I am tired. Yesterday was at least 2 days worth of activity. So this post will be a bit shorter than yesterday’s. Awoke with another great Wesley hymn on my mind.
| 1. O Thou who camest from above, the pure celestial fire to impart kindle a flame of sacred love upon the mean altar of my heart. 2. There let it for thy glory burn with inextinguishable blaze, and trembling to its source return, in humble prayer and fervent praise. 3. Jesus, confirm my heart’s desire to work and speak and think for thee; still let me guard the holy fire, and still stir up thy gift in me. 4. Ready for all thy perfect will, my acts of faith and love repeat, till death thy endless mercies seal, and make my sacrifice complete. |
Had a good peaceful feeling at the end of our 8am communion and then after breakfast had some input from the retreat leaders. First something about intercessions and then the artistic lesson. We drew a man sitting down. The model for the live session was our priest, Michael. I was pleased with what I did and then I nearly ruined it by trying to put some shading around it and not having the correct pencil. But we managed to rescue it and I went over it later in the day with some ink to give definition.
Overall, I am very pleased with the effort. Just goes to show that if you push yourself beyond what you think you can do, even if it looks like it will all go wrong, the situation can be redeemed. A bit like life and faith and our walk with God. I bet Peter hadn’t got a clue what Jesus meant when he invited him to leave his fishing nets behind, follow him and he wold become a fisher of people.
I spent a fair bit of time trying to work out the writing on my heart picture including practising calligraphy alphabet. Like being back at school. However it paid off and put in most of it. I just need to work out the final words for the left hand side. Perhaps tomorrow. The gold paint was in the stash that my dear daughter left behind (she took a degree in art).
This is a good time away to get some art done and walks by the sea but doesn’t feel like my usual retreat as there is a lot of interaction with other members of the group, which is good. It is more like a conference. However I do find it draining and am glad that we spend the afternoons doing our own thing.
A wet and blustery walk to the beach and despite my resolve not to pick up any shells I couldn’t resist.
Our early evening gathering was spent watching a BBC show about an artist going round the sites of the Easter story in Jerusalem with his sketch book. Very interesting and a reminder of our trip to the Holy Land last year. Now I have written this, the rest of the evening will be spent in quiet relaxation knitting or perhaps reading and of course contemplating that I am in God’s presence regardless of whether I feel as though I am or not. He is always here, even when I am otherwise occupied.
Finally, I just want to add that I am really pleased to see that a few people have started to Like this blog and, I hope, follow me.
Elizabeth Jones' Diary 