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.

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.

  

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.

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.

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.

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.