About painting the colours of our lives

We must remember that we are all flawed, 

that we have all been given a certain palette

within which to paint the colours of our world.

This should help us not to be too down-hearted 

about our failings and inadequacies;

to rejoice in the colours which God,

through our lives and experiences,

has given us

Thinking of the 'Hunger' and 'Jarrow' marches'

Heaven will be a place or state of being
which we will reach at the end of all our lives 
where there will be no more pain, 
no more injustice, cruelty or suffering 
but only joy, peace, love and reconciliation.

I once heard Alan Price sing an incredibly moving unaccompanied song about the Jarrow March.
It made me cry.
My father grew up amid the poverty of the North West during these times.
He felt very deeply about such things.
Perhaps this is why I feel the same.

More God thoughts

God, you are the parent of us all, 
including all your prodigal sons and daughters.

God, from your love 
comes our life.

The universe is powered 
by the heartbeat of God.

In order to remain truly human, 
we must stay connected to the loving heart of God.

About God and us and the purpose of life

God has made us. Everything we are is from God.
God knows, loves and understands us, therefore we are ok.

All that matters is that we should try to do God's will every instant of our lives but what exactly does that mean; what is God's will for us?

It is to be what we should be, which is to be ourselves, to be natural (easier said than done for many of us), and to do what we should do; and that is to fulfil our roles in life, wherever it has placed us, as well as we are able to - to remember that we are serving and working for God.

Now some people may be thinking that sounds a pretty dull or unsatisfying prospect but how wrong they are. God knows that the only true source of happiness and joy in this world is to be found in loving and serving others. Otherwise, we could end up chasing the rainbow of happiness which is always on the horizon but can never be reached or touched.

God thoughts from the last notebook

My life is your life in me.

God has shared with us 
the three divine attributes;
Truth, Love and Creativity.

From the well-spring of God's life
must come creativity.

God's spirit 
is the oxygen 
of our souls.

Three small prayers for the beginning of the day

Help us, this day,
to see the light of truth
and feel the warmth of love.

Allow me, aid me
to be afloat
in the slipstream
of your love.

Inhabit my heart
and mend my mind,
O God.

The last God-thoughts in this notebook

We should look at the world
through the lens of God's love.

God wants us to be good
because it is the only way to be happy.

Love is the lubricant of life.

About God's will for us

The will of God for us
is that we should seek and find
whatever is best for us;
that we should make the right decisions,
find the right path;
and if we stray from it,
that we should find our way back.

It is God's will to be the shepherd at our sides
as we make our way along this path
and to be there to guide us back
when we lose our way.

About the patchwork of life

Is it because we are all imperfect

that we need each other?

Together, we form a great patchwork quilt,

or maybe even crazy-paving,

jumbled and fitted together

through God's amazing handiwork.

About beauty, God's beauty

Written in February 2016

Two beautifully coloured small birds alighted on the branches of the tree

which spreads its bountiful branches across my bedroom window.

They were a wondrous display of flashes of dancing and hopping colours.

Oh, beauty, God's beauty.

About God, Pythagoras, the square root of 2, pi and the golden ratio

On such, has God designed and fashioned the universe.

About justice in heaven

This is how I see justice in the next world:

When we die,
all who have suffered,
will be comforted beyond their wildest dreams.
All who have caused suffering
will be discomforted beyond their worst nightmares.
Our senses, hearts, souls, minds,
all consciousness,
will be opened,
fully aware.
Every grief we have caused,
unintentionally or otherwise,
we will feel.

My picture is that that recognition will bring us to true sorrow
and will open the door to a desire to put right everything which we have done wrongly;
and that, in its turn, will lead us to repentance, healing and, ultimately, to God,
the one and only source of true and eternal happiness, joy, love and peace.

Of course, most of us will have a foot in both camps, won't we?

About God's book of love

The love of God is the book, 
on every page of which is written 
the story of life.

An early morning thought

In this early morning, O God,

you are the bed that holds me

the sheet that enfolds me.

O, how comforting and strengthening is that.

How it helps me to face the day.

About what the good news actualy is

It is that God is not fierce or fearful.

God is like a warm, comforting fire,

inviting us to come,

take off our shoes,

warm our hands and hearts,

cast off our fears

and be comforted, comfortable,

secure and at peace;

forever in the presence

of endless love,

a fire which will

never go out.

God thoughts

We live within the pulse of Your being.

Your being is an infinite pool

of knowing and being known,

of loving and being loved,

and of giving and receiving.

We are afloat on the life-raft
of your love.

Dear God, help me to walk
in holiness and humility
all the days of my life.

The yeast of bread and life

Yeast is to flour and water, 

that which transforms it 

from a lumpy, doughy, sticky mess 

into bread 

which is the staff and stuff of life.

And so is love to us.

About the protection of God's goodness

God's goodness is stronger than any badness,
and we can pull it, like a blanket, around ourselves, 
to keep out the cold of the hatred and horror 
which may surround us.

Thoughts on God

God is the origin and source of all goodness.

God, each of us is a part of your whole.

Help ME to disappear.

We human beings have within ourselves
the impulse of creativity.

We are held in existence
in the mind and heart of God.

We are wrapped in the blanket of your love.

What God wants is for each of us
to be born from and through love
and to be cradled and nurtured in love.

About failure

Maybe we only come to God through the gateway of failure,
the acknowledgement of the impossibility 
of 'getting things right' by ourselves;
learning to live with the dynamics
of the messiness of our lives.

About the shortfalls of love

No matter how much we love someone, 
that love will always fall short and can never be perfect.
Only God can make up that shortfall - 
and does, if we but avail ourselves of it.