Keep Awake!

Advent Sunday is a great day in the calendar we have stepped into the season of anticipation. Today has been especially so.

It's been bitterly cold with snow falling outside it was good to be cosily enclosed in St Mary's on the Harbour. A few had braved the elements and slippery roads to celebrate the beginning of the season.

Each year I am thankful for living quite a long way north in the Northern Hemisphere as its dark nights and shorter days seem to add to the season. Castletown is Latitude N 54° 07' 24" Longitude W 04° 06' 14" so the days are short and will get shorter as we approach the Christmas day. This mornings alarm clock was a rude awakening and served as a stark reminder of what Advent is about - we must not be tempted to press the snooze button! We do not know when He will return. Will we be ready?

In preparation for today I stumbled across this site. It's well worth a look ... www.AdventConspiracy.org

Morning Thoughts

I love the opening prayer in the morning office:

The night has passed and the day lies open before us; let us pray with one heart and mind:
the silence used to gather thoughts and prayers together with all those in prayer
As we rejoice in the gift of this new day, so may the light of your presence, O God, set our hearts on fire with love for you, now and for ever ...

A wonderful way to commit the day to the Almighty.

This morning my thoughts are again with those of Inspiration of Boss and all who go down to the sea in ships.

http://www.missiontoseafarers.org/
http://seattle-daily-photo.blogspot.com/2008/10/those-that-go-down-to-sea-in-ships.html

Before the ending of the day

The evening light has a very different quality as the days grow shorter. Made more acute, perhaps, by our location in the middle of the Irish Sea. The fewer daylight hours become precious for their usefulness, even in the age of electricity. The inky blackness, which will soon descend, is punctuated by the rhythmic flashing of the lighthouse and the nav lights of a passing vessel.

One of our sons has set out on a trip across the channel today. He's doing his yachtmaster. He'll be at sea for quite a few days, and out of contact for a couple of weeks. Identifying and understanding all kinds of lights at sea is foundational for all who venture across the water.

Each evening I reflect on all that is good, and all that will be and I give thanks for so much. And as dusk falls it is especially for those adventurers and mariners that I pray.