Abigail Dryden's Blessing

On the last Saturday of 2006 my daughter Abigail was blessed that is to say we made a huge deal of her dedication back to God (after all He gave her to us in the first place). This also coincided with birthday celebrations for Deborah who turned two years old the day before.

Now when Deborah was dedicated in June 2005 things were very different for me personally. I kinda wasn’t really with it, which was a bit disappointing seeing as do it was such a special day for our first child together. I remember the highlight of the day was just being with my brother and sister again, which, as it turned out, is the last time we’ve all physically been in the same place together as my sister then nipped off to Ghana to get married. Other than that, I just wanted to get the day over and done with and as a result, for me, the day of my first daughter’s blessing was a let-down.

Therefore in the light of the blessings of God during 2006 and how I was in a significantly improved position personally, I really wanted to make the most of the blessing of Abigail. For me my family are not just blood relatives, but people with whom I share a significant part of life. That for the most part is the church that I belong to including the Lawrences and our dear friend Deon among others. This family all chipped in to support the preparation for the day and I’ll never forget the extent to which they went out of their way to bless us with their help.

In this different season of my life I was hoping that a lot of my loved ones from around the country as well as in the community could make it to the blessing. As it turned out for one reason or another one or two dear ones couldn’t make it. However, someone who did make it deserves special mention. Charlotte (pictured with Abigail right) – Charlie to her friends – is an angel. I met her early on in 2006 when I was doing temp work at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU). Anyone who’s done temp work knows that it is a challenge sometimes to remain optimistic in surroundings that can sometimes be demeaning, belittling, boring and tedious (and those are on good days). In my time working with Charlie (that makes me a friend then!) she went out of her to make sure I was treated like a human being! She was friendly, helpful, amiable – someone to make the job interesting and a genuine pleasure to work with. Now you don’t make hard and fast friends in the temp world, but Charlie (and her colleague Sarah among others) left a great impression on me for the way they looked after me. As a result I said I’d invite them to the blessing and sure enough I did and she said she’d be there. Now that’s something in itself for someone who only knew me over a few months, it would be understandable if the request was ignored or politely declined. What’s more, Charlie was in New York City when there was dodgy weather on the week of the blessing. So it would have been even more understandable for the decline. Yet cometh the hour cometh the (wo)man. It was brilliant. I was well chuffed, I felt even happier for Abigail to have been blessed with coming across this angel!

That in itself would have made the day memorable in itself. The whole day though went well. My mum was there which made it even more pleasant – she’s attached to Abigail so much we needed pliers to draw her away from the baby when she left the next day. My brother and his wife made it as well and it had been almost a full year since I last saw him, so I was incredibly pleased to see him again and we had a good laugh. The turnout for the event was terrific including someone who’s been another angel for us – St. William Sayer, a guy who’ll you find out more about when I eventually post up another entry on my latest squash craze. Anyhow this guy came with his family and they were brilliant.

So the ceremony went really well, my mate Ray (the dude on the right in the photo left) gave a testimony which moved me to tears and I’m sure had an impact on those seeing if faith is for them. My boss Danny did me a huge favour and stood by me as the official part of proceedings took place – he really was a tower of strength for me and I appreciated it hugely. Surely this man will be blessed ever more abundantly. Hughie – mentor and friend – blessed us with a word on the importance of life even at this early age and how it’s crucial for us as parents to bring up these gifts of God by using His manual. He’s a good talker is Hughie! The food afterwards was brilliant, which is only to be expected as it was made by our First Lady Angela Lawrence (she's the lady next the dude in the photo right), my Beloved Authrine and of course my Mother. In the afternoon after the grub we had an interesting conversation on relationships which got me looking at how Jesus related to people even more.

The day ended for me feeling better for having experienced the day with friends and family. It was definitely a day that will live on long into Dryden folklore as it passes it on from generation to generation. I’m so grateful to God for blessing us with a superb day, with superb friends and family and with two superb daughters in Deborah and Abigail.

4 His Name’s Sake
Shalom
da man cd

What Book?

Someone I know asked me for some book recommendations and after reading what I sent him, I thought it would be useful to share it here.

I’ve read a fair number of books in the last 10 years or so since I’ve taken my spiritual journey with Christ and to be honest it’s difficult to remember all of them, as well as that our home library hasn’t been set-up yet and there are some books that are still in boxes somewhere. However here are three books that have been tremendously inspirational and helpful in my own spiritual development that I would recommend without hesitation to anyone looking to be serious in knowing and growing in their relationship with God.

Discipleship by David Watson – This brother speaks from the heart in terms of what it is to be a disciple and the cost of it. I had this book and can’t find it, but if I could I’d purchase it again I would do so in a heartbeat. Brilliant, challenging, deep and gets to the heart of what we’re called to be as believers without compromise.

The Contemporary Christian by John Stott – When I was going through a rough patch in my journey this book proved to be such a great eye-opener as to how to apply the fundamentals of what we believe to the challenges of the world I live in. Despite being written over 15 years ago it is still so relevant that I recently re-read it and nodded my head at some of the truths coming from it. Again it leaves the believer in no doubt of who they are to be in society and how important it is to remain connected to God through prayer, the Word and His Spirit to live victoriously individually and corporately.

Desiring God by John Piper – I’ve read some heavy books in my time, but this one is seriously heavy. Indeed I wouldn’t recommend it to a Christian just starting out on the journey because some of the concepts might not be that easily understood. After a fair grounding in the things of the Spirit, this book would be a great read to maintain a hunger and thirst for God. It puts things into perspective in terms of the role of emotions in our spiritual walk as well as the larger issue of what should be the driving motivating factor in our lives. Highly recommended without reservation.

One of the good parts of being in this job is that it does call me to be even more rigorous and grounded in what I believe and so I’m tending to support my bible studies with other material as well which I’m hoping to recommend to others, so as I get them I hope to let you know. Soon, hopefully, I’ll also develop a list of useful web-sites to check.

4 His Name’s Sake
Shalom
da man cd

Songs I Like – Send One Your Love

I’ve never been an incurable romantic, I was brought up to find those things kind of soppy and mushy and yucky and that kind of business – brought up properly!

Yet as I got into the music of Stevie Wonder and as I engaged in the thing of … feelings (wow, I have those?) I gave some room to allow some fanciful flights of fantasy into a world where perhaps the love shared between a man and a woman went beyond making me dinner and letting me snore in bed. (Told you I wasn’t an incurable romantic)

Now Mr. Wonder has written many love songs, a lot of which deal with the negative side of relationships – splits, heartaches, affairs that kind of thing. He’s real with most of his music which makes it all kosher with me. It’s not all bad though and with this particular track he pens a beautiful tune just applauding the concept of a man and a woman being in that romantic kind of love. The one that allows people to just be free to express in a considerate and open fashion how much they cherish the loved one.

Lyrically it’s not profound, but it is enriching and engaging in its simplicity. It’s vocally and musically that this particular song soars into the stratosphere with the right environment made by the aaahh-ing backing vocals and the tender use of all the other instruments to create something just right for those candle-lit occasions. (Not that I’d ever know about those, the last time I thought of lighting a candle I nearly brought the house down … nope hold on, I nearly brought the house down with my amazing humour, that’s it!)

Don’t get me wrong, obviously in relationships there’s a whole heap more to love than sending a dozen roses with a flower from your heart. At the end of the day, though, we’re not expecting a song to give a comprehensive breakdown on the complexities of relationships, especially in under 4 minutes. This song is beautiful in rendering the qualities of an aspect of love that reminds particularly those who can sneer at this kind of thing (i.e. me) that there is a time to really tell her and show her you love her in that soppy, mushy, yucky kind of way.

It’s well worth listening to it – and you can do so as you check the video out with this link. You can find it on the Original Musiquarium album or the Journey Through The Secret Life of Plants album - either way, enjoy!

4 His Name’s Sake
Shalom
da man cd

Happy 1st Anniversary!!!

I still remember reading Charlie’s blog this time last year and using that as a spur to start my own one. I recall at the time I really wanted to make the most of the writing gig that I enjoy and the concept of a blog appealed to me. Since making that decision and putting up my first entry last year, like my life, this blog has had its ups and downs, ebbs and flows, mountains and valleys, highs and lows. Through it all I really enjoy the experience. I’ve seen others who are more diligent in putting in regular daily entries like Tim Challies one, which I think is brilliant. I’ve also seen those who just have a better writing style to mine like Charlie’s one. Despite that I’m not embarrassed or ashamed of this blog as a whole. I joke with some of the people I work with here that it’s a boring blue blog, but looking back on some of the entries it’s clear that it’s not all that boring.

I may not have been too personally revelatory, but that’s not a bad thing in this case. I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to put on here stuff that ranges from football and Stevie Wonder to Sabbath and Daily Thoughts. I enjoyed it and I still enjoy it. I hope to be able to raise the bar in the quality of output that’s released on this blog and I want to get more creative in conveying the issues and ideas in my head. Who’s to say that soon I’ll be posting up video-blogs as well as text, though that maybe a way down the line it’s something to look forward to. One thing is for sure, having this blog has really brought alive my passion for writing and I am grateful for that. Indeed lately, along with some other developments, my whole literary approach to life has been stimulated so that I’m reading voraciously more that I’ve done before and enjoying actually engaging with the Bible as something that’s to be read properly and then to seek understanding on it.

So a year on and I’d like to think a year wiser and definitely more knowledgeable about what can be done through this medium. Should the Lord spare my life and abilities I’d love to develop this further for His Name’s Sake. Hopefully I should be rustling up a year in review for the end of 2006 and actually get the Friend of the Year award set and done way before March 2007 – as opposed to when I eventually got it done this year. I’m still busy and there are still issues to be resolved, but I’m in a better position of life now than I’ve been for a long time and for that I give God much thanks. Here’s to more good blogging!

4 His Name’s Sake
Shalom
da man cd

What's Update

So when I’m not being a spiritual development worker, how am I? Well if anything I’m very busy. Busy in my head, busy at work, busy at church and busy at home. I guess that’s how I’d love it to be, but being busy has to have its precautions. So it got to a point where I was feeling really exhausted and not having enough time to commit to the quality things in life. That’s why I’m looking forward to some time off to reappraise what my commitments are and where I should channel my energies in the time to come. I’m going to meetings as part of my job that get me excited about stuff that I could do and stuff that church could be doing and how God is definitely working through some awesome stuff. I just want to stay alive and well to witness them and play the part – and only the part – that He’s assigned for me.

The daughters are doing well, Deborah is progressing so very well she’s got mannerisms and attitudes that make me pray all the more. Abigail is making noises suggesting she’s got something to say that makes me even more – just consider friends, Abigail, Deborah and Authrine – women on a mission with a lot to say and muggins in the middle of all that. You can see why I pray. Things are safe with the wife at the time of writing. I’m reading a lot more as well, which is great! I’ve paid off the library fine (oh you didn’t know?) and so I’ve got a license to borrow again and have used it to trundle through a fair number of books, the reviews of which I hope to be slapping up on the blog in the weeks to come.

As well as this blog I’ve also helped set up another one called Among Friends which is meant to be a place for friends to post views, thoughts and opinions on issues of life and so there may well be a couple of reviews on that site as well, so click it, check it and then contribute or e-mail me to contribute if you’re interested.

I’m content with Liverpool at the moment, I am not dismayed at our record overall at the moment as I live in hope that we will improve and go from strength to strength as the season progresses with hopefully the ‘other’ side hitting slump in the fullness of time that sees their title chances goes the way of the skier – downhill. That’s what’s up with the man cd at this time! In the meantime – keep well!

4 His Name’s Sake
Shalom
da man cd