Thanks ABC

Today marks our first year here in this church and I just want to say "Thanks" to God for the many blessings we have experienced through the year. But even today, I have seen ABC at its best: I am grateful to those teaching our young people the story of Esther today, for those working together to serve the coffee this morning, for those organising the ladies' meal, for those helping a friend clear a house, for the care and sensitivity shown in so many little ways. How blessed we are by you all.

Walking Home

Now, here is a story worth reading. Our friend Simon (a vicar in Leicestershire) embarked on a sabbatical pilgrimage with a difference. A walk home - back to the place of belonging. All the way from Paris.

I followed his blog with interest and was enthralled by his insightful tales on the way. He writes with humour and poignancy but has his feet firmly on the ground (if you'll excuse the pun). So I am thrilled the book is now available. Proceeds go to Christian Aid.

Follow this link to find out more and preview the book.Walking Home

Or to read Simon's Walking Home blog, click here.

Fancy Fonts

Back in the old days about 20 years ago I received the advice "Don't use too many fancy fonts." Well as it was regarding writing missionary prayer letters I thought it a little odd; after all, pictures help keep the readers' attention. But as a Baptist, I was hardly likely to put images of fonts on my letters. Time passed and I thought no more about it. Then I discovered computers! And fonts!!! Lovely, elegant, curly ones; thick, bold official ones, and comical curvy ones. Wow! The temptation to decorate every document with a series of fancy fonts was immense. It was then that I remembered the advice and suddenly it all made sense! OK - no more fancy fonts. Except at school it is fun to find amusing fonts for classroom displays. Today I enjoyed Jokerman:

So it got me thinking why "font"? What is the link between a piece of ecclesiastic furniture and a typeface? Well there isn't one. The church font is related to the word fountain. And the typeface font is from the old French word fondre which means melt because the letters were cast or melted together. But it is amusing now to find that the typeface font is the first that comes up in a google search. You can only find out about the other kind of font by calling it a church font.

Worship at his footstool

I was ridiculously excited to get the phonecall from Ilkeston to say our footstool that will match our suite is ready for collection. We haven't picked it up yet but suddenly our conversation is peppered with footstool references. I had never realised what a Biblical word it is. In fact it occured to us we could prepare some Bible readings for the next deacons' meeting and see if they deduce the connection!

Here are a few....

"...I had it in mind to build a house as a resting place for the ark of the covenant of the Lord, for the footstool for our God..." I Chronicles 28: 1-3

"The throne had 6 steps and a footstool of gold was attached to it." 2 Chronicles 9:18

"Exalt the Lord our God and worship at His footstool." Psalm 99:5

"...I make your enemies a footstool for your feet...."Psalm 110:1

"Heaven is my throne and the earth my footstool." Isaiah 66:1

"...he has not remembered his footstool in his day of anger..." Lamentations 2:1

And that's just for starters! Time to put my feet up I think. Can't wait to collect it!

The story of one extraordinarily brave lady

For the sake of her people, Esther risked her life and dared to approach the King (who was her husband by the way) and plead for their protection. I love the way she says " ....fast for me. I and my maids will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the King even though it is against the law. If I perish, I perish." God rewarded her bravery with favour in the eyes of the King and a reversal of the decree to kill the Jews. Her people were saved and her Uncle Mordecai given authority over his persecutors. Thank God for women of courage like Esther.

InterviewwithJesus.com

A friend once told me that God is having a conversation with us all the time but most of the time we just don't notice or join in. These videos take up the theme well. I was glad to be recommended this website "Interview with Jesus" which has loads of Devotional films which can be used for personal devotions or in church. Beautiful and thought-provoking.

Guess who's coming to dinner?

Ashby people! Save the day!

April 24th is the date.

Cancel those family weddings, postpone those once-in-a-lifetime holidays, dare to miss a football match or the final of a reality TV show.

"Guess who's coming to dinner?" is happening again!

Please Mrs Butler by Allan Ahlberg

Please Mrs Butler,
This boy Derek Drew,
Keeps copying my work Miss
What shall I do?

Go and sit in the hall, dear,
Go and sit in the sink,
Take your books on the roof, my lamb,
Do whatever you think.

Please Mrs Butler,
This boy Derek Drew,
Keeps taking my rubber, Miss,
What shall I do?

Keep it in your hand, dear,
Hide it up your vest,
Swallow it if you like, love
Do what you think best.

Please Mrs Butler,
This boy Derek Drew,
Keeps calling me rude names, Miss,
What shall I do?

Lock yourself in the cupboard, dear,
Run away to sea,
Do whatever you like, my flower,
But don't ask me!


This is how I feel after 3 days teaching.

Evening Prayer

This celtic prayer is part of the daily evening office at the Northumbria Community. It has something for everyone. Which line is for you today?

Lord, you have always given

Bread for the coming day,

And though I am poor,

Today I believe.

Lord, you have always given

Strength for the coming day,

And though I am weak,

Today I believe.

Lord, you have always given

Peace for the coming day,

And though of anxious heart,

Today I believe.

Lord, you have always kept

Me safe in trials,

And now, tried as I am,

Today I believe.

Lord, you have always marked

The road for the coming day,

And though it may be hidden,

Today I believe.

Lord, you have always lightened

This darkness of mine,

And though the night is here,

Today I believe.

Lord, you have alwys spoken

When time was ripe,

And though you be silent now,

Today I believe.

Literacy and Numeracy all in 1

UR2GOOD

2ME

2BE

4GOT

__

10

Help for Haiti

Faced with the horrific news of Haiti I feel paralysed and don't know how to help. I am grateful that we have

BMS World Mission Relief Appeal which is there to help in places like Haiti.

I pray they will be able to channel resources where most needed and take with them a message of hope.

Peace

Lay your hands gently upon us,

Let their touch render your peace,

May they bring your healing and forgiveness,

Lay your hands, gently lay your hands.

I learnt this song while on teaching practice 25 years ago in a Catholic school. The lilting tune and prayerful words were a source of blessing and strength. I have not come across it anywhere since but it was etched in my mind so strongly that now I am back in the classroom, I find myself singing it again and finding the same blessing is still there!

A Good Book

As an incurable cruciverbalist, I have finally succumbed to the investment of the famous Chambers Dictionary known affectionately as the Red Brick by Listener crossword solvers. The foreward written by the erudite Jeremy Paxman contains the advice:

Eat a dictionary. A page a day keeps the doddypolls at bay.

Now there's a word worth looking up. The dictionary even has a built in
bookmark suggesting people do read it like a book cover to cover. Do people
really read a page a day like we read our Bibles bit by bit?

BBC jump on the bandwagon

First there was Springwatch which was fair enough if you like watching nature programmes.... then along came Autumnwatch which I could just about cope with. But today BBC announced their new series - Snowwatch. SNOWWATCH? What does that mean? I call that jumping on the proverbial bandwagon! Come to think of it, what on earth is a bandwagon?

Pause to pray

If you find it hard to pray in a busy day, just pause.

P = Praise. Thank God for something.

A = Ask. Present your requests to God.

U = Uplift. Lift up the needs of others.

S = Surrender. Cast all your anxieties on Him...

E = Exalt. Worship God.

ABC ladies get pampered

Big thanks are due to the men of Ashby Baptist Church for the service this morning followed by soup and trifle. What a treat. I was shoo-ed out of the kitchen at one point and told to go and sit down! We are blessed by your ministry chaps.

Thanks, Helen on behalf of the ABC ladies!

Go camping!

Those who know how unlikely it is to find me under canvas will be surprised by this idea. But I mean a different sort of camping. A friend of mine once said that when God speaks to you from the Bible, you should go and camp there. I like that. At this time in January I know a lot of people will be desperately trying to keep up with new year Bible reading plans and schemes. That is good but sometimes it is worth slowing down and reading the same few verses again and again over a few days or how ever long you need. Go and camp there and see what else God has to say and show you.

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly!" Colossians 3:16

The answer

carthorse

The hint

If you didn't get the anagram of orchestra, this picture should help. Got it yet?

A mixed up orchestra

Regular readers of this blog will know how much I love anagrams. The best kind of anagram is when a whole word makes another whole word. Here's an example but I won't post the answer until tomorrow. So what whole word can you make out of the word ORCHESTRA?

Comfort Food

I met someone today who says she can give up cakes, biscuits, puddings etc. but not crisps. It made me think. What would I have difficulty giving up? I've decided it would be tinned rice pudding. I love the stuff, especially on these cold wintery days. It is the highlight of the evening meal to open up a tin of rice pudding. Not necessarily this Ambrosia sort. In fact the cheap 19p a tin variety are fine by me. But I must have it hot with a spoonful of jam at the bottom of the bowl and demerara sugar sprinkled on top. Yum! That's my comfort food.

Is it snowing?

This is the only thing anyone is interested in today. Especially school children. And is the school closed?

For others, it raises concerns about travel to and from work, hospitals, shops and family.

I don't mind whether it snows or not and what is or isn't closed or cancelled. What I find so hard is the not knowing. All this looking out of the window and trying to guess what it will be like in 8 hours time is driving me mad. And all this checking forecasts and websites. Ah well, it keeps us trusting doesn't it?

"I know the plans I have for you....." Well, I am glad someone does!

Smelly!

I learnt today that the sense of smell is one of the most neglected aspects of education. It is a well-known fact that the more senses you use to learn something, the better you will remember it; eg. background music, reading, writing etc. will all help you reproduce information. So learning algebra with a background lavender smell for example could help you remember the work next time you smell lavender.

One way the sense of smell can be used in school apparently is in the lost property box. Children faced with a pile of identical red jumpers all without names sewn in can smell which one belongs to them and may even be able to identify the owners of some of the others!

Fair hotchin'

Does anyone out there know the phrase "Fair Hotchin'" ? My Dad who is from Lincoln used to
say that to mean a busy crowd of people. Well we had our open house today and although the crowd of happy friends didn't look quite like this picture, the phrase "Fair hotchin'" sprang to mind. Thanks to everyone who came.

The Parcel

The New Year has arrived on my doorstep like a parcel.

I am excited and want to open it all at once but the instructions are to open it one day at a time.

I hope it has good things. I know there will be some special birthdays and a significant anniversary. There's a new job to discover too. And precious friendships to deepen. But what else is there in the parcel?

I can prod it, sniff it and rattle it but must be patient. One day at a time.

Thank you God for the gift of a New Year. Help me to open each day remembering that you are the giver of all good things.