Started reading: Simply Trinity by Matthew Barrett ๐
Had a couple loaves of sourdough in the oven after church today. Really pleased with how theyโve turned out.๐
Collect of purity
Almighty God, unto whom all hearts be open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid; Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy Name; through Christ our Lord.
Finished reading: All That Is in God by James E. Dolezal ๐
The start of November has always come with a bit of self-pressure to try and do NaNoWriMo. Not this year. This year, Iโm attempting the Poem-A-Day challenge from Writerโs Digest. ๐
this is home
This is the town where I live and serve as the pastor of a small church. It is a place in great need. There are high levels of deprivation. There are high levels of drug and alcohol related deaths. During the summer, the population swells and shrinks daily as cruise ships bring tourists looking for the train to Glasgow.
Itโs a place where the gospel witness is small but deeply rooted. Itโs a town which once boasted many faithful churches. Now one of the old church buildings is a furniture store. Another has been turned into housing. One lays vacant, seemingly waiting to collapse.
It is a place that needs great prayer. As winter gets closer, the nights darker, there is a growing sense of the desperation found here. Not yet lunch time, watching men down pints as they throw their earnings into the fruit machines.
๐ตIf jazz piano/trio is your thing, I highly recommend this Tiny Desk Korea session with ์ก์์ฃผ ํธ๋ฆฌ์ค.
Finished reading: How to Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney ๐
Last session of Christianity Explored tonight. Looking forward to running it again next year.
“Can you so much as dream of a better friend than he has been to you?”
Charles Spurgeon in Morning & Evening
This is the desperation coffee setup.
My Clever Dripper got dropped by someone in the house and it broke. In a fit of desperation I tried using a Melitta-style filter paper in a sieve over a metal bowl with a regular, electric kettle to brew a makeshift pour-over and it is far from the worst coffee Iโve ever had. โ๏ธ
Another script written. Iโm quite far behind on reading for my training course so Iโm looking forward to having a guest preacher for the last week of October. In the meantime, Iโm really excited to preach the genealogy in Genesis 5.
Itโs one of those autumn days where no amount of waterproof clothing can keep you from getting drenched on the walk home. ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ณ๓ ฃ๓ ด๓ ฟ
This article by Adsum Try Ravenhill is really helpful for thinking through how to speak of what is going on in the world right now.
Autumn is the best time for writing
It felt like a proper autumn day today. Cold, windy, occasionally raining heavily while the sun still shone. It was also sermon-writing day. Each week I preach, I write anywhere between 2500 and 3500 words for my script (excluding readings). Today I did over 3600 but managed to trim back a couple hundred words that were a bit less than helpful.
Writing happened in the local Wetherspoons (free refills on coffee!) and in the library. I am well and truly spent now.)
For the very first time, I have managed to get a coffee stain on one of my commentaries. I guess now I know how to tell if itโs my copy of Wenham on Genesis 1-15 or someone else.
Nothing against Lewis Capaldi but I feel like his music is a bit dramatic for a porridge oats advertโฆ
Iโm about a third of the way through this (reading for a book club with folks who have been on the same training course as me) and really enjoying it.
