Winter in the Midlands..

This is it, the snow is melting..it is slush everywhere. In a way, I am pleased as it means that I wont spend 10 minutes trying to clear my windscreen!

Aren't those wagtails brave, trying to feed in spite of the snow.. We haven't managed to walk by the canal yet so these are backgardent shots..I shall go back to more planning now!
Have a blessed evening.

Want to know more about christianity?

How much of an optimist are you?

As it is the beginning of a New Year, we cannot help thinking about new beginnings. Most people will even go far as taking new resolutions and endeavour to hold them. I am not sure what is the most popular resolution now : spending less, losing weight, travelling more, making more friends, finding a wife or a husband, making more money, sticking to one's job. Some of us may be more pessimist, say, realist and not bother as they think they will fail them quickly.
As a Christian who believe in the Good News that Jesus was raised from the dead and is alive, I should always be an optimist. What about you? Do you always live in the joy of our Lord’s resurrection? Do you always reflect that in your daily lives? Well, if i answer this question truthfully, i admit that I've had my moments of pessimistic weakness. This afternoon, as I was reading 2 Timothy 1 6-7, Paul reminds us ' to fan into flame the gift of God'..further down, he encourages us even more : , Jesus-Christ who has detroyed death and has brought immortality and life through the gospel.. Paul'se exhortation is extremely clear.
The minute we have become Christians and put our trust in Jesus, then we should be optimist, and with all what it entails, happiness, joy.. in Christ we are promised the best possible outcome. In John 14:2 Jesus tells us : I am going there (my father's house) to prepare a place for you.
If you are not a Christian, the Good News if  for you too. .. God our Savior, .. wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:3-5.

gomakedisciples: Jews do come to faith in Jesus...

Messiah declared he was Y'shua.
In Luke 4:16-21 Jesus said: The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He annointed Me to preach the gospel (besorah) to the poor...
I have found another excellent site called jewishgentilecouples.com

It is worth having a look.
Have a blessed day!

Have a blessed NEW YEAR 2010

We wish you a blessed NEW YEAR 2010..

So we went to the Holly Bush in Salt, it was busy but not too packed and

 we were sitted near the fire, warm and cosy..

Starter,

 cornish brie in cranberry sauce for the birthday boy...

.green mussels with a mediterranean sauce for me

main,

greek lamb with chips for Steven

mixed grill with chips and mixed vegetables for me

desert

we asked to see the desert card but then decided there was no way we could eat anymore

so we went back home..

Verdict, lovely meal though a little bit too copious..still, there will not be any snacking until midnight !

Update on the evening

ligth entertainment provided by Faulty Towers...hilarious at times,
 absolutely bonkers, very good in small dose !!!

Blessings to all of you. In Jesus-Christ.

The 31st of december is always a special...

...day as it is Steven's birthday..We got up late, then unloaded the dishwasher, tried to book diner at the bank house but they're not serving food tonight, had coffee, did our bible reading, watched the birds, apparently there is a bullfinch that comes now and again, Steven saw it but I did not. The biggest job was trying to wake up Imogen. Somehow, in spite of our repetitive calls to go to bed at midnight, she stayed late watching a film..and went to sleep at 2ish !!. The postman delivered one of Steven's presents, from sister Pauline.
Steven opened his presents, socks, fish socks, a beautiful fish mug, a cristal tankard, a bottle of w..., a belt, an amplifier and a few other bits..Still no sight of Imogen.. At about 1pm we had a bite to eat, some smoked salmon and a few salad leaves..Imogen appeared..then a bit of seriously chocolate cake..By then Steven was on the phone to Dad and found it difficult to blow the candle..one of those that relight.
.After that, we went to Stone to buy some more food for the rabbit and seeds for the birds, had a drink in the Swan.. Camille rang me with some good news, her friend Cheryl will help her moving out of her room tomorrow.. I was a bit concerned  so I praise the Lord. Now we are watching this sweet and crazy comedy Overboard, Goldie Horne..
After that, we will go to the Holly Bush Inn in Salt.the good thing about it is that you dont need to book !
Have a blessed New Year's Eve !...

Thou shall not steal!

This is part of an article published in the Yorshire Evening Post.
Published Date: 21 December 2009
I don't have much time to read papers so I was surprised to read this story in an american blog...

Father Xxxxx, parish priest of St Lawrence and St Hilda in York, said stealing from large national chains was sometimes the best option many vulnerable people had. He told the congregation on Sunday: "My advice, as a Christian priest, is to shoplift. I do not offer such advice because I think that stealing is a good thing, or because I think it is harmless, for it is neither.
"I would ask that they do not steal from small, family businesses, but from large national businesses, knowing that the costs are ultimately passed on to the rest of us in the form of higher prices. "I would ask them not to take any more than they need, for any longer than they need."
He said society had failed many needy people and said it was far better that they shoplift than turn to more degrading or violent options such as prostitution, mugging or burglary.
"Rather, this is a call for our society no longer to treat its most vulnerable people with indifference and contempt."When people are released from prison, or find themselves suddenly without work or family support, then to leave them for weeks and weeks with inadequate or clumsy social support is monumental, catastrophic folly. We create a situation which leaves some people little option but crime."
The Venerable Richard Seed, Archdeacon of York said: "The Church of England does not advise anyone to shoplift, or break the law in any way. Father Xxxxx is raising important issues about the difficulties people face when benefits are not forthcoming, but shoplifting is not the way to overcome these difficulties."

Singing carols.

It has been hectic here. Here are a few photos from the evening we spent at the Bank House pub, without exagerating, the whole village was there singing carols heartily. Most carols were on the Bethlehem Carol Sheet, produced by Biblelands, and organisation that helps fund health, education and community development projects in the lands of the Bible.

Left to right, John, Steven, Maureen and Helga

This time, Ingrid sings between Steven and Helga

The children were eager to sing and participate too. I think the one they liked the best was: Ding dong! merrily on high. I'd better give you the website of the Bibleland society: http://www.biblelands.org.uk/

Underground, the youth and student Ministry of Open Doors

Open Door’s exists to strengthen the church in the most hostile places.


Our vision is of a world in which every Christian who is persecuted is remembered and supported by other Christians. We seek to alleviate their suffering, and to help them extend God’s Kingdom in their part of the world. Open Doors work has extended to Asia, SE Asia, Africa, Latin America, Central Asia and the Middle East.
Standing with those who share our faith but not our freedom is part of being a Christian. As followers of Jesus we’re part of the same family. This family stretches across the time zones, across the nations, cuts through all restrictions and no go areas… It unites us like nothing else.
We’re asking you and anyone you know to get involved in taking action for our suffering brothers and sisters. For many Christians around the world – we’re the only family they’ve got – they’re counting on us to be family.
“If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.”
1 Corinthians 12:26

Underground
- raises awareness about the millions of Christians who are persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ, and mobilizes young people to do something about it.
- challenges young people to choose to live for Jesus and be a generation that takes faith and church seriously.

Think globally. Act justly. Live passionately as the Body of Christ.

.

A star

Artist: Scott Yardley   http://www.christart.com/

A Star

by Deborah Smith Plemmons

There appeared a star in Bethlehem,

Where born in a manger was God's Lamb.

The Angels praised God again and again,

Singing, "Glory to God...good will toward men".



The Shepherds came to see God's Son;

The Savior of mankind: the Holy One.

The wise men came the child to worship;

Although a lowly birth, they knew of His kingship.



They came when He was about two years old.

At His feet, they laid frankincense, myrrh, and gold.

Oh, worship the King of kings this day;

Give your life to Him and serve Him alway.

A Savior was born

A Savior was Born


by Casey Smith at www.christart.com

'Twas the very first Christmas, when over the earth,

The angels rejoiced at the sweet Savior's birth,

The stars filled the night in a brilliant display,

Above their Creator asleep in the hay;

The wise men laid gifts by the trough filled with straw,

Then bowing before Him, they worshiped in awe,

Joseph held Mary in a loving embrace,

As teardrops of joy trickled down her sweet face;

The glow of God's eyes shone from heaven that night,

Adorning His Son with their Glorious Light;

And Jesus, so tiny, lay peacefully still,

How blessed the promises He would fulfill,

That babe in the manger, so helpless and small,

Would lay down His life as atonement for all,

Death would be crushed and the veil, at last, torn,

For unto the world, a Savior was born.

Are you a scientifically minded reader ?

In that case, you will enjoy reading those quotes ...

'In view of such harmony in the cosmos, which I with my limited human mind, am able to recognise, there are yet people who say there is no God. But what makes me really angry is that they quote me for support of such views'. Albert EINSTEIN

'Atheism is so senseless'.
Isaac NEWTON

The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the Creator. PASTEUR

and you may want to explore Ray's blog : http://raycomfortfood.blogspot.com

Have a blessed evening!

Patience!

Well, the vicar could not climb up the spire of Hixon church last Thursday due to an administrative error, a document hadn't been signed. It should happen this week! So this is something to look forward to. Also, here are other events to tag in your diary starting with next Sunday carols galore and on Christmas Eve a Christingle with a difference.

This is it! Crazy act is about to begin...

This is the time : 10 a.m. In a little bit more than 2 hours and 33 mn, the vicar will be climbing up the spire of Hixon church. Looking by the window, i see frost everywhere. Hopefully, it will be warmer by then. I will be at school but looking forward to see all the photos!

A true story

Charles Swindoll recounts a true story as told by Dr. Will Phillips of San Antonio, concerning one of his favorite patients, a wonderful Christian widow named Edith Burns. She had a habit of introducing herself by saying: "Hello, I'm Edith Burns. Do you believe in Easter?" Then she would go on to explain the meaning of Easter and many times in so doing she would lead people to embrace a saving faith in Jesus. One day, with great sorrow on his face Dr. Phillips told Edith that her test results revealed the presence of an aggressive cancer and that she would not live much longer. Edith's reply was full of her typical faith. She said, "Don't be sad Dr. Phillips! Do you think God makes mistakes? You have just told me I'm going to see my precious Lord Jesus, my husband, and many of my friends. You have just told me that I am going to a place where I will celebrate Easter forever." As she said this, Phillips thought to himself, "What a magnificent Christian woman this Edith Burns is!"

Within a few weeks Edith had to be hospitalized and she requested that she be given non-Christian room-mates so she could explain to them the true meaning of Easter. As a result several women left that hospital as Christians. Unsaved nurses and orderlies also made decisions to follow Jesus because of Edith's witness. Pretty much everyone on that floor became a Christian except for the head nurse, Phyllis Cross. She made it plain that she wanted nothing to do with Edith's faith. You see, Phyllis had been a nurse in an army hospital and felt she had seen and heard it all. She was the original "G. I. Jane" and had been married three times. Phyllis was hard, cold, and did everything by the book. One morning as Phyllis gave Edith a shot Edith said, "Phyllis, God loves you and I love you too. I've been praying for you." Phyllis frowned, "Well, you can quit praying for me. It won't work. I'm not interested." Edith replied, "Well, I will pray and I have asked God not to let me go home to heaven until you come into the family."
"Then you will never die," snapped Edith "because that will never happen." And she turned and marched out of the room.
Every day when Phillis walked into Edith's room, Edith would smile and say something like, "God loves you, Phyllis, and I love you too and I'm still praying for you." After weeks of this, Phyllis' heart warmed toward Edith such that she looked forward to caring for her. Gradually they became close friends. One day Phyllis found herself being literally drawn into Edith's room. She sat down on the side of the bed and said, "Edith, you have asked everyone here on the ward the question, 'Do you believe in Easter?' but you've never asked me." Edith said, "I wanted to many times but God told me to wait until you asked and now that you have...." and with that Edith took her Bible and shared with Phyllis the Easter Story. She told her all about Jesus Christ...His life and death and resurrection. Then Phyllis bowed her head and asked Jesus to come into her heart and life.
A few days later on Easter Sunday morning, Phyllis went into Edith's room to bring her some flowers and she found her dead. Her big black Bible was still open on her lap and a big smile was on her face. Phyllis noticed that Edith had been reading it because her left hand rested on John 14:2-4 where Jesus said, "In My Father's house are many rooms: if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am going." Edith's right hand was on Revelation 21:4 where it says, "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be anymore pain: for the former things are passed away." Phyllis took one look at Edith's dead body and lifted her face upward and with tears in her eyes said, "Happy Easter Edith! Happy Easter!"
Phyllis left Edith's room and walked quietly over to a table where two new student nurses were sitting. Phyllis smiled at them and said, "Hello. My name is Phyllis Cross. Do you believe in Easter?"

Crazy act 1

Hot from the Press. It looks as if Steven will go up the spire on Friday...depending on the weather of course..Unfortunately, I won't be able to see him do this exploit as I will be at school. I am sure there will be plenty of 'supporters' there. No time yet. I will keep you posted.

God's unconditional love for us

May the Lord bless you in abundance, in Jesus'name.

Online Christmas Radio - CBN.com

Online Christmas Radio - CBN.com

Advent Sunday

Malachi 4:1-6
and Mark 1:1-6
Who can remember and tell me what is deemed to be the greatest cliffhanger for any continuing TV series ?
The shooting of JR which was shown on the 21/03/1980. There were T-shirts and mugs and all sorts over the summer with 'who shot JR?' or 'I shot JR.. Do you remember? There was lots of speculation too..Larry Hagman says that even the Queen Mother tried to find out from him who it was only to be politely declined the answer. Everyone had to wait because of an actor's strike..So do you remember who did it?
Somebody said: Kristin. Correct, it was revealed on the 21/11 that Kristin Shepard shot him.
It was the greatest TV cliffhanger but guess what, it wasn't the greatest cliffhanger, we can beat that!

Malachi is the last of the Old Testament prophets and he says : Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel, Malachi 4:4. Israel struggled to remember and keep God's laws, God's word and they had prophets after prophets remind them and call them back to the Lord as they strayed and increasingly went after 'other gods'. In the 6th century they lost their land and were exiled to Babylon. The Lord God warned them this would happen if they weren't true to Him and it did happen because they didn't follow his Word. After the exile, as people trickled back in dribs and drabs, the city and the temple were rebuilt. Malachi didn't just encourage them to remember God's word, he said:
'See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes'. Over the years of silence that followed people started more and more to take hold of these and similar prophetic words and increasingly Israel became true to the word of the Lord and expecting an Elijah figure to come and announce the imminent arrival of the day of the Lord. They expected the Lord to do something mighty and so a great cliffhanger of speculation and expectation started.
 Malachi could have written this anytime from 568-433 B.C so speculation went on until a guy who looked like and sounded like a prophet appeared in the Judaean desert. Mark the first gospel writer pick up almost where Malachi left off - no birth of Jesus account, straight in with a huge announcement, Mark:1-1 Then just before Jesus goes back to heaven, read Matthew 28:18-20. To put it another way, remember the Word and share it with others till the day of the Lord. We sit within the greatest cliffhanger ever and Advent Sunday underlines and reminds us of this.
In conclusion, to remember God's word, it is necessary to read it, to share God's word, we have to live it and to teach God's word, we have to speak it, till he comes again!
Rev. S. Abram

An intelligent designer

At times, in the middle of a casual conversation, we have to answer some unexpected tricky questions. Those questions or statements could be just excuses or red herrings but still need answers or comments. They cannot be swept under the carpet as they seem to be one massive obstacle for some people to accept that the Lord is the creator. The doubts have taken over, the lies have confused them. Suddenly, science seems to be the reason why they cannot possibly believe in the Lord. Even though thousands of scientists and researchers are actually christian and that there is absolutely no problem with being a scientist and a Christian. To find objective and truthful answers, I suggest you visit the following site:
So where's the proof of God's existence? What would constitute objective proof of God? Well, consider the following self-evident and universally recognized truth: Concept and design necessitate an intelligent designer.
In accordance with our familiar axiom and in light of the tremendous advances we've made in molecular biology, biochemistry, genetics and information theory, the proof of God is all around us!

Through the microscope, we observe the E. coli bacterial flagellum. The bacterial flagellum is what propels E. coli bacteria through its microscopic world. It consists of about 40 individual protein parts including a stator, rotor, drive-shaft, U-joint, and propeller. It's a microscopic outboard motor! The individual parts come into focus when magnified 50,000 times (using electron micrographs). And even though these microscopic outboard motors run at an incredible 100,000 rpm, they can stop on a microscopic dime. It takes only a quarter turn for them to stop, shift directions and start spinning 100,000 rpm in the opposite direction! The flagellar motor has two gears (forward and reverse), is water-cooled, and is hardwired into a signal transduction (sensory mechanism) so that it receives feedback from its environment. ("Unlocking the Mystery of Life," video documentary by Illustra Media, 2002.)
When we apply the general principles of detecting specified complexity to biologic systems (living creatures), we find it reasonable to infer the presence intelligent design. Take, for example, the bacterial flagellum's stator, rotor, drive-shaft, U-joint, and propeller. It is not convenient that we've given these parts these names - that's truly their function. If you were to find a stator, rotor, drive-shaft, U-joint, or propeller in any vehicle, machine, toy or model, you would recognize them as the product of an intelligent source. No one would expect an outboard motor -- much less one as incredible as the flagellar motor -- to be the product of a chance assemblage of parts. Motors are the product of intelligent design.

Furthermore, the E. coli bacterial flagellum simply could not have evolved gradually over time. The bacterial flagellum is an "irreducibly complex" system. An irreducibly complex system is one composed of multiple parts, all of which are necessary for the system to function. If you remove any one part, the entire system will fail to function. Every individual part is integral. There is absolutely no naturalistic, gradual, evolutionary explanation for the bacterial flagellum. (Michael Behe, Darwin's Black Box, 1996.)
So if you are interested in this kind of issues, this is one piece of the puzzle, there is more on this website, http://www.allaboutcreation.org/
May the Lord bless you in abundance. In Jesus-Christ.