Christmas Day

What can be done to show [God's] glory? So often the answer to this lies in the small and local gestures, the unique difference made in some particular corner of the world.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams

Some children from disadvantaged backgrounds at a Christmas party at St Nicholas Anglican Church, Matroosfontein, Cape Town, South Africa

Christmas Eve

You are not here by accient
You are an irreplaceable part of a much bigger Story

Prayer

Before prayer does anything else, prayer changes you - Justus Marcus

The young girl is a child of the community of Matroosfontein, at the opening prayer of their Christmas party, hosted by St Nicholas' Anglican Church. She is also so much more than these words can articulate and the camera translate.

Stuck

If you feel stuck - it helps sometimes to turn around and go in the opposite direction...

The young boy, in the picture I took this Saturday past, is facing one of the coolest directions. He's oriented - deeply - inspite of the difficult circumstances in which he is now stuck. I hope, as he grows up, he will remember this direction and place to turn too...

He is a child of the community of Matroosfontein, at the opening prayer of their Christmas party, hosted by St Nicholas' Anglican Church. He is also so much more than these words can articulate and the camera translate.

Inhabit Your Life Fully

John O'Donohue said - and I paraphrase, "Don't postpone your life".

Karen Armstrong says, "There is a purposefulness, not a purposelessness about being here..." She continues to say, "Become fully conscious of your predicament", to which I would like to add, don't ask the Spirit of Christ - necessarily - to take it away, but to show you a Way into it - and right through it.

Do not be afraid appears 366 times in our Christian Scriptures, there must be a reason for this beyond being an interesting statistic. You are not alone. The angel God has set aside for you is (t)here too...

Photo: Looking across the Atlantic Ocean at Hout Bay. I notice now, the proverbial "silver lining”

Press Pause

Give God a chance to find you in your busyness today.

Hit the pause button. Be still and begin to know God, yourSelf, others and the world in new and significant ways. Breathe in gratitude; breathe out all that knots you up. Spend a minute or more suspended in this Sacred Space wherever you are - that's also where God is...

The Angel of this Hour longs to meet you, and pray with you, and lift you a little closer towards God. Press Pause... When you Pause, don't forget to pray for Zimbabwe

I took this photo on Sunday at a Youth Weekend held in Bainskloof outside Wellington

Angels and Prayer

John Klimakos teaches on guardian angels and prayer. Bishop Justus Marcus used to say, "Before prayer does anything else, prayer changes you". In the video, I enjoyed making the disciple John transform into an image of our galaxy, the Milky Way, at the height of his prayer.

The video uses an excerpt from John Williams' "Schindler's list" and Peter Howson's 2005 pastel on paper, "John II".

I suggest you let the video buffer first. You do so by hitting the play button then, when it kicks in, you pause by hitting it again. Only press play to watch once the line has turned completely grey