Today is a New Day

This year I've been part of a gathering where we spend an hour each week doing 4 different spiritual exercises.  In our last 6 week cycle, journalling was one of these.  Here's a poem I wrote a few weeks ago:

Today is a new day
It's a brand new day
The breaking of the dawn
The coming of the new.

New adventures
New horizons
Life as we know it
Is left behind for good.

The future ahead
Possibilities abound
Trust is nurtured
And embraced.

It's anew day
New challenges
Life to be lived
Love to be loved.

Look forward
Not back
The world beckons
Respond with all of yourself.

Today is a new day
A day to be thankful for
Life to be lived
A day to live to the fullest.

Leave yesterday behind
It has shaped you
But there is no more to be done there
Today is the only day you can do anything about.

What is it that must be done today?
That is different from yesterday
And different from tomorrow.

What is the invitation for today?
Just today, not tomorrow
Not bound up in yesterday
Just today.

Excitement around a Female PM

As the week in Australian politics has unfolded, I've watched people around me be excited about the first female PM in Australia, whatever they think of how it came about.  I'm not unhappy about it - but the whole issue of women being in significant roles just doesn't fill me with excitement.  And that has had me pondering - why is that?  Alongside that I have numerous people around me who are very conscious of these issues in many areas of society - so I have much reason to ponder why these issues are not overly present for me.

As I've pondered this week, I think it's due to a strong belief that women can and will be in those roles and a sense of taking it for granted, even though it's physically never happened before.  There is a sense in me of "of course, what's the big deal".

I do see that these issues are real in our society but there is a very real sense that they are not overly present for me ... thanks to all sorts of things in who I am and my upbringing.

Transitions

Transitions.  Interesting times.  When we go through transitions, it's not just us going through them.  They impact those around us.  They impact our relationships.  They impact our inner world.  They impact our time.  They impact our energy.  They impact all around us.  We are indeed interconnected individuals and each of our decisions impacts each other.  If we do this, than we can't do that.  If we do this, we won't want to do that.  We often don't know the full impact of a transition until we are in it, or perhaps even after that season.  We might be able to guess, others might be able to guess but it's only in the midst of it and in reflection on it that we can know it's real impact.

I'm very much enjoying my current transition - but I'm very conscious of the transition it is for others as well as me.

Oh Where are You Going?

Recently, I was in a church service and we sang this song from the
Iona Commununity. The words really struck me:

1. Oh where are you going,
and can I come with you,
and why is your company
never the same?
You sit among beggars,
you argue with bankers,
debate with the lawyers
and walk with the lame.

2. Oh where are you going,
and can I come with you,
and what is your secret
towards which you strive?
What hidden inspirer,
what unseen admirer,
what dream is the substance
upon which you thrive?

3. I'm going on a journey
and welcome companions,
but don't ask me how we'll
survive, where we'll go,
or who will come with us,
or what we'll be doing.
Just join me in travelling
and learn all I know.

People you are around ...

This post is interesting - about the way the people you are around shape you.

What do you think about this?
If you listened to it, what would you change?

I missed the link to it on Dave's blog but another friend saw it.  Her reflection was "how might this shape what faith community we are around?"  Very good question, I reckon about that and many other things.

Every Day

I am regularly thankful for the formation of my teenage years.  Below is one of the things that was in our church newsletter approx. 20 years ago that at various times has been on the wall of my bedroom or office. I was prompted to go find it tonight by a tweet by Bryan ... about a post that John Piper had written.

Reflections from Psalm 104

1.  Every day, I will look into the sky and see the miracle of God.
2.  Every day, I will open my eyes and ears to see mystery ... in a person, a flower, a cloud or a tiny and apparently little creature.
3.  Every day, I will not tolerate the current idea of mindless and endless revolutionary process.
4.  Every day, I will treat as a special gift from God, to be lived for Him.
5.  Every day, I will determine not to believe that this day is merely another ambiguous and plodding 24 hours, but rather a meeting with God in everything I do, and everything that happens to me.
6.  Every day, I will not demean my own uniqueness by envying others.
7.  Every day, I will ask for and receive a new cleansing that God graciously offers in His Son.