Ground Hog day

Do you ever feel that life is just a routine, nothing really changes and every day is like the last one and tomorrow will be like today? As someone in their mid fifties the realization of the briefness of our time on earth is beginning to strike home and all those plans I had as a young man are now distant wishes and far off dreams. As a teenager I always had a wanderlust, certain days would just make me long to be somewhere on the far side of this planet. Those days usually occured in the spring, those bright sunny days with the promise of the summer to come. I watched the series "The Long way round" last year as two men biked their way from London to America and I longed for that spirit of adventure. I have become stuck in a sedentary lifestyle where spontaneity is a thing long gone and to be shunned at all cost.


Last Fridays daily reading read-If you plan to do it-do it now

James 4:14 "For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away"

To quote from the daily reading; Redwood trees last 1000 years. Most other things go relatively fast. The average life span is between 75-80 years of age. That sounds pretty good if you're young, but tends to be sobering when you pass 50. The bible says my life is like a vapour, and vapours aren't known for longevity; just a puff of smoke and they're gone! So why am I still waiting? I don't have forever, get at it!
You say you've always wanted to play the piano. Stop talking about it and start taking lessons! You say you feel better when you exercise. Start jogging! Or that you love the taste of homegrown tomatoes- grow some.
Think you're too old? Not a chance. So get out of neutral and get going. Put your life into God's hands and let Him show you what He can do with it!

Getting older Keeping young

I found this on a UCB daily notes several years ago and I just had to make a copy of it. As I grow old I find myself occasionally reverting to that Old Man mode where nothing is like the old days. Kinda like the Monty Python sketch ' We used to dream of that' and the end line is tell that to the kids of today and they wont believe it! You know some older people where everything and everyone has turned out bad , well I don't want to end up like that so here is my wish

In Time Out Ladies, Dale Evans shares this prayer:

"Lord, you know better than anybody that

I'm getting older and will someday be old.

Keep me from being talkative; from the fatal habit

of thinking I've got to say something on every subject and on every occasion.

Release me from the need to straighten out everybody's affairs.

Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details;

give me wings to get to the point.

I ask for grace to listen to the tales of others' pains

and to endure them with patience.

But seal my lips when it comes to my own aches and pains,

for they're increasing, and my love of rehearsing them

is becoming sweeter as the years go by.

I ask for improved memory, but even more for a growing humility

and a lessening cock-sureness

when my memory seems to clash with the memory of others.

Teach me that occasionally I may be mistaken.

Keep me reasonably sweet.

I don't want to be a 'saint' because some of them are

so hard to live with

-and a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil.

Make me thoughtful, but not moody;

helpful, but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom,

it seems a pity not to use it; but you know, Lord,

I still want to have a few friends at the end.

Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places

and talents in unexpected people,

then give me the grace to tell them so.

Amen."

Found this today thought it was good to republish

WHAT MASK SHALL I WEAR TODAY? .........

OR SHALL I BE REAL?

What mask shall I wear as I venture out into my day,

The attitude that matches and the role I shall play?

As I stared into the mirror this morning, O what did I see,

Am I ready to be REAL with a perspective based on eternity?

Was I pleased by the reflection revealed to me by God's Word,

Am I ready to go forth to battle like a soldier with his sword?

Do I tear down the facades that keep me from being real,

Are do I seek to maintain an image that is comfortable to others' appeal?

O this daily fight to be real before my friends and foe,

Will they except me as I am, I don't know.

The past masks in my closet mock me as a pretender,

O the prideful facades I must daily surrender.

Today, I go forth as who I am focused and real,

May God quickly correct me and my other masks reveal.

Today, I shall be real and crush the masks which I wish to wear,

For I must be real, I have a name to bare.

That name is Jesus Christ, my Saviour and Friend,

It is He today upon whom I must depend.

So if you are wearing a mask please remove it from your face,

Walk forth today in victory and bow before the throne of Grace.

School days

This is my school picture of P3 ,Mrs Gordon class in Carr's Glen Primary, taken 1959. That's me second row from back on the extreme right. My twin sister is sitting second from the left on the front row. I'd love to know where we all ended up- I know some are now dead, one lives in the same town now as myself ,one is a mega player in the retail world, another is a Doctor of Science one a Doctor of Philosophy, another lives two houses up from my Mum, but the rest of my classmates----who knows.

A few years later this is my P5 class, a Mr Kennedy who later became president of the BB in the Belfast Battalion. I'm sixth from the left on the back row and my sister again is second from the left on the front row.(a bit of colour has been added by someone who shall remain nameless!)

The good old days

I came across this photo on a web page. I was at this event, the 60th anniversary of Campaigners, held in the Albert Hall, London. This is the Northern Ireland contingent in a team game called "skin the snake". Some friends are included in the picture-no less than David Dickson & Phillip Whyte. This was my first experience of Campaigners at large, unfortunately I was to let the side down by buying things on a Sunday. The Northern Ireland team of course won the competition.

Ulster Rugby

I went with my son and his girlfriend on a balmy October Saturday afternoon to watch Ulster play the leading French team Toulouse at Revenhill. The butterflies where fluttering in the warm sun as we watched a magnificent performance by Ulster side beating Toulouse by 30-3

New look

I took a week off work just to relax and do all those things you want to do but don't get the chance to but instead I was physically sick and didn't eat for three days. On the Wednesday I decided I needed some fresh air so I went for a walk along the sea front and down the old pier. As I was walking up the harbour it struck me how much the seafront had changed over the last few years. How different it must have been for those soldiers who landed here so many hundreds of years ago