Oh, to be in England, Part 2

The sheep on the hillside, the deer in the park, the otter who lives in the lake...these are all part of my England. 

Afternoon tea in the garden of a friend 

or in front of an Inglenook fireplace in a centuries-old mansiond.

Dining on raspberries, strawberries and cherries I picked in the field.   English asparagus...and soup made to order.

Villages of honey-coloured stone where the craftmanship and traditions familiar to Shakespeare must adjust to an invasion of cars and the computer-savy generation.

The library which opens every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, the roadside stand selling cabbage and tomatoes on the honor system, and movies in the village hall once a month.

Beginning every conversation with a comment about the weather and dining strictly between the hours of seven and nine.

‘Locals’ filled with smoke and conversation and dining pubs serving sophisticated fare from Europe as well as local dishes of pheasant. No, thank you. I like mine in the field, please.

Spelling honor with a u and pronouncing Bath with a soft vowel.

Driving for forty minutes after dark without seeing one neon light.

Watching the sunset over Wales from Ilmington Hill and thanking God that I was able to see such a sight just once in my life.  And most of all the walking paths...

and the company of friends. 

It’s a place to be quiet. To be still and to know that God is God 
... a world apart.

Archibald Leach

"I pretended to be the person I wanted to be

until I became that person, or he became me."

Archibald Leach (aka Cary Grant)

Born in England in 1904, Archibald Leach

originally worked as acrobat in a circus.

How many folks do you know who are pretending to be someone they want to be? Some pretend well. We would never suspect. Some badly. The whole world knows.

Who does God say you are? It is God who is at work in us to transform us into the person He created us to be. We choose moment by moment the truth or a lie, the real or the fake, wisdom or foolishness, confession or denial.

Let our heart's cry be, "Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and let me lean not on my own understanding. Fill me with the your understanding and and let me not be wise in my own eyes."