A.R.T. Antics

 The weekend just gone it included a singles meal where I am quite sure I was the youngest it’s usually the way. We went to Sweet Mandarin in the northern quarter which is actually owned by our very own Lisa Tse, I believe she is part of the evening site which is now called HOME, more about that in a minute. Lisa is a bit of a celebrity she has a recipe book out, a range of sauces which you can find in Sainsbury’s. She has even cooked for the prime-minister and to top it all off she has an MBE. Despite all this fame she addressed me personally and we got the star treatment. Saturday I went to Chester to see some of my old Uni friends some of which I had not seen in 15 years, yes I am that old. We had a good boogie and chatted to the early hours of the morning. So, the next day I get up (don’t make it to church) I have an enormous headache but it wasn’t an alcoholic hangover because I kid you not I only had one glass of wine. So, after a bit of deduction and a chat to my partn...

There is something I have been pondering for a while and that is the world of the child and the imagination. I have thought about the world of the artist and how it links into the spiritual many times. As an artist and a christian I have come to realise in my own journey that Art is a most spiritual thing and imagination is a gateway into the spiritual. The many paintings I have produced have been ones that I have captured through prayer. I have said that painting is a kind of praying. I believe that I have interacted with the spiritual world through my painting which I will embark on once again in the near future. It's funny the way that we seem to do away with imagination when we get into our adult years as if it does not have any use to us anymore. We relegate imagination to our kindergarten years, it's like we are scared of our imaginations. So we put our imagination in a box at the back of our minds and pretend we do t need it or want it. Because we have filed it away so...

They say it's after you complete a bible course that the real learning kicks in and I think they are right. The truth is I now have a lot more light, that means a lot more responsibility for my actions than I was before. So although at the moment I work in the corporate world even though we provide a public service I believe myself to be an urban missionary. Since starting there almost 6 months ago I have learnt so much. I don't think I was totally aware how the world thought. In lots of ways I've been in Christian surrounding for quite sometime with Ywam and doing the bible school last year. So in some ways it has been a refreshing change being in the real world so to speak. I'm continually reminded that most people's thoughts are on money, it's what most people talk about that together with getting as many material objects as possible. Buying items is talked about as a necessity rather than a luxury. Now I have been buying a few more things because I h...

During a social media fast recently I felt God speak to me really clearly which set me off on a train of thought which results in this blog. It is so true when you take the distractions out of our lives such as social media. You can be left with a lot of time on your hands. Beyond this you are faced with yourself and those things you try to distract by social media that are your own sometimes painful realities. So one morning at the beginning of this media fast I had been faced with one of these painful realities ( that's perhaps for another time) and was struggling and thought to myself I could sure do with a quiet time right now but I was so busy, oh boy Jesus how . After a day of full activity I was sat on my bed and thought well I feel better I can't remember why I was struggling and I don't really need to spend time with God now. In that instance I had this revelation was that it, did I just go to God when I needed something or I was feeling down. I mean what kind of r...

I have always really loved Wesley and even his contemporaries. I really believe they an amazing and revolutionary group of people. In many ways I aspire to be like them today. The back drop to which Westley and his contemporaries rose was an England that was under a lot of strain. Poverty was endemic in the poor class with people living in squalor and being addicted to alcohol in great measure and children having to earn a wage in terrible conditions at such an early age. The rest of Europe had seen revolutions but there had only been small outbreaks in Britain but  nothing like the French Revolution. The industrial revolution was just around the corner and Britsin ruled the waves with its Empire in many continents perhaps for the richer class life looked good but not for the poorer class.  Furthermore the poorer classes were outlawed from Church buildings where the Anglican Church had become very middle class. I believe that all that Wesley stood for and did created a cat...

I can't believe that I only have 2 months or so left until I finish USMM. I have had an amazing year so far it has been incredible. I have had the privilege of spending time with some awesome people. We have become such an amazing family, it has been great to hang out with these people I have learnt so much from them. I couldnt have spent this year with better people. I am sure we will all remain really good friends after we have finished this year. So then the teaching from USMM has been so life changing. I thought I had heard everything and pretty much heard all the teaching I could. However tearning we have received could fit into two categories that which I heard when I was in youth with a mission and that which is totally new. Repenting and renewing your mind and being reminded that the sprirtual realm is something which I learnt in YWAM however I have been reminded of this and it has been reiterated to me with greater ferocity. The ideas that have spoken to me the most ...

For some time now I've been thinking and even dreaming about heaven. I am very aware that my tendency especially as a person who likes to get involved in mission is to think about the here and now and forget about life ever after. These thoughts have been fuelled by by the course I am doing at the moment which has really delved into the questions of what are we here for and what is it all about. I hear some of you saying well it's all about Jesus and the Kingdom and of course I would agree with you but as this is unpicked you realise that this is an absolutely massive subject.  So I want to start from some way off ideas and state the obvious. I think we often assume we know what we think about things and actually when we go a little bit deeper we have merely swallowed what someone has taught us and it became part of what we believe. So what are we here for ?  God created for relationship with himself and with each other. So most of us are on this earth for around 80-90 years. ...