DMCD Family & Friends

I won’t have time to blog properly tonight especially in continuing the fasting series although the good news is there that more material has been developed for it and I’m excited to publish it as soon as I can. Also on the good news front this is a very important week for me writing wise as I have at least three opportunities to really let that light so shine as it were. There are two articles for certain areas of the press that I’m putting together which is rather exciting. Then there’s a report I’m putting together with a friend in an ongoing series that I’ve got to knuckle down and churn out before the deadline. So this week is set up to be a challenging and promising set of days should I walk with Jesus closely through it. Your prayers are very much required in that regard.

This weekend has been a very good one for a number of reasons. Firstly it was a family weekend in a special way. I may have mentioned that my Mum’s in the country to help my brother following the joyous entry of the first child in the wonderful union of he and his beau Nicola. Recently we were able to send Abigail to spend some time with Mum in her child-minding role. This weekend we’ve gone down to MK where the second Dryden family live and have been able to spend some quality time with them.

So it’s one thing to be reunited with my Mum who I haven’t seen in a while. To top it off though my sister and her son Mattaniah were also in the neighbourhood and I haven’t seen her in quite some time. To see her again was especially pleasing and to catch up with her on how life has been was especially rewarding. The time with them all, however, showed just how much time has changed and for all the similarities and family connections that keep us tight, there is still the inevitable fact that things have changed.

I’ve changed, they’ve changed, things have happened and as a result things have changed. We are not the same three children running around our parents causing grief and mayhem. Indeed now my Mum is the proud grandmother to four of five grandchildren that she had around her this weekend. It’s a tremendous blessing and a significant landmark in how things have changed. I’m grateful for the different relational dynamics that make up family both that which makes us connect and that which apparently makes us repel against each other. It’s all a part of the mix and a good founding for similar issues that we can expect in church family and other social expressions of family.

The cake was already quite something, but what crowned everything off was a visit from an old friend who I caught up with. For privacy reasons I won’t disclose that person’s identity per se except to say it is a ‘she’ (which narrows it down significantly … not) and her impact on my life has been great in ways not known especially by her. It was so brilliant catching up on how things have … yes you’ve guessed it … changed. Also great reflecting on the challenges those changes pose for the future and those changes that lie there. It was also fascinating to explore a bit more into what makes up a person and sometimes it’s great fun realising just when you get a hang of the jigsaw pieces in your hand, another load falls into your lap and you have to work those out as well as fitting them in with the current pieces. People fascinate and it was such a pleasure and a thrill meeting my long lost friend.

So, all that to say, with the preparation for that and other work commitments, blogging has not been a priority for the last five days or so. This could also be reflected in a reduced amount of blogging this week with the things planned, but I hope not as there are so many wonderful developments to share and of course this series on fasting has really captured my writing bug and I don’t want to let that go until I’ve done justice to it. So plenty to keep dmcd busy and off the streets! As ever just keep praying, having Mum around the house should be interesting and a tremendous blessing to the family dynamic here. It is also a precursor to a very hectic end of summer affair in and among which, I really want to stay focussed on God and what He’s calling me to do and responding faithfully to that. Thanks as ever.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Fast and the Curious: Desperately Seeking God

As I thought that brief intermission from the series has allowed me to feel refreshed addressing this important issue of fasting. So where we’ve been is the ignorant start that led to an awareness of why fasting is so important. Nothing happens out of context so relationships have played a key role in growing in this area. There are significant bonuses found in the hugely underrated spiritual discipline. The last stop in this journey is a most remarkable episode that should have had lasting implications for me.

Indeed I would love to be able to tell you that from there I grew in stature and favour with God and with man as my spiritual devotion went from strength to strength in such areas. Sadly that would be lying. Events took a turn for the worst near the end of 2004 and 2005 was a rough year of sorting and sifting personally and corporately. Near the end of that year, though, as the light became a bit more evident fasting again became a key tool in helping me get my bearings on what it all meant.

I remember during the end of year festivities a group of us as men spent a day fasting at a friend’s house. It was the first time I remember fasting since the year before. My brother was visiting me in Stoke at the time and he was able to join us as we reflected again on the nature of fasting and it was so humbling to be able to learn things about fasting that put a lot of the mess of my life at that time into perspective. It was literally a time of humbling recognising that fasting is about seeing me for who I am in the light of an awesome, holy, omni-you-name-it God.

It regularly comes to remind me that the focus should be on Him to inform everything else in life. Downfalls occur when that focus has shifted, which is easy to do because that is the fallen nature of man – hence idolatry. It was a very sobering time of prayer and reflection in conversation. I remember David’s contribution in that session about the sheer physical insignificance of the human in the light of God being something that should humble us. We are the great Big Cheese (especially seeing as though I hate cheese).

The one reason why they call acts like fasting a spiritual discipline is because it is such a useful tool to remain focussed on the whole point of being a disciple. The seeds to my downfall at the end of 2004 were familiar ones of being busy.

I was even reflecting near the beginning of the week the episode of Jesus with Mary and Martha. The scene is sadly too familiar in Christendom and is somewhat reinforced by the Protestant ethic. Here is Martha, noticing that the Master is in the house and so will need serving. She is toiling away ensuring things are sorted, but as she labours alone she grows somewhat frustrated that her sister is sitting at Jesus’ feet taking in what He’s saying. Finally fed up she asks the Rabbi to instruct her sister to lend a helping hand. Jesus, however, rather than commending Martha on her practical helps and works, actually suggests that Mary’s option was the wiser.

Life and especially church life can keep you wrapped up in a routine of going from service to service and supporting one thing and another. It feels like it is one activity blending into another and before you know it you’re caught up in the fatal rat-race of keeping active because life is in the activity. You can more than rationally explain works-based faith on this reading.

Now I don’t want to dismiss the importance of actually doing something. By no means am I promoting a comatose spirituality full of wistful contemplating and ‘breathing in’ more of God. The danger however is to be defined by the things we do, rather than being defined by relationship – child of God and joint-heirs with Christ. Where fasting is a wonderful reminder of that simplicity is like Mary, fasting says I am desperate to sit at the feet of Jesus and hear what He has to say to me. So desperate am I for seeking God that all else matters not even that which I’ve claimed to be fundamental like food and drink. This does not matter as I afflict the body to seek out the Saviour.

In the madness of a busy life we can lose sight of that and fasting as a disciplined exercised properly arrests that mentality. It shifts the focus from what I do what He has done and what He continues to do. Fasting arrests my hyperactivity and leaves me more in awe of what God has said and has to say on my current situation. With senses so attuned to how His voice speaks and the content in it – whether in the Word of God or through a casual conversation, or wherever else – we end up with a better perspective of who we are and who He is and like Mary will have invested in the better portion.

The Christian journey is such, though, that even in the depths of despair and hopelessness as He helps you pick up the pieces of your broken shattered life it in itself will be a cause for rejoicing just to consider that amazing love and compassion that would allow Him to use experiences like this to hunger for Him more. It comes across counter-intuitive, but as events would show, sometimes the most painful of times is exactly what needs to happen to draw us closer to Him even in fasting and prayer.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

More Updates on DMCD

This is a change to your scheduled blog. The series on fasting is set to continue soon. I felt it would be good, though, to keep you updated. Now I know I’ve done that a bit recently, but it’s a personal blog ain’t it, so it’s good from time to time to get an update.

I am enjoying writing again more regularly, I do know that it takes discipline to church out stuff, and sometimes it doesn’t always taste as fresh as other things I’ve written, but that’s to be expected. I’ve never seen life as being on a permanent high and I guess when it comes to writing I cannot be expected to produce Pulitzer Prize winners. This just beats the lack of activity that dominated the previous quarter.

I’ve been messing with Movie Maker recently and may have something of worth to show for it in the coming weeks. Lately I’ve just been bombarded with loads of ideas and thoughts. I’ve been as diligent as I can in noting them and in the process of making some sense of it all to be able to be more fruitful and productive.

Church life is a bit less active at present and may continue to be that while for the time being. There will be an update on that as time progresses. Four fifths of the Dryden Family are in UK – this is a rare occurrence and worth noting! Mum is staying with David and Nicola whilst Ruth has also popped over with her only begotten son, Mattaniah – that’s exciting and challenging. The last time I saw my sister wasn’t the best of times for us and so I’m looking forward to one big ol’ family get together.

Whilst there be family things to look forward to, the recent season in terms of house sorting has been stressful and heavily time consuming sapping energy and will at times. Indeed part of the reason for this entry is to keep the Fast Series fresh and not suffer through feeling of tiredness. I hope that’s reflected in the next entry which I’ve gone to great extents to ensure works well.

Recently I was thinking about being in a fertile place to produce and excited about what that continues to look like even as clarity comes in for life. It just reiterates what the recent statement of intent is for the season.

Life with the wife is fairly good at present overall – that’s a good thing for which I give God thanks. It feels as if we’re stronger than we’ve ever been as husband and wife, but that too is scheduled to be tested to the max with the impending changes on the horizon, thus there’s an understanding for her eagerness to get the house sorted asap. Deborah is doing great at present waiting for her holidays. She’s had life on her own of late as her sister, Abigail, has been living with my mum, her uncle and aunt and her brand new cousin Joshua.

A lot going on as ever – one particular highlight is reconnecting with a teacher from my Junior school days and seeing what it’s like to relate to her all these years later following her significant influence on my life. I am so looking forward to sharing more on that in the near future. That goes to show again how relationships remain the key to good living.

Today I watched Ice Age 3 – apparently it’s not as good as 1 or 2 but having not watched them I can’t make the comparison. Funnily enough recently I also watched Transformers 2 having not watched the first one yet and the review was apparently it is better than the first one but again having not watched it I cannot make the comparison. Makes it all rather interesting should I ever get round to watching the prequels what my reaction will be.

Hopefully I’ll be posting reviews of these films on AF in the not too distant future subject of course to time allowances. You can also look a review of the recent viewing of West Side Story at the Regent Theatre which I was able to watch. Look out for the reviews on the NSYMCA Faith page under the new Gospel Connections section which is scheduled to be up in the next week or so.

As you can see from just this foretaste, I’m being kept busy and there are more significant changes in the pipeline personally, vocationally and for the family. I am just in the process of getting some important priorities clearly established and focussing on those so as not to be a sucker for distractions. I sent this text to some friends lately: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Jesus knew that many would come to Him claiming to have done good stuff in His name but his response was to call them workers of iniquity. So focussing on Christ and living in response to what He says is crucial. Enjoy your life in Christ today. It was as much a message to myself on focus as it was to those who I sent it to. It summarises the theme of what I’m all about at present. Keep dmcd in your prayers, please!

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Faster Through The Curious

I am enjoying sharing the journey into fasting. More than anything it is a testament to God’s incredible grace and patience as well as mercy in allowing me to make this journey at all and bumbling around stumble on what are priceless treasures in knowing Christ. The story has gone from that ignorant start to realising why this series is so important, then appreciating the key role of relationships that paved the way to being more aware of some of the outstanding benefits found in the Word of God and this highly underrated spiritual discipline.

Recently I shared on some of the importance of being focussed the hard way through experience. This is part of the reason for this series. It’s one thing to go through the Bible, it’s another thing to experience what the Word explains. So from the time of being aware of the power of fasting it was a case of growing into it slowly but surely.

From 2000-2003 fasting took on a semi-regular part of my life. I have no outstanding memories of fasting sessions, though I do recall that it was important in the run-up to the National Convention that was held in Stoke-on-Trent in 2002. Following the success of that as the Lawrences and Drydens prayed and planned towards confirming the church plant in the city, fasting and praying played a crucial part in the process. (By the way, the Drydens thing, Authrine moved to the area in September/October 2002 and by then we were engaged)

This was good for the corporate scale, but in all of this it did not really affect me greatly on the personal level. That was about to change. It is wonderful to fast corporately and contribute to the bigger picture. Fasting, however, has as much to do with the individual pursuit of developing relationship with God as it does with the corporate pursuit.

In October 2003 the fledgling church group in Stoke-on-Trent agreed to a rota of fasting to coincide with the Muslim month of Ramadan. Although I was used to fasting and praying, it never really stretched over a day. I don’t recall doing 24-hour stretches of going without food and drink. I also had not given any thought to other types of fast such as going without television or heavy meats for a season.

During this month of fasting, though, I took a closer look at fasting and the things that it could entail. I also got immersed in alternate dietary lifestyles and things that could help purge the body of impurities even as fasting can help in that process and we can see it spiritually being a detoxification process. This can be seen by total focus on Christ which allows Him to highlight and cleanse our system of the ways and thoughts that are contrary to Him.

Such was the fascination in the study and the overall interest in the time of fasting that arguably one of the most significant steps in my journey with Christ took place at the end of the month. I quit all non-meat foods. Now when I say I quit it, most people then naturally refer to me as a vegetarian or a vegan. I don’t stop people in that pursuit, but I do not hold such a claim tightly. That is because I don’t get too fastidious about eating milk chocolate, for example, and I’m sure most strict vegans would have an issue with that.

All I know is that at the end of that season of fasting and praying I had a conviction of aspiring to Garden-living that non-meat consumption would be my token offering to God in that wise. I know it was a conviction because I’ve not been in the slightest bit tempted since then to return to eating meat. Now that shift in my whole dietary lifestyle is an act of the spiritual and not natural. I did not force myself into it, it was not something that I needed will-power to maintain, it is almost as if a switch turned off that inclination.

You need to realise that I was an avid consumer of chicken and the meat patties my mother made still cause me to smile in pleasure at the memory, yet for all that I still don’t have yearnings for meat products at all. When loving-kind people waft beef-burgers, kebabs, fried chicken and the like under my nose they do not realise that it has no effect on me. I put that down solely and completely to the work of God and nothing of me, and as I’m intimating that came from a season of fasting and praying and exploring the Word and world of the Word.

Now I’m not suggesting like some kind of super-ad that fasting will radically change your life in this way. What I am saying though is that following Christ can take you places you never considered. An appreciation of the life of fasting is about personally seeking Christ and letting Him change and mould you in the light of that. If it has no personal application and significant impact there, then it is worth asking who’s leading you to fast or if it is just a ritualistic thing. This is not to say I’d get it at the time even after that life-altering event. There would be something however, that would really put a marker on how pivotal fasting is in the life of the believer.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd

Faster Than The Curious

You might have picked up on a theme in the titles in this series. I have to acknowledge the movie series starting Paul Walker and Vin Deisel for the inspiration for the titles. It just seemed to fit at the time. You’ll not though that in terms of titles from here on in I’ll have to be a bit more imaginative with some titles, so if you have any suggestions feel free to leave a comment.

Round up as ever and before entering this, the fifth part of the franchise, we began with my sheer ignorance to the subject. I’ve then established why this series is so important. Relationships as the key to growth was explored next and recently you read about how fasting opens your eyes to the riches found in the Word of God and how you can feast on that to your heart’s desire. It impacts corporate behaviour as I discovered at the time with quite a number of steers for direction coming through that session for prayer and fasting.

On arriving in the Stoke-on-Trent area in February 2000 I spent a considerable amount of time knocking around with Hughie seeing how he did ministry and that inevitably involved more times of fasting. I recall the first times I did it whilst doing volunteer work at Dr. Victor Pearce who had an office based in Hanchurch facility. Without the strict focus that was there for that groundbreaking weekend, the day seemed to drag and I did not have my mind set on whatever the purpose was for which I was to be fasting.

I even recall ignoring the advice I was given about the nature of the stomach as you fast shrinking. Thus it is important to ease back into eating with basic things rather than gorging on a big meal. One incident still makes me chuckle. The allotted time for fasting had finished and I was famished. A friend had bought in a healthy shipment of patties and they looked good to eat – even better to eat after the time of fasting. So despite the admonition of Hughie I set up for myself four of those patties to consume. No sooner had this task been completed than my groaning began. As I groaned and moaned, clutching my stomach and feeling unable to be of any use to anyone and any time in the near or distant future, Hughie mercifully laughed in my face at my folly. Lesson learnt. As the Bible probably would have said, reaffirming a Jamaican saying, ‘if you don’t hear, you’ll feel’.

A vital lesson also learnt at that time of fasting that is something so crucial to the exercise is that it is crucial to be focussed. Distractions come and go and so it is easy to think of other things are wander off and although you’re physically starving your mind is not on why you are in essence dedicating time to God. The benefit of the time is not in doing an act for God more as it is in what God chooses to share with you during that time and for that it is so crucial and so challenging to remain focussed.

Indeed this would be a recurring theme in a number of future endeavours and sometimes those benefits were obvious from the beginning, as others snuck up on me. In the next entry discover one of the first significant breakthroughs that personally allowed me to experience some of those benefits.

For His Name's Sake

Shalom

dmcd