A Soverign 24 hours

I went out the other night to hear some friends play at the Sando in Newtown and it was a great night -but unfortunately (or providentially) the last song that Amy and James played for us has stuck in my mind and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it ever since... they did a cover of a new Paul Kelly Song called If I Could Start Today Again.

Here are the lyrics:

All the kings and queens in the bible
They could not turn back time
So what chance have I of a miracle
In this life of mine?
I only want one day
To unsay the things I said
Undo the thing I did
Twenty-four little hours
Oh God, please wipe them all away
And I promise I will change
If I could start today again

I know I'm not the milk and honey kind
Today I proved it true
When the red mist falls around my eyes
I know not what I do
Please give me back today
And I won't say the things I said
Or do that thing I did
Every minute, every hour
The replay's just the same
And I can't stand the shame
Oh let me start today again

I only want one day
One lousy day, that's all
Of every day that's been before
Since time began
I know my prayer's in vain
But for a second I'll pretend
That I can start today again

.... and ever since I've been thinking, if I could start one day again, take one day back and change it - which one would it be (and can I only have one?)? Why would I change it? What would be gained and or lost about the person that I am today because of it?

So often it seems only too easy to look back to 'something' that we would like to take back or do over again; for any numbers of reasons - pain to others, to ourselves, something that has made us more vulnerable, with tougher walls... and yet isn't often those very things that God uses to not only break us but also, by His grace, to refine us and make us like purer gold?

Just another day at the office

This scene was just a little too familiar for some of us who were around for the Barneys fire that happened almost two years ago now...


But luckily for us - the explosion that happened at the Nando's chicken shop in Broadway early this morning, didn't cause anywhere near the same sort of disruption that the fire did. A couple of windows on our front area where blown out and the building was evacuated and without water... but other than that... ok, truth be told I sort of ended up no doing to much actual work today but got to roam around and take a bunch of photos.

The best part was getting to do something which I have wanted to for ages - get in behind the second lot of barriers at the old Barneys site and climb up on the roof for some birds-eye shots. My favourite photo from my little expedition though was one that's of the jar that has obviously been blown out of the Nandos building, across the road and over 2 ruined walls (it's the 'perri perri' one)

I decided to put them up here rather than FB because I've just discovered that a part of their conditions is that FB get's the rights to any pic's you put on their site - not with flickr so for those curious to see more photos just click on the photos to your right and follow the prompts.