tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34111039724357698502024-03-13T08:30:38.630+00:00Talking ChristianJesus talked all the time.....I'm just trying to live more like him.Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.comBlogger184125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-36443328315879140832016-07-15T21:22:00.000+01:002016-07-15T21:22:11.085+01:00Looking for Jigglypuff finding Jesus<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hundreds of people of all ages, races and genders, all over the world are looking for something. In the UK some people didn't even realise they wanted to look for it until yesterday, and then the craze hit. A craze that is already uniting families and strangers in their quest to catch 'em all. Pokemon Go is that craze. And it is fun!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXYx1sm1QxOsch25ojaYQleQ0GNGoCUcsVc3mJQHiYldBTv9Aja92Aw9I10JtKkcSOrWxFi7Hrfb4jA8MIzGDQ1Bzj67Wdg0dGVLoE2xEnm_KeY2IpWH8nNs0XQZNybe9U2dKIG54p1j8P/s1600/pokestop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXYx1sm1QxOsch25ojaYQleQ0GNGoCUcsVc3mJQHiYldBTv9Aja92Aw9I10JtKkcSOrWxFi7Hrfb4jA8MIzGDQ1Bzj67Wdg0dGVLoE2xEnm_KeY2IpWH8nNs0XQZNybe9U2dKIG54p1j8P/s200/pokestop.jpg" width="111" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am delighted to discover I spend an awful lot of my week, through work and volunteering, at one of our local 'Pokestops', it is the church I attend and I have caught three Pokemon there already!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Will this phenomenon draw people into the church in search of these little creatures, and how can we respond if it does?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Will they understand that once they've caught 'em all, they may still find they are searching for something else?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In Luke chapter 10, Jesus sends out 72 disciples to go and catch 'em all, 'the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few'. Go! Jesus tells them, and don't stop to gather your belongings or greet anyone on the road. Go! Into the towns and villages and if you are welcomed, brilliant, stay there and tell them about me, and if you aren't welcomed, move on, don't waste your time! Go!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wonder if the 72 took on this challenge as with as much excitement and zeal as the Pokemon hunters of today have? I think they must have, because over two thousand years on, people today know of Jesus as the son of God and Saviour of the world,that craze had a pretty big impact, except it wasn't a craze, because it was most definitely not short lived.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The message those 72 went out with has spread, and Christians today are still 'going' out into the towns and villages and schools and workplaces and pubs and restaurants and, well, anywhere there are people really, going to find folk who have yet to hear and understand that God loves them and wants a relationship with them.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFa5InvuuV55rZzgmhGnghcpBGoyAdsH1cI6BFqNvlsBAhs8IzdiIaK0lXXMsqGmDz3ZnYmrjGlwCxm8tGvjP135psXiLGh9ASGhHrbQYmL1UtLFEA2JL5lgyIc_reDIvxWyualCkzT48S/s1600/jigglypuff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFa5InvuuV55rZzgmhGnghcpBGoyAdsH1cI6BFqNvlsBAhs8IzdiIaK0lXXMsqGmDz3ZnYmrjGlwCxm8tGvjP135psXiLGh9ASGhHrbQYmL1UtLFEA2JL5lgyIc_reDIvxWyualCkzT48S/s200/jigglypuff.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe we will find young and old gathering at churches or 'Pokestops' up and down the country, I hope we will welcome them in, even if they are looking for Jigglypuff rather than Jesus, and maybe that welcome will be what encourages them to stay and when the craze of hunting these little pocket monsters is long past and has died out, they will instead have found something lasting, something that can never die, something eternal, for Christians that something is their faith in Jesus Christ. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-79262053328250061362016-03-31T15:50:00.001+01:002016-03-31T15:50:57.480+01:00Goodnight Ronnie....<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We've only just come to the end of the third month of the year and my childhood legends are being stripped away one by one. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghaP8oEox3_0yZwnSdop7B1-9qS1BMVwH99PRxw3guSF3c44g-mJ-_eZzpYTUm3Qsfab7Rgxu78oh1LWWHIWhIfxgiBNjS_iJk_f91ZVJbbL4AOpes6kcYIjEtwizgvwLImWJrb-BW_6H7/s1600/David-Bowie-Lazarus-YouTube-640x480.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghaP8oEox3_0yZwnSdop7B1-9qS1BMVwH99PRxw3guSF3c44g-mJ-_eZzpYTUm3Qsfab7Rgxu78oh1LWWHIWhIfxgiBNjS_iJk_f91ZVJbbL4AOpes6kcYIjEtwizgvwLImWJrb-BW_6H7/s320/David-Bowie-Lazarus-YouTube-640x480.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm still in shock with Bowie going and the genius way in which he orchestrated his final days, an artist to the very end.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even
to the point where his ex wife Angie who was in the Celebrity Big
Brother house at the time, learned of his death and managed to confuse
and convince the other housemates that David Gest had in fact died in
the house!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If David Bowie had a sense of humour I'm sure that particular gem would have had him rolling in his grave! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">His song release Lazarus stirred up all sorts of comment on David's beliefs and whether he could now be in Heaven, a response to these comments and questions was summed up wonderfully by David Robertson known as The Wee Flea <a href="http://theweeflea.com/2016/01/13/david-bowie-the-hysteria-the-sorrow-and-the-frustration/">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now
Ronnie Corbett, my absolute favourite comedy legend along of course
with Ronnie Barker, it was always the Two Ronnies for me, I never was a
Morcombe & Wise fan but the two Ronnies had me in stitches every
time<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">.</span> I loved their big musical numbers at the end of each show, and the
way they played with words was incredible. I could probably still now
rec<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ite
some of their sketches word for word, one of my favourites was them
talking in a funny accent in a cafe with the subtitles coming <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">u<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">p on the <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">screen as initials: 'L.O.' 'R.U.B.<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">C.?' 'F<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">.U.N.E.X?' <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">T</span>ranslation: 'Hello' 'are you busy?' 'h<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ave you any eggs?'<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">! </span></span></span></span></span></span></span>and I know the lyrics to most of the daft songs!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In
between of course the world lost Alan Rickman, Glenn Frey, Paul
Daniels, Terry Wogan, George Martin and many more besides, and the
social media posts pleaded with 2016 to 'stop killing off our heroes'. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But
most of these heroes we've lost were in their late 60's, 70's and 80's,
and I believe the people we looked up to and called celebrities in our
childhoods 30odd years ago, we invested more into them, they were
special, individually talented, and deserved their celebrity status so
we stumble in disbelief when they're gone. But they've got to go, I'm
40 something, my heroes are nearly in their 70's and 80's, they can't
stay forever!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'm preparing myself, it's only a m<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">atter of time before we lose the other half <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">of <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Th<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">e Who<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> or The Beatles, <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sean Connery or C<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">liff Richard<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">;</span> actually has he alrea<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">dy gone? </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">That's the<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> thing, when you don't know the person you fo<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">r<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">get they've die<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">d, it's a running gag </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijSftl6gZd2kdCJ7VE9b-KhkBANId7Bee_UOdwqMbnqmS0ulUH359dn1EYUm2iqeFIGTT6akii4OaKYyNPkSuzAjlPd_vBGqKOvb3gE2zVPTrtEF8I-IDfjAz30bz3kUBmkBs6KUgF-3y3/s1600/cilla.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijSftl6gZd2kdCJ7VE9b-KhkBANId7Bee_UOdwqMbnqmS0ulUH359dn1EYUm2iqeFIGTT6akii4OaKYyNPkSuzAjlPd_vBGqKOvb3gE2zVPTrtEF8I-IDfjAz30bz3kUBmkBs6KUgF-3y3/s1600/cilla.jpg" /></a></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">between myself and my eldest daught<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">er to keep reminding each other Cilla Black is dead, to the point where now if anyone says 'oh, don't forget...' w<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">e chip in 'Cilla B<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">lack's dead?'</span></span></span> bec<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ause for us <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">nothing changes, we can still p<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">lay the music, watch the film and it<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">'</span>s as if they<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">'ve never left us<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">S</span>o with that in mind I'm going to pretend I'm about 10 again and watch my favourite musical number, goodnight both of you!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fJ6ZeWYfLjA" width="459"></iframe><br />
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<br /><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span></span></span></span></span>Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-74855271461563258982015-09-29T17:04:00.000+01:002015-09-29T17:04:46.699+01:00Park And Pride<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheWYdJLL5oHGK5Xbzr3wY0B1o4P9_qBtVa6FDtD-9cy7DG9LXx9fh-uS2AJmPuDRCX6U82uZp-p2JqL2zKFDbxe4S-16wGuX-IDtvUnAZYirUprjwsl-lpJCrvnLNhFTVT5CGD6KnOelCT/s1600/ticket.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheWYdJLL5oHGK5Xbzr3wY0B1o4P9_qBtVa6FDtD-9cy7DG9LXx9fh-uS2AJmPuDRCX6U82uZp-p2JqL2zKFDbxe4S-16wGuX-IDtvUnAZYirUprjwsl-lpJCrvnLNhFTVT5CGD6KnOelCT/s200/ticket.JPG" width="150" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am not one for using public transport, it's usually less reliable and more expensive; but for my weekly trips into college I have overcome my dislike of, well, mixing with the public and have taken to using the 'park and ride' facility. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">However, after last weeks experience I wasn't sure if this was the right thing for me to be doing. I got on, and as I am carrying a decent sized 'satchel' and laptop I plonked them on the seat by the window and sat next to them. I should point out the bus was barely occupied, I'm not completely uninitiated in 'bus etiquette' and was well aware that should the bus become full I would have to budge up and.......heaven forbid, sit next to someone.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Imagine then my reaction to an overheard conversation, that is the one thing I do like, the opportunity to eaves drop. I heard one man tell of purchases of over 20 t-shirts! 'They were only £1, well who wouldn't?' who wouldn't indeed? I thought, but said nothing. I am discovering that unless people are travelling together no one talks on the bus, which I like; I don't want to sit next to strangers let alone talk to them!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">But it wasn't that I overheard which shocked me. As I said, I was sat on the fairly empty bus next to my bags when I overheard a lady behind me say loudly to her friend " someone there's taking up two seats!" I was incensed for I assumed it was me she was referring to, I looked around to double check, yep, definitely plenty of free seats still, I am not being selfish or thoughtless! I did everything in my power to prevent my head from spinning around and glaring at her and asking if she was looking for an extra seat and would she like me to vacate mine? I refrained and played oblivious looking out of the window and occasionally at my phone, how very dare she! I couldn't help doubting myself though and wondering if I'd got the whole 'bus' thing wrong? Are you supposed to sit by the window leaving the adjacent seat free?</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghYTeOEuF-PC9YynCX1OKbIQolsynzzVIjw6Fqb3DGKWW5d2bEDSpu1x8Nk_bwBfAOKRvNZ6b8_UrYvJST8Bk1oBes8RKIpFe8I5N4gG4lRxdsliigWCOi2-A8RYt_mQX-SmPcvDOOcXck/s1600/fruitfulness.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghYTeOEuF-PC9YynCX1OKbIQolsynzzVIjw6Fqb3DGKWW5d2bEDSpu1x8Nk_bwBfAOKRvNZ6b8_UrYvJST8Bk1oBes8RKIpFe8I5N4gG4lRxdsliigWCOi2-A8RYt_mQX-SmPcvDOOcXck/s1600/fruitfulness.png" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">In our Sunday services at church we have been following the 'fruitfulness on the frontline' series, looking at how we can live out our Christian faith in our everyday lives, at work, school, with friends, at the shops etc. particularly how we show our faith in our actions to our non-Christian colleagues, friends and people we meet. Each week on my drive to the park and ride I pray that if I can show God's love in any way either on the bus or on my short walk through town to college that my eyes and heart will be open and that I will see the opportunity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">After last weeks fail,</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> today I thought I'd play by the rules, I got on the bus and it was a little busier than it's been before but still enough seats for everyone, I dutifully placed my satchel and laptop between my feet and sat at the seat near the window leaving the seat next to me free.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLN9I03zOzXnAsOOBW4I_YJQvKb_MrTGt8lvSBA7cI723jxzZgZy60fyIO0XwpLux-upLohyphenhyphenBKfq24WrWfNeaFttKoTtJiag76zQ4gByCHJekKY-lLPuWnxfBCkLBSfWP4sC1SPeE435Cz/s1600/bus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLN9I03zOzXnAsOOBW4I_YJQvKb_MrTGt8lvSBA7cI723jxzZgZy60fyIO0XwpLux-upLohyphenhyphenBKfq24WrWfNeaFttKoTtJiag76zQ4gByCHJekKY-lLPuWnxfBCkLBSfWP4sC1SPeE435Cz/s1600/bus.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">I watched as each passenger made their way towards me, then it happened; she sat next to me. Don't panic I thought, it's only a short ride, just be polite it'll be over before you know it. I felt hemmed in, I was by the window and had a person between me and the aisle, my exits were blocked this wasn't good. In the past I have suffered from anxiety and although I am fine now part of me still needs that security of having an escape route, which is one of the reasons I don't like public transport because it leaves me in the hands of someone else, I have no control of when or where we stop, how fast we go, who travels with me. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I looked at my travel partner and smiled, "good morning", this appeared to shock her; remember people don't talk to each other on the bus unless they're travelling together. She smiled and greeted me back, an awkward minute or so passed while I guess we both wondered where this new relationship was going to take us, then she kicked it off with a query about the varying stops into town, buses are noisy things and I struggled to hear her quiet voice but I think she told me she was travelling in to the hospital each week to see her husband, here's my 'in' I thought, I'll tell her I'm at college at the church, she'll see what a lovely person I am and ask a bit about it, I'll explain she really should 'know Jesus' and hey presto, one more for the Kingdom!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Well as it happened God had put me next to another Christian! We had a lovely old chat about our 'church' backgrounds and whiled away the ride discussing all sorts of theology and doctrine, then before we new it our 10 minutes were up and we had reached town! We exchanged names as we parted and I felt good about having shared my seat with someone, and even though Carol was already a Christian, maybe the earwiggers behind us might have heard something of interest in our conversation!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">This evening, with my new found 'bus buddy' confidence I thought I'd make my seat available again, and it worked a second time! I got sat next to, I smiled a cheery 'hello' and sat and waited for the conversation to flow.....and waited.....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">See, the thing is, Carol started the conversation this morning and that is where I fall flat; I'm no good at small talk, I just didn't know where to start so I spent the bus ride back feeling incredibly awkward and uncomfortable while I read the man in fronts Facebook posts over his shoulder - he also had a nasty cut on his head, I wonder how he did that?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">I hope I see Carol again next week, I'll be praying for her and her husband if I heard right that he's in hospital.....</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9rMSNp6fuwczmF65bdtQq9DxeNYIVXHB7oXA3GCslTeSY3tWfb1-ofaY3bd2jSYT4Oqdw68RyoP39YcMagXjriEQymPbxtjiN65w9_Lpeksag6ImIajxHD0QPZmfj0kGLYn51H7NJgOXX/s1600/bus.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9rMSNp6fuwczmF65bdtQq9DxeNYIVXHB7oXA3GCslTeSY3tWfb1-ofaY3bd2jSYT4Oqdw68RyoP39YcMagXjriEQymPbxtjiN65w9_Lpeksag6ImIajxHD0QPZmfj0kGLYn51H7NJgOXX/s1600/bus.png" /></a></div>
<br />Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-74868979502954645922015-09-18T17:47:00.000+01:002015-09-18T17:47:52.698+01:00Who'd Have Thought It? Me? A Student!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span id="goog_316239723"></span><span id="goog_316239722"></span>When I started this blog the tag line said something like.....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"I'm not Theologically trained, but I've read some books and listened to the odd podcast......"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I was coming towards the end of a messy period in my life spiritually and mentally, and was always searching online for answers; some of which I found among blogs I still follow today and which inspired me to start this one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">However, my searching over the last few years has now led me to a place where next week I start a BA in Theology and Mission, so all being well in three years time I will be able to say 'I'm Theologically trained!'</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span id="goog_83777320"></span><span id="goog_83777321"></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNuahxog2nto1EhRgf9_VC3vuqszYpR9AyaHwjNcpsVVFxapLb3Bp3bBPz9tnYKD8L_s85Eob5HZIXBbimrQxThn7uKbSSWAnaci8c6nKIZ-yLeqsjJVWemhBzf0ulSin7PmF27Iajcapq/h120/pile-of-theology-books-by-Alex-Leung.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" class="nm-O-x" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNuahxog2nto1EhRgf9_VC3vuqszYpR9AyaHwjNcpsVVFxapLb3Bp3bBPz9tnYKD8L_s85Eob5HZIXBbimrQxThn7uKbSSWAnaci8c6nKIZ-yLeqsjJVWemhBzf0ulSin7PmF27Iajcapq/h120/pile-of-theology-books-by-Alex-Leung.jpg" style="height: 120px; left: 0px; top: 0px; transform: rotate(0deg); width: 186px;" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">It's funny how God calls us and directs us to things we feel very unqualified for. Having pretty much flunked my GCSEs 20 odd years ago, it never once occurred to me I could go into higher education. Growing up my experience of church and Christianity couldn't have been more dull and meaningless, yet here I am looking to learn how to grow Gods Kingdom and reach out missionally to my community!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Change is good, but there have been ups and downs along the way as we adjusted as a family to help me make this transition from self employed to student. Little things like 'who's going to make dinner?' To bigger things like 'can we survive on a student loan?' But already in the journey I have known Gods hand in the details and His answer to prayer constantly. So when I have my meltdowns of doubt wondering what on earth I have done, I remind myself that this is Gods plan for me and I am following His lead so although I may feel I'm out of my depth, I know I'm not following something I decided on a whim, I am answering Gods call to step out in faith and trust that He knows I can do it even if I don't!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">One of the verses that has stuck with me from before I went to my first open day earlier in the year is:</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: large;">Judges 6:14</span><span style="font-family: Arial;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>The Lord turned to him and said "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Gideon felt unqualified and weak and made excuses. And I too have felt like that many times, but I know it is God who is sending me and therefore I have to trust that God can use me with the strength and knowledge I have, even if I don't feel it's enough, God does!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">So as I embark on this journey of lie-ins, daytime tv..... ahem, I mean study, I am praying that God will open my heart and mind, that I will meet some wonderful people, that I will be involved in growing my home church and that my student discount card will be accepted in Costa. Amen.</span></div>
Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-46141475715295674082015-08-20T20:16:00.000+01:002015-08-21T12:23:03.994+01:00My Love/Hate Relationship With Soul Survivor<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; as I sit here, clean, on a comfy chair, drinking a nice glass of Red, I am reflecting on my time at Soul Survivor week B.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having got home and into bed at 2:45 am this morning, I am tired and weary from packing up tents in the rain and then having to unpack and dry them out again today, I think I've decided I love and hate Soul Survivor in equal measure:</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTrqYy6M_0gPuw17G61HvEyzQg8TrgWuQ7BtCPWuJ9Q2J30s_sq_M3Yf4-PRKPSc2Z0VI0pGTK4abKBI7A0YduuEpnFMKvsjY3iOfKjNAykKI8tgbHyIJY0ZU0KxhuraBZ-3vO1cG-bwzv/s1600/worship.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTrqYy6M_0gPuw17G61HvEyzQg8TrgWuQ7BtCPWuJ9Q2J30s_sq_M3Yf4-PRKPSc2Z0VI0pGTK4abKBI7A0YduuEpnFMKvsjY3iOfKjNAykKI8tgbHyIJY0ZU0KxhuraBZ-3vO1cG-bwzv/s1600/worship.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love worshipping and celebrating God with 9000 other people - I hate sharing showers and toilets with 9000 other people.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love to sleep - I hate sleeping in a freezing cold tent on a pump bed.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love staying up till 1:30am
pretending to be sensible and in charge, whilst cracking up at what the
kids are getting up to - I hate packing up and travelling home at
1:30am.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love listening to inspiring, humorous, Spirit led, Bible teaching - I hate sitting on the floor to do so.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love seeing the young people respond to the presence of Jesus - I hate seeing the pain some of them are carrying.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, it is a real privilege to go on this journey of faith with them, some of them who have never been to church before, some who are really committed Christians - all of them grow and learn something about themselves before they leave.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The challenge now as part of a youth work team is how to keep that momentum of growth going? How to bring Soul Survivor style worship to our own church? How to present our youth group sessions with the style and humour that Mike Pilavachi does? Or maybe, the challenge is for them to realise that something as grand as that can't exactly be recreated in their church, but the worship team will have a darn good go at learning the new songs, and we won't be presenting our talks as Mike or Andy do, because we are not them but what we have to say if it's from God will be as valuable and relevant to them and they can still learn from it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ultimately I find it helps us bond, the kids naturally open up more as to how they see this Christian thing in a way that they don't generally do in a normal youth group session, they have a taste of the Holy Spirit and they want more and I want them to have more, because with it comes freedom and release from the rubbish that a lot of them are holding onto and every one of the young people that attend Soul Survivor deserve what God has promised them, a life worth living to the full. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0liH0gGfNYnOqXcccvDW5QKMcAwHU4k-PYnO3nLsLNi_ec54uUNxP7r2EI8itbnYVmOb-UlYlwuiZLV59fYPVD4xQ6Q2pWPA00M5EFonUKiN8don5LhEwSdOKzrN6uGw1nWuW2qIUl2_5/s1600/John+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0liH0gGfNYnOqXcccvDW5QKMcAwHU4k-PYnO3nLsLNi_ec54uUNxP7r2EI8itbnYVmOb-UlYlwuiZLV59fYPVD4xQ6Q2pWPA00M5EFonUKiN8don5LhEwSdOKzrN6uGw1nWuW2qIUl2_5/s1600/John+10.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Will I go again? Of course I will, love wins doesn't it?</span></div>
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Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-11136899910975651992015-08-11T16:41:00.001+01:002015-08-11T16:41:49.514+01:00Soul Survivor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcRRtvCGyMXymonW47KLqFtDemPLi-H7rOmnvnWjG5fiWW4D25NO7BPm6tSV5B_6ecKbKp9n-oKkJRxMZUuhyphenhyphenbCc5sjM7HjsPOhNStiF3A2USK9t5qvyqDOaehXvw7HOSlWTCDp5kV2mrF/s1600/souly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcRRtvCGyMXymonW47KLqFtDemPLi-H7rOmnvnWjG5fiWW4D25NO7BPm6tSV5B_6ecKbKp9n-oKkJRxMZUuhyphenhyphenbCc5sjM7HjsPOhNStiF3A2USK9t5qvyqDOaehXvw7HOSlWTCDp5kV2mrF/s1600/souly.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This weekend I'm heading off to Soul Survivor as one of the leaders for our church youth group, plus some other teenagers who are tagging along with us. Last year was my first time and as I arrived home and crawled through the front door at around 2am, lugging my baggage behind me, I tiredly voiced the words "never again" like some sort of half paralysed zombie who'd only just made it out alive from the apocalypse.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yet, here I am, about to 'do it again', and I can't wait! So what's calling me back? The quagmire we pitch our tents in? The sanitary towel wallpapered shower blocks? The return journey home in the middle of the night?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a Christian I had felt the presence of the Holy Spirit personally in my life before and seen it in others, but I hadn't been anywhere to witness the movement on a grand scale, and I must admit last year I was a bit apprehensive as to what would occur and how much of it would be real and how much would be teenage hype. I'd heard the stories of the place erupting in hysterical laughter and people collapsing left, right and centre and it all seemed a bit weird and unnecessary to me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I started the week trying to stay very much in control and to not allow myself to be caught up in what was going on, but was just observing and taking it in and wondering if I would be able to resist if I felt myself being drawn in, I was also conscious of the fact I was there as a youth leader and felt I needed to be in control at all times to look after them! I needn't have worried about remaining in control, I only needed to leave that to the Holy Spirit, yes there was laughter and tears and collapsing but it was in His control and being in the midst of it didn't feel weird at all, it was a privilege.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As each day goes by the momentum of the presence of the Holy Spirit just fills the place and you sing the songs with more feeling, you pray more earnestly and you believe more than you've ever believed before and by the end of the week no matter how much you've resisted, you find yourself surrendering to the power of the Holy Spirit and having the most amazing experience because of it! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So of course I want to go back! Who wouldn't want to see the power of Jesus move amongst His children like that?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrT41v2POf_IGSaKpVz4zqU2P1NpOnc2p8D2CbBR18vPw-2AyqnC5hJ65Zo-1OQnzNHEpnsAsJsoqz7StzqCNn61Ljx5rtDn63qKOA0Ju6yoTv3EYmj7iBCUg1DyK2Yjt4pQN_uKvwAnNl/s1600/souly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrT41v2POf_IGSaKpVz4zqU2P1NpOnc2p8D2CbBR18vPw-2AyqnC5hJ65Zo-1OQnzNHEpnsAsJsoqz7StzqCNn61Ljx5rtDn63qKOA0Ju6yoTv3EYmj7iBCUg1DyK2Yjt4pQN_uKvwAnNl/s1600/souly.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh, and the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3P2yxXs3No&index=1&list=PLlNV2kwbUSJ2lO5ncZ9bFA3hwUoK9WKNU">worship</a> is pretty cool too! </span></div>
Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-37197509142086409142015-07-27T17:45:00.001+01:002015-07-27T17:45:47.044+01:00Guardians Of Ancora: Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlrZ6SNIZVrTMaw9alE-8NjmuJkbQtpV4ccqHcw9E8agMcvQVLuQS2nFwoWUlQNtxmBsQJNm7PNXc1jcDmWWZoXiCLjNn3TpiTN7CwyBXPT1s5JNaB-qUbUjc5y8xAjkOpaAshZ9R83VMC/s1600/ancora+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlrZ6SNIZVrTMaw9alE-8NjmuJkbQtpV4ccqHcw9E8agMcvQVLuQS2nFwoWUlQNtxmBsQJNm7PNXc1jcDmWWZoXiCLjNn3TpiTN7CwyBXPT1s5JNaB-qUbUjc5y8xAjkOpaAshZ9R83VMC/s1600/ancora+1.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Premier Childrens Work magazine this month had an interesting <a href="http://www.premierchildrenswork.com/Past-Issues/2015/August-September-2015/Discovering-the-Bible-in-a-digital-world">article</a> on a new game launched by Scripture Union. It's called Guardians Of Ancora and is aimed at 8-11 yr olds, I thought it looked pretty cool but being in the wrong demographic I encouraged my 11 yr old daughter to download it onto her tablet and let me know what she thought.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although we are a church going family and she attends Sunday School, she is not, how can I put this, a keen Biblical scholar. There was an embarrassing episode a while back in church where she volunteered to go to the front and take part in a quiz, it became awkward when the quiz master started to get the congregation to shout up the answers to her while I slowly sunk down in my chair amazed at just how little she was able to to answer! It was all taken in good humour though and a few heckles were thrown about how the Sunday School teachers were obviously not doing their job.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But there the point was perhaps made that if church going kids aren't taking in Bible stories, how on earth do we expect non-churched kids to have a clue who David was and why his story is important today?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And this is where Scripture Union did their research and hit upon designing a game that can be downloaded for free onto a tablet, to engage children from all walks of life and bring the Bible alive, whether they're church attendees or not, and Guardians of Ancora was the result.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had actually forgotten I'd suggested it to my daughter and I honestly thought she'd be put off by it being Bible based, but after about a week she came up to me and said "that game you told me to download, it's actually pretty good!" She even told me that she didn't know the story of Jesus filling Andrew and Peter's nets with fish and now she did! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I mean, come on! Eleven years of Sunday School and they haven't covered that story?! Nearer to the truth it's probable they've told that story dozens of times but she just hadn't taken it in, we certainly are living in an era where children engage with the world differently, we are the immigrants and they are the natives of this digital age!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The game is in its infancy so could do with a few glitches tweaking, occasionally your character can get 'stuck' in the graphics and you have to exit and start again, and I personally found it almost impossible to get the timing of the characters jumps right, meaning it got very frustrating and repetitive, the advantage being you don't lose lives, so the jumps could be attempted until you crossed the gap or threw the tablet in frustration, whichever came soonest; but as my daughter pointed out, I struggled to play it because I'm not 11!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having said that, the graphics are great, the story's easy to follow and there are lots of extras like quizzes, missions, audio stories and places for you to make your own notes and drawings which can be shared with other players or kept private. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also at the moment there are only 2 playable quests, which she has now completed, hopefully the others will be unlocked soon or the game may lose momentum for its early players.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think my daughter is looking forward to the next quest. (And I must admit, I am a little bit too!) </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPHItwZUnjMXsOXNPI6GnRsXgV0mZUGzw9hUVUEnjLVysdfa7aTjJLP8trfjlKz-S9jKdiA1K7QGOO7aL7d6gI_eXAsQzwwN31HGVXuqoRlwW1L_ixL2IyZo5TdTK-SN9_FNb-BDPYoNo7/s1600/ancora.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPHItwZUnjMXsOXNPI6GnRsXgV0mZUGzw9hUVUEnjLVysdfa7aTjJLP8trfjlKz-S9jKdiA1K7QGOO7aL7d6gI_eXAsQzwwN31HGVXuqoRlwW1L_ixL2IyZo5TdTK-SN9_FNb-BDPYoNo7/s1600/ancora.jpg" /></a></div>
Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-34649523968720506282015-07-24T11:21:00.000+01:002015-07-24T11:21:00.155+01:00The Prayer Course: Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmlk6fT6O7auC8SdBDVug0FlRGyA8UatAny6yLJJFnzpRcnYLtU58folW_5jMSLJF0xkV_zaLxNnkoUYWv7_NPSLRQ3MWABk1F7rW9klRov-HYdF4nFClPxosUsC_qREa27NpyP_F76Hki/s1600/prayer+course.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmlk6fT6O7auC8SdBDVug0FlRGyA8UatAny6yLJJFnzpRcnYLtU58folW_5jMSLJF0xkV_zaLxNnkoUYWv7_NPSLRQ3MWABk1F7rW9klRov-HYdF4nFClPxosUsC_qREa27NpyP_F76Hki/s1600/prayer+course.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pete Greig says in the opening session of <a href="http://www.prayercourse.org/">The Prayer Course</a> that after the six weeks we will be "better at hearing Gods voice, experiencing more of his prescence, have processed our dissapointments and struggles with prayer and will possibly even be witnessing more miracles having unlocked the power of prayer!"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Johnny Hughes responds with "I'm in!" and that was how I felt too! Which Christian amongst us wouldn't want that? Although I was uncertain it would 'work' for me so to speak.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Along with so many other Christians I have found prayer so difficult, sometimes boring and </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">even pointless; I have gone through phases of praying for everything to refusing to pray for anything, but I knew I had to get this prayer part of my life in some sort of order so I suggested to our home group that we followed The Prayer Course.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Taking the process of prayer step by step following the Lord's prayer as a guideline, it was an interesting, thought provoking and sometimes heart wrenching journey through adoration, petition, intercession, perseverence, listening and warfare.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can honestly say that having completed the course about a month ago now and taken the time to let what I learned settle, I have had answeres to prayers that have been ongoing for many years, been able to sense Gods leading and presence in guiding me through some big life decisions I have been working with over the last year, and I have seen a miracle in our financial circumstances in that the life change I am undertaking means giving up my job and being funded by the government, the grant offer is the same amount as my wages!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I feel a lot more in touch with my prayer life now, there is more meaning and understanding behind it, I'm not just randomly waffling away to the thin air (well I kind of am, but I fully believe there's more than just thin air there!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are part of a small group I would recommend it as a course to follow but I'm certain even as an individual you would get something out of watching the short video clips! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Try it and let me know how you get on! </span>Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-42387932242505173152015-06-11T11:59:00.000+01:002015-06-11T11:59:07.215+01:00Throwback Thursday - A Post From The Past<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This post was first published on 26/3/13. Quite apt to choose it now as I will be blogging shortly on The Prayer Course that our homegroup have just completed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's often said God gives
three answers to prayer - "yes", "no" or "wait".......we seem to be
getting the bulk of the "no" answers at the moment and it really does
make me think 'why am I even praying?' I thought I'd be really clever
and prove my point by specifically not praying and then if what I
would've prayed for went the right way - case proved - circumstantial!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don't misunderstand me and
think I am losing my faith, I completely know God is there and loves me
and cares about what I need, but I am starting to think what happens to
us in this life is very much down to our own control and circumstances,
the thing is..........I can't </span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">not</i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> pray!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have developed such a
relationship that even if the answer is going to be "no" I still find
peace in having had the conversation and I know I will look back at this
period of time in the future and make sense of the "no's"!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So I still pray, but avoid the
specific subject of our want/need at the moment! I know many of my
friends are praying for the same thing for us so I leave it in their
hands! Pressure!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have found recently the easiest way for me to pray is to elaborate on the Lord's Prayer something like this:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"Father, you are the one true God,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the only God who deserves all my praise & worship.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I pray that your world will be filled with people who follow you,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">& every day your work will be done.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thank you for all you've provided & continue to provide </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">for me & my family.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Please forgive me for the things I've said & done </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">that've hurt you & others,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">help me to think before I act & help me to forgive others who hurt me.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Help me to not be tempted by things that are not good for me</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">& keep me safe from things that can harm me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In your son's precious name. Amen"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why
pray? Because Jesus taught us to, and whether we believe it or not and
even when it seems like God's not there, He is, and He's listening and
it'll all be alright in the end, and if it's not alright, it's not the
end!</span></div>
Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-87133190031829569882015-06-07T18:14:00.000+01:002015-06-07T18:14:12.597+01:00Big Lunch and Benefits Street<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I totally didn't go on the bouncy castle after church this morning, well not until I'd intimidated the little kids off of it first; I was only thinking of them I wouldn't have wanted to land on them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our church hosted a <a href="http://www.thebiglunch.com/">Big Lunch</a> where we invited the families from the toddler group and coffee shop to join us, and after the service we had face painting, pool tournament, balloon modelling, loom bands and the aforementioned bouncy castle!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The idea behind it is to build community and for neighbours to get together with each other in their streets and share lunch together and bond I guess! It's true not many neighbourhoods do this, I know in our street we had a shindig for the Queens jubilee as did most of the country, but aside from that I can probably count on one hand the times since then I've had a conversation with any of my neighbours.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This was highlighted to me last week as I watched the final episode of <a href="http://www.channel4.com/programmes/benefits-street">Benefits Street</a>, seen by some as 'poverty porn', to me I saw people who cared about each other and looked out for one another and actually knew their neighbours and their needs. None more so than Julie's friend Sue, who went door to door collecting loose change from the residents to pay for Santa and his reindeer to visit Kingston Road, and in particular Julie's severely disabled son Regan. Remember, this is Benefits Street, most of the people featured were unemployed, scraping money together to feed metres, but they were more than happy to donate to see Regan's dream realised, because they knew him and they cared.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It may be because they aren't rushing off to work each morning that they are able to forge these bonds, but I started to feel sad that in my street would I be aware of someone genuinely in need, and if I was would I do something about it?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's somewhat easy to offer hospitality to the community from the security of our church and that's definitely a good thing to do, but how can we, if we live in a street where most head off to work daily, build a rapport with our neighbours in which we can understand their needs and offer that hospitality where needed? </span><br />
<br />Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-60429924922438576452015-05-18T20:20:00.001+01:002015-05-18T20:20:54.216+01:00The Trauma Of Pet Loss<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What a traumatic weekend! Which culminated this morning with all four of us hugging and crying while the worship team played "I'm desperate for you, I'm lost without you"...... I'm sure anyone standing nearby just assumed we'd been overcome by the Holy Spirit, but sadly, we were mourning the loss of our pet rabbit, Silk. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Well, the kids were mourning the rabbit, I was mourning the £60 we'd spent at the vets on medicine that clearly hadn't worked!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Poor Silk, she lost her friend, our other pet rabbit Snowball, to a fox last Spring and since that tragic night I'd always felt worried Silk would meet the same fate. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My husband came home from work on Friday night and chased a cat out of the garden and found her hiding, petrified, he brought her in and could immediately tell not only was she terrified but she was unwell and decided to summon me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was watching a film with our youngest two and thought it best we finish the film before we broke the news to them, it was going to be traumatic enough to discover their pet was dying, they didn't need the added trauma of delaying the climax of the film; some kids had been going into unused mine shafts looking for a ghoul who had kidnapped their friends and it was getting to the dark bit where we were sure the ghoul was going to grab one of the main characters and the tension was really building, we wanted to see this ghoul get got!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When we all got up Saturday morning we were amazed to see Silk was still fighting on but obviously not well and although we're not hugely sentimental 'pet people', neither are we heartless, <span id="goog_1652829003"></span><span id="goog_1652829004"></span>we didn't want to just leave her to get worse and worse so off to the vets we went.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apparently there was something wrong with her gut and she was in a lot of pain, so an injection for the pain, some medicine for her gut, and £60 thank you very much and she was given a 50/50 chance, turns out they weren't great odds.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our daughters dutifully attempted to give her her medicine every half hour or so but on our last attempt, she went all floppy while my daughter was holding her, we turned her every way trying to find a heart beat, my daughter wondered how to do CPR and attempted a few chest pumps but we both agreed we weren't going anywhere near mouth to mouth. We both breathed a sigh of relief when we could feel a very faint beat, but it was short lived and she had gone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Both girls were very brave and although teary, they held themselves together very well, gave her a last cuddle and then we buried her.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I thought they coped with losing their pet extremely well and </span>I had been amazed at how composed they had kept themselves.....until this morning in church. I'd said to my daughter before we left I was hoping for some really good worship, well we certainly got it because it was singing that song that opened the floodgates for all the emotions to come out!</span><br />
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Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-60642112118026818302015-05-08T16:48:00.000+01:002015-05-08T16:48:45.674+01:00What Do We Want? A New Voting System!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSpw-IJJ5vfZ4Qfv1CG1AM_u15NxVK_i_2z3772wyMVeNUPopXXjKcQJh5rsQ9xc3NNEpsNSly9Bk0Lzros2T-CNQaHcsntu04x47SBhHBPHyatljz8IBUGSN82H7m0IWLHmk_lsBp-UYK/s1600/maggie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSpw-IJJ5vfZ4Qfv1CG1AM_u15NxVK_i_2z3772wyMVeNUPopXXjKcQJh5rsQ9xc3NNEpsNSly9Bk0Lzros2T-CNQaHcsntu04x47SBhHBPHyatljz8IBUGSN82H7m0IWLHmk_lsBp-UYK/s1600/maggie.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The country has awoken in uproar (well, mild grumbling) at the electing of a Conservative government - which is odd, because apparently we elected them!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe I should've kept the views I was brought up with and that is 'Christians shouldn't vote' but I didn't, I got involved, I went to the hustings, I emailed candidates, I watched the Trews, and because I invested, I am now upset that the vote I cast wasn't a winning one.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmjStR1RqJPsUWiVK5r2NVjKiRNsGuIne3jkLe2ImWAo_TkOhE42gXWf4I9FNDSz9Rz-VzPtjwB_1QrFjdtoE8NseoRP0yp3SLHp_mcWpltSzTBNfKLUvBrlfMqCXmwY1lX4ghu2cUcGKH/s1600/katy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmjStR1RqJPsUWiVK5r2NVjKiRNsGuIne3jkLe2ImWAo_TkOhE42gXWf4I9FNDSz9Rz-VzPtjwB_1QrFjdtoE8NseoRP0yp3SLHp_mcWpltSzTBNfKLUvBrlfMqCXmwY1lX4ghu2cUcGKH/s200/katy.jpg" width="153" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But where are the jubilant voters who have done this to our Country? Not surprisingly, today on Facebook and Twitter a lot of people are upset, in fact I have only come across two voters who are happy with the result: Katy Hopkins, the lady who says drowning people (immigrants) are cockroaches, and a farcebook friend who works in education - unfathomable! Everyone else who voted Tory is keeping their head well and truly below the parapet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course if my vote had been a winning one, (which it never could be in my constituancy) many others would now be feeling upset and let down by the system, you can't please all of the people all of the time, only some of the people some of the time. (Who said that?)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I went to bed last night praying for change, hoping to wake to something
new & exciting, a fresh start....turns out it's still Friday & I have
to go to Asda. Which, incidentally was a lot quieter than usual, perhaps their clientele have assessed the situation and taken their custom to Aldi, which is marginally preferable to a Food bank.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But enough of the doom and gloom, as Christians now, if this was not the result we wanted, we need to rise above it with prayer and petition, with responding to need as we see it, and being thankful that we have a voting system, albeit a pants one. </span><br />
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Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-44580604143693005092015-03-21T16:01:00.000+00:002015-03-21T16:01:57.593+00:00Noah 8 Track Experiment<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I came across a group that are looking at different ways of studying and reading the Bible by doing various experiments. One that particularly attracted my attention was the <a href="http://alchemy.community/experiment/8-track-bible/">8 track experiment</a> where you look at a Bible story and pick up to 8 music tracks to tell that story.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I thought I'd have a go at the story of Noah, mainly because I know the story well and thought it would be a simple one to start with. I went about it by picking songs I thought were suitable based on what I already knew, it soon became apparent as I <i>read</i> the story that I had ingrained interpretations that weren't necessarily accurate, and so some of my song choices had to go!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's my <a href="http://alchemy.community/playlist/noah/">playlist</a>! Why not take part yourself, it was good fun if you're into music, and it definitely makes you think about what you're reading while you're picking the music!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-62502259205278778192015-03-05T17:25:00.000+00:002015-03-05T17:25:19.299+00:00Throwback Thursday: A Post From The Past<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today's post from the past is a book review in honour of World Book Day. I chose this review in light of the recent retraction from <a href="http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2015/january/boy-who-came-back-from-heaven-retraction.html?paging=off">Alex Malarkey</a> about his trip to Heaven, and because Colton's story was made into a film last year. This post was initially written on 14/12/2011 </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Colton
Burpo is not quite four, when he has an emergency appendectomy. In the
months that follow, he starts to tell his parents about how while he
was being operated on he was in Heaven with Jesus, and the Angels sang
to him.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3r-2MNqU_rU5kNYsAfKe30HOeQYgaSjX5uctSTW_nJfB_yeNS1gb8yNcMLr0MBiLrDxtwlId99u1B-3CS1_Nsh5gacKjmWyxvd1IdACJHwWMUnXcXhVLcMYEzbBZI95AugkJ29vmORY2W/s1600/heaven+for+real.jpg" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3r-2MNqU_rU5kNYsAfKe30HOeQYgaSjX5uctSTW_nJfB_yeNS1gb8yNcMLr0MBiLrDxtwlId99u1B-3CS1_Nsh5gacKjmWyxvd1IdACJHwWMUnXcXhVLcMYEzbBZI95AugkJ29vmORY2W/s1600/heaven+for+real.jpg" oda="true" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial;">If you are a non-believer you could probably say this is a clever book of fiction by a Pastor with Biblical knowledge.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">I
am a Christian and I believe Heaven is for real, but I don't know why I
find it hard to accept that Jesus would let a child visit Him in Heaven
and tell us of his experiences. It's not that I disbelieved Colton's
story, I just suppose it's so supernatural it's hard to get your head
around - imagine how his parents coped as he casually told them about
meeting his mis-carried sister!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">The story naturally unravels without coming across as overly sentimental or cheesy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Colton's
Pastor dad backs up his accounts with scripture references, and the end
of book poses questions to make you think further beyond what you have
read.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;">Heaven is for real? Yes it is. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;">Did Colton Burpo visit Heaven? Why not?</span>Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-52530488499486238012015-02-26T11:11:00.000+00:002015-02-26T11:13:01.471+00:00Throwback Thursday: A Post From The Past<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A post about my first experience as a leader on a youth weekend; I've been true to my word at the end and am repeating the experience! This was posted in Feb 2013 </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've just returned from my
first weekend away as a youth group leader, I use the term 'leader'
loosely because I'm not sure I always lead in the right direction, and
am often accused by the kids of being a bigger kid than them!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although I grew up in
Christian surroundings I wasn't one of those kids who lived for the
camps - in fact the only two I remember going on as a kid didn't leave
me with great memories, I came home from one infested with head-lice,
and the other one I spent a whole day in tears and didn't really know
why!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqNolT9dwgY-FHhEFZhZJ6xuglAfX0jM82wMVaOcqMkiS4iHVD2c0oz5yZ7e8CiuvJYYFPomn94YTftB9eILZ4JmqUVj5oesEiopHGSNU3-kfQI0eNNweZHeE9K6oQt3jb64fI0ArvBF6l/s1600/woodcroft.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqNolT9dwgY-FHhEFZhZJ6xuglAfX0jM82wMVaOcqMkiS4iHVD2c0oz5yZ7e8CiuvJYYFPomn94YTftB9eILZ4JmqUVj5oesEiopHGSNU3-kfQI0eNNweZHeE9K6oQt3jb64fI0ArvBF6l/s200/woodcroft.JPG" height="151" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Funnily enough it was to be at
the same place I spent a week and a tear soaked day as a child, that we
were to return to with the youth group from our church, so I wasn't
sure what emotions it might evoke. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We went across to <a href="http://www.woodcroft-online.org.uk/">Woodcroft Christian Centre</a> which
is only about 30 mins drive from where we are, which is a bonus for
whoever has to drive the minibus, because listening to the onslaught of
vocal renditions ranging from S Club 7 to Queen, or various entire Monty
Python sketches being recited word for word by a large group of
teenagers is a lot to ask of anyone; so top tip for booking a youth
weekend away......go local!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
theme for the weekend was 'trust' and we covered all angles, from
trusting God and our faith to trusting peoples advice, and of course how
we recover from broken trust. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1MX705MT9bYswm52BqeeaMDby7EyD77XOJ-I1Unjv-aDzZPmYoP8IVxmP3GK_Cy4BJuZMeJ3R03oCwiFO-lEelYikftWV-IJH-MK_L3RqtoHgWTUG2jx4pbwDAKUnhvYo8Xx0VdXjMINj/s1600/WP_000103.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1MX705MT9bYswm52BqeeaMDby7EyD77XOJ-I1Unjv-aDzZPmYoP8IVxmP3GK_Cy4BJuZMeJ3R03oCwiFO-lEelYikftWV-IJH-MK_L3RqtoHgWTUG2jx4pbwDAKUnhvYo8Xx0VdXjMINj/s200/WP_000103.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hope and pray the kids got
something out of it, I think they did, we'll find out more over the
coming weeks in our group together. But I know I got something out of
it. My slot was to cover trusting God, and in my preparation I was
reminded of a verse I had come to a long time ago while praying during
a desperate situation:</span><br />
<div class="heading passage-class-0" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px;">
<h3 style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #444444;">Psalm 28:7(NIV)</span></h3>
<h3 style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #444444;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The </span><span class="small-caps" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">is my strength</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and my shield,</span></span></span></h3>
<h3 style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #444444;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">my heart trusts</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> in him, and he helps me.</span></span></span></h3>
<h3 style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">My heart leaps for joy,</span></span></h3>
<h3 style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: #444444;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="indent-1-breaks" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 0;"> </span><span class="text Ps-28-7" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; position: relative;">and with my song I praise him.</span></span></span></h3>
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<span style="background-color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span class="text Ps-28-7" style="position: relative;"><br /></span></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It was so good to be reminded of this verse again and find the trust in God that I needed to for my present situation.</span></span></div>
<div class="heading passage-class-0" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Aside
from worship and talks and a couple of workshops, there was time for
the kids to have one to one talks with leaders. I don't know if as a
teenager I would've opened up to an adult about certain situations, but I
know as an adult I wish I had, so I think it's great that we can build
those relationships and provide the environment for them to talk - only
if they wanted to of course, it was all very relaxed.</span></span></div>
<div class="heading passage-class-0" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Both
nights two other leaders and myself stayed up till 1am for 'late night
chat'. The first night was great, a few testimonies were shared which
was very moving and I feel privileged to have heard them, and
some theological questions asked, and it was wonderful to see just how
seriously these youngsters take their understanding of the Bible and
they want to talk and ask their peers their understanding of certain
texts.</span></span></div>
<div class="heading passage-class-0" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Night
two and we thought we'd tr<span style="background-color: white;"><span><span style="background-color: black;"></span></span></span>y and spice it up a bit by allowing
an anonymous questions bag, improvisationaly provided in the form of a
wash bag and some post it notes! I'm not sure who managed to lower the
tone more - the kids or the leaders; the best question was.....oops no,
sorry, what gets said in 'late night chat' stays in 'late night chat',
the weekend was based on 'trust' after all!</span></span></div>
<div class="heading passage-class-0" style="margin-bottom: 15px; margin-top: 10px;">
<span style="background-color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We
finished up the weekend with Christmas dinner and Secret Santa gifts (I
know, it's February, don't ask!) and I have to say I was more than
chuffed with my gift, I don't know who it was from, but it was a book I
have wanted for a little while now, <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/reader/B005CBWWQW/ref=sib_dp_kd#reader-link">Heaven: It's not the end of the world</a> by David Lawrence (maybe I'll get him to sign it next time he speaks at our church!)</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, I survived my first weekend away with 18 teenagers as a leader! Would I go again? Definitely!</span></span></div>
Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-35463379197203503582015-02-25T20:11:00.001+00:002015-02-25T20:11:47.053+00:00Fun Weekend Ahead!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have an extremely exciting weekend coming up, and I'm actually really buzzing for it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's our church youth weekend away; we're taking 15 teenagers and 6 leaders, and we're </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtYqy21uYREMETBHLqLzntZpJrcbFwF8MuSRfwZJvvrD6-SWq3ZMUR7ftsCdDcfSPQXxdW4DbVJtzYASly3GYxirOrhHxHwIEz12bh2GZbgm0hkaGzzAtE5efe_ZW4gHESk6fAampzCkcl/s1600/joseph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtYqy21uYREMETBHLqLzntZpJrcbFwF8MuSRfwZJvvrD6-SWq3ZMUR7ftsCdDcfSPQXxdW4DbVJtzYASly3GYxirOrhHxHwIEz12bh2GZbgm0hkaGzzAtE5efe_ZW4gHESk6fAampzCkcl/s1600/joseph.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">going to be looking at the life of Joseph; the one with the coat, not the carpenter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This will be my 3rd year doing this trip, but I don't know why this year I'm so up for it? Maybe it's because I think we've got a good subject, maybe because my daughter is one of the kids coming, maybe I've just grown more into the role of a youth leader and am feeling more comfortable in taking part in these things? Who knows?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The talk I've been tasked with is 'temptation', looking at how Potiphars wife attempted to seduce Joseph. Other talks will be looking at families, the pits, power, forgiveness and redemption. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our weekend will typically be full of teaching but plenty of fun, we do a murder mystery, which this year is written around the 'X Factor', I'm really hoping Mel B gets it! At the moment all the kids are really into the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4ajQ-foj2Q">Jimmy Fallon lip sync battles</a>, so I'm sure there'll be some of that going on, late night chats where we can go deep into the meaning of life the universe and everything, or we can just throw Doritos at each other whilst playing mafia, and why not? </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYvYDo7dY6NvRq95nfl9K1AA1Aii9xNeguUBwHjjwlbqSSdoHfiHtyIpmFnq1_w1-zWuQDeLb6VCl0QZcJuzh9BC9_ZoTw-givEL4Xr81gGatPG1MgXZyxqO5Zwkji2VV5bIW4UIxm5Mzs/s1600/ninja.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYvYDo7dY6NvRq95nfl9K1AA1Aii9xNeguUBwHjjwlbqSSdoHfiHtyIpmFnq1_w1-zWuQDeLb6VCl0QZcJuzh9BC9_ZoTw-givEL4Xr81gGatPG1MgXZyxqO5Zwkji2VV5bIW4UIxm5Mzs/s1600/ninja.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's bound to be a game of Ninja; this is a game I just cannot get into, I have no idea who's s'posed to be slapping who, or who's turn it is, so I always refuse to play, which doesn't always go down to well with our Youth Pastor!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course there will also be the tracking down of who has smuggled in contraband alcohol and where can I get some? And that's just from the leaders dorms. #jokingnotjoking.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All in all, I'm praying that the weekend will be a huge blessing to all involved, and that we come away with a deeper understanding of God and who he is to all of us, and how by looking at the lives of characters like Joseph from thousands of years ago there is so much to apply to our lives today, thousands of years on!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-12047575611845755962015-02-20T17:26:00.000+00:002015-02-20T17:26:10.774+00:00Junk Food Kids: Who's To Blame?<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I caught up with an extremely disturbing programme today which was on Chanel 4 last night, <a href="http://www.channel4.com/programmes/junk-food-kids-whos-to-blame/on-demand/57487-001?intcmp=video_link:bip_ondemand:carousel">Junk Food Kids</a>. It wasn't billed as being about child abuse, but I strongly feel it was, and that the appropriate authorities should be stepping in and dealing with the perpetrators; namely the parent/carers, or better still educating them on how to care for their children before they reach this sorry state, because clearly they have no clue!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Mum of four year old Tallulah, allows her to eat pretty much whatever she likes, "because it's easier" she felt no guilt at missing an appointment at a dental clinic to educate her on how to brush her daughters teeth, because "who needs to be shown how to brush their teeth in circles, she doesn't want to brush her teeth when she could be watching TV"!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_LJGmUQwSQi6GUEYiv2SsNHbjVbjlplFJP3ow2n3nyjGs5qqoNCRKy0EvPErWncAvuVkHFtam0FXXxqnBniKmKH5W0GPNAYWaQf2GXm7eDzvrxPdcRF1u7jxOjhEOuP3lFPQeUQwT7_KW/s1600/tallulah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_LJGmUQwSQi6GUEYiv2SsNHbjVbjlplFJP3ow2n3nyjGs5qqoNCRKy0EvPErWncAvuVkHFtam0FXXxqnBniKmKH5W0GPNAYWaQf2GXm7eDzvrxPdcRF1u7jxOjhEOuP3lFPQeUQwT7_KW/s1600/tallulah.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's not often I shout at the TV, well, not that often, but my heart was breaking for these kids, who were being badly let down and ending up in surgery having almost all of their milk teeth removed!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The professionals were laying the blame firmly with the parents, albeit not to their faces, but lets face it, a four year old is not responsible for the weekly shop, and although she may accompany Mum, she shouldn't ultimately dictate what goes in the trolley. Sadly the Mum kept trotting out lines like, "you do it for a quiet life" and "it's easier to just let her have it".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yes, yes it is easier to opt for the quiet life and pander to your child's every whim, but don't you want better for them than a life of obesity, and laying on an operating table at the age of 4?</span><br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Apparently this is child abuse: But this isn't: </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFM36JeUzHnH69LW01zDrdXeN4M-QQlj1z-cRHOLwLAh4BTtlLltM02NW7AeKl9h25EhdccSu1TVGnYKyY3ugJhRvlb11aZJdg_farhyV2kKFD5RRX0_ksIZei9Vxn8c6sxxNzUMAv6ruc/s1600/o-ABUSED-CHILD-facebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFM36JeUzHnH69LW01zDrdXeN4M-QQlj1z-cRHOLwLAh4BTtlLltM02NW7AeKl9h25EhdccSu1TVGnYKyY3ugJhRvlb11aZJdg_farhyV2kKFD5RRX0_ksIZei9Vxn8c6sxxNzUMAv6ruc/s1600/o-ABUSED-CHILD-facebook.jpg" height="100" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ5ofWwSCQ1_q0cDsOZ3YpUIO_3IgTr43Yz2jzZECEt4C706a8q8HEwAfWNSS7_0GLvDF0f1YiP03GiMTXSzRemoU1wjAMssUo2UtiHmSLc92X2ZBjF-U_1pALZ4cpe2H4SX3Kw1rhmETA/s1600/tooth+decay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> <img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ5ofWwSCQ1_q0cDsOZ3YpUIO_3IgTr43Yz2jzZECEt4C706a8q8HEwAfWNSS7_0GLvDF0f1YiP03GiMTXSzRemoU1wjAMssUo2UtiHmSLc92X2ZBjF-U_1pALZ4cpe2H4SX3Kw1rhmETA/s1600/tooth+decay.jpg" height="149" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe the child that turns up with bruises, acquired them because Mum wanted 'the easy life', because the threat of a smack keeps that child quiet in much the same way that a bag of sweets keeps another child quiet. And if the beaten child needed surgery because of those injuries there would be uproar; neglect, abuse, we would shout, social services would be in and there would be all sorts of questions to answer. The same with a malnourished child, that would be completely wrong and professionals such as teachers or nursery workers are aware of looking for signs of malnutrition, physical abuse or neglect etc.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So how do we live in a Country where it is ok to <i>overfeed </i>your child? When does an obese child become a victim of abuse?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Should there be more
restrictions on food and fast food? I'm partial to the odd McDonald's
and I like a glass of Diet Coke so I don't necessarily want to see these
banned, but how do we control the intake of such sugary goodness?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9lM0TYqN2wRj68MPvfdtHsghvi04suYUZqgj2uO6OuEt33z8f3pxSZEWc_dKYUDUIa7pcSWgpnDvOf3QIufAsBVcUmw7-_ZH-WzcsjaEw8tAlHZM1ruUEj1_BM-97HnXay5oIz37a421b/s1600/fast+food.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9lM0TYqN2wRj68MPvfdtHsghvi04suYUZqgj2uO6OuEt33z8f3pxSZEWc_dKYUDUIa7pcSWgpnDvOf3QIufAsBVcUmw7-_ZH-WzcsjaEw8tAlHZM1ruUEj1_BM-97HnXay5oIz37a421b/s1600/fast+food.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am not a perfect parent, I have made many poor decisions, and I was mortified when one of my children needed a filling. We also eat our fair share of rubbish, because sometimes life's hectic and you do want to go for the quick fix. I also believe there are perfectly well looked after and loved children out there, who for one reason or another have needed dental surgery or are overweight, so to scream "I blame the parents!" helps no one. But some of these parents do need to take responsibility for their lack of care towards their children, and somewhere it needs picking up that they need educating on how to properly do this.</span>Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-25685655239973698682015-02-19T09:08:00.002+00:002015-02-19T09:08:35.743+00:00Throwback Thursday: A Post From The Past<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thought I'd have a little fun and resurface an old post occasionally. This was originally written on 26/2/13. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We're half way through Lent
now, and I've seen the usual facebook posts and heard from friends who
are missing chocolate or caffeine or whatever it is they've given up.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb2tHDUzedD8vmLkaYhvN6dB66ravXv3kJMrhi6_mo07kZl7COQTOvsfuKJ1iSYOCRYXqCAztxLRxLZQ7iRWPIekuuLBg6mBrLVXT5n78lLFvCvRhBbDxhuG4uuUkuE0qWUPb2WvXcFloT/s1600/tea+in+bed.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb2tHDUzedD8vmLkaYhvN6dB66ravXv3kJMrhi6_mo07kZl7COQTOvsfuKJ1iSYOCRYXqCAztxLRxLZQ7iRWPIekuuLBg6mBrLVXT5n78lLFvCvRhBbDxhuG4uuUkuE0qWUPb2WvXcFloT/s1600/tea+in+bed.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
asked my husband if I should give up tea, to which he replied "no way,
it'll be too hard......for me". It's true I don't move from HQ (my bed)
until I've had a cuppa, but I kind of thought the whole point of Lent
was to forego the things we would miss, and at the point we're about to
combust because we haven't had our sugar rush or caffeine fix or
whatever it might be, we turn to God and spend that time in thankful
prayer! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've never given anything up for Lent, so thought it would just be silly to start this year (I don't think God minds!)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But
I heard an interesting Lent story this week about a man who had given
up 'fear of people' for Lent! He had decided that throughout Lent,
whatever he felt led by the Holy Spirit to do, he would step out and do
it without fear! My first thought was I'd get to day 40 and sheepishly
glance upwards and wonder why I hadn't been asked to do anything!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One
thing this guy did was to go to the cinema and see Les Mis, he really
felt he had a message for the people who would be there and had been
prompted by God to step out of his comfort zone and face his fears, so
before the film started he announced to the audience, "this film is
about forgiveness and redemption and if you want to know true
forgiveness you really should meet Jesus!" Ballsy or what?!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
made me wonder if I'd missed a trick when I went to see Die-Hard,
should I have perhaps stood in front of the whole cinema and announced
"this film is about.......well who cares really, but there's a great car
chase, lots of shoot outs and Bruce Willis dangles from a jeep which
dangles from a helicopter, falls about 100 feet through many plate glass
windows and lives! But if you want to know true eternal life, you have
to meet with Jesus! Yippee ki yay!"</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz_7fv7ra-yS5jQlVR6pLsv_JCUdLy7JSeVuIQje24vhDqgN7k-dKGYlDAZArL8yOuMukGevSDx6zYf1MGHgcNye2-4pEhw8hnEw7sjINd4gLoV0TyLSxNCXUObnVz8knrE6Vrsbj3HtaS/s1600/die+hard.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz_7fv7ra-yS5jQlVR6pLsv_JCUdLy7JSeVuIQje24vhDqgN7k-dKGYlDAZArL8yOuMukGevSDx6zYf1MGHgcNye2-4pEhw8hnEw7sjINd4gLoV0TyLSxNCXUObnVz8knrE6Vrsbj3HtaS/s320/die+hard.jpg" height="241" width="320" /></a></div>
Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-23743548587259615252015-02-16T16:29:00.000+00:002015-02-16T16:29:34.853+00:00Do You 'Do' Lent?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3N5-kmaPlyoKw0dq2BF-SKcbHKbCka3xJ_YT2c4Qm05gtQqSH8d0QKC2krjDvd2Vq3e8hEqVlfqZy56xOt3qXNbX0RYFsDylyqJsC33I5ID4vj8RhsowNR88yiDjVughwPhbL9Tu7Rgb3/s1600/lent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3N5-kmaPlyoKw0dq2BF-SKcbHKbCka3xJ_YT2c4Qm05gtQqSH8d0QKC2krjDvd2Vq3e8hEqVlfqZy56xOt3qXNbX0RYFsDylyqJsC33I5ID4vj8RhsowNR88yiDjVughwPhbL9Tu7Rgb3/s1600/lent.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lent starts this week, and I confess, I have never given anything up for Lent. My daughter and her colleagues decided to draw foods out of a hat, and they would give up whichever food they drew. I don't think they actually put the food in the hat, it wouldn't be big enough for a start; actually I'm not sure they even had a hat?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One year I thought I might give up bread, but I forgot and bought myself a Greggs for lunch, and it was only the first day. What sort of hopeless Christian am I? When I challenge myself to live without bread for 40 days and I can't even walk past a Greggs on day one?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixkJF7u-YsPzlPeHr_QiwVpfso3HcP7xLCxTy1VVnzP2NXkkVoc4abtzQgy41gBXlPFf4W1ZAsVvPx70XJargWQKWNHDk-D1VLUQGGYTFn_CRcL_LeMQyMzvYwz-c5YxZ_xlEP5mRPZ_xB/s1600/greggs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixkJF7u-YsPzlPeHr_QiwVpfso3HcP7xLCxTy1VVnzP2NXkkVoc4abtzQgy41gBXlPFf4W1ZAsVvPx70XJargWQKWNHDk-D1VLUQGGYTFn_CRcL_LeMQyMzvYwz-c5YxZ_xlEP5mRPZ_xB/s1600/greggs.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'll tell you what sort of Christian I am. One who is forgiven daily for saying the wrong things, behaving the wrong way and hurting the Lord I love. This is why I need a Saviour who can overcome temptation. If I'd been in the desert and was hungry and tired and Satan had said to me "tell these stones to become bread" If I had the power to do so, I'd have said, "don't mind if I do - in fact better than that, I've got a Greggs card, d'you fancy a Cajun chicken bap?" Thank God that Jesus went through that temptation and was able to think straight, even though He was starving, and answer the Devil by saying "Man shall not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God" He didn't need the quick fix of the 'food' the Devil was offering, He knew all He needed was provided for Him by God.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhHUoh99JzTV1egdcvArBkC3Q6b7O9gmXGp7iUltOugKvDArIG5IWd1qfWTrt1ZxFzQEKfnKe929LO1JCBO8ZSuvfDwVC_LkcVIYQ6P-MIA-yPNHGoYAzXIXhTrWSgtLVt4gdExHD-_vto/s1600/2_jesus-temptation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhHUoh99JzTV1egdcvArBkC3Q6b7O9gmXGp7iUltOugKvDArIG5IWd1qfWTrt1ZxFzQEKfnKe929LO1JCBO8ZSuvfDwVC_LkcVIYQ6P-MIA-yPNHGoYAzXIXhTrWSgtLVt4gdExHD-_vto/s1600/2_jesus-temptation.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course there's nothing wrong with eating bread, even for Jesus I don't think it would've been wrong for him to eat, but he had gone into the desert to fast and the Devil was tempting Jesus with a short cut solution to his problem.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Often this is how temptation works, it's not something that's necessarily bad for us we end up being tempted with, perhaps just something at the wrong time for the wrong reasons.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe that year I failed at giving up bread was because I hadn't really prepared myself, I hadn't set about it with the right mindset, it was just a fad thought that I'd give it a try because everyone seemed to be talking about what they were giving up, and I felt I might be missing out, so inevitably when the temptation arose, I didn't even give a seconds thought to the 'commitment' I'd made.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do you do Lent? If I do it this year, I'm going to try to make sure I go into it with the right heartset, because I want to put more focus on God and not because I want to keep up with what others are doing, although I'm still not sure it's something I'll follow through on! Me, I'm all about the pancakes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRLc97J75lWKP_0J0OIHZ_iOQnDHeM0bgrJF65IyHNWrx_vlBTGKQl7wsyoF0VO5XQokPHrdBZWnRH7Zs0n0U6zyRFQGrHXHnjb7uHvuLiAxbDKt4jG1Y32RQh8_ICMCxX9IU6G0nAVCpj/s1600/pancakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRLc97J75lWKP_0J0OIHZ_iOQnDHeM0bgrJF65IyHNWrx_vlBTGKQl7wsyoF0VO5XQokPHrdBZWnRH7Zs0n0U6zyRFQGrHXHnjb7uHvuLiAxbDKt4jG1Y32RQh8_ICMCxX9IU6G0nAVCpj/s1600/pancakes.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-73927601191013834352014-12-24T09:57:00.000+00:002014-12-24T09:57:19.758+00:00It's Just One Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxSjOlF2Wtm1bRGhCyevaq2Lruke_gVsnKS6xaKzwDwXmHYd_a0J9Z3w01RpjzAPahL6IVuBXTy2xSPot8UdsLXOEuUUO3idaukYi6WFCwhZkVVBTGTj4Sin-Vlv9nM4WwxOEDu_axNNls/s1600/shop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxSjOlF2Wtm1bRGhCyevaq2Lruke_gVsnKS6xaKzwDwXmHYd_a0J9Z3w01RpjzAPahL6IVuBXTy2xSPot8UdsLXOEuUUO3idaukYi6WFCwhZkVVBTGTj4Sin-Vlv9nM4WwxOEDu_axNNls/s1600/shop.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's just one day, people the globe over are going mad buying in provisions that would last a small army a month, but just for one day. It's not even substantial food, aside from a good roast dinner we are filling our fridges and cupboards with Pringles and pork pies, trifles and truffles, spending hundreds, only to realise by the day after boxing day there'll be nothing to cook for dinner, unless you count heating up a scotch egg and steaming some celery. All this food just for one day.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And the gift shopping, it can't be done in one trip. No, you have to keep returning, because despite having had 12 months to think about what to buy people, you're convinced that if you just leave it and return in a couple of days one of two things will have happened; either, you will have become a present buying genius and will walk straight to your shop of choice, pick up the perfect gift that actually turns out to be priced lower than your budget and take it straight to a queue-less till, or..... the shops will have stopped selling over-priced tat, which clouds your judgement and sends you into the panic impulse buy of a 'potty putter', yes, the <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir3LvVttoU96bSL_-G1T-UvkGzziDO9IDa4dyvdX9VzRuZkFkbhyphenhyphenuHmuKzTSrft7ytVGFg0hJvIfTrsy7aFauLHmmv7pO2XWM8LMtP6sjiwze1SsQxjBUYoEGvoY_NS64JmbYLVQjTdNMr/s1600/30633a_potty_putter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir3LvVttoU96bSL_-G1T-UvkGzziDO9IDa4dyvdX9VzRuZkFkbhyphenhyphenuHmuKzTSrft7ytVGFg0hJvIfTrsy7aFauLHmmv7pO2XWM8LMtP6sjiwze1SsQxjBUYoEGvoY_NS64JmbYLVQjTdNMr/s1600/30633a_potty_putter.jpg" /></a></div>
gift every household needs, something to entertain you whilst on the loo. What the designer of this magnificent gift hasn't taken into account, is that on this one day most household occupancy doubles, therefore so does the loo queue, and you have now sold me something that is going to encourage Uncle Fred to stay in the bathroom longer than required, while little nephew Jonny jumps up and down outside the door with his legs crossed, but no, he can't hold it, so while Fred's having the time of his life taking a dump whilst playing pitch and putt, I'm outside cleaning up wee and finding spare clothes and all because I thought I could complete my Christmas shopping in one day, for just one day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And the relentless TV adverts that think they can sell us happiness, which, it appears comes in ice cream shaped like a champagne bottle or a toy penguin, depending on your persuasion. For just one day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But what is this one day, that draws people in all over the world? From the strongest atheist to the most humble God botherer, we are all taking part in the preparation and stress and fun and for some sorrow that leads us to this one day. The day that in history can change your future. Jesus was born to bring a peace and hope to a world that without Him would be in a far worse state than it is in now, and for some of us that's hard to imagine as the world does seem pretty screwed up. But we know that through Him all things can be made new, even this mixed up imperfect planet and even more so ourselves. Imagine if retailers and advertisers and shoppers all led to this one day with just one person in mind: Jesus. How different would the experience be? Quite incredible I think and probably very enjoyable! Knowing that you were going to hit the shops and be treated with the integrity and humility and love and patience and presence of Jesus, beautiful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I pray you have a blessed and peaceful Christmas, filled with love and joy and hope that Jesus Christ our Saviour brings!</span></div>
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Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-81230508590319981742014-10-10T17:42:00.001+01:002014-10-10T17:42:43.187+01:00It's Good To Talk....Just Maybe Not To Me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Today is <a href="https://www.time-to-change.org.uk/WMHD">World Mental Health Day</a> where many charities and organisations are trying to raise awareness of different mental health conditions and quash the stigmas that surround many of them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It seems to me the recurring theme of advice surrounding mental health of a family or friend is 'have a conversation, ask them how they're doing, sit down with them with a cuppa' after all as the old BT ad used to say 'it's good to talk', I think they may have been on to something there......</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes though it's not easy to talk, especially to those we are closest to; that's my experience anyway. We worry about what they might think of us, will we disappoint them, what if they can't take what I want to say? Maybe we blame those close to us for the way we are feeling, so in no way will we want to open up to them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Looking back to when I was a teenager I think I felt that way, I learned to keep my feelings in and some things that I would've done good to talk about got bottled up and hidden away for years, the trouble with that is eventually they find a way out, no matter how well you think you've tidied them away and moved on with your life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I suppose I may have started to think about this a bit when our children were younger, around the time you start imparting your wisdom to them and letting them know everything you think they need to know, whether they're interested or not. I said to each one of our four children the usual, "you know you can always tell me anything," and I always followed it with "but if you can't talk to me, it's okay for you to talk to someone else who you feel you can talk to." I know I was just stressing to them the importance of not bottling things up but recognising that I may not be the one they want to open up to, and that's okay; I won't be jealous, I won't feel offended, I will just be glad that they are talking to someone about what's on their mind.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigkdTLZgB73KSEOOijlNdtXCdXCqx9gC0n9BOtBCkBAW-LsYA_mG10-z5oL4RqS-tkt-TjF2vU7PCVylAiG8gKkiwkrShVBNTx3zCGQhqBFMv-ZyxRHEs7IYvFwRY9XSfs33BDR8BJFyki/s1600/parent+child.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigkdTLZgB73KSEOOijlNdtXCdXCqx9gC0n9BOtBCkBAW-LsYA_mG10-z5oL4RqS-tkt-TjF2vU7PCVylAiG8gKkiwkrShVBNTx3zCGQhqBFMv-ZyxRHEs7IYvFwRY9XSfs33BDR8BJFyki/s1600/parent+child.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I believe this could possibly the best advice I gave my children, they are now older and I know they have taken this on board and although I think our relationship and communication together is excellent, I also know that sometimes if they feel they need to they will find someone who isn't me, who isn't their Mum, to have a heat to heart with, and that's okay!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So on this World Mental Health Day, I would say yes, absolutely try to have a conversation with whoever you are concerned about, but also give your blessing for them to have that conversation with someone else if they want to.</span>Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-3967344389551207202014-10-02T17:54:00.002+01:002015-02-16T14:34:40.478+00:00Wonga Wipe Out<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj86WrzTIgfiBAOp_gaiYBLD5Ho0aXAV6KArusxzk_n6DPKKlp3r8I0i5mRu6rf-xx81u-bxj1r4lyTs7A2nIdK29dXpTe3D58fOKCgUEb3P2cg4jMl1wIxLAb2Wk-KTLw3nuPEYqg9s4T_/s1600/wonga.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj86WrzTIgfiBAOp_gaiYBLD5Ho0aXAV6KArusxzk_n6DPKKlp3r8I0i5mRu6rf-xx81u-bxj1r4lyTs7A2nIdK29dXpTe3D58fOKCgUEb3P2cg4jMl1wIxLAb2Wk-KTLw3nuPEYqg9s4T_/s1600/wonga.jpg" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wonga are writing off £220 million pounds worth of debt for 330,000 customers, who they realised actually couldn't afford their payday loans in the first place. Earlier in the year Justin Welby declared a war on Wonga, and the C of E launched a new scheme to take on the payday lenders, the Church Credit Champions Network. </span><span style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"The Church of England is the best branch network in the country," he said. "A major high street bank has at most 3000 branches, but the Church of England has 16,000! The purpose of the Champions Network is to harness that unparalleled presence in the community. The goal is both to help those afflicted by financial problems and equip us all to save and borrow in a responsible way."</span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">You may think they were irresponsible loaning money to people who clearly weren't in a position to pay it back, but a certain amount of responsibility must also lie with the borrower.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">Being in debt is a horrible, sad, frustrating place to be. You feel elated when you are able to cover a bill, but guilty when you treat yourself to something that isn't essential. The generation before us were an 'if you can't afford it, you can't have it' generation. My generation have been fed a diet of credit cards, loans and store cards, and don't worry if you can't pay those off, here's a payday loan to tide you over.....that just grows and grows and grows.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">Hopefully now it is turning around again and the next generation will be more frugal with their finances. I always wished that back in the early years of our marriage, someone would have taken the time to educate myself and my husband a bit more about credit cards etc...although our spending was firmly our responsibility, I do feel we were a bit blind about some of the debts we built up. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">Nowadays, you have the likes of <a href="http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/">Martin Lewis</a> doing an excellent job of guiding the nation through the highs and lows of every financial situation you could possibly imagine. There are also a number of charities who are steering people towards living debt free such as <a href="https://capuk.org/i-want-help/cap-debt-help/introduction">CAP</a> and <a href="http://www.stepchange.org/">StepChange</a> who offer free advice; I still think more could be done to educate our young adults at school and at home though.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhXYMKEWGsoj7cpIsHDQRJSGtT-npXT_88Ken8_45WSUnrPiH3Hx5Kdr0HJAJUrb-UJJbth0mvW2a-ckdJiYLKaiNvZbZQcxcGQeMhzN27uVsT0bpqAlWPleS3xXvAHrdc3L_k5LXr1e-B/s1600/shopping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhXYMKEWGsoj7cpIsHDQRJSGtT-npXT_88Ken8_45WSUnrPiH3Hx5Kdr0HJAJUrb-UJJbth0mvW2a-ckdJiYLKaiNvZbZQcxcGQeMhzN27uVsT0bpqAlWPleS3xXvAHrdc3L_k5LXr1e-B/s1600/shopping.jpg" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">I am determined not to let our children share our experience, so much so, that our eldest daughter who is in full time work and can afford to buy pretty much what she wants, says I have ruined shopping for her because she's too scared to spend her money! Imagine that, a world where a 19 year old girl doesn't buy a new pair of shoes or a different shade of lipstick each week. That's kind of gone a bit too far the other way, but at least she'll be able to move out sooner..........won't she?.......Please?</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: #f3f3f3;">Have Wonga done the right thing? I think so, but I really hope that those customers who have found their debt cleared do not end up repeating their mistakes and borrow what they can't afford again, I pray that this can be a fresh start for them.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-66317891265016463972014-09-27T15:12:00.001+01:002015-02-16T14:35:46.763+00:00The Signs Are There.....But Are You Following Another Way?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We are surrounded by 'signs', direction signs, low battery signs, your teenager is on the edge and about to blow signs, I've got a headache signs....you get the idea. The world around us is giving us indicators all the time, but are we taking notice?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The other day my husband and I were out on a day trip in a different town, and although very quaint I was getting a bit bored of just wandering round the shops looking at stuff I couldn't afford and didn't need and suggested we should head to the outskirts to see if there was anything more interesting. I was pretty sure there was a park or a riverside we could go for a nice walk through; soon enough we came to the edge of town and we could see a huge wall with 'private' 'no entry' signs at various points, but just around a corner I spotted a sign that said 'park entrance this way'. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdToqBG2A_Kug5vb4nHp7u2BlmYBeHN8E3LfRc7PA4__8bJ0AULnX__A1NeMiVQt_j6l4ZIa1DYHhiLzvGlTNurU_ZDssoVaxXsMP4vpvre2tNI74lzcVnUfLJomeUZ4r-OYSpppzGYTm/s1600/cirencester+park.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjdToqBG2A_Kug5vb4nHp7u2BlmYBeHN8E3LfRc7PA4__8bJ0AULnX__A1NeMiVQt_j6l4ZIa1DYHhiLzvGlTNurU_ZDssoVaxXsMP4vpvre2tNI74lzcVnUfLJomeUZ4r-OYSpppzGYTm/s1600/cirencester+park.jpg" height="144" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That looked promising and I was keen to find this entrance and have a wander through the park, so immediately my husband led me.....in the opposite direction. "I'm pretty sure we can go this way and find the entrance" he said. I was confused but couldn't be bothered to argue so just followed, until after finding no such entrance I insisted we u-turned and went the way the sign had pointed!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On questioning his <strike>stupidity</strike> decision to go in the opposite direction of the sign, he had no explanation other than he just 'thought there was another way'. Must be a man thing because I pointed out that clearly he had ignored the sign completely and thought he knew better when he obviously didn't - I took no joy in that, well, not a lot of joy anyway.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thing is, even though on this occasion the blame is landing firmly on my husband, I know I too in the past have looked directly at a sign and ignored it, I had thought there was another way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So if we can miss these signs that are staring us in the face, how much harder we have to look to notice the signs from God, to follow the 'directions' he has given us, to see the sign from God and not say I think there's another way.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some Christians are doing this at the moment whenever the subject of Gay marriage arises, they are seeing clearly what is written in the Bible, that marriage is between one man and one woman, but they are saying "I think there's another way". Perhaps we all do that sometimes when we see the sign from God but it doesn't sit well with what is culturally acceptable around us, it becomes easier for us to follow the 'other way'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">High profile Christian Vicky Beeching says "</span><span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Raleway, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">We owe the verses about women as well as the relevant verses in Leviticus [18:22 and 20:13] and Romans [1:26-27], and the story of Sodom and Gomorrah [Genesis 19] a deeper look…" </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(<a href="http://www.premierchristianity.com/Past-Issues/2014/October-2014/Profile-Vicky-Beeching">full article here</a></span></span><span style="font-family: Raleway, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">) </span><span style="font-family: Raleway, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 21px;">Has Vicky found another way?</span></span></span>Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-9471563746266294632014-09-20T18:35:00.000+01:002014-09-20T18:35:35.243+01:00I'm Good For What???<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We need to think very carefully how we do this, a badly chosen 'encouragement' can be very damaging, and on those occasions it would have been better to have said nothing at all.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some of us find it very difficult to say what we are good at, where our talents lie, what gives us worth. I have been in that place along with many others, who have gone through periods of feeling like the most worthless, useless, waste of a human being on the planet. Thankfully I am over that now and can confess - I am awesome, humble too!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But on more than one occasion I have been on the receiving end of well meant, but badly thought out encouragement; it can be destructive and leave you having to build yourself up and encourage yourself, which we all know is one of the hardest things to do, which is precisely why Paul tells us to encourage and build each other up because we just can't do it for ourselves.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So how do we best encourage one another? Don't rush to speak because you feel the need to encourage is urgent, saying nothing will be less harmful than rushing to speak and blurting out the first thing that comes to mind e.g you know the person always has a clean house so you tell them how great they are at vacuuming and what an amazing skill that is. No, look at who they really are, not what they can achieve at a surface level (even if that surface is a dust free carpet) they may well have an immaculate house but suggesting vacuuming is their talent is going to leave them wondering if that's all they're good for, is that really how people see them?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Also this week I saw a quote from Tim Keller, mega church Pastor on Facebook "When work is your identity, success goes to your head, and failure goes to your heart"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This struck a chord with me, as so often the cop out way to encourage someone is to tell them how good they are at their job. But we need to look past the 9-5 to really find who that person is and to build them up. Of course there are some jobs that are only suited to people with certain skills and talents; but when you are encouraging, don't default to what their job is or you are in danger of reinforcing their job as being their identity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you want to encourage someone, think about where you have seen that person shine and really show their true selves, where are they happiest? Who do they spend time with?</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: center;"> What do they do, that others would struggle to do?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And if you can't do that, please, please, just stop and think, is what I'm about to say actually going to help that person or harm them? Are they going to have to undo the words I speak and find a new truth to speak to themselves?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remember, we are more than what is seen on the outside, our worth comes from more than our occupation, our worth comes from within, from our hearts inside our dreams. We have been created with purpose not for purpose, our talents are what drive us, they make us who we are. And that is something to be encouraged by.</span></div>
Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3411103972435769850.post-25410199209358503572014-05-08T18:28:00.000+01:002015-02-16T14:37:11.769+00:00Anyone got a light?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidX-dMJAgSKZ__1vNg7JVHWsSm42aR_fPhnFtHQbfevn-XKD7Y9Fxyk9E-WD886gOc5HltKSYVVM6AJHacmOJ5JH6GhxwCA1-Uc2C9YmJKCalktPmAA444C-XnWBjxstNqiH-hIk7cOL7_/s1600/jw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidX-dMJAgSKZ__1vNg7JVHWsSm42aR_fPhnFtHQbfevn-XKD7Y9Fxyk9E-WD886gOc5HltKSYVVM6AJHacmOJ5JH6GhxwCA1-Uc2C9YmJKCalktPmAA444C-XnWBjxstNqiH-hIk7cOL7_/s1600/jw.jpg" height="197" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black;">I thought our house had been blacklisted, but apparently not. I was up to my elbows in the u-bend when the doorbell rang, I de-marigolded and answered to whom I immediately recognised as Jehovah's Witnesses. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black;">'Ooh fun!' I thought, as I introduced myself as a born again Christian.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black;">"Oh good, so you'll know Gods views on smoking then?"</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black;">Oh? smoking? Yeah, of course I know Gods views on smoking, He posted a meme on face book the other day. Hates it. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4hHhqJq5qfHma2uIx_gNO-rNg7vOHcn-nnGleu622O7IimJeQ0ECVdipK7FEetylj69O90FgLKD9FjevXWZqrwe2iYGmrj2TzurJi0m6vt7JG2hg2ZDg-WSNSh_wcUVmafu9xrqPTtcFO/s1600/God+smoking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4hHhqJq5qfHma2uIx_gNO-rNg7vOHcn-nnGleu622O7IimJeQ0ECVdipK7FEetylj69O90FgLKD9FjevXWZqrwe2iYGmrj2TzurJi0m6vt7JG2hg2ZDg-WSNSh_wcUVmafu9xrqPTtcFO/s1600/God+smoking.jpg" /></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black;">I mean where do the JW's get these ideas? They seriously believe that smokers, because they're smokers, will not enter Heaven! You'd think with the numbers getting into Heaven being so tight, they'd be glad of a few people scuppering their chances with the odd cigarette, it would improve their odds of entry no end.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black;">I did say I thought they would alienate people with that as an opening gambit. People don't take kindly to being judged about life choices, let alone <i>eternally</i> judged about their life choices. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black;">I'm pretty sure God would prefer we were opening our conversations about Him with talk of His love for us and the world, and His want for the best for us in our lives, and sure, smoking is not the best for us, it's unhealthy and unsociable, but so is overeating; c'mon, we've all been to </span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL2-Pz6juwp5oPOPBVQ6cmfGf4QQEaP6HsuNI4GoEV6ZUY0U4ZF3QhQfp-3VIA-lKVTq9hCSBwHsZbErtRlGuzUWFLLNcgKBc2y5dHb9O1EqvpLCKevmx2gXHvGubrmupUdJWWxWULO-rI/s1600/quiche.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL2-Pz6juwp5oPOPBVQ6cmfGf4QQEaP6HsuNI4GoEV6ZUY0U4ZF3QhQfp-3VIA-lKVTq9hCSBwHsZbErtRlGuzUWFLLNcgKBc2y5dHb9O1EqvpLCKevmx2gXHvGubrmupUdJWWxWULO-rI/s1600/quiche.jpg" height="125" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">social occasions with food, where we're looking forward to another piece of quiche (this is a Christian gathering - there will be quiche) and the overweight guy is tucking into the last slice, how unsociable! </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black;">And the lady at my door certainly looked like she'd had her fair share of pies, her argument about respecting the body God gave you kind of faltered there.....I wonder if she'll be allowed in?</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black;">In <a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+22:36-40">Matthew</a> the Pharisees were testing Jesus by asking him about the greatest commandment in the Law. Jesus responded <span class="text Matt-22-37" id="en-NIV-23910"><span class="woj">‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.<span style="font-size: 12px;"><b> </b></span></span></span><span class="text Matt-22-38" id="en-NIV-23911" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="woj">This is the first and greatest commandment.</span></span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="text Matt-22-39" id="en-NIV-23912" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="woj">And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span class="text Matt-22-39" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="woj" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Love. Not judgement. Not rules. Not do's and don't's. Love.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span class="text Matt-22-39" style="font-size: 16px;"><span class="woj">In being Christians we attempt and often fail to live in this loving way, to accept others and their lifestyle choices, but even if they are choices that are not Gods best desire for them, it won't be those choices that prevent them from entering Heaven. Dismissing Jesus as Saviour is the only thing that can prevent us from entering Heaven. Jesus said </span></span><span style="font-size: 16px;"> </span><span class="woj" style="font-size: 16px;">“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Belief and acceptance of Jesus is our way to Heaven, smoker or not!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span class="woj" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">So I wonder whether you will give up smoking or take up Jesus, both will have dramatic effects on your life, one will secure your eternity.</span></span></span></div>
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Naomihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04716340789752389623noreply@blogger.com0