h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Brighter, milder. A pleasant evening with a very pretty reclining moon.

Cast ne'er a clout, I thought as I got dressed this morning. I'm still wearing the same clothes I wore in the winter. But by afternoon with the sun coming into my attic den, I had to remove my jumper. Soon had to put it back on again though. I will be grateful to be back in a country where you can rely on the weather. Here you seem to have a few nice days on the trot and then that's your lot. OK, so it has been quite nice today - but not really warm (except for a bit in the afternoon upstairs).

Called the landlord - he phoned back to promise that someone would be round tomorrow to cut back the overhanging vegetation. I hope someone does come, because it has to be done by Friday or the council will come and do it for me.

Bought a new bookcase as books were beginning to spill out everywhere.

Am reading a fascinating biography of Teilhard de Chardin. I like his idea of the dimensions of spirit and matter as a continuum. He was very into the earth, as a dimension of being, whereas Christians have traditionally been more interested in the dimension of "spirit". I think his is an emphasis that we would do well to pay attention to today. Many Christians still suffer from dualistic conceptions of "spirit" and "matter", and have a very vague idea about post-death states - are we going to be disembodied souls drifing in the heavenly ether? Whereas the Bible teaches very clearly that there will be a new heaven and a new earth, and that we shall be resurrection bodies, just like Jesus was when he came back after the resurrection. Physical, but with a twist! The whole of creation was redeemed at the Cross, not only people's "souls" - our bodies and the earth, too, will be present in the resurrection, renewed and redeemed. I think CS Lewis had a true vision in his book "The Great Divorce", where the redeemed world was much like the natural world, and we lived and moved in it in much the same way as we do in this world, only with extra powers - "the powers of the coming age", perhaps. It is also true that if you have a dualistic conception about life after death, you will have an unhealthy attitude to this present life, as well. It isn't good to be afraid of the physicality of life, as many Christians seem to be quite often, wanting to escape the body into a rarefied world of "spirit". Having said that I'm not exactly the image of "mens sana in corpore sano"!

House Church was eventful with a partially inebriated Mark causing what seem to be coming to be his usual ructions. Apparently he can't cope with coming along unless he has had some Dutch courage first. But alcohol and church don't mix, unfortunately. I am the last person to preach against Drink, but I am careful not to mix it with church. I tried that once before, and it didn't work. Anyway, we had quite a good discussion around Amos chapters 7 & 8. Next week we finish Amos and then we (Lynne and Hilary and me in the car on the way home) decided we will do Jonah.

Talking of drink I'm not having any beer tonight, either. It's too late to start drinking now (10.30), and I don't really feel like it. Although that bottle of champers I bought on my b'day is still burning a hole in my fridge!

G'Day Richard! Just switched the pooter on, & read your latest journal entry with great interest. However ~ could I ask wot "Mens sana in corpore sano" means, please??

I've made a note of the name of Teilhard de Chardin & will see if they have a copy of his biography in my local library ~ it would certainly be interesting to read his points of view. However ~ I think that my own faith could be termed "simple" ~ and outside of my church membership & activities I find "inspiration" in things such as beautiful music, wonderful scenery, awesome sunrises & sunsets, glorious cathedrals/abbeys/churches,lovely gardens, babies & little children, etc. A few years ago I came upon the MOST wonderfully-scented wildflower meadow ~ I've never seen anything like it, before or since. I wish I could go back there again, but it's rather a long way away from the East Midlands ~ at Melrose in the Scottish Borders!

I've got Classic fm on this morning, & have just been listening to THE most fantastic piece of music, which I'd heard before but couldn't put a name to ~ I listened hard to find out, & I THINK the announcer said it was called "Liebstot"(?sp?) from Tristan & Isolde(??) I could just listen to it all day!!!!

Regarding your friend Mark's alcohol consumption ~ presumably you've all prayed with & for him? I wonder WHY he feels that he needs "Dutch courage" before coming to a House-Church meeting?? I'd have thought that it would be the safest & friendliest place in the world for him. I do hope that his problem(s) can be sorted out anyway.

Just listening to Litolf's "Scherzo" & wish I could type along at that speed! It certainly makes me want to "get up & go" ~ I like the little bit in the middle where the orchestra takes over for a short spell, & I always imagine the poor pianist taking a swig of beer at this point!

Nice & sunny here today, although still not particularly warm. Hope your day so far has been good! I appreciate that a lot of what I've written could have been written in my OWN journal, but ~ despite advice as to how to go about this, I still haven't managed to write more than one entry!!

Hi, Misty

"Mens sana in corpore sano" means "a healthy mind in a healthy body".