30/12/2011

It's all about you Jesus

After Christmas, 
we talk about presents
 small, big, cheap or expensive! 
What did you get for Christmas? 
what did you eat? 
who was there?
eloquent answers : 
I got ... he got ...she bought....
we spent too much
had a great time

True joy forever
'cos the real reason
 for the celebration
 is you, Jesus, 
you came on earth, 
 to show us the love
You died for us
 so we could live.
Accept Jesus for your saviour
Peace to you all.


22/12/2011

The imitation of Christ

Thomas à Kempis - Ascetical writer
(circa. 1380-1471), priest, monk and writer

Thomas, whose family name was Hammercken, was born in the Rhineland town of Kempen near Düsseldorf in Germany. The school he attended at nearby Deventer in Holland had been started by Gerard Groote, founder of the Brothers of the Common Life. These were men devoted to prayer, simplicity, and union with God. Thomas of Kempen, as he was known at school, was so impressed by his teachers that he decided to live his own life according to their ideals. 
When he was 19 he entered the monastery of Mount St. Agnes, which the Brothers had recently started near Zwolle in Holland and which was then being administered by his older brother John. He spent the rest of his long life behind the walls of that monastery. From time to time Thomas was given a position of authority in the community of monks, but he consistently preferred the quiet of his cell to the challenge of administration. The other monks eventually recognized Thomas' talent for deep thought and stopped troubling him with practical affairs.
Thomas wrote a number of sermons, letters, hymns, and information about the lives of the saints. He reflected the mystical spirituality of his times, the sense of being absorbed in God. The most famous of his works is The Imitation of Christ. This book, free from intellectual pretensions, has had great appeal to anyone interested in probing beneath the surface of life. "A poor peasant who serves God," Thomas wrote in it, "is better than a proud philosopher who … ponders the courses of the stars." The book advised the ordering of one's priorities "Vain and brief is all human comfort. Blessed and true is that comfort which is derived inwardly from the Truth." Thomas advised where to look for happiness. "The glory of the good is in their own consciences, and not in the mouths of men." The Imitation of Christ has come to be, after the Bible, the most widely translated book in Christian literature. Thomas died in the same monastic obscurity in which he had lived, on Aug. 8, 1471.
If you do not enjoy the favor of men, do not let it sadden you; but consider it a serious matter if you do not conduct yourself as well or as carefully as is becoming for a servant of God and a devout religious. Book 1, ch 21-25
Did you know about that scholar? I only found out about him last week.. 
As it is nearly Christmas, we will keep on the A-Z challenge in the New Year. 

18/12/2011

The big challenge!

F
For I know the plans I have for you", 
declares the Lord,
 "plans to prosper you
 and not to harm you, 
plans to give you hope and
 a future."
 Jeremiah 29:1

G
"God is our refuge and strength, 
an ever present help in trouble."
 Psalm 46:1



Apology for not posting anything on Saturday. I find these two verses awesome. I only discovered the first one about 4 years ago; suddenly my whole life made sense. Reconciliation with my Father in Heaven has given me not only hope in a new life but a new life altogether. The story of David and other characters in the bible illustrate how well God helps his children and all who trust in him. If you have the opportunity to witness to others by telling them the goodness and faithfulness of our Lord when you hit difficult times, they may wish to know more about Him. 
Want to take part in this challenge? H for...

16/12/2011

Hebrews 3:13


E     Encourage one another, while it is still Today. Hebrews 3:13

If you have just stumbled upon this blog, we are taking part in a challenge, the A-Z challenge. How many bible verses will you be able to memorise at the end of it? Do join us, who will give us a verse starting with a F ?
Have a blessed week-end! Yours in Christ

15/12/2011

Delight yourself in the Lord...

D  Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

In Psalm 40, David writes, "I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure."(v.1,2).
I don't know about you but everytime I read these verses, my heart sinks; I was just in a 'desolate pit' and the Lord 'set my feet upon a rock' just like that. Therefore I will praise the Lord forever and delight in his Word.
 
'True delight in the Lord then, will always express itself in obedience to Him. True delight in the Lord will always express itself in praise. And the third way we are to express our delight in the Lord is by sharing our faith--' Rev. Bryn McFail

If you wish to take part in the amazing A to Z challenge aiming at memorising bible verses, let us know! Just give us the E. Have a blessed Friday. Yours in Christ.

14/12/2011

I will give you rest.. says Jesus, our Saviour.

C   Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Matt.11:28


I hope that this beautiful promise made by Jesus, our redeemer,  is as real in your everyday life as in mine. Things never go as smoothly as you wish, at best things move at worst, they stop moving and disasters can strike..Whoever thinks that he/she can get out of sticky situations on their own strength are painfully mistaken. It is so easy to humble oneself and cry out to the Lord and ask Him for help. 
How then do we spread the word and bless our neighbours ? Memorising bible verses is definitely helpful . 
Join us in our A-Z challenge, let's memorise bible verses. Who will give us the letter D ?
Blessings. Your sister in Christ.

13/12/2011

Join us in our exceptional A-Z challenge!



B     Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10



Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Matthew 5:9  Thanks Crystal Mary!

Memorising verses can be a real challenge ...so will you join me and spread the word?  Of course, you may know a few or more already. I confess that I will rely entirely on the help of our Lord to do so. . Have a blessed evening! 

12/12/2011

An A to Z challenge..


Memorising one verse every day will be a real challenge for me....will you join me ?  Of course, you may know a few or more already. I confess that I find it difficult to memorise the chapter and number of verses. The verses are in alphabetical order already so that should help!

Here is the first one:
A  All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

Have a blessed evening. Yours in Christ. N.



25/11/2011

Your plans


Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.

Proverbs 16:3 NLT

 Do you have any plans or wishes in your life, then leave them to the Lord and trust in him. Indeed, it is a fantastic promise from our God!. Galal, the hebrew word means that you roll away your problems unto somebody who can help! Praise the Lord. Yours in Christ

24/11/2011

Humour!



A minister told his congregation, "Next week I plan to preach about the sin of lying. To help you understand my sermon, I want you all to read Mark 17." 

The following Sunday, as he prepared to deliver his sermon, the minister asked for a show of hands. He wanted to know how many had read Mark 17. Every hand went up. The minister smiled and said, "Mark has only sixteen chapters. I will now proceed with my sermon on the sin of lying."

18/11/2011

12/11/2011

The second coming of Jesus

Third Sunday before Advent
Reading, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Gospel, Matthew 25:1-13, the parable of the ten bridesmaids.
What is the context of the parable? Jesus talks to his disciples during the final week before his crucifixion, the cross is hours away. He has been questioned by people who tried to downgrade and ridicule him. He also has spoken firmly to challenge people. Last week, I watched a documentary on King Arthur, was it a great enlightening ? Who reads David Crockett, the Lone Ranger, Robin Hood. Take King Arthur! Was he from Yorkshire? or was he born in Cornwall? The documentary put him in Scotland. We don't know where he lived either! Part of the documentary says that Arthur is coming again to save the world and that we do not need to worry. Arthur lives in our hearts and minds. I thought that it sounded very familiar!
Take Jesus though! We know who Jesus was, the name of his followers. We know where he lived, Israel, we know how he died and that he rose again. Lots of things that he said have been written down not thousand years later but forty years after he resurrected, in AD 70, this is because the temple was destroyed that year and if it had happened, it would have been mentioned.
Lots of documents, the whole of New Testament, half of the Codex Sinaiticus tell us about him. Those Christians took the word of Jesus seriously and wrote everything down accurately. No other contemporary of Jesus is documented as well as him...
I cannot prove He is alive but I can taste and see that the Lord is good. (Psalm 34:8) He is doing things in our life and this is no sheer coincidence. Jesus says: I am coming again and in this parable of the Ten bridesmaids, his message is 'be ready!' The oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit. If God is with us, we cannot live and ignore his message. Jesus has paid the price for us and has given us a new life. ' I am the resurrection and the life' (John 11: 25) You will never die. Do you believe it? Christ is claiming his bride, the Church.  Jesus says some tough things.
 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
S.A.
I took those notes last Sunday in Sandon church so I post them with some delay. Have a blessed week-end! Yours in Christ. N.

03/11/2011

Free to be

Either time is going too fast or I have being distracted too much. The reason is that I thought I'd posted the following notes but found it in the draft box! So here it is...nearly 3 weeks later..

Last Saturday, we went to the renewal day at Lichfield Cathedral. As always, it was excellent and inspirational (and do not think that I am on commission!) The worship was lead by the group Rumour and the music was great.

This time I thought that I would film part of it! As it happened,   I managed to film Ali Summers' presentation but unfortunately my battery ran out at the beginning of Ian Parkinson's speech. Both bible teachings referred to the theme of freedom to be us, children of God, set free by Jesus, and living to the full.
It was such a blessing to hear both speakers as what they were saying was uplifting, edifying and true to the Word of God.
Blessings, yours in Christ. N.

I ask God...


"I Ask God"

I ask God?
I ask ... well?
For rest with this weariness,
I ask God to take care of it,
I ask God to break the chains and bonds,
I ask God to touch my brothers,
I ask God to deliver them from Satan's clenches,
I ask God to hobble their heart and spirit,
I ask God in His Holy Spirit grace them,
I ask God unify, seal and armor their spirit in His right name.
AMEN.
 written by Feon Davis 
This poem touched my heart and my soul tonight. Sometimes, you do not know how to express what you are feeling, words do not seem to convey your heart's distress, images appear then move away fleetingly and you are left with a bitter taste. When I read this prayer, everything became much clearer. Our God has compassion and mercy on us and our brothers. Praise the Lord for his generosity and unfailing love!

01/11/2011

Pastor Zhang Rongliang released after nearly 7 years behind bars

CHINA – Pastor released early.

After nearly seven years behind bars Chinese house church leader Pastor Zhang Rongliang has been freed from jail early – after almost seven years' detention.
Release has learnt that he was released from prison in Kaifeng on August 31 – nine months before his seven-and-a-half-year sentence was officially due to end. 

Pastor Zhang leads the Fangcheng Mother Church in central China's Henan province and also heads up one of China's largest church networks, the China for Christ Church. 

He was detained in December 2004 and convicted of 'obtaining a passport through cheating' and 'illegal border crossing' in July 2006. He had frequently attended mission conferences abroad. 

Concerns over his poor health had prompted repeated international calls for his release. Pastor Zhang is said to have suffered several chronic diseases during his imprisonment, including diabetes – and had a stroke in 2007.
A house church leader of some 30 years' standing, Pastor Zhang had already served a total of 12 years in prison during five previous periods of detention. He spent seven years in the Xi Hua labour camp for the crime of 'counter-revolution under the guise of religion'.
Speaking of his most recent detention, Pastor Zhang has said that he was able to share the Gospel with many of his fellow inmates – including former high-ranking officials. He has returned to his home near Zhengzhou, provincial capital of Henan.
Meanwhile, China Aid President Bob Fu is currently in the UK for Release International, to talk about the situation for Christians in China following the recent clampdown on human rights lawyers. Bob will be the speaker at a Release meeting on Saturday in Birmingham – and at a prayer breakfast next Tuesday during the Labour Party conference in Liverpool. 

(For more details, visit www.releaseinternational.org (http://www.releaseinternational.org/) or ring 01689 823491.) 

Bob is a leading advocate on behalf of the persecuted church in China. Once a house church pastor, he was driven out of China due to persecution.




21/10/2011

A new page

Hi, I hope that you are all well and getting ready to have a wonderful week-end.
I have added a new page called videos. After a bit of trouble (and time) uploading last Sunday's sermon on You Tube, I am pleased to say the first video is there and running (so to speak). There is another one to come, filmed at the Renewal day in Lichfield but I am not sure that I will be able to upload today as I must make sure that I am 100% ready for our trip to Heacham (Norfolk) where dad lives.
Imo's gone to London to visit the BBC as part of her course so she will be back late at 19 00 then she is off to a party and while she is there, I will be partying too at my Spanish club. Feeling guilty as I have not seen them for some months!
The plan is that tomorrow morning Imo and I will get up fairly early and drive there. As I don't do Sat nav, I will rely on Imo being the navigator, using the map Steven's kindly printed for me....in the past she has been very good so hopefully we will not get lost! Do keep us in your prayers. Blessings N.

14/10/2011

How to relate the Word to the world?


Tonight, I have stumbled upon a really interesting site called The London Institute for Contemporary Christianity founded by John Stott a bit more than 25 years ago.  I quote: 'He (John Stott) saw the urgent need to enable Christians to integrate their faith with their whole life - at work as well as in the neighbourhood, in the lecture theatre as well as in the sanctuary. Part of John's genius was not only to be a genuinely great bible teacher, but to see the key issues of the time. When he brought LICC to birth he saw the key issue, 'Is Jesus lord of all, or not?' 'It aims at 'equipping Christians and churches for whole-life discipleship in the world'.
The site is huge and the resources cover six themes, engage with the bible,engage with culture, imagine project, engage with work, engage with youth, John Stott.  and plenty of articles, ..I enjoyed very much listening to John Stott's interviews and browsing the numerous articles. What appealed to me the most is this desire to tell the truth about Christianity.

11/10/2011

To you O Lord I lift up my soul!


To You O Lord I lift up my soul
In you I trust O my God
Do not let me be put to shame
Nor let my enemies triumph over me

No one whose hope is in you
Will ever be put to shame
That's why my eyes are on you Oh Lord


Surround me, defend me
Oh how I need you
To you I lift up my soul
To you I lift up my soul


Show me your ways and teach me your paths
Guide me in truth lead me on
For you're my God, you are my Saviour


I bought a CD of Graham Kendrick a while ago and then thought I'd listen to it in the car. So this is one of my favourite. If you want to listen to it, click on the link http://www.youtube.com/embed/nG8wchDPa8I 


Blessings.N

04/10/2011

Crisis in self-esteem

I have just listened to an interview of the journalist Tanith Carey on Premier Christian Radio thus discovering her book 'Where has my little girl gone? 
She is covering a whole range of issues in her book, i.e. Helping girls fight back against the desire to be thin and the pressure to buy, How to teach your daughter to feel good about herself, Build your daughter's self-esteem so she is strong enough to deal with the pressure to behave older than her years..
A teacher in  her daughter's primary school confided that he was shocked that a little boy had spent an hour applying gel in his hair and thus missing on breakfast. 
Tanith Carey insisted that mothers must be very careful about what they say in front of their children..i.e my bum is too big or 'I'm going on a diet' because children understand much more than you think and will check their body in the mirror .. 
There is a big increase of beauty pageants in the states..
Tanith who spent a whole day in a cosmetic surgery clinic was surprised to see that all the people there were under 25 y.o. and carried a list of items to be done. She realised what happened, their parents had already paid for their older sisters..in a society where youngsters cannot find a deposit for a house, parents were paying for these. .what they look like is not the most important thing..
Parents don't know where to turn to! With this book, this a call to parents to resist peer pressure..Tanith's wish is to empower parents take steps towards building their daughters self-esteem, i.e. what to say when your daughter wants an inappropriate t-shirt. 
Just letting you know that if you have not listened to Premier Christian Radio yet, do so, as it is so enjoyable, and personally I find it to be a blessing. N

30/09/2011

Is this provocation?


But the BBC, joining other progressive institutions, has decided that using these religiously-charged abbreviations is no longer appropriate. Signaling major changes to the way that the news network will deliver radio and television reports, the government-funded media company has decided to stop making these references, replacing them with B.C.E. (Before Common Era) and C.E. (Common Era).
Why, you ask? Well, the BBC claims that this decision is rooted in the media outlet’s commitment to remaining impartial...Additionally, the release said, “it is appropriate that we use terms that do not offend or alienate non-Christians.”

Melanie Phillips, who is not a Christian but who stands opposed to the change, wrote the following on Mail Online:
That is because I feel passionately that a society should be allowed to express its own culture – and this attack on BC and AD, fatuous as it may seem on the surface, is yet another attack on British culture and the Christian underpinnings which provide it with its history, identity and fundamental values.
The impulse behind changing such established terms – obviously as familiar to us all as the names of the days of the week – is part of the wider desire to obliterate Christianity in British culture.
The fact remains, however, that whatever terms are used the British calendar is calibrated from the birth of Jesus. 
As Ann Widdecombe remarked, whatever next - abolishing the calendar itself on the grounds that it too therefore offends non-Christians?
 There is no evidence whatever that any non-Christian group is offended by BC and AD, nor that they would like it to be replaced...

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2041765/BBC-BC-AD-debate-Our-language-hijacked-Left.html#ixzz1ZO3v3Ifv
 http://www.christian.org.uk/news/bbc-faces-outcry-as-shows-drop-bc-and-ad/
Still let us focus on what is important. Jesus said 'I am the truth, the way and the life' John 14:6
Blessings. N

Love your enemies


Several public high school football coaches in Westmoreland, Tenn. are in trouble for bowing their heads during a student-led prayer before a recent game. 
According to local NBC affiliate WSMV, the coaches didn’t say anything aloud themselves, but bowed their heads in observance alongside the students.
Word got back to the principal and the school district, which found the coaches’ participation to be an uncomfortable mix of religion and public school.
“We’ve been telling our principals to kind of be looking for those things, because that is kind of a shift in how things have been done,” district spokesman Jeremy Johnson told WSMV. “It can in no way appear like it’s endorsed by Sumner County Schools personnel.” When asked whether bowing one’s head was considered “endorsing,“ Johnson said it ”depends what it looks like.”

“That‘s where you kind of get into the gray area that we’re having to deal with,” he said.
The coaches weren’t disciplined, but were made to sign letters indicating they understood the school’s policy, which prohibits staff from appearing to participate in a student prayer in any way, even if it takes place after hours.
Further violations of the policy could lead to disciplinary action for the coaches.
According to WSMV, the incident comes months after the American Civil Liberties Union sued the district for violating the separation of church and state, saying teachers led students in Bible studies, invited a pastor to come speak to students during lunch and at least one instructor displayed a 10-inch cross in their classroom.
“That’s a violation of their rights. We should be able to bow our heads in reverence to God, wherever we are,” Bentle said. “It’s time we draw a line in the sand and say, you know, this is ridiculous.”
I must admit that I was shocked to read this article. I call it a blatant case of persecution and if you read the comments, it looks as if the parents think this anti-Christian attitude is going too far! To watch the interview, go on www.theblaze.com . This is what come to my mind: 
But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and theunrighteous. Matthew 5:44-46 Your sister in Christ. N.

29/09/2011

The Green thing!


 In the line at the store, the cashier told an older woman that she should bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the environment. 

The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing back in my day."
The clerk responded, "That's our problem today.  Your generation did not care enough to save our environment."

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over.  So they really were recycled.
He was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day. 

But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks.

But she was right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the throw-away kind.  We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry the clothes.  Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that old lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief, not a screen the size of the state of Montana. 
  
In the kitchen, we blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do everything for us. 
  
When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. 
  
Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power.  We exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on treadmills that operate on electricity.

But she's right; we didn't have the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. 
We refilled writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull.

But we didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi service. 
We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances.  And we didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?
Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in conservation from a smartass young person.
  
The Green Thing
 
Thy shall not live beyond thy means.
  

15/09/2011

China's churches are overflowing

I have to confess that I've had a rough day today, feeling totally inadequate.. Also I did not sleep well. Some of you may say: what a lot of nonsense whereas others will sympathise with me..thank you. By diner, I was feeling much better and when I started to read my emails just now, I was so pleased to read the following news!

Many of China's churches are overflowing, as the number of Christians in the country multiplies. ..
The government says 25 million, 18 million Protestants and six million Catholics. Independent estimates all agree this is a vast underestimate. A conservative figure is 60 million. There are already more Chinese at church on a Sunday than in the whole of Europe.
The new converts can be found from peasants in the remote rural villages to the sophisticated young middle class in the booming cities....
"But in church people feel warm, they feel welcome… they feel people really love them so they really want to join the community, a lot of people come for this."  
An educated young Christian described her church to me: "We have 50 young professionals in this church. Everyone is so busy working, you don't have time socialising, and even if you are socialising, you are putting on a fake face. ..
Click here to read more. Let us thank the Lord for our Chinese brothers and sisters, may He keep them safe. In the name of our saviour Jesus-Christ. Amen.

07/09/2011

On your bike!



When we went to our PCC meeting tonight, I noticed it was rather cold, wet and blustery. Time to look at the holiday snaps! The first photo is a view of the campsite La Condamine, the equivalent of a CL but not just for caravans as tents are welcome too. They had showers as well. We decided to take our bikes only days before going and it was just as well  as otherwise, we would have had to use the car everyday. The second photo is by the beach in La Capte, in the peninsula of Gien. That day, we calculated we rode our bikes for 17 miles..

The rest of the photos:  we drove to the old medieval village of Bormes-les-Mimosas, sitting on a the flank of the Maures mountains. I fell in love with its   narrow streets, pretty squares, covered passages and lots of craft shops. There were a few houses for sale..We climbed up to the top of the hills and admired the view on the Lavendou, the harbour and the Mediterranean.
 Today, Steven went to Norfolk pick up dad and they were back at 1:30. It's lovely to see him again. Imogen was off college today after two induction days and tomorrow she starts at 1:00. Not bad!
Blessings. N.




03/09/2011

Teach schoolgirls to say 'no to sex', Tory MP says


Teenage girls should be taught the benefits of abstinence to cut sexually-transmitted diseases and teenage pregnancies, MPs have been told.

Nadine Dorries, Conservative MP for Mid Bedfordshire, said all schoolgirls should be given lessons in “how to say no” as part of a new-style sex education curriculum.
Speaking in the Commons, she insisted society was "saturated in sex", with pupils currently being shown how to put condoms on bananas and self-diagnose diseases but not to reject sexual advances altogether.
Mrs Dorries, a mother-of-three and well-known anti-abortion campaigner, insisted her Bill was “about giving empowerment to young girls”.
"Society is saturated in sex," she said. "We need to let young girls know that to say no to sex when you're under pressure is a cool thing to do."
She said teachers should make teenagers more aware of the benefits of choosing not to have sex as part of traditional sex education lessons.
The early sexualisation of girls was being fuelled by television references to sex, newsagents stocking pornographic magazines and high street stores that sell provocative items such as padded bikinis for seven-year-olds, she added.
To read the rest of the article, click here 
Blessings. Yours in Christ.

01/09/2011

A big thank you

 to all our friends, churches and family members who sponsored Imogen to take part in Chennai Challenge project.

Jet lagged but not wanting to admit it, she has got a big smile on her face. She  is back home sorting photos, adding some late entries to her diary narrating her amazing experiences.

A few photos.

Blessings.






Back from our hols in Provence

where we had a lovely time, with the main activity consisting of cycling! We did cycle most days and agreed that it was the best way to enjoy the scenery and fauna in the area.
 We left the campsite La Condamine in Hyères near l'Aygade on Monday morning, stopped at the Camping Municipal of Beaune then on Tuesday set off to Calais driving through Paris (this was not our original plan), spent the night there in their Camping Municipal and took a morning ferry to Dover. Steven dropped me a few hundred yards away from the entrance of Terminal 4 and drove off home. Meanwhile I waited for Imogen to come back from India where she's had a fantastic time.The plane landed earlier than expected, 6 15 instead of 6 30 than expected but there was a delay with the luggage so Team B emerged after 7 pm. Imogen has plenty of amazing stories to tell us so watch this space! It would be lovely to hear about you did for your hols too. Your sister in Christ.

11/08/2011

Beer and bible? Do you follow?

Beer and Bible
One particular initiative for 2011 is Beer and Bible which aims to encourage the reading of the Bible in pubs across the diocese. The vision is to have the Bible read in 200 pubs with a focus on seasonal times in the Christian calendar and particularly during Holy Week and Easter.
A variety of social networking sites and web sites are being set up to support this initiative and there will be a wide variety of resources and suggestions about possible approaches. The central aim is the public reading of the Bible, though churches may want to use this opportunity to explore other activities and events in conjunction with this.  To see the video, click here!

 

A Challenge

We hope that Christians across the diocese will take up the Beer and Bible challenge and help promote this initiative in their churches, parishes, communities and most importantly their pubs!
I found this challenging project on the diocese of Chelmsford website. What do you think? would you want do try a similar project in your area? Let us know. God bless. Your sister in Christ. N.

06/08/2011

Crazy Act 2

For his birthday back in December, Steven received a 'a Tandem sky dive' and he then decided to sponsor Imogen to go Chennai Challenge. So last Tuesday we went to see my brave husband just do that! 
We arrived at Hinton skydiving centre at 10 and I was surprised to see so many people already there. 
The organiser started to write names on the board and then called them out for the first load. We heard our name so we went in the hangar where the organisers were giving out the suits and goggles only to find out that one of the photographers was called Abram too! Steven was in the third load. Time to talk to other 'brave people'. There were supporters of other charities too, i.e. a seventy y.o. woman was jumping to support the Alzheimer's Society .  She told me that it was her fourth attempt, earlier dives had been cancelled because of the weather conditions. Not the case this morning: sunny, beautiful blue sky, only a few white clouds. The first load of people embarked and it took some time for the plane to move to 13000 feet. You could hear it but it was difficult to spot it because of the height and the clouds. 
 First part of the suit!
 harness fitting

Moving to the plane. I am nervous. I know he is not!



In the air!



What a wonderful experience this was. Praise be to the Lord! Have a blessed week-end. N


05/08/2011

I hated life and wanted to die...


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