Sliding Around!

The weather people had been forecasting snow, but after the early evening flurry melted away yesterday, I figured it would all come to nothing.

However, when I heard some weather battering off the window in the night I wondered if there might be snow on the ground in the morning, despite my scepticism. Indeed there was, and the photo above shows the scene that met my eyes when I looked out of my front door.

On Sunday afternoon we had had a discussion about whether I could pack away my thermals until next winter. I and some others had thought 'Yes', but my wife was not alone in being right - again! - in thinking 'No'! And today I proved her right by adding that extra layer under my jeans!

There were some massive showers during the morning, but in the afternoon the showers came less often and the sun has melted most of the low-level snow away. Above about 500 feet though, the snow is still lying. Ben Hope, which looms over Tongue at a mighty 3041 feet (927m), is getting very white again. It had almost melted clear during the warmer weather of the last few weeks.

Just when we all thought that we would be on secure ground until next Winter, the rug is pulled from under our feet and we are slip sliding about again.

I suspect that's what the man who built his house on the sand thought (Matthew 7:26). Everything looked great during the dry weather. But when the rain came down, and the floods rose up, it went spectacularly wrong, and the house fell down with a great crash.

The world's banks have gone through a similar calamity in the past few years. And I don't think they have learned their lessons yet. The problem is not just limited to the banks, but to the global economy, which only thinks it is doing well when the economy is growing. The present structure of our world economy cannot cope with a static situation.

But the World is nearly full up. We cannot continue growing our populations forever. Climate change is going to give us major problems ahead. I think it is more likely the global population will shrink over the next 100 years, rather than continue its meteoric rise of the past 100 years. We must re-evaluate the stability of our economic assumptions. We cannot expect to borrow today and pay it back tomorrow. Each one of us must start living within our means.

The church too is slip sliding about. The foundations we thought were secure have become unstable. Mighty buildings, filled with rows of pews, with a giant pulpit and table at the front, no longer result in the people pouring through the doors.

Preaching the Good News inside the building won't draw anyone in from the outside, unless the people inside become able to preach the message themselves, outside, in their everyday conversations - amongst family, friends, neighbours, and work colleagues.

This means that our church pulpits should be used for teaching and encouraging the people in the pews to do the preaching, instead of the preaching being done by the minister (or pastor or priest).

Relationship with Jesus is the true solid foundation of the church. Lift Him up and all people will be drawn to Him. If people are not being drawn to us, then we are lifting up the wrong thing.

Jesus is the light of the World. He will fill your hearts with joy. In the Father's house there is eternal life. Jesus has prepared a place for you. He is standing at the door waiting to welcome you in.

Don't slip up on your journey through life. But if that's what happens, you can depend on Jesus to give you a helping hand. If you're having troubling finding Jesus, then ask someone from the church to help you!

Golfing - a Round

Last Monday was a day off for me, and it was a good day to be off work. The sun was blazing down from a cloudless sky and the wind was not too strong. My wife and I decided it was a good day for a visit to Durness, to walk on the beach and play a round of golf. Well, after a short walk together on the beach, I would be playing golf, while my wife enjoyed a solo walk on one of the local walking routes!

The photo above is of the second tee and the eleventh tee at the Durness Golf Club. On every other golf course I have played, each tee has its associated green. You play from tee to green. But on this course, there are only 9 greens, shared between the 18 tees! It must get rather chaotic when the course is busy! Normally I only play 9 holes, the front nine, or the back nine. Maybe once the summer comes I'll play both halves of the course!



The course is rugged, although not as mountainous as Lothianburn Golf Club just to the South of Edinburgh where I used to be a member. That course has 500 feet of height between the nearest and farthest parts of the course! At Durness the main challenges are the narrow fairways, the rough, the wind, and the rabbits. I'm sure that the ball I lost went down a rabbit hole!

The 5th hole above is a long hole down the hillside, with a large knoll 3/4 of the way along the fairway which stops your ball running on down towards the green. It was the first hole of the round where I managed to hit the green in regulation - 2 shots for this par 4. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get down in 2 for my par, but a 5 was good, and 2 better than each of the the first four holes!



The 6th hole is a great challenge and usually a very beautiful scene. The green is on the far side of Loch Lanlish, in the centre of the far shore. The loch is too big to hit across. You have to go round it, on the left side. As if the loch wasn't enough, there are two more water hazards cunningly placed to catch the unwary golfer! My second was a dribbler, but I was pleased my 8 iron approach shot flew through the air to land close beside the green. If it had fallen short it would have made a big splash! A six for that hole, and 5 for the short par 3 which follows it. The sun was so low that I only caught a glimpse of the ball flying low before I was dazzled by the sun and lost sight of the ball. I did find it but it was in the rough and my next two shots were, only just avoiding the greenside bunker. Down in two after that though! And another 7 on the 8th as my approach shot dropped short into the greenside bunker.

The last hole, pictured below is my favourite! It's a short par 3, between 100 and 150 yards depending on whether you are playing from the 9th or the 18th tee! When the tide is in, with the waves crashing in from the sea, it's a fearsome prospect. And it's not much better when the tide is out, leaving a yawning chasm from tee to green! My 7 iron flew true and the ball landed perfectly in the centre of the green rolling on towards the flag. Two putts and that was me down for my first par of the round. Yippee! I decided not to play any more holes, and headed up to the club house, on the right of the photo below.



Before meeting up again with my wife, I was surprised to see two surfers practicing their art on the beach at Durness. It was just the last day of February, and they looked like a couple of giant penguins togged up in their wetsuits! Perhaps like me it was their first outing of the year!

My wife had enjoyed her walk as much as I had enjoyed my golf. We relaxed and chatted as we drove gently Eastwards along the North coast, and then South and North around the shores of Loch Eriboll, until we completed the 28 mile drive back to our home in Tongue. A splendid outing!