We will remember them

A good number gathered to remember the fallen.

From the going down of the sun to the rising of the same

We will remember them

50 years

Not for me. We were invited to a 50th birthday party. Meet some old friends and had some good. Nice time had - the time went so quickly.
Nice plate of food.

Our days are like a tale that is told.

Birthday at the Chequers

Went to The Chequers, Houghton Conquest for lunch on my daughters birthday.
Had a lightish lunch of sausage bap with side order followed by Chocolate pudding.

Good prices , service and food. Truly Child friendly.

Expected ..

The snow is here again. Forecast  by the Met Office, and given publicity on every news program, it duly arrived yesterday. Some have a lot, we have a couple of inches, despite seeming to snow all day. Today is a day to get the sledge out and enjoy it.
We live having taken a prediction of the future.The greatest prediction is that Jesus is coming again. Will we be ready to enjoy it?

Ice Skating

A day off to look after the children and a chance to go skating in 8 degrees.Slipping and slidding all over the place but great fun and good value.

Royal Wedding Preparations

With the Royal Wedding day approaching we have begun to make our own preparations.

The flag was raise on a temporary and somewhat precarious flagpole. Marriage in contrast should be permanent and solid.
My prayer is that God has prepared this marriage for the good of our nation.
The writer to the Hebrews tells us marriage is honourable.
May God help us in our marriages to show something of the nature of the relationship between Christ and His church.

Christmas Day 2010

The day so far

then

Tree Goes up

Tonight we put the tree up. It is said it was Martin Luther who had the first Christmas tree, although his was supposed to be upside down. My youngest would have tried that if we'd have let her.

Lights go on

Christmas must be on its way. After a week of lying snow, the thaw came and  we attended the turning on of the Towns Christmas lights.

In all the wrapping let us not forget who is the centre of the celebration

We will remember them

It was good to join with the British Legion, Cadets,youth organisations and the public for the act of remembrance this afternoon. My two oldest were parading, one given the honour of flag carring. There was a good turn out despite the dank day.
Gods word was read, prayers offered, and good hymns were sung.
The question is what have we done with the freedom that they have bought for us with their sacrifice?

Paul says in Galations 

"use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh,

but by love serve one another."

La Tasca

As it was our wedding anniversary this week, and a baby sitter was available,  we went out to La Tasca in Milton Keynes. We had a variety of dishes including chicken, lamb, and rice and salads.Very nice and reasonable especially with a promotional voucher.

The restaurant is fairly basic but the service was good.

Flight time

With my oldest two we spent an enjoyable couple of hours having a flight in a microlight over the Herts-Beds border. We could see various farmers hard at work harvesting, or preparing the ground or sowing for next years harvest.
We were reminded that this work goes on in the church throughout the year.  we also remember that despite all the hard work they and we are dependant upon our benevolent Heavenly Father.

Holiday 2010 - True Brit Grit

The first Friday of our holiday was a day of mixed weather, that seemed to change about every 20 minutes.Not put off we set off on the 5 minutes walk to the beach and duly pitched our tent, and showed that true British holiday spirit, or stupidity. There were many times when we could have packed up and gone, but just as we were about to the precipitation stopped and the sun made a brief appearance.

Where was everybody else?? A private beech all to ourselves - albeit with changeable weather

Holiday 2010 - no 2 Sunday Report

Unusually this year we were away for 2 Sundays. On the first Sunday we went to Bethesda Calvinistic Methodist Church, Nr Saundersfoot. The message in the morning was from Ezekiel - he has spoken it and he will do it (EZK 36) ; The preacher, whose name escaped me set about to demonstrate how reliable and faithful God is and to encourage us to trust God for the future. Simple, effective memorable and gave you a sense of the worthiness and awe of God, and a ground for faith. The church runs a stall as a witness on Thursday in the New Hedges Market, which we were pleased to visit.

The second week we went to Cardigan Baptist. 
In the morning the visiting preacher spoke to the children about the best book of all. However it seemed a bit incongruous that there were hardly any bibles in the church as the reading was projected onto the walls. I don't think that it was just my traditional upbringing that made that feel strange. I feel the bible needs to have its place, and be seen to have its place in the church and in the lives of believers.
It was a good message for the children.
The evening service was from Romans 7 and 8 - how to overcome sin..
The two most memorable points were the first Christ is victorious andthe final that we have the spirit dwelling in us. It was good to be reminded of these facts.


It is always good to meet fresh faces, and talk all be it for a relatively short time with those who are brothers and sisters in Christ. Holidays offer that opportunity.

Holiday 2010 - no1 Boat trip

Summer Holidays are drawing to a close. In July and August we spent  2 weeks in South wales and in no particular order I will post some thoughts

A Bay to remember. If in the Cardigan area well worth a trip. A fast boat ride ( a bit choppy getting out) to see seals dolphins, sea birds and sea caves. Guide was very informative and friendly. Children and especially Grandad thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

What to blog and when to blog

I haven't blogged for a while. It is not that my life has become quiet, in fact the opposite. However many of the recent events have in my opinion not been suitable material to expose to a wider audience. It has been a difficult few weeks.
I am surprised a the openness and frankness of some who inhabit this world. They open themselves like a book, exposing many thoughts and feelings. Perhaps I am too private an individual.
Then I wondered how much am I willing to expose to God. Of course I am aware that I can not hide anything from him. But how many of my sins am I willing to confess? How many of my cares and burdens am I willing to bring to the great caring burden barer. Peter tells us that he cares for you..oh but are we willing to trust him. He promises that we will find His strength in our weakness.
Maybe one day I will tell the story of recent days in future years. One thing I know is that his grace is sufficient for me.

The final game

Sadly this was my eldest daughters last league match with the boys, as the FA rules mean that next season she will be too old to play with them. Again she played her heart out, and she had quite a few good touches and passes too. She hit the post late on, which was a real shame as a goal would be deserved.
She will really miss them next season, and they will miss her. She has improved immensely, and we and her coaches are extremely proud of her.
The game was a 3-1 loss, but it was a good game and a fair result.

Eating out 2

http://blackhorseireland.com/
A pleasant surprise to be invited out to for a meal on Wednesday at short notice. After securing a baby sitter at short notice. A time to catch up with old friends and enjoy some Good food.
Service was good as was atmosphere.
Venison sausage in black pudding crisps to start, followed by T bone stake accompanied by the intriguingly named triple cooked chips. Highlight was the sweet - a raspberry soufflé which was absolutely scrummy.
Will return sometime God willing.

Power Cut

Yesterday evening we had a power cut for about 3hrs. This followed a short but fairly violent storm. As the outsid light went down we managed to find the candles and turned the years back in the living room. No computer, no TV, no memory on the phone, no boiler, and too dark for me to read. How we depend on electricity, but don't realise it most of the time! (I think that the more technical we get the more fragile our life styles become.)
Then its rather like our attitude to God. We only seem to notice when he withdraws his influence. Of course he is always near, but some times he is appears to have forsaken us. Then we realise our dependence on him. Oh that we might value His presence more.  - "I am with you even to the end of the world"

Pig Roast and Bonfire

After a busy week and a disappointing 6-1 loss at the Saturday football in the morning , it was good to go the Manor Farm in the afternoon for a get together, games, a pig roast and a fire with the 8-13s.
It was good to catch up with friends, meet their children and enjoy the food.
A match was sufficient to start the fire on a single piece of paper. In just a couple on minutes the whole pile of pallets, and garden waste was blazing away.- a reminder of James 3 v 5 -Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!