory,
working wonders?

Sunday Antics

This weekend was the last service and last Sunday using the Re:Hope red building as normal. We are closing up the doors to move onwards until such a time as we are moved to a permanent church building. I loved that the last sermon in this building- for now- was about being a living stone, built up in the Kingdom of God. I was reminded about how to seek God’s kingdom and his righteousness contains the essence of how best I can be that living brick in the spiritual church. I want to take time through this week to reflect on how God has used the church building; how every sermon… song… word… hope… prayer… share… and laugh has been used to shape—chisel—mold—strengthen— and change one, and, all of us in the past, and how all those things come with us, by God’s grace, held together in him, no matter where we meet. Selah.

I look forward with hope just to see what will happen- as every believer that moves out with us this week takes with them what God has already done in them. I look back with thankfulness, and humility too, at how God has used the building, who he’s brought into it, how beautiful and old and life giving and homey it has been for us, how it’s been a gift.

check out this past weekend’s portraits with the help of some of these crazy photos from inside the building