Showing posts with label teenagers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teenagers. Show all posts

11/12/2013

3 best Christmas cards

Here is a selection of Christmas cards that I would consider the best. What about you, which cards did you buy this Christmas?
1 Tearfund Journeyingon. They have a message printed inside, Isaiah 9:6, For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Awesome!
Tearfund - Journeying On (Pack of 10)2
2 Tearfund, a pack of 20 Color in Christmas cards, ideal for families with children, 
Tearfund - Colour-In Christmas Cards (Pack of 20)
3 Share the story,  
Cover: Sharing the Story
Inside: May the miracle of Christmas shine in your heart all year.
Scripture: "When they saw the star they rejoiced." - Matthew 2:10
Sharing the Story Boxed Christmas CardsWhat about you, which cards did you buy this Christmas?What are your favorite?
Tonight, I went to the college MFL party and had a great time, met new people. Students and staff were sampling foods from Europe and China. Being entertained by traditional Christmas carols. Have a blessed end of week. N.



Have a blessed end of week. N.

30/08/2013

Friday: best read in my blogroll!

Many thanks to Warren Baldwin for the following post about children
Children at the Center #1
“My Children are my world. They are the center of my universe.”
But, I still cringe when I hear parents say, “My Children are my world. They are the center of my universe,” especially when the children have gotten older. Here’s why. Bonnie had her first child when she was an older teenager. She missed out on having a first year of college, dorm parties with classmates, and spending long weekends at the homes of her girlfriends. When her high school friends left for college, she stayed home to care for her daughter, and soon after other kids.
That is ok! Even most of her friends who went off for school eventually married and had children. They just waited a few more years to start. For Bonnie, though, the loss of missing out on those older teen experiences was hard to accept But, for awhile she could forget the pain because she had something new to celebrate: the center of her universe, her precious baby daughter.
Bonnie worked hard to be a good parent. She was, except that it was hard for her to allow her daughter to grow and transition from one stage to another. It became especially difficult when her daughter was in high school and had her friends over. When they stayed up to watch late movies, Bonnie joined in, trying to function more as a teen friend than as an adult parent. It was probably unconscious, but through her daughter Bonnie was actually trying to create some of the teenage experiences she had missed out on years before. Bonnie’s daughter was her best friend, her pal, her center.
Then the daughter graduated, went to college, and never returned home again...Read more, click here

And many thanks to the owner of Simply helping him for the following post about marriage

In my childhood dreams, I watched my marriage play out beautifully.
Laughter, devotions, alone time together, kisses and cuddles all abounded.
Conflict and differences were seen, but didn’t need to be addressed.
We were perfect together, our differences didn’t cause issues.
In my life…………..boy do I see things otherwise.
Opposite personalities, different upbringings, age differences, and conflict seem to abound at times. Throughout the last 9 years, we’ve learned to discuss things much better than in the past thankfully.
Yet our marriage is nothing like my childhood dreams.
He likes tennis, I prefer basketball.
He likes alone time, I want us time.
I like having friends over, he wants the couch and remote.
I love trying new recipes, he likes the same meals.
We are like night and day different.      Read more, click here

22/08/2013

Happy birthday Imogen!

Dearest Imogen,
Congratulations on your 18th birthday
with lots of love.
You really are a daughter
Who fills our home with cheer.
And you grow more beautiful
Each year.
We hope you'll always know
That we love you and we're proud of you.
At times you drive us crazy
It's like living in a zoo
But we really do love you.

The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord makes his face shine upon you and be gracious to you:
The Lord turn his face toward you.
and give you peace
Numbers 6:24-26

Bring the fattened marrows
and cut them.
Let's have a feast and
celebrate.

I adapted Luke 15:23 because Imogen has been a vegetarian for five years. On her card, I wrote, the fattened cucumber however, Steven pointed out that marrow do grow bigger!
Last night, we went out for a meal at Pasta di Piazza in Stone even though her birthday was today because she'd planned to spend the evening in Liverpool with 8 of her friends. We had a lovely time, the food and the service were excellent!
This morning, our 'baby' made some 'american' vegan pancakes with oats for herself and the same for us with an egg and 'normal' milk, not this soya stuff (lol) though I'm wondering if soya milk is a good idea but that's another story!
 After Liverpool, she will keep on the celebration at Bristol with Camille, her older sister (23) who is so pleased to spend the Bank Holiday with her round!

Imogen, Sadie, Abbie, Shanice, Beth, Tian and Molly
Girls, have a blessed day full of fun and may your friendship blossom. 


20/08/2013

In a charity shop...

...you can find some proper gems! To cut a long story short, yesterday morning I took my car to an independent garage only to find out that the repair was going to be longer than I thought. I had time to kill and no car so I went round a few shops, and ended up in Oxfam. Their selection of books is usually eclectic, after browsing for ten minutes, I found two books of interest, The enemy within written by Kris Lundgaard that I have just started. Click on this link to read an excellent review of this book written by Tom Welch on his blog, or copy this : www.SabbaticalJournal.blogspot.co.uk
The other book is called Awesome on the inside, how to be changed by God from the inside out. Written by Tim Hawkins. Come & hear Tim Hawkin’s powerful messages over two consecutive nights at Brisbane Chinese Alliance Church. Tim will be speaking on being “Awesome on the Inside” with the first night focusing on “A Powerful Heart” and the second “The Pure Heart”. The two sessions over the weekend are tailored for Christian high schoolers to young workers and Tim’s desire is for them to get fired up for God.
Tim Hawkins is one of the most experienced Christian Youth pastors in Australia. He has been a full-time youth pastor in a local church for over 30 years. He is currently the Youth Pastor Emeritus at St Pauls Anglican Church, Castle Hill, in Sydney Australia where he has been for over 20 years.
Tim’s passion is to see high-schoolers and young adults become fervent disciples of Jesus. He planted and built the “Crossfire” youth ministry at Castle Hill, which is one of the most fruitful local church youth ministries in Australia. Every one of Tim’s resources has grown out of his local church’s youth ministry. Tim writes this material and speaks powerful messages to meet real needs. His books and resources are revolutionising youth ministry around the world, and are now being used as training manuals in many bible colleges.
Let me know if you have read any of those as it would be nice to hear from you. Good nite. N.

19/01/2013

Love abounds.


Hello to my blogger friends and welcome to you, new visitors.
As I haven't been able to hack into my hubby's computer wanting to 'borrow' his much nice photos of the nut-hatch, this is the only one decent I have. He is turning his back and as you surely know he is a  fast eater. This was shot on a Saturday just before Christmas.
I can get quite involved with things such as reading or even house chores and neglect others even if I like them. So over the Christmas holidays, I took a few photos and I never had time to save them on my computer, ready to be used for later.
Photos tell stories and the girls will tell you that I did not bake any cakes until after Christmas..my excuse, I had to finish buying presents and what started with a sneeze on the 22nd of Dec ended up as a bearable but tiring cold with the unavoidable aches..
So here is the traditional 'buche au chocolat et au café' or log, following my late mum's recipe with coffee and chocolate. My husband is not keen on it so I did try another recipe, and this one contained 'crème de marron' chestnut purée, Imo ate quite a bit but no one else was keen! We were also so blessed to have all the children over Christmas.





 We attempted to a quick walk by the canal and I thought this horse looked so cute with his leopard cover! Finally, Mr Squirrel always comes and pries on the birds' seeds. I hope that you too can look back over the Season with joy. We are counting our blessings and praising the Lord for them. N.

05/08/2011

I hated life and wanted to die...


Mercy Ministries Awareness DVD from Mercy Ministries on Vimeo.


We exist to provide opportunities for young women to experience God's unconditional love, forgiveness and life transforming power in partnership with their local church.


Mercy Ministries is a national charity dedicated to providing a six-month residential Christian discipleship programme for young women suffering from life controlling issues, such as eating disorders, self-harm, depression, and the effects of abuse in all its forms.
Read more, click here


10/03/2009

Not an ordinary Sunday! Busy, busy!

When I woke up today, I knew that I had an exceptionnal day ahead.
First I had to catch my husband before he dashed for a service at Hopton church for 9:30. I only spoke to him for 5 min! Then I had another daunting task, to wake up three teenagers Imogen and her friends, Lizzie and Charlotte who went to bed late the previous night and this can be a challenge especially when they have to be ready for church at 11:15.
Before that, I made some fresh coffee. Surprisingly there was a croissant hanging there in the bread box. I never had any trouble waking up Camille, our 18 y.old.
Amazingly, Lizzie was up too, while Imogen was pretending to be still asleep. Come on guys, you have less than 1 hour to get ready. Suddenly we have a situation, Imogen declares she won't go to church. As it is not the first time, I am not too phased! I go back to my office to listen to the latest sermon on Winchester Family church website, here is their link, I recommend it! http://www.winfam.org/Media/AllMedia.aspx Here is a short snipet (my notes) of what i heard :
The uniqueness of Jesus is the only way in which salvation can be given to all nations, every tribe, nation and tongue. Jesus is like a second Adam, he was unique. He is the incarnate God. Only Him can solve the real problem that every human being has, disconnection with God and sins.
He bore our sins on his body on the cross. This is not just a western thing, this is the truth for all nations. We are reconciled to God through Jesus. No other religious teacher died for your sins, rose from the dead. Our focus is on Jesus. Human beings can destroy themselves but cannot save themselves. Salvation is found only one way, through Jesus. By grace. You accept it or not. You cannot alter it.
There is much more.
Then, I gathered the last bits I needed for Sunday school. Eventually the girls are ready.We had a brill service! I enjoyed talking to our friends so much.Thinking again about this hectic morning, I know I couldnt have done any of that without the help of our Saviour!
PS The real date of this post is Sunday 11/01/09. I am regrouping some previous posts!