All is quiet!

Has spring arrived yet?

It has been kind of quiet around here, well sort of! I have actually been listening to some podcasts, which I don't normally do as I quite like the peace and quiet. I know there are lots of people who cannot stand the lack of background noise, but it really does not bother me at all. I'm used to it. After listening to the podcasts and music I'd actually had a headache from listening to too much. Kind of like binge watching a series on the telly, only not as long. 

It might have Brencis, we have snowdrops
peeking through

I like to stand at the window
while I'm working and watch
the world go by. While listening
to the podcasts I was sewing
the rainbow skirt for one of my
granddaughters

One of the podcasts set me thinking and mulling over thoughts in my mind. I don't seem to have had much chance to do that just lately and I miss it. Letting thoughts swill around in my brain helps me to process and think things through. It's at times like these that I can make connections that I wouldn't normally and they help me to come to a few of those "Aha!" points- when something suddenly makes sense or when two things connect. 

Yes George! Something to smile about

Spring is on its way. This is the old ski hill

One of the things I was listening to was an old friend of ours from a church we used to go to in the UK. They have started a worship and soaking night - basically where you just relax in God's presence. It was a type of event our church used to do quite a bit. The fact they were doing it on Zoom reminded me of how churches have had to adapt to lockdown in many places of this world. At least if they have been responsible citizens that is and not risking their congregation's and their respective community's lives that is. My mind went back to a time when I felt God spoke to me and asked me to tell the church to stop normal meetings for 3 months. To clear their calendar. 

Freddie is our quiet alpaca, not one
to make a fuss and quite shy and 
timid. A friend of ours reminded us
that Ian hadn't taken many pictures of
him just lately and she was right. He 
ends up just blending into the 
background. He's lovely though
and we should take more notice of the
quiet ones from time to time.

Sometimes things just stand out so clearly.

If you have only been following this blog more recently, you might be surprised at me saying something like that, as I've been quiet about God just lately. It's not as if I lost my faith in God, it's just I didn't feel I saw things as clearly as I once did. Is that age? Perhaps! Sometimes we can lose the sense of certainty we had when we were younger. I think it has more to do with the unsettling period we've been through, the busyness of doing my PhD, being employed full-time for the first time in my life (not that I have not had things to do, just not what many would call a proper job) as well as just not having enough time to mull things over. 

There are two buckets of fresh water in the alpaca
house, but Brencis is still eating what's left of the
snow.

Yes Vanessa! Sometimes it is just good to stand
and watch. To let those thoughts float around
our brains. 

Anyway, as I thought back to that time of when I told the church about clearing their calendar, it was during a time when I used to walk around our village on a daily basis to think and pray. I had space in my head to think and I felt this is what God wanted for our church. We can get so busy in just doing, that we cannot see what we really want, we don't see what is really important or we just lose who we really are. 

The sunset was just stunning tonight

We jokingly call Sofie our 
summer cat, as she spends her
winter in our neighbours'
dairy barn. She turned up
since the snow melted. She's
not so daft!

I hunted back through my posts to find what I had been saying over time and way back in 2009 I talked about how I like to mull things over and really that is just who I am (And so it begins). In that post I said

At times it can seem pedantic [to look at every aspect to see things from different angles] and sometimes it seems destructive but then again so many things have been built into the church that doesn't need to be there so unless you critique things you will not acknowledge the problems. Ignoring the value of critiquing is like burying your head in the sand and pretending everything is fine.

Our new pond has filled nicely.

 

Singing an ode to spring

 Even earlier I wrote this (God comes knocking)

A song has been coming back to me called Pillar of Fire and you can read the lyrics here the phrase "Where, Oh Lord, are you leading?" keeps coming through in this time. I am not scared as in the song but certainly puzzled. I knew it would be a different road to travel from here, after all the title of a book "What got you here. won't get you there" - a book about business leaders by Marshall Goldsmith leapt out at me last year and has never left. So what is God doing at the moment? Where is he leading His church? All I know is he is transforming the landscape, transforming the places where we live and He is going to do a thorough job of it, there will be no "it's good enough" or "it will do for now", his transformation may take time but it will be complete.

Slowly but surely the snow is going after more
than two months

Spring is coming

A landscape transforming. I love the reflection
of the trees. A reflection! A sign of spring! There
are not many reflections in the snow, refraction
of light that twinkles and sparkles like a million
diamonds but not a reflection of the landscape.

My supervisor would laugh to read that I wrote about the transformation of the landscapes. He often has to remind me to add the landscape aspect even now and I was talking about landscapes in this particular post before I was even in the Landscape Architect department. Our landscapes have to change though. Our mental landscapes as well as our physical ones.  Covid19 brought many things to a complete standstill. We found out what work was really considered essential. We found out that you can try to keep the economy going but high numbers in the hospitals will put a stop to that. You cannot ignore people's health. We have rediscovered the joy of simple things, things we took for granted before Covid. Many have had to clear their diaries, some to take care of children, some through lack of work and so on. The landscape has changed. 

We now get to see the full extent of the pig damage

Mari getting fluffier and fluffier

It has been hard on many people. Many people have resisted the imposition of lockdown and sadly many churches tried to ignore the imposition too. Instead of listening to the still small voice that said, "Stop!" and "Wait a while!.....Slow down!........And listen!" We need to hear the groans of those who have been made to work at the expense of their health. Ground down by their poverty that no amount of work will overcome. We need to hear the groan of our planet as it creaks under the demands of man. We need to adjust our desires for more...and more. We need to stop! Embrace the stillness and listen!

Before (17th February)

After (1st March)

Before (25th February)

After (1st March)

Before (25th February)

After (1st March)

Lynx tracks we think

We haven't had as much of a 
problem of lots of puddles
everywhere. The snow seems to
have soaked into the ground
quite nicely

I'll leave you with a poem I wrote in November 2010 (Whirlwinds and silence)

Silence!

The snow lay thick on the ground

and a grey blanket spread out

covering the sky

"Shuuush!" He said

"Why?" asked the little one

"Listen!"

"But I can't hear anything."

"I know!....

It's beautiful!"

he said in awed tones,

and the silence hung in the air

like the ice from the trees

easily shattered.