Picture: The temple we visited in Chiang Mai.

Words: The truths that we reminded ourselves of as we sang together on the way home.

Imagine...

Me and Sarah were talking on the way home from badminton tonight about how kids aren't encouraged to use their imaginations anymore (it was the typical old lady-esque chatter - 'it's not how it used to be you know, not like the good old days...'!)

And it made me think...where are the days where I could imagine a whole world existing in the bathroom sink or the Christmas tree, or inside a pebble? When I was in Thailand I began to be more curious about the world again, I began to think sideways and upside down and 4 dimensionally. I remembered what it is like to plumb the depths of imagination and creativity. It was probably all those new things I was experiencing all the time.

So I have decided that I am going to use my imagination more. And I will write my imaginings here on this blog. They won't be like stories...I haven't got time to do that...just thoughts...or questions.

First one:

Is the colour pink innately girly? Or do we just associate it with girliness because it always has been? If every new generation had no knowledge at all of what previous generations had decided, would pink still be chosen to represent girls and blue to represent boys? Or would we choose something completely different? In fact, would we choose a colour to represent masculinity and femininity at all? Or this time would it perhaps be a shape or a sound?

"while washing tine remove clic plastic cramb catcher from clic bib"

I love things that make me laugh. And things that particularly make me laugh are things that make no sense! Yesterday my mum purchased a bib for my new nephew which contained the instructions shown in the picture. I especially liked:

"while washing tine remove clic plastic cramb catcher from clic bib."

As someone who self-confessedly thinks too much and feels the heaviness of this life frequently, finding humour in small things is a lifeline!

When I was in Thailand, with some of the funniest people I have ever met, I learned to appreciate humour in a new way. I realised that God is very gracious to allow us to enjoy and appreciate the small and random things in life. It seems to me (not wanting to sound too extreme or negative) that they make life bearable.

I am grateful for the gift of being able to find small things hilarious.

Other things I find funny at the moment (but also consistently) are:

- The world of would you rather
- The word dissassociation game
- Other people's creativity in the above games

Beholding

Becloud:
To darken with, or as if with, clouds

Behold:
To perceive by the visual faculty; see
To perceive through use of the mental faculty; comprehend
To look upon; gaze at

"We are all starved for the glory of God, not self. No-one goes to the grand canyon to increase self-esteem. Why do we go? Because there is greater healing for the soul in beholding splendour than there is in beholding self." - John Piper, Seeing and Savouring Jesus Christ.

Thailand Reflections...

For the last month I have been in Thailand.

I don't really know how to summarise my time there in a meaningful way, and yet I feel that I must.

Part of me wants to put into words all that I learnt about beholding the true light of Jesus even when life is beclouded and dark. But another part of me knows that I am still learning about this and wonders how I will ever be able to express it in words. That is the part that also knows that if I start trying too hard to put all that into words then this blog entry will become self-focussed and introspective.

Then there are parts of me that want to sing.

This is very rare for me. I rarely feel like singing...except to express sorrow.

But something has awakened within me. A desire to sing to express joy and love and deep confidence in who God is and what He will do.

These are the parts of me that I want to express right now. I want to tell of the wonderful things God has done...of who He is and what He will do.

God is at work in students' lives...and He has been through the generations. I became very aware in Thailand of the people that had gone before me. I was aware of standing on the shoulders of giants. And I was given the privilege of seeing a glimpse of how God's hand had been at work through those 'saints of old' as I was shown some of the fruit of their labours.

God is sovereign, even over all the stuff that doesn't seem to make any sense. It doesn't seem to make sense to me that so many people are wondering around in darkness, trying to 'make merit' for themselves when there is full, true and eternal righteousness available in Christ, through His death in our place. Visiting the Temple in Chiang Mai was a heart-wrenching reminder of how much people need Jesus, the 'light of the world', to shine His light into their dark lives. But equally, I was reminded that salvation belongs to God and He is completely sovereign and completely loving. Singing and praying together as a team on the way back from the temple in the song theaw was the refreshment our souls needed. Singing truths about God spoke confidence into the depths...

Our God is an awesome God
He reigns from heaven above,
with wisdom, power and love,
Our God is an awesome God.