Human

 

Hello all. I hope that you are well.  I am playing catch-up because I have to work extra hours this week. Working extra hours was something I solemnly swore to do with a happy face when I first dropped hours, and now that the time has come to do it, I am having an attack of the vapours. I haven't really helped myself in time organisation because, firstly,  I have done a bit of batch cooking, which took up half the day (meatballs and chicken balls, since you ask. We now have bags and bags of them. Chicken balls - along with The Chelsea Detective are my new favourite things. It's not going to have Pru Leith cowering in a corner - just a box of stuffing made up and combined with chicken mince and air-fried, flippin' delicious. Also, I lost time to the Champions League Final last night. Well, you have to watch, don't you? After PSG won, I believe 2 people lost their lives and over 500 were injured in Paris. When the French decide to celebrate, they certainly go for it. 

We also went to see Mission Impossible (I can't remember the full title, sorry. It's the most recent one.) I lost another three hours to that. I really like the Mission: Impossible films. There's a lot of running in them and I rather like that - especially as running to the Mission Impossible theme is a good way for anyone to spend their time. The film would have been a lot shorter, though, if they had cut out the twenty or thirty people who kept stopping to make a speech at Tom Cruise, telling him that he was the only person who could save the world. Whatever. 

    Then there was church this morning. I wasn't "On The Door" but HOH was, but I ended up bidding people farewell and adieu after the meeting because a chap had come in off the street saying that he had nothing and HOH needed to leave his post and find someone to help. Anyway, it was a bit busy, Sunday morning and all that, and while HOH was away, the chap told me that he hadn't got all day to hang about waiting for us AND he didn't have any clean underwear, so he was off. Oh. Anyway, HOH came back with the man with the key to the Magic Food Cupboard, but the man with nothing was long gone. It's all go, I can tell you. 

As it was payday, I treated myself to some books. (See the fetching snapshot above. Please ignore manky slippers. They are very comfy but not what you would call aesthetically pleasing.) I'm sorry that I didn't have time to arrange the books into something that is easier on the eye. Also, please don't think that I bought all of these books this month. Some are new, some are secondhand, some are re-reads of old books, and a couple are from the library. It's a kind of order, I suppose, but HOH has next to his bed

1. The book he is reading now
2. The next book he intends to read.
3. That's it.     

Pah!

The book on top is called You're Only Human by Kelly Kapic. It was recommended in the Oliver Burkman book I was reading a few weeks ago about accepting that we all live in finite time. Burkman said that this was a very useful book, even if you don't have a faith. I assumed that this would mean that it was very accessible. Now, I wouldn't say that I was the brightest button in the box, but I have found it quite hard work, and I'm not sure what a person with no faith background would make of it.  I genuinely don't understand quite large chunks of it - there are some very deep dives into spiritual waters, at least for me. 

So, assuming that I am skim reading quite a bit of it (I am skim reading quite a bit of it, mainly to stop myself fainting with overwhelm) you might think that I should be putting it down and getting on with an excellent book I have just bought about the Kennedys and the women whose lives they ruined. Yay!  

However, some parts of it are excellent and quite challenging. As far as I understand it (and I may well not understand it), he is talking about how even as Christians, we still remain humans with human flesh and frailties and that we can't do or be everything. For him, saying that we are now "in Christ" doesn't mean that our basic humanity disappears. Our humanity is still vital. He talks about the times that the Bible talks about physical things as important, for instance, in worship - eat the bread, drink the wine, clap your hands, lift them in prayer, bow, kneel, anoint, etc., for those that struggle with striving for perfection it is maybe a release to see someone encouraging us to understand that we remain fully human. I don't know about you, but I feel very, VERY human most of the time, and it is encouraging to read that this may be perfectly fine.  Chapters further on cover "Why doesn't God just instantly change me?" and "Do I need to go to church?"  etc. If I can just get the hang of it, I think it will be really interesting. So, I'll probably stick with it, but I can't guarantee that I won't break off for a bit of Jackie O every now and then. 

Right then, I am off to watch Simon Reeve in Scandinavia.

I'm not sure about writing the blog next week because it's my birthday and we are possibly going to eat out, although my favourite Plymouth restaurant has selfishly closed on Sundays, so I may well be sitting here writing. I understand that you will be on the edge of your seats with anticipation. Have a great week.