Mike's musings

The girls and us - a family

We've suddenly - over the past week or so - got to a new stage with the girls. They've recently discovered how to play together. Not just playing for short periods of time, but extended, really complicated, involved play. They'll spend over an hour together doing role-play, drawing, colouring, having tea-parties: the whole deal. It means we can do other things such as gardening or tidying, or even have the odd minute together. And it also means that we can have more family-based times together.

It doesn't work all the time, but Moo and I have been turning to each other and commenting on what a fantastic weekend we've had. I think it's to do with concentration and empathy: once both Jo and Miri have reached a particular level of each, they can participate in each other's worlds for extended periods of time. They're now really sisters, and we're a new type of family.

On a different tack, I preached at St Peter's Bocking at evensong, for James, who's currently associate priest there. I preached (again) on Isaiah 35, but this time on how it relates to Pentecost. I talked about our responsibility to work towards the parousia, when the Kingdom of God will be realised, and how maybe, when we don't feel that any of the obvious charisms (though I didn't use the word) such as prophesy, speaking in tongues, preaching, teaching, etc. have fallen to us, we can still "strengthen the weak hands, confirm the feeble knees, say to them that are of a fearful heart: be strong, fear not, behold your God will come".

Labels: family, girls, preaching