Why "St. Cuthbert's Island"?

Saint Cuthbert was a Celtic monk who lived in the 7th century.
He received visitors at his monastery in Northumbria and was even appointed a bishop, but he yearned for the life of an ascetic. While living at the monastery on the island of Lindisfarne, he sought to spend time with the Lord whenever possible. Early on, he practiced solitude on a small island that was linked to Lindisfarne by a land bridge when the tide was low. This tiny island, known as Saint Cuthbert’s Island, was a training ground of sorts—a place to grow in faith and in love for God.

I chose to name my blog after this island for two reasons:
1) I hope that it will be a place where I can spend time alone with God, growing in my love for Him.
2) Perhaps, when the tide is low, others may find their way to this tiny island
and, by God’s grace, be blessed by what they find there.

Thursday, January 3, 2008

Tying Up Loose Ends in a New Year

I fell off the map for a couple of weeks during the Christmas break. My parents came to visit us, and I soaked up all of the sweetness of family time. I missed posting on the fourth Sunday of Advent (focus--the Gift of God), Christmas (a day that is doubly special for me because I celebrated the 24th anniversary of my baptism), and the New Year.

As I look back on 2007, it seems to have been a season of wandering for our family. We are unclear of our future. My dreams of pursuing a PhD faded. I had a successful season of schooling, but now I am unsure why I even came out here. We're in debt, and, career wise, Darina and I have both had our confidence shaken.

We're not out of the wilderness yet, but feel that God is saying, "Look to me," and I have absolute confidence that God will guide us as we do. "Be Thou my Vision, o Lord of my heart"--this is the devotional thought that 2008 starts out with. Couple that with Psalm 123 (previous post), and it seems evident that God is saying, "Lift your eyes to me. I will guide you. I will have mercy."

This is going to be a good year. The Lifter of my head is beckoning me to look His way. "Hineni"--here I am, Lord. What a good God we have.

Listen to Psalm 103:105--
1 Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-- 3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, 5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.


Other notes:
  • I got a Phil Wickham CD recently (thanks for the tip, Michael!) and I am loving it! Good music, and very worshipful (though not "dead-on Rufus Wainright" in my opinion).
  • Christianaudio.com is offering Paradise Lost as its free mp3 download during January. I've never read it, but I'm sure it would be a blessing.
  • Joshua (our six year old) got a "real Bible" for Christmas and has begun reading it on his own. I'm so proud!
  • Lydia (our three year old) is the prayer nazi--she reminds us to pray at the table and she determines who prays when and makes sure everyone prays. Thanks to her, we had one of the best Christmas prayers I've ever been a part of.
  • Darina and I had a nice time of prayer after the New Year rolled in. She even joined me in praying a prayer out of Celtic Daily Prayer, a "first-footing" prayer to welcome Jesus into the home as the year's first guest.
  • Despite what I've written above, we are not a super-spiritual family. We fight like crazy people--shameful. We often seem to limp along as parents. We struggle. But God's grace is with us.
  • I feel like I'm rambling, so...let's call it a night.

May God bless you who read this!!! May He guide you and be your Vision this year. May He be your hope, your comfort, your strength, and your joy. God bless you! God bless you!

It occurred to me that when I was a young believer I prayed more boldly for large-scale changes. I want to return to that boldness. We serve an ALMIGHTY God. May He bless you and wrap you in His love.

Happy 2008!

--Clay

Posted by at
Labels: , , ,

1 comment:

T. Michael W. Halcomb said...

That wickham cd is a good one, huh! thanks for your help with Daren, i'm sure anything anyone can do would be appreciated by him.
anyways, how are you doing?

January 7, 2008 at 9:35 PM

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)