Soap for Jesus

Imagine - I don't care whether you're the imagining type or not, close your eyes and imagine here :D - imagine you're on the edge of a dark forest, looking out across a field of fresh snow. The sun is about to rise, and as the first few glints bounce off the ground, you see that the snow is completely white, pure, unbroken. It looks. Totally. Stunning. Purity does. :) There's no way home except to cross that field. But as you look down at your feet, you realise that there's a mess of gunk and black stuff and mud and slime covering your wellies, from walking through the forest. But you're a snow lover and you really don't want to spoil that snow. Cautiously, you step to a nearby stream of crystal clear, flowing water and one at a time, take each boot off and wash it. Cause after all, you've only got two choices. To trail the gunk of the forest into the pure clean unmarked snow, or to walk out with fresh clean steps. It's called a New Year,...

Christmas. A time of peace and joy and family and loving and giving. A time to remember the cause of the celebration - the Lord Jesus, the God of all, becoming smaller than the full stop at the end of this sentence. One of the things I love about Christmas is a childish anticipation that usually possesses me at the beginning of December, a gay* abandonment of spirit, excitement at the approach. Second thing I love most is when one goes out on Christmas Day, with a smile on one's face...people walking past beam back at you and the happy greeting of "Merry Christmas!" is exchanged. For me, that symbolises a little the line, "peace on earth, goodwill to all men." This year was one of the worst Christmases. We ran a high risk of not being able to get my brother home; my sister was living on our living room floor. Most of the days were spent trying to sort problems out and waiting hand and foot on Ayanna. Out of our usual stock of mince pies, rum truffles and marzipa...