Still Crazy

 

Hello everyone. I hope that you are well. We have had quite a low key week. Well, we did go to the theatre. I haven't been to the theatre for ages - mainly because all our theatre seems to show is musicals called Petticoats and Rainbows which are usually full of songs you would sing on the waltzers at the fair in 1950s Minnesota. Or you can go and watch plays about ghosts which apparently are equally popular as they recreate the vibe from something like "Is My Celebrity House Haunted?" where members of Girls Aloud (or similar celebrities) wander around a random house in the pitch black while the production team terrify them by throwing 50ps at them. This is a bit like that thing they do in the cinema if you go into those special screens where they show movies about spiders and then use cotton tendrils under the seats to tickle the backs of your legs. This is a real thing apparently. Anyway, we didn't see anything like that. We went to see "Pride and Prejudice *sort of". This is a recreation of the novel with just 5 women playing all the parts, singing and dancing and being very silly. It's a good laugh and well done. I liked it a lot. I believe it is touring so, if it comes near to you, why not take out a small mortgage and treat yourself to the theatre. 

I was also called to the stage this week (well the pulpit) because I was asked to do the Bible reading this morning. Honestly? I would rather preach. I find it very stressful. However, I thought to myself  - you can do this. Do not be ridiculous. It's not the Reith Lectures. So point by point. 

* Careful where you sit so people aren't waiting twenty minutes for you to get to the front. 

* Make sure that you can get your ample thighs through the gap at the front two chairs so that you don't suddenly fall over and disappear so that people think you have been felled by a sniper. 

* Check with the sound desk re the levels so people don't think it's the Second Coming when you start to speak

* Make sure you take your glasses.

* Scan the passage for dodgy foreign names and check with proper Christians for the pronunciations. (Forgot to do this - "Sychar" anyone? No worries - I winged it.)

I was hoping everyone would be bowled over with the spirituality of it all but all I got was a lot of comments - nice ones in the main - about flat Northern vowels. Never mind. 

Also, this week I read Adrian Plass - Still Crazy. I looked it up and The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass was published over thirty years ago. In 1987 we were all still luscious. (see above me and HOH along with my brother and my friend Pauline, all on an Oak Hall holiday. We Christian women knew how to get our money's worth from a perm.)  Blimey. I have loved his books so much. In 1987  - when the Sacred Diary was first published - I don't think that I had ever heard anyone say that God liked me and wanted to spend time with me just for that reason. It was a revolutionary thought at the time and, without trying to be dramatic, that thought changed my life. He gently poked fun at Christianese, just I think to make people realise that it was never about meetings and all the surrounding stuff but it was about us and how much we are loved. 

Having read the most recent book, I would say that he has definitely still got it. There may not be the same shock and awe but it's still beautifully written. He is now  talking about age and ageing - including a brush with serious illness. If you haven't read him (are you actually a Christian?) I would highly recommend. You could start with the Sacred Diary but I would also recommend The Visit - about Jesus paying a flying visit to earth and The Final Boundary which talks about heaven. (It's like County Cricket apparently)

If I was disciplined enough to keep a gratitude diary.. (I am jealous of those of you who do. Mostly, I can't be faffed and when I try, I always seem to end up doing it first thing in the morning when I am tired, grumpy and am struggling to be grateful for getting out of bed in the dark. I know. Not good enough.) But IF I was keeping this kind of a diary, the works of Adrian Plass would be in it. I'm grateful for him, his writing and the time he takes to point me to the God who loves me. 

Have a great week.