Instant communications: all good?

There is no doubt that we live in an age of instant communication. I attended a conference recently, and it was very noticeable that at break-times many delegates were quickly on their mobiles, trying to catch up with the latest news! I sometimes wonder what would happen if we had a mobile-free day – would the world grind to a halt?

I can think back to the days when the the early mobiles appeared – they were the size of a house brick, and almost as heavy. Only rich and important people had one then. Nowadays, it seems, just about everyone has a mobile, including school children. Even when mobiles became more readily available, I resisted the temptation to own one for several years. I eventually capitulated, though even now I don't use my mobile all that often.

I agree that the fantastic advancements in communications has, in many ways, been a tremendous blessing. Last week I was able to see and talk with my brother and his wife (who live in New Zealand) using my laptop and the blessings of Skype. It was an amazing experience, and I still can't work out why it doesn't cost anything!

The drawback with instant communication, of course, is that it can be really difficult to find some quiet time, time alone. We can easily get so caught up in a hectic, busy, noisy lifestyle, that we struggle to get any real quality time to think, reflect or pray. We read in the gospels that Jesus often went by himself to lonely places to pray. He didn't then have the mass communications that we experience, but he was always in great demand. He knew how important it was to “get away from it all”.

I love getting up early in the morning when all is still relatively quiet. It's a great time of the day to pray, reflect, and prepare for what's ahead. That wouldn't suit everyone, but it's certainly a pattern that helps me. I try not to get sucked into the pattern of over busyness – it never did anyone any good!

Gordon Brown: from the ridiculous to the sublime

What a couple of weeks it has been for Gordon Brown! Whatever one's political opinions, one has to feel some sympathy for the man. Probably the lowest point of the election campaign for Mr Brown came in the hours following his meeting with a member of the public in Rochdale: 65 year-old Gillian Duffy, a lifelong Labour supporter.

Following the public conversation with Mrs Duffy, Gordon Brown returned to his official car, not realising that his lapel microphone was still live. During his subsequent conversation with one of his aides, Mr Brown called Mrs Duffy a "bigoted woman". It was a PR disaster.

Whatever we thought of the incident, I guess that many of us were thinking about times when we have let words slip from our lips only to instantly regret them. But as we all know, once the words are out, we can never get them back. Certainly Mr Brown seems to have regretted his words, and he even had to visit Mrs Duffy personally to apologise.

I couldn't help but feel sorry for Gordon Brown over the past few weeks. The weight of Prime Ministerial responsibility seemed to weigh very heavily on his shoulders; he seemed to be tired, and almost ageing before our eyes. What a contrast, however, with his demeanour once he relinquished office; it was almost as if we could literally see the weight being lifted from him (at least David Cameron has Nick Clegg to help him shoulder the burden!)

I've never really been a big Gordon Brown fan, but I was tremendously impressed by something he said in Downing Street before he made his was to see the Queen to hand in his "resignation." In saying what a privilege it had been to serve the country as Prime Minister, he made the point that being Prime Minister had been his second most important job. The first? It was, he said, that of being a husband and father. Brilliant! Let's hope that the nation gets the message (not least David Cameron and Nick Clegg).

Time is precious, people are precious

A few months ago our future son-in-law, Matt, was surprised to see a magazine called "New Wine" lying on our coffee table. He said to Steph, "I though that your parents were teetotal?" In fact New Wine has nothing to do with alcohol, rather it is a network of churches and believers across all denominations who share similar values of Holy Spirit empowered worship, teaching and ministry.

For the past few years, Sue and I have attended the New Wine Leaders Conference in Harrogate, and will be doing so again later this month. At last year's conference, we were asked to pray particularly for a situation which had arisen in the family of one of the New Wine leaders, Mark Melluish. Mark's young son had fallen 20 feet off a balcony, and his life hung in the balance. In the latest New Wine magazine, Mark writes the following:

The refrain that went through my mind as I stood over his limp little body was: "Why didn't I play football with him when he asked for a kick around this morning?" I had responded with "Not now son I'm really busy." Everything within me wished that I had kicked a ball around with him for 15 minutes. We're so thankful that he's now almost fully recovered."

Then I read the following in a recent Care For The Family e-mail: You have fewer than 1,000 weekends between your children being born and them turning 18. If your child is 9 years old, you have less than half of those weekends left. So, make the most of [every] opportunity to build an even better relationship with your child.

Sadly, I can remember occasions, when our children were young, when they wanted to talk and I preferred them to be quiet so I could watch a favourite TV programme! How sad it is when we neglect precious opportunities to spend quality time with those closest to us - our family and friends. The sobering thing is, we can never get that time back. As for me, I am determined to redouble my efforts to make the most of every opportunity. Some things in life really are important!