· stillpoint ·

The house with golden windows This is a story told of a young boy who lived with his parents in a cottage on a hillside, overlooking a wide valley. His greatest joy was to sit on the doorstep on summer evenings, and gaze across the valley to a house miles away on the opposite hillside, for, just as the sun was sinking in the west, the windows of that house would burst into flame, shining dazzlingly with golden light. How perfectly happy the people must be who live there, he thought! One day he packed sandwiches and set off to find the house with the golden windows, but it was farther off than he expected, and it was already towards sunset as he climbed steeply uphill. To his disappointment the house was a plain cottage after all, and the windows ordinary windows. The good people there offered him supper, and made up a bed in the kitchen, for it was too late now for him to return. That night, in his dream, he asked directions of a girl about his age. ‘The house with the gol...

It's so safe here. To love means setting your hearts on building relationships with people, and then to find a way to live into it.  God doesn't give us a blueprint.  He tells us to be humble and connect with people who might not have been our first choice.  Put on kindness and humility and let love lead the way. Your expression of love will look a little different from mine.  That's not a bad thing. It's a great thing .  Bob Goff There's something wonderfully practical and real about this approach to a life of love.  At its core is an appreciation of other people.  That may seem rather obvious, which I suppose it is.   A lot of great truths though are a bit like Dr. Who's Tardis...once you get inside it, well,  all sorts of things open up.   Kindness and humility would seem to be the keys to opening up the rich wonders of connections with other people. Those who are already in our lives (by our own choice o...

One of the ‘younger’ members of St James recently commented that he was amazed at how many of the older members had embraced the online world during this lockdown period and particularly Zoom.   Of course he immediately caught himself, and said “that sounds really ageist!”    I’m even getting my own mum who is almost 84 onto Zoom, which brings back memories of trying to teach my daughter to drive!    It is remarkable how a technology many of us had never heard of has become such an important part of our lives.   It has a greater richness of connection than a phone call as we are able to see each other (and yes, how our hair is progressing – or regressing). One of the things I have enjoyed about lockdown has been taking part in group conversations with other ministers or family members or discussion groups.    People who would normally find it difficult to all get in the same room can now meet from different parts of the country.  ...