Roshi's ramblings

A personal prayer today, written by myself to reflect the current turmoil in my life! Lord, thankyou for giving me the strength to stand by my convictions and to make the tough choices I have had to recently. Help guide me towards discerning your will for my future and in finding what the next steps in my life should be.   I entrust myself to your whim, I have faith you will lead me towards happiness. Amen

God's Timing The vision that God has given And the things that He has planned, May not happen right away Or in ways that we understand For often God's preparing us For when that day arrives When we will see the outworking Of God's vision in our lives Though it tarries, wait for it, For it will surely come God's timing never comes too late, He'll accomplish what He's begun God is never slow to act; He will surely bring it to pass We need not be anxious and despair, But have peace within our hearts For when it comes, we'll be released Into what the Lord's prepared, So we will fulfil all that He's planned As we are being gently led. © By M.S.Lowndes

A simple one this week. A prayer originally by St. Francis of Assisi. It's also the basis for one of my favourite hymns.  Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. Amen

  So here's another biggy. Evolution!   This seems to be the main bone of contention between science and religion at the moment and has radicals from both sides screaming and shouting at one another. I am a scientist. I know that we have the theory of evolution and that it is pretty much fact that we did evolve from a common ancestor shared with chimpanzees. We can only call it a theory because we don't have definitive proof of every single step. In science everything is a theory until you can prove every single part of it with solid evidence. That's why there aren't many laws of science but plenty of theories. It does not mean that theories are not true, just that we don't know the entire picture so one or two bits we say may be incorrect. In all experiments conducted on recreating the primordial soup that led to life they have had to add in a Base of DNA (one of the building blocks of it) in order to kick start the creation of life.   I believe that God knew t...

Came across this poem in hearing the call:stories of young vocation.  It sums up for me what the calling can feel like.  It's definitely scary but ultimately worth it. 'When I became a Christian I said, Lord, now fill me in, Tell me what I'll suffer in this world of shame and sin. He said, your body may be killed, and left to rot and stink, Do you still want to follow me? I said Amen - I think. I think Amen, Amen I think, I think I say Amen, I'm not completely sure, can you just run through that again? You say my body may be killed and left to rot and stink, Well, yes, that sounds terrific, Lord, I say Amen - I think. But, Lord, there must be other ways to follow you, I said, I really would prefer to end up dying in my bed. Well, yes, he said, you could put up with the sneers and scorn and spit, Do you still want to follow me? I said Amen - a bit. A bit Amen, Amen a bit, a bit I say Amen, I'm not entirely sure, can we just run through that again? ...

Another prayer regarding vocation and discerning the course God has set you upon today God, I know You love me and have great plans for me. But sometimes I am overwhelmed by the thought of my future. Show me how to walk forward one day at a time. May I take heart while I search openly, learn about all the choices, listen to others for advice, and pay attention to my own feelings. By doing these things, may I hear your call to a lifestyle and a career that will let me love as only I can, and let me serve others with the special gifts that You have given me. Amen.

Today I thought I'd take a look at one of the issues that causes the most fracas between science and religion. The issue of creation. Now before I start I must  stress this is my opinion, I've thought about this since I was about 10 so it's been a long time that I've put into it,i do accept it could be seen as daft and completely untrue, or it could make perfect sense, either way the aim is not to change anyone's opinions just to provide an alternative viewpoint.  First of all I need to address the focal point of the argument. The Bible. I fully believe the Bible is the word of the Lord. The word of Him/Her. Not necessarily the truth of history. Through the stories in the Bible God is demonstrating how to live our lives as good, morally upstanding  people.  If the exact truth was stated you can get lost for none is fully just, other than God him/herself. If it was fully truth it would be boring and also the key messages in how to be good people would be los...

Every saturday I hope to bring a poem or verse to you all that I have enjoyed or found has resonated with me.  Today's one is from the recent SCP conference I attended. The Call From our low seat beside the fire Where we have dozed and dreamed and watched the glow Or raked the ashes, stopping so We scarcely saw the sun or rain Above, or looked much higher Than this same quiet red or burned-out fire. Tonight we heard a call, A rattle on the window pane, A voice on the sharp air, And felt a breath stirring our hair, A flame within us: Something swift and tall Swept in and out and that was all. Was it a bright or a dark angel? Who can know? It left no mark upon the snow, But suddenly it snapped the chain Unbarred, flung wide the door Which will not shut again; And so we cannot sit here any more. We must arise and go: The world is cold without And dark and hedged about With mystery and enmity and doubt, But we must go Though yet we do not know Who called, or...

Well as this is all about me and religion I thought I'd share what is happening  for me as I discern my vocation. It started with just some conversations with my parish priest about what ordination is and trying to get my head around my calling. I've had quite a few long chats with him over a glass of gin trying to figure out how to give voice to all the things in my head! I have also used www.callwaiting.co.uk to find more information such as reading lists and events like the SCP weekend.  The website also put me in touch with my local diocesan youth officer whom I have met with twice now, most recently today, to again help me think through what God and christianity means to me as well as discern what my callings for. The first time we met was a general chat for her to get to know me and where I'm coming from and I was set a 'homework'  task of making a time line of my life including major events and any major spiritual events. This meeting today was talking ...