Bill Cahusac

Jamie Hinde performs Isaiah 1:10-17

We are always trying to think of different ways of presenting the bible readings, so I teamed up with my friend actor Jamie Hinde for this week's effort....

Enjoy the silence

At a first glance they were much like any couple holding hands as they walked down the road. She stroked his arm and as they stopped and waited for the bus she rested her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her.

What struck me as I watched them was that this was all done within the context of isolation.

Both wore headphones connected to their own mp3 players.

Both were listening to their own private soundtracks.

So intimate and yet so strangely cut off from each other.

The tragic thing is that I see this with unsettling frequncy.

The contradiction screams if only they could heard it over the sound of their music.

It made me wonder about the nature of relationships.

All of us long for them. For intimacy. Yet we cut ourselves off from the world around us. And we feel alone.

So I've made a decision. I'm taking action. I'm going to take the time to unwire myself and listen.

To hear the sound of children laughing as I walk through the park, to enjoy hearing the the murmour of conversations and the clink of cutlery as I walk past the cafe, to pause and revel in the rustling of the wind as it dances through the leaves.

I'm hoping as I learn to listen again It will enable me to hear more clearly His still small voice as he whispers to me.

Prayer Police

This morning I was fortunate to be invited to the first prayer breakfast for Islington. What made this such a remarkable event was that it was called and hosted by the police. 

It struck me that God is really on the move when the police call the church to prayer, and it was a hugely encouraging and inspiring event. Church leaders and church members gathering to seek God and pray for him to move in our borough. Every major denomination was represented, and strangers became friends. 

It got me thinking why it took the police to do what we should have been doing already. That's not a criticism- maybe it's because they were in some way "neutral" denominationally, I don't know, but all if you believe, as I do, that God pours out his blessing when there is unity, then we are for some exciting times ahead in Islington....

Don Miller on the cult of mac

Clink here to go to a post by Don Miller, author of "Blue Like Jazz" and "Searching For God Knows What" (amongst others) on the apple. For what it's worth, as a mac user I still think he's on the money on this one.