Wednesday 31 March 2010

The Quilt.


So you've lived your best years
on the table before you
a bowl of joys and a bottle of tears
At your feet on the floor
a box of mementos
sentimental gateways into the past
A teddy bear with one eye
a watch a brooch an old wallet
photos of days away
of Parents watching children at play
taken out and looked at every blue moon
and tonight the moon is blue

It's the same for everyone
everyone has a story to tell
when life was like heaven
when they lived through hell
hearts like a patchwork quilt
torn and mended torn and mended

So do not think you are unique
or the hearts of others are made of stone
in all honesty you are not alone.

Some good news for a change.


I was reading through some Scottish news stories today. It's difficult to take in some of the appalling tragedies. I came across this story which lifted the mood.

A Hero mum spoke for the first time last night about how she saved the lives of three children and a fisherman in a sea rescue.

Dietician Jacqueline Walker, 39, who has just won a bravery award for her actions, told how all four were close to drowning when she plucked them from the icy water to safety.
She was on holiday with family at Hopeman Harbour, near Elgin, Moray, when she saw the group floundering in the 30ft deep water and struggling for breath.
A 12-year-old boy who had fallen 25 feet from the harbour wall and couldn't swim had prompted two of his pals, also aged 12, to jump in then a fisherman sitting on the harbour dived in fully clothed when he heard their cries for help.
Jacqueline, who is a triathlete, said she didn't think twice about diving in to save them and was embarrassed when her husband Drew nominated her for a Royal Humane Society Testimonial on Parchment.
She said: "I am delighted to be receiving this award and my husband and children are very proud of me.
"I didn't think it was that big a deal, I just acted on instinct and all the lifesaving training I had when I was a teenager just came flooding back to me.
"I had spent the day at the beach with my children and we all had wet suits on because we had been jumping off the harbour.
"It is fun but you have got to be careful because of the swell in the tide. I saw the children and the man in the water and they were really struggling.

"I got my friend to raise the alarm, tied a lifebuoy to my waist and dived in.

"They were about 150 feet away from the harbour and were being swept away by the tide. It was pretty choppy out there and the man was struggling to hold on to two of the boys, the other was swimming against the tide and they were all floating away and floundering.

"The key to lifesaving is making sure to raise the alarm before getting into the water and then making sure everyone stays calm.

"I front crawled out to them and told them to hold the lifebuoy and kick their feet like they were in the swimming pool and I pulled them back to the harbour."
By then the Coastguard and Sea King rescue helicopter had arrived on the scene to meet them as they swam to shore.

Last night the Royal Humane Society praised Jacqueline for her actions.

The society's secretary Dick Wilkinson said: "Mrs Walker played a key role in saving three lives."She showed tremendous courage and put herself at risk without hesitation. She thoroughly deserves this award."

Sunday 28 March 2010

The Wasteful Son.


Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.

"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' So he got up and went to his father.

"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son."

"But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.

"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on.
"Your brother has come home" he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.'

"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!'
"My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found."

Luke 15.

Saturday 27 March 2010

The Final Solution: 1st August 1609.


As early as 1541, the Scots King James V (grandfather of James Stuart VI / I) issued an order evicting all gypsies from Scotland. However, After the elder James died in 1542, the gypsies started returning.
After the younger James ascended to the throne of Scotland in 1567, an act was passed against ‘the idle people calling themselves Egyptians,” with regular renewals from 1592-1603. This final act, concerning the ‘Egyptians’ became law on August 1, 1609, demanding that all gypsies leave Scotland, never to return on pain of death. After August 1, 1609, any of the King’s subjects could, ‘take, apprehend, imprison and execute to death the said Egyptians, either men or women, as common, notorious and condemned thieves’. 

 Most gypsies fled Scotland. Others assimilated. In subsequent decades gypsies who were found in Scotland were forcibly emigrated to colonies in Virginia, Jamaica and Barbados.

Dear Fellow Party Member [Parteigenosse] Luther!

Enclosed I am sending you the minutes of the proceedings that took place on January 20, 1942.

Since the basic position regarding the practical execution of the final solution of the Jewish question has fortunately been established by now, and since there is a full agreement on the part of all agencies involved. I would like to ask you at the request of the Reich Marshal to make one of your specialist officials available for the necessary discussion of details in connection with the completion of the draft that shows the organizational, technical and material prerequisites bearing on the actual starting point of the projected solutions.
I want to schedule the first discussion along these lines for 10:30 a.m. on March 6, 1942 at 116 Kurfürstenstrasse, Berlin. I therefore ask you that for this purpose your specialist official contact my functionary in charge there, SS-Obersturmbannführer Eichmann.

Tuesday 23 March 2010

Art


Art.

You do not form our thinking
or give light to the blind
but articulate the consciousness
of the common human mind

The metamorphic substance
of the feeling in the air
the offspring of a generation
born of splendour and despair

The Man is a greater art
than any lauded statuary
and the essence of his soul
his wealth in abject poverty

The Woman is more beautiful
than a painting or a bronze
A Child's laughter more delightful
than a great composer's songs

A painting's easily admired
a composer gains a fan
more difficult to recognise
The God within a Man.

Wealth of Art.

Manipulate and exploit
the need and labour of the poor
and thus grow rich
And use that wealth
to buy what was a poor man's work
but is now called Art
and from it try to find that which you lack
the generous feeling of a poor man's heart.

By wealth pursue
in paint or bronze or clay
the Aura Trail of what the poor
think and feel and pray
until at the end
the labour of the poor man's soul
is in the rich man's pocket
to keep for his amusement
or sell to make a profit.

Knowing Art.

She has a heavy fringe
two layers of lipstick
miss-matched clothes
and Grannie boots

She must know a lot about Art

But I've got a feeling
she'd present a dog's breakfast as art
if Cosmo said it was

She would consider a pile of bricks to be art
but the men who built her house
Too ignorant to know about art

I know where she bought her Grannie boots
they also sell Jack boots

She is in her element
She is with her clique
she knows her genre

You've got to hand it to her
she does function well
within the boundaries
of her own personal delusion.

But then again, don't we all.

Sounds of Art.

It is generally accepted
that people who listen to classical music
do not brawl on the street

These people are much too sophisticated for that
These people wouldn't get their clothes dirty
These people would say "Tut Tut"

Some of these people only sign papers
That cause the deaths of untold thousands.

Looking for Art.

"Are you, looking for Art?
Well it's not that
It's not on this or any other floor
it's at the back door
There is a pile of rags
within them is wrapped
a man attempting to sleep
and there is more art etched on his face
than there is in this whole Gallery
But are you, looking for Art?"

Time and Tide

Work Station


Work Station.

"Could you follow me"

"Yes, certainly"

"This is your work station here
I'll just go over it with you."

"These buttons on the front
you can press any of them
except this one
this one with the sticker that says
"Do Not Press"
Whatever you do under no circumstances-press this button."

"This array of switches to your left
you can flick any of these switches
it's up to you just use your own discretion.
But this switch here
the one with the red tape around it.
Do not even touch this switch
in fact avoid the switches near to it
in case you flick it by accident."

"The sliding regulators to your right
you can slide any of them
tolerance will still be automatically maintained.
But this one here the one that's bigger than the rest
this sets and locks all the others.
So - Do Not - slide this regulator
especially not on a Friday afternoon."

"Have you got that now?"

"O Yes, you can depend on me"

Friday 19 March 2010

Conversation with a mirror


Conversation with a mirror

The King said to me
"What do you think?"
And I thought
-This day my life is in my hands
and my family are in danger
of becoming destitute-
Then I replied
"I think you are right my Lord"
And the King replied
"Of course I'm right"
But he wasn't right
and the whole episode
stank to high heaven
I could not have changed his mind
only ruined my life
the King's subjective truth
would still have become common truth
and who or what but you
could ever chide
that my subjective truth
was not right for me.

Please don't be kind to me


Inalienable Charity.

Please don't be kind to me

I can't bear it's cruelty

or pay it's price

of accepting your ideology

and applauding your humanity

Am I not a human being
alive upon the Earth
Do I not have the right
to live upon it
to walk upon it
to associate to communicate
to share in the produce of it's fields

why should any of these

be in your gift of kindness
be in your power to withhold

I have seen kindness
the kindness of those who say
"Thank you"
for tents with rotted canvas
for blankets musty with mould
for food out of date

for one bottle of water

costing one hundred barrels of oil

and one barrel of blood.

Thursday 18 March 2010

Lifeline


Lifeline

A mongrel dog on a string
his lifeline to affection
within a community
where people turn away
from his dishevelled
and ungainly appearance
from his unshaven face
and tortured expression

He is beyond the pale
of our mammon society

Without beauty
to make him desirable
Without prestige
to make him enviable
Without money
to make him wise

He is everything
our superficial world
has need of to despise.

When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, "Surely the LORD's anointed stands here before the LORD."
7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
1 Samuel 16.

Tuesday 16 March 2010

The Ball Chaos Theory


The Beach

I began to focus
on blurred images
and was trying to listen
to muffled sounds
slowly I could hear water
and was standing on a Beach
looking out upon
an endless translucent sea

A young man walking on the Beach
walks over to me
smiling he says
'I am here to welcome you'

'Thank you'-I reply
'But where is this place?'

'This' he answered 'Is Eternity'
'We are standing outside linear time
and touching all time
here the past is alive
and the future is remembered
this is spiritual time
the eternal loop of consciousness'

Then he asks me
'Do you know - 'The ball chaos theory?'

'I do' I reply
'Jesus caught the ball
and the car ran him over'

'Well this place' He replied
is where the chaos ends'

'I have often wondered
and wonder now - could you tell me
'Why is there chaos?'

To this question He replied

'The Universe The Earth
and Humanity upon the Earth
are the outcome of infinite variables
you should understand
they are as they are
because it was never possible
for them to be any other way'
'And for you
Believe and also Trust in this
The hand that threw the first
still reaches out to catch the last'

At this I enquired -
'Is Jesus here that I may worship him?'

The young man replied
'He is not far from you my child'

I knelt to worship
and then I heard someone saying
'He's coming round
he's going to make it'
I opened my eyes
someone was pressing my chest
I was coughing up water
Someone else was saying
'We need to take off your shirt
open your hand
and let go of the ball.'

The ball chaos theory.

A child is playing with a ball on the pavement
their hand misses the catch
and it runs out onto the road
because the child's mind is occupied by playing
they run out after it straight in front of a car
Any Parent would choose to go after that ball
instead of their child
and any Parent would say
'How could God let this happen'
We cannot fully understand why God allows
so much that is wrong to happen in the world
or why instead of taking the wrong away
God chose in the person of Christ
to take upon himself
the uncertainty the suffering
and the grief of Humanity
When Jesus died on the cross
the ball that had run out onto the road
fell from his hand
'Jesus caught the ball
and the car ran him over'
this is the ball chaos theory.

I know this could be seen as simplistic.
But I've posted it because I believe there is
a few grains of truth in it.

Monday 15 March 2010

The Boxer


The Boxer

1.A Boxer stands in the ring
who has learned to accept the pain
squaring up defying his opponent
to hit him again

2.Backed into a corner
devoid of all hope
being picked off at will
held up by the rope

3.A tirade of blows
rain down on his head
his opponent thinks he's finished
the crowd think he's dead

4.The fans are chanting
celebrating the win
when he turns like a panther
to connect with his chin

5.His opponent unconscious
drops on the canvas
celebrating with Dorothy
somewhere in Kansas

6. He walks to a corner
and patiently stands
until the Referee
raises his hands

7. He commiserates with his opponent
acknowledges the crowd
then steps from the ring
neither humbled nor proud

8. When asked for a comment
at the end of the bout
He replies:
'No one is finished
until counted out'

9.'When he didn't have the power
to put me away
he should have boxed
and kept me at bay'

10.'Boxing's not a sport
Boxing's not a game
it's not about inflicting
but bearing the pain.'

Iraqi Freedom and Democracy

Sunday 14 March 2010

Saturday 13 March 2010

On deleted Blog comment

From another blog :

What a teacher ought to be - Benchmarks according to the Desert Fathers.
One of my favourite definitions of the character and calling of a teacher. And an ideal worth persevering towards in daily practice and vocational accountability.

A teacher ought to be a stranger to the desire

for domination, vain-glory, and pride;

one should not be able to fool her by flattery,

nor blind her by gifts, nor conquer her by the stomach,

nor dominate her by anger; but she should be patient,

gentle, and humble, as far as possible;

she must be tested,and without partisanship,

full of concern, and a lover of souls.

Benedicta Ward, The Desert Christian.

My comment: "You forgot to add Stepford wife."

Comment deleted and email received -

> You forgot to add Stepford wife.

Jimmy, I'm not sure what your comment means or refers to. The stepford wives (actually an anti - women story) have no connection whatsoever to some of the most remarkable teachers the Christian world has ever known, including the women known as the Desert mothers. I have removed the comment as I think it is open to misunderstanding, and has no bearing on the post to which it is attached. The comment section on my blog is open because I want discussion and comment to be as free as it can be, but want users to respect the sensitivities of other users. I would be grateful if this is kept in mind for future comments.

With all good wishes

Cash n' Scarey


This world is not my home
I'm just a passin' through
my treasures are laid up
somewhere beyond the blue

The angels beckon me
from heaven's open door
and I don't feel at home
in this world anymore.

But while I'm waiting...

I'll give my support to a political party
that in domestic policy
is vocal in it's support
of family values and sexual morality.

Even though it's foreign policy
leads to people being abused,tortured and killed
I'm sure it's for the greater good
of preserving our way of life
and protecting us from a real and imminent danger.

I believe the purpose of Christ's life and teaching
was to make a new moral order in this world.
And that it is pleasing to God
for Christians to support laws
that would cause people with no Christian faith
to live more moral and upright lives.

Right wing Neoconservatives
understand that "The Family" and "Morality"
are much more important to God
than social justice.
And I'm certain they would never cynically manipulate
the cosseted middle class Christian vote.

I wrote this comment after watching American Pastors on the tv
organizing buses to take their congregations to vote for George Bush,
because of his rhetoric on family values and morality.

Prayer

Prayer

Jesus my Lord
Christ my God

I kneel and worship you

upon this Earth of bountiful green
beneath this sky of halcyon blue

and nothing I bring
and nothing I give
and nothing I need to do

from beginning to end
I rest my soul
in the wonderful gift of you

Thursday 11 March 2010

Under the Siberian Moon


The summer of 1984 I took some kind of chill or flu.
Although it was a boiling hot day I was lying in bed
freezing and shivering and this poem came to me.

The scene

Under the Siberian moon
the bride and the groom
huddle together to keep warm
sheltering from the storm

The dialogue -- The Groom

'Don't say you love me
for love is unreal
we are greater than love
as reason
is more than to feel'

'Don't say tomorrow
for it may not come
there is a moon
but no Siberian sun'

'Don't say forever
for we only have now
this moment is all
that chance will allow'

'Don't fight the storm
but hide from the blast
there will be calm
when the fury has past'

'O my darling
don't run away
the hills are curds and whey
and the valleys below
are ice and snow
under the Siberian moon'

The Bride

'I will say I love you
for to me love is real
and like a vessel
my reason
contains all I feel'

'I will say tomorrow
and believe it will come
I follow the moon
and hope in the sun'

'I will say forever
because we have now
I believe life is more
than chance would allow'

'I won't fight the storm
but will hide from the blast
and wait for the calm
when the fury has past'

'O my darling
I won't run away
the hills are curds and whey
and the valleys below
are ice and snow
under the Siberian moon.'

This poem's not about a couple surviving a dark time
and being all lovey-dovey on a beach.
It's about what people suffered
hiding in the hills of Kurdistan.
But when faced with despair or hope
the best option is to choose hope.

Wednesday 10 March 2010

Whispers



I heard this song today and it made me think of the family who were seeking asylum.
Although my ancestors have lived in Scotland for thousands of years that does not give me the right to use 20ft x 8ft of Scottish ground for one caravan.
And although I'm a Christian I've often had no one to turn to when I needed help or support.
So if this is the situation I find myself in, how much greater was their turmoil.

Monday 8 March 2010

Shades of Light


Shades of Light

A figure in the heat haze
walking toward me
through the desert
appearing and disappearing
in refractions of light

An attractive woman
with purpose in her step
refusing to be overcome
by the searing sun

I welcome her to the shade
with a cup of water
which she drinks slowly
and then she says

"I walked through the desert
south by south east
an arduous crossing
in an attempt
to circumvent the beast
with the last of my strength
I have found you today
and now need you to show me
the rest of the way"

I reply

"You cannot find the place you seek
because you do not understand
the terrain you must cross
is of the heart and not the sand
There can be no Utopia
in a world warped by sin
there can be no external peace
only peace within
And I must tell you
I'm not going on
this place where you found me
is now my home
here I have a little peace
and enough for my needs
shade when the light burns too bright
warmth and shelter in the night
and in this place you're welcome to stay
or I can help you go back on your way"

She replies

"How can I stay
when a world beckons me
with places to go
and people to see
questions to ask
and answers to find
truth to learn and teach mankind
things to be done and things to be said
while you recline in the shade"

I reply

"You do not understand
my questions
are all paper boats
I sail for the amusement
of watching them sink in the deep
I have come to the end of debate
with nothing more to be said
only to patiently wait
and be thankful for the shade"

She replies

"No you do not understand
I have come for you"

Red Road Flats Sunday 7th March 2010


Robina Qureshi in this interview explains it all much better than I could.

The Great Commission

Sunday 7 March 2010

Story from the Scottish highlands


My Mother told me this story when I was a boy.
She had a cousin who was about ten the same age as her at the time. He was very ill and was in bed in his parents tent. One day he sat up and asked for a drink of water, he drank the water and then sang the hymn Abide with me, then he lay back down and died.
His singing of this hymn must have been a comfort to his parents and must have spoken of his faith to all who heard about him, as he still speaks today.

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
Earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

Saturday 6 March 2010

"Injustice is it"... "I will tell you this boy"


Just before Christmas I was in Farmfoods in Govan. A small Salvation Army band were playing outside and collecting money. They kept repeating "Jingle Bells" like it was the only song they knew, the girl at the checkout said "If they play Jingle bells once more I'm going to tear my hair out." It wasn't the only song they knew but it gave me the impression that they thought it was the only song we knew.
I stood beside them but those not playing made no attempt to talk to me or to share anything of the Gospel with me or anyone else.
In the bakers in Govan there was three S A officers, they looked like they were really out of their comfort zone.
In my twenty odd year association with Govan the "Salvationists" from the Citadel in Govan have not troubled me with the Gospel even once.
I know that many Christians campaign against the injustices that are inflicted upon people in every society. And it is right that they do so.
An injustice could be described as being denied an inalienable right.
What about this human right - The human right to hear the Gospel.
Does Christ consider it to be an inalienable human right for people to hear the Gospel.?
Does the church consider people being denied the hearing of the Gospel to be an injustice.?
To be entrusted with the Gospel and to deny people the hearing of it could be the greatest injustice in the World.
Mark 16:15.
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation."
Matthew 28.
16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Friday 5 March 2010

The National Obesity Problem



The View

The window
looks out
upon the twilight
of an apprehensive morning
slowly turning grey
in the sunless dawn
such a long night
has finally broken
into an appropriate day

Cutting through
the industrial sky
rain falls orange
on the street below
and sparks up
into an angry ballet

Inexorable concrete
reinforced
with latticed steel
rises monolithic
imposing it's dimensions
upon the horizon

Buildings
clothed in shadows
are sentinal
standing to attention
locking out the night
locking in
the workers of the earth

The prisoners
of oppression
sleep and awake
in poverty
and the soul
is a silver thread
spun upon a reel
and life
is more
than the mind can know
but less
than the heart can feel.

Thursday 4 March 2010

Solomon

The Wisdom of Solomon
Part One

The wisdom of Solomon
was not to rule
but to know he was
a wretched fool

To have your soul
laid bare
before your eyes
it could be said
such a man
could be wise

But in such cases
the subject - usually dies

And if they live
you wouldn't want to hear the cries

So for the sake
of keeping your cool
it's best to believe
you're not a fool

But be careful in the choice
of what you despise
what kind of wisdom
must point out a fool
to make it seem wise

Part Two

Walking the wastelands of meaningless vanity
stripped of illusions grasping for sanity

Crumpled in a doorway
watching people pass
some stopping to admire
the pillows quilts and beds
behind the plate glass

The darkness of night
brings a dark thought
- you'd be better of dead -
until the light of remembering
(The son of man
had nowhere
to lay down his head)

Resting in the comfort of this thought
until the break of day
awaking and believing
there is one who knows the way

When the Towers
of human illusion fall
the wastelands appear
in poignant clarity
and in the midst
one man left standing
The Christ - The Reality

Looking back
toward the Citadels
the heart recoils in pity
the fallen Towers of human mastery
it was all a cardboard City

And the people
we stepped over
dismissed - with a meagre ration
are waiting in the wastelands
and greet us with compassion.

written Spring 2001

Hallowed Ground

'Tell me about it'
was all he said
walking out from shadows
an acutely enacted scene

Faces ingrained with dust
clothes caked with dirt
spattered with dried blood
retrieved from the earth

Blankets for the cold
bread for the hungry
water for the thirsty
hope for the despairing

Take off your shoes
this is hallowed ground
a fortress of steel
surrounds this Island Nation.

Written January 2001

New Dealer

He surveys the table
of worldly men
they have played all night
in a smoke filled Den

He joins the game
with a new set of rules
where the rich become poor
and the wise become fools

He deals an image
to each man alone
they lift their cards
it cuts to the bone

And no one can say
'Hold on'

And no one can say
'that's wrong'

And no one can say
'I've something else planned'

They silently sit
and play out the hand.

Written Spring 2001

Talking Heads

Wednesday 3 March 2010

Gipsy Smith


I TRUST that what I have written will interest my readers.
I have had a life very different, I think, from that of
most of my fellows, but a life which God has greatly
blessed, and I think I may add, with all reverence, greatly
used. It has been full of trials and difficulties. I have
been often troubled, but never distressed; often perplexed,
but never in despair; often cast down, but never destroyed.
Any afflictions that have visited me have been but for a
moment, and have worked a far more exceeding weight of
glory. I have sought to keep the eyes of my heart open to
the things which are not seen, for the things which are
seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are
eternal.

Postscript to the autobiography of Gipsy Rodney Smith Evangelist.


CHAPTER 23
GLASGOW

I CONDUCTED a great mission campaign in Glasgow from
September, 1893, to the end of January, 1894. The mission
was arranged by a committee of twelve free church
ministers, and the work was carried on in almost as many
churches. The campaign was interrupted for a short time by
the Christmas holidays, and by a short vacation that I
took. During this visit to Glasgow I met the late Professor
Henry Drummond, who was very kind to me. When he and I
first conversed together I had been working for seven weeks
in seven churches, and I told him in reply to a question,
that I had not given the same address twice. This statement
seemed to impress him greatly. He asked me some questions
about my life, and how I prepared my discourses. I was
attracted at once by the sweetness of his spirit and the
graciousness of his manner and disposition. Henry Drummond
at once appealed to the best in you. I have met many great
ministers and preachers in my life, but never one in whose
company I felt more at ease than Henry Drummond's. There
was no subduing awe about him. One would laugh at oneself
for being afraid of him, yet he conveyed to one's mind an
unmistakable impression of greatness.

The late Dr. Bruce attended my mission services, and took
part in one of them. I was told that never had he done such
a thing before. Dr. Bruce was well known for his frankness
of speech, and, addressing his students, he described the
inquiry-room work as tomfoolery. "But," said he, "you must
all go and hear the gipsy. That man preaches the gospel."
Perhaps the most memorable part of my campaign was that in
the Free College Church, of which Dr. George Reith was the
pastor. Dr. Reith wrote an account of the mission for his
church magazine. He said: ''We have seen nothing like it
since the visit of Messrs. Moody and Sankey in 1874. The
speaking was remarkable. We have seldom, if ever, listened
to a long series of addresses of the kind so admirable in
every respect; effective, pointed, and free from
sensational appeals. . . .Our friend, Gipsy Smith, has left
memories of a singularly pleasant kind, and what is of more
importance, his presentation of the gospel of our Lord will
not soon be forgotten by those who heard it." People of all
kinds attended the services--old, young, and middle-aged--
the fashionable inhabitant of the West-end, the middle-
class citizen, the artisan, the domestic servant, the
school-boy, school-girl, and soldier. A member of Dr.
Reith's congregation wrote in the magazine that "the
gypsy's illustrations are usually well chosen and apposite.
One evening we observed a fashionable young lady sitting
perfectly unmoved through the service, until a touching
little story at the close did its work--unlocked at least a
spring of emotion. . . . Judicious management of the
inquiry-room is admittedly one of the most difficult and
delicate departments of evangelistic work, but we are sure
no one who remained to confer with Gipsy Smith would ever
regret having done so.

It took a long time to break down the caution and reserve
of the Scots character, but once it was broken down it
broke down completely. Three thousand people passed through
the inquiry-room. A large proportion of these were men.
Some of them, indeed, were remarkable triumphs of God's
grace. The history of the conversion of some of these men
was curious. At first they would be merrily interested in
the services. Then they would be impressed, and perhaps
convicted of sin, and so they were led to follow me from
church to church, until, in some cases, they had been
listening to me for quite seven weeks before they fully
resolved to give their lives to God. At one service, and
that the most fruitful, there was no sermon, because the
people began to go into the inquiry-room immediately after
the hymn. I have no doubt that many of them had already
made up their minds, and really came to the meeting with
the intention of taking their stand publicly. We spent that
whole evening in simply saying to the people, "Come, come!"
I think that God taught us a great lesson that night. We
are so apt to think that this must be done, and that that
must be done, and that a certain fixed course of procedure
must be followed, or else we must not look for results. Too
often I fear our rules and regulations and orders of
service simply intrude between men's souls and their God.
We all need to be taught when to stand aside.

The figures do not indicate with anything like completeness
the total results. When the ministers of the city came to
visit the individual inquirers, they often found that in
the same house there were three or four other persons who
had been brought to God during the mission. When a Scotsman
is once set on fire, he blazes away at white heat. And so
it came about that among the best workers during the
closing week of the mission were the converts of the early
weeks. I have never met people in my life who could sing
Sankey's hymns better than the folks of Edinburgh and
Glasgow.

The farewell meeting of the mission was held in the City
Hall, one of the largest public buildings in Glasgow. It
was crammed to suffocation. The North British Daily Mail
gave a good account of the services, heading its article,
"A Glasgow Pentecost." The platform was crowded with
Glasgow ministers, many of whom made very cordial speeches
of thanksgiving and congratulation. The Rev. David Low said
that he had seen nothing approaching the mission since
1873, when Mr. Moody first came to this country. I was
greatly cheered by the statement of my friend, Rev. J. J.
Mackay, now of Hull, that never had he a worker more
delightful to co-operate with than Mr. Gipsy Smith. He was
as simple and natural as a gipsy boy. My heart was full of
gratitude to God for the great things He had done for us in
Glasgow, and to my warm-hearted Scots friends for their
exceeding great kindness. I think it was that night that I
enjoyed a little rub at them for their comical and absurd
attitude--for so it seemed to me--towards instrumental
music. They would not let me have an instrument at the
morning service nor at the afternoon service, but I might
have one for the evening service. The idea was, I believe,
that the morning and afternoon services were attended by
staid, sober, decorous Presbyterians, who regarded
instrumental music as a desecration of the regular services
in the sanctuary. The evening services in Scotland are
always more of an evangelistic character, and are intended
more particularly to reach the outsiders and the non-
churchgoers. I suppose it was thought that instrumental
music would please these people, and would not offend their
less sensitive, less decorous consciences. Since 1894,
however, things have greatly changed, even in Scotland, and
most of the Presbyterian Churches, I am told, have now
organs or harmoniums. I do not believe for a moment that
the result has been a diminution in the solidity and
gravity of the Scots character.

Monday 1 March 2010

Cadillac


Cadillac

Someone's got a Cadillac
and they are so rich
they wouldn't even care
if they slid it in a ditch

Someone's got a ford
it needs an m.o.t.
and in the words of the song
they should-Let it be

Someone's got a rolex
but the time dosen't matter
they wear it to show
that their times are better

Someone's got a seiko
they look at it and curse
it tell's them to hurry
or they'll miss their bus

Someone's got a choice
of where to live and what to do
"We just had to buy the place
when we saw the view"

Someone's got a flat
they loathe with pure disgust
the view from the window
is another drugs bust

someone's got the penthouse suite
someone's got a cardboard box
they have plenty paper
but not the kind that talks

The sum of a human life
is not in what we possess
the riches of the wealthy
do not make the poor worth less

The nationless refugee
dying from hunger beside the road
has the value of you or me
in the reckoning of God

We have all come from God
and to God we shall return
and in the flame of judgement
paper is the first to burn.

Angel Song.


Angel Song

I hear the harmony
of their wings
resonating in the air
like the breeze on my face
I can feel they are there
They are rising in harmonics
turning like a flock of birds
in the choir of their wings
I can hear these words

'The poor man's wealth
is in his heart
collected treasures set aside
a lifetime of feeling and thought
of joys to share and grief to hide

The poor man's wealth
is in his soul
fashioned by a life of care
when there is nowhere to turn
calling out to God from his despair

The poor man's wealth
is in his hope
for heaven's pasture
and a camp to pitch
in the gift of God
who spares the poor
the poverty of dying rich

The poor man's wealth
is in his faith
upon this staff his burdens lean
and walking taps along the way
finding evidence of things not seen

The poor man's wealth
is in his need
though wealth and power
their virtues flaunt
the place where the God is found
is in the sigh of abject want'

Then gradually I became aware
of breathing again
there was less pressure in the air
and the sky just looked like rain
I called out and I listened
but I knew they were gone
so I sat beneath an oak tree
and wrote down their song.