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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

A pastor sentenced to death ...

In early July, it was reported that the case of Youcef Nadarkhani, an Iranian pastor sentenced to death for leaving Islam, (click here for more information) was being returned to a lower Iranian court. 

Youcef is 34 years old and is from Rasht, in the Gilan province of Iran. For the past ten years he has been a pastor in a network of house churches. He was previously imprisoned in December of 2006, the charges being apostasy (leaving Islam for Christianity)  and evangelism (spreading the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ), but was released two weeks later.He is married and has two sons, Daniel age 9 and Yoel age 7. They were attending a local school when the government decided

 that all children should be taught about Islam, including those from Christian families. Youcef went to the school and protested this based on the Iranian constitution, which allows for freedom to practice religion. As a result, the secret police called him before the political tribunal in Rasht, Iran on October 12, 2009. At that time he was arrested, charged for protesting, and has been in prison in Lakan (which is seven miles south of Rasht) ever since. Later the charges changed to apostasy and evangelism to Muslims. Read more, click here.

 In recent days it was learned that his lawyer has finally received the written confirmation of the ruling from the Supreme Court. According to one source, the Supreme Court has agreed with the death sentence verdict. However, the court also found procedural flaws and is asking the lower court to re-examine the case. The judges are reportedly seeking clarification as to whether Pastor Youcef was truly a Muslim prior to becoming a Christian.

 If Pastor Youcef is determined to have been a "true" Muslim and does not recant his Christian faith the death sentence will stand. It is also feared that Pastor Youcef could be executed before the court re-examines the case.Please pray for enduring faith for Pastor Youcef as he continues to face severe pressure to deny his Saviour.

 Pray that officials will repent of their unjust actions and allow Youcef to be exonerated and released.

 Pray that all Iranian Christians imprisoned for their faith will be sustained by the love and presence of their Heavenly Father. 

To all my blogging friends, please pass this message on. Blessings. N.

In France for a week

The girls and I left for France last Saturday at 11 am and after four heavy traffic jams, we arrived in Dover just half an hour before boarding on a Seafrance ferry at 16 30. Then we drove to Rouen and stayed in the hotel La Campanile. I asked Cami to take a photo of that old Citroen (?) car while on the motorway, the autoroute A28



We arrived at my brother in Niort in the middle of Sunday afternoon. He'd prepared a lovely 'chicken chasseur' served with rice.





Tuesday lunch time, we went to Denis favorite pizzeria...

 Walking back to the town centre after Denis dropped us off at the 'cordonnerie' where we asked if Cami's handbag could be fixed...err..I am on holidays soon so it won't be for a while. We left the bag with him.

 Monday night, we were invited at an 'apéritif' to meet DRD's friends, Mme M. and her daughter Catherine. Could I possibly drive Catherine to the station on Tuesday at 13:45 as my brother had offered! I agreed then kept worrying about it. What if I got lost in spite of the short explanations written quickly? Finally Tuesday morning  I decided to  find their house early, knocked on their door and Mme M recognised me, her face brightened up.' I am so reassured to know that  you found your way here!' Then we had a stroll in the 'centre-ville' of Niort and a 'grand-crème' in a café near the market and the 'Donjon d'Alienor d'Aquitaine' that dates from the 12th century  (photo)

On the Wednesday, we went to la Rochelle, had lunch in a restaurant Le Bodegon, cours des Dames,  in front of the harbour and the two towers

We had for starters, moules marinière,  soupe de poisson and for main meal, poisson grillé avec riz and for Imogen, the vegetarian salade au chèvre chaud et frites!

Friday we went to the quiet and dainty island of Ré. As we discovered the beach at low tide, we had a feeling of 'déjà vu', we could have been sitting at Peel, in the Isle of Man.  

We came back home monday morning at 1:30 am. We left Niort at 7:45 Sunday morning and the roads were clear until mid-morning, heavy traffic around Rouen.We also paused for coffee and rillettes sandwiches with frisée lettuce. Soon after Rouen, I realised that we would not make it to the boat at Calais on time for 2:30. When we arrived there at 3 pm, I was told the next crossing available on Seafrance was at 6:50 pm so we waited at the restaurant. We left Dover customs at 8 pm English time (there is one hour difference) and headed to the M25. By then I was exhausted and told the girls I would need to sleep for 20 min in one of the services, the one by Oxford. I felt so much better after. I asked the Lord to give me strength to finish this long journey.

Blessings. N.

I am a leper, does your God really love me?

A few days ago, I received 'Send', the Gospel for Asia news magazine. 
You can read amazing and true stories of how God heals, saves, forgives and sets people free from all kinds of bondage. Also, when those people meet Jesus through pastors or  friends, they do not keep it secret, they spread 
the Good News. get together to read the Bible and tell everybody else!
I was also shocked to read that there are still so many lepers there: 133, 717. I quote: 'They live with a curse they believe cannot be cured. Their society casts them out, calling them unlovable and of no worth. But Gospel for Asia-supported workers are taking the love of Jesus to these people.' Can we imagine the NHS refusing to treat people with a particular disease! Read more, click here
Everytime I read Send, I want to praise the Lord and thank Him for his blessings on our brothers and sisters in Christ. If you feel disheartened and lost, why don't you read the magazine on line. 
I  thank the Lord for all the blessings he provides generously and freely everyday. 

Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. Luke 9:26

Bible verse of the week

¹⁸ “Forget the former things;
   do not dwell on the past.
¹⁹ See, I am doing a new thing!
   Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness 

   and streams in the wasteland.

Isaiah 43:18-19

Failure Is Not an Option

Failure Is Not an Option