Scriptorium

I am so grateful to have been brought up in a Christian home where reading the Bible was encouraged and where I was nurtured in my faith. I have a love for God’s Word which is grounded in my Christian upbringing.

I have had the joy of leading a Prayer Shawl Workshop at Penhurst Retreat Centre and there are more booked for this year. It was a special time with a small group of ladies as we fellowshipped, shared life experiences and crocheted together.

I really need a good night’s sleep in order to function properly during the day. I’ve read up on what to do practically to help with sleep such as having a good bedtime routine, turning off devices an hour before bedtime, a light snack etc, but as I was reading from the book of Psalms this week, I realised that one Psalm gave some really good advice on getting a good night’s sleep. Psalm 4 is known as an Evening Psalm.

Today, I want us to look at Psalm 5 which is known as a Morning Psalm and what it can teach us about seeking God at the start of the day.

It may seem a little strange to call February a turning point of the year.

After all, 2025 is only a month old. A month of icy weather for all, snow and floods for some. A month in which to get used to writing 5 instead of 4. A month to remember (or forget) those ‘New Year Resolutions’.

Yet in the church calendar, the very beginning of February provides a turning point. Forty days on from Christmas, on the 2nd of the month we marked Candlemas, as it’s commonly called.

Daily life can be very fraught. We have the daily responsibilities of life at work, getting the children to school ferrying them around, then when we get home the bills to sort out, the garden to keep up, the house to clean.

The Roman world of Jesus and Paul was one in which it was believed that the actions of gods in the heavens above affected the earth below. So that if Zeus got angry, thunderbolts shot out. What happened in the heavens affected the earth below. 

But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart Luke2:19 RSV

In the verse above, from Luke’s gospel, we see Mary pondering on the events surrounding the birth of Jesus. In particular the shepherds account of what they had seen and heard out in the fields, that prompted them to hurry and find Jesus.

We are all familiar with the concept of the 12 days of Christmas.  But when do they begin and end?  The first Day of Christmas is 25th December when we commemorate and celebrate the birth of Jesus.

As we journey through life, we become well acquainted with the concept of viewpoint and perspective.  This concept was brought home to me one Saturday, many years ago…