Theme-A-Day - Day 9 - My Wedding

My wedding . . . . ? Errrrmmmmmm, yeah that didn't quite go according to plan.

We had arranged to get married and 3 weeks before the date the whole thing got cancelled. The reasons why aren't important right now. Eventually we sorted ourselves out and planned another wedding, that was 8 months later. Because of the circumstances surrounding the first time, we did not have the BIG dream wedding that girls dream of.

My mom made my dress, my mom catered for the reception and the reception was held at my parents house. My husbands brother did out photographs, but he's pretty good, so that wasn't a hardship.

Vivid memories from the day include our then 2 1/2 year old son yelling "my mummy and daddy" every time the pastor said our names, and one of my distant aunts sat in a corner at the reception telling dirty jokes.

Unfortunately although video was taken, the tape got ruined in the transfer process from the format the camera used, to the one we needed to show it on our tvs. Oh well!

Looking back, I wish we had waited a bit longer before we went ahead with it and got our heads straight first, as consequently we've had our share of battles along the way. Later, we held a 2nd ceremony, just a few years ago in fact, where we renewed our vows. We held an Hawaiian Luau in our church building, complete with pig roast! That was fun!

A couple of photos from our real wedding





and a couple of photos from the Luau

And to finish and make this a completely mega long post, a piece of writing i did a few years ago. This was a vision god gave me, I could literally see and feel all of this, and wrote it down when it was done.


I can see a woman standing over a huge washtub, desperately rubbing this fabric up and down a washboard.

“I MUST get it clean”, she’s crying, “I have to.”
She’s desperate, helpless, the stains won’t come out, there’s nothing she can do.
“I can’t wear it like THIS!” she says as she falls in a heap on the floor.

What’s in the washtub?
Her wedding dress.
How could she ever hope to get it clean, to get it ready, to make it “good enough”.
It had been many years, and many stains, she had no hope of ever making it right.
In hopelessness she cried out to the only one who could make it clean.

“Lord,
Take this dress,
Take this mess
That was our marriage.
Lord, You’ve done so much already.
Dare I ask this one thing more?
Make me clean.
Take away this stain.”

Gently, lovingly, He took her hand.
“I’ve been waiting.
Waiting for this moment of desperation.
Waiting for you to know that I am the only one who can remove this stain, take away this hurt.”

He took her hand and lifted her to stand.

“Come look again.”

He lifted out the gown.

Still, there were the stains, but now they were changing.
They joined, they merged as He touched them.
As He ran his hand over this filthy rotten gown, it became a pattern on the fabric.
A beautiful pattern that even the greatest designer could not have come up with.

“I cannot take away what has already happened,
But I can treat the stain, heal the hurt, take the pain.”

“Take it!” He said, holding the dress out to her “Go, try it on.”

She grasped the dress out of His hands, she ran to the next room and put on that dress.

When she returned, she was truly beautiful.
She twirled about the room, radiant, beautiful, clothed in God’s love, His forgiveness, His healing.

“Now Go!
Now you are ready.
Ready to change hearts and lives.
Change whole cities, whole nations,
Because now you walk in a gown that is clean,
Truly clothed in my righteousness.
You have a job to do out there my dear child.”

“But, I’ll get it dirty again!”

“Yes, I know, but now you know, now you are learning, how to get it clean again.”
By Zoe Gregg - all rights reserved

This post is part of a challenge to blog daily for a month with different prompts each day. You can see links to the other participants by clicking on the banner at the top of this post and you are welcome to play along at any time.
YES, I'm still way behind, but the Linkys are now all open for a whole month to allow those of us whoa re behind to play catch up!

Read More

Theme-A-Day - Day 8 - romance

The challenge for day 8 is: What does romance mean to me?

hmmm, romance means MAKING AN EFFORT!

We try and have a weekly date night, even if it means just going for a walk or having a thermos of soup in the park. But since I have had very little energy due to the sleep apnoea and so on, I got badly into the habit of letting hubby do all the arranging, put in all the effort to make sure it happens.

Last week God gave me a spiritual kick in the pants and pointed out I wasn't being fair, that I used to put a whole lot of effort into these nights and that was when I had two small children at home.

So last Thursday I stepped up to the plate and now it's my turn to MAKE AN EFFORT for a while. I decided to do a Chinese meal at home. I picked up some cheap Chinese plates and bowls from our local Chinese supermarket as well as fortune cookies. I grabbed my Chinese recipe books and chose something.

Now, I left the buying of the main ingredient until the day so that it would be really fresh and things did NOT go according to pan. I was without a car last week so had to use the supermarket in town because that is easiest to get to on the bus. But they had no duck breasts in, arrggghhh! What on earth was I going to do. I had a brain wave, and wandered down to the books aisle and sure enough, there on the shelf was a copy of the chinese cookbook I have at home. So I was able to find a recipe, look what I needed to get, but leave the book there, knowing I could look at the instructions when I got home.

I will NOT be cooking that again though, the dish I chose was far too spicy for me, so it'll be something different next time.

If you are thinking about taking part in the theme a day project, head on over to toddler awesome by clicking on the banner at the top of this post.

Read More

Theme-A-Day - Day 7 - SENSES

The challenge for day 7 is: Write about what each of your senses are sensing right now: taste, feel, what you can see, hear and smell.

And THAT gave me the perfect excuse to walk into the kitchen and grab one of the chocolate cornflake cakes I made this morning so that I would have something to taste. sooooo.....

I can TASTE wonderful deep cholatyness since I made this batch with dark chocolate.

I can't really taste the cornflakes but I can FEEL the crunch as I bite into the cake. I'm not a brand name shopper, more often than not choosing the supermarket's own brand and sometimes even the budget brand. However I NEVER buy the budget cornflakes for eating as cereal, I am not impressed with them, but for this job they are fantastic. And why buy expensive ones when you are just going to cover them with chocolate anyway.

I can SEE my computer, the computer desk hutch I am sitting at and a letter about an information evening for a residential university taster that my 15 year old will be going on.

I can HEAR my son chomping down on one of the chocolate cornflake cakes since he spotted that I had had one and asked if he could have one too.

SMELL? hmmm, I didn't think there was anything I could smell right now and then I realised I'd got chocolate on y fingers, , great smell and oh whoops, we're back to the beginning and TASTE again!

If you want to take part in this little bloggy challenge, head on over to toddler awesome by clicking on the banner at the top of this post.

Read More

1000 Gifts

Here is my entry for this week's Thankfulness journey, in no particular order . . . .

164. friends who know I do things a bit differently than they do and love me just the same, without trying to change me into versions of them. (wish I could say that for everyone I know.)

165. friends who have the courage to say the hard things that need to be said, RACHEL you are awesome!

166. Opportunity to meet together in a team and seek a way forward.

167. Many opportunities for grace growing coming up as I am not happy about some of the decisions made in that meeting.

168. Plans for girls night out (early stages but plans are beginning just the same).

169. Opportunity to gather around our leaders and pray for them through difficult situations they are facing.

170. Excitement of a new engaged couple at church, Congratulations Terry and Helen.

171. BEAUTIFUL gorgeous, wonderful weather.

172. WEST SIDE STORY WAS AMAZING!

173. My eldest who was Stage Manager for before the interval and Deputy Stage Manager for after the interval came over to us after the show and I have never seen him looking so RIGHT! There are no other words for it, he just looked RIGHT, and that is something I have not seen in him in a long long time.

174. Loose covers on my sofas mean I can take advantage of a day like today and wash them all!

175. Small group BBQ tomorrow evening means another week off from planning a session, while I know we will have to get back to it eventually I am glad of the reprieve during this warmer weather.

176. School assembly went well today - Thank You God For Pain - using the story of Leprosy to explain why we can say that, because pain is our bodies alarm system, it lets us know there is something wrong. And the volunteer I chose to demonstrate by whacking my hand with a ruler was gentle, THANK YOU!

If you wish to participate in blogging about your list of 1000 gifts, head on over to a holy experience, by clicking on the banner at the top of this post.

Read More

Theme-A-Day - Day 6 - Favourite Recipe

Write about your favourite restaurant/ foods or favourite recipe

Jamie Oliver Chicken Korma



You could use whatever poultry you have on hand for this dish, I usually use turkey thigh but this time I had chicken thigh fillets.

• 800g skinless and boneless chicken thighs or breasts, preferably free-range or organic
• 2 medium onions
• 1 fresh green chilli, optional
• A thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger
• 1 small bunch of fresh coriander
• 1 x 400g tin of chickpeas
• Groundnut or vegetable oil
• Knob of butter
• 1/2 x 290g jar of Patak's korma curry paste
• 1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk
• A small handful of flaked almonds, plus extra for serving
• 2 heaped tbsp desiccated coconut
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 500g natural yoghurt
• 1 lemon

Cut the chicken into approximately 3cm pieces.

Peel, halve and finely slice your onions.

Halve, deseed and finely slice the chilli, if you're using it.

Peel and finely chop the ginger. I cheat and use this stuff.



Pick the coriander leaves and finely chop the stalks.



Drain the chickpeas.

Put a large casserole-type pan on a high heat and add a couple of lugs of oil.
Put the chicken thighs into the pan, if using, stir around and brown lightly on all sides for 5 minutes (if using breasts, don't put them in yet).



Push the chicken to one side of the pan. My pan is not big enough to do that, so I take the chicken out and put it in a bowl until I need it again.

Stir in the onions, chilli, ginger and coriander stalks with the butter.


Keep stirring it enough, so that it doesn't catch and burn, but turns evenly golden. Cook for around 10 minutes.



Add the korma curry paste,



coconut milk, half your flaked almonds, the drained chickpeas, desiccated coconut and sliced chicken breasts (if using). (At this point it is useful to realise that the tiny white bowl in the ingredients picture does in fact hold ground almonds and not dessicated coconut and measure out that instead, which I did do! hence a photo of the little bowl on it's own with the correct ingredient!)



Half fill the empty chickpea tin with water, pour it into the pan, and stir again.



Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 30 minutes with the lid on. Check the curry regularly to make sure it’s not drying out, and add extra water if necessary.



When the chicken is tender and cooked, taste and season with salt and pepper - but please season carefully. Serve with boiled rice, adding a few spoonfuls of natural yoghurt dolloped on top of the korma, and sprinkle over the rest of the flaked almonds. Finish by scattering over the coriander leaves, and serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over.



So head on over to Toddler Awesome by clicking on the banner at the top of this post! Looking forward to more posts in the coming days.

Also linked to:

Read More

Theme-A-Day - Day 5 - 10 songs everyone should hear

The day 5 theme was 10 songs everyone should hear . . .

1. How he Loves Us - but the David Crowder band version and I can't embed that, only link to it.
   
   
2. Jesus Blood Never Fails Me - Delirious?
   
   
   
   
3. Freedom by Fat and Frantic Sorry folks, you might not like it but it's TRUE. And BTW you NEED to listen to all the words, not just the ones you like! Oh this could lose me some friends!
   
   
4. Outrageous Grace by Godfrey Birtill There is a full version on youtube but sung by a different artist who has changed the music a bit and to me it less powerful like that.
   I still think it is best sung by the man himself and you can get a clip by clicking here. Imagine lying on the floor in pieces because god is doing a complete work on your heart, with THAT playing over and over on full blast!
   
   Outrageous Grace!
   There's a lot of pain
   But a lot more healing
   There's a lot of trouble
   But a lot more peace
   
   There's a lot of hate
   But a lot more loving
   There's a lot of sin
   But a lot more grace
   
   Oh Outrageous Grace!
   Oh Outrageous Grace!
   Love unfurled by heavens hand
   Oh Outrageous Grace!
   Oh Outrageous Grace!
   Through my Jesus I can stand
   
   There's a lot of fear
   But a lot more freedom
   There's a lot of darkness
   But a lot more light
   
   There's a lot of cloud
   But a lot more vision
   There's a lot of perishing
   But a lot more Life!
   
   (chorus)
   
   There's an enemy
   That seeks to kill what it can't control
   It twists and turns
   Making mountains out of molehills
   But I will call on the Lord
   Who is worthy of praise
   I run to Him and I am saved! ... by ...
   
   (chorus)
   
   Godfrey Birtill
   
   
5. I Delight in You by John Nuttall
   
   
   
6. Any song from Zorro the musical
   
   
   
   , but in particular The Man Behind the Mask
   
   
7. Another Fat n Frantic song - Aggressive Sunbathing
   "It's poured for 40 days and nights but I won't give up the fight, while there's hope in my heart - Aggressive sunbathing, lying in the rain."
   
   
8. God of Second Chances
   You HAVE TO WATCH THIS ONE - the quality of the sound might not be brilliant because of the wind and it being outdoors, but WOW WOW WOW
   
   
   
   
9. hmmmm, I can't really think of anything else.
   
   
10. Only because my son says I HAVE TO include this:
    
    
    

Read More

Frankie Sandford Front and Back

Wow! Frankie Sandford's asymmetrical bob haircut is looking better by the day. Here's a couple of pictures of Frankie from in front and an excellent shot from behind showing the full splendor of that hairstyle!

Read More

Theme-A-Day - Day 4 - Favourite holiday

The challenge for day 4 of the the Theme-A-Day Blog Journal Project is:

"Write about your favourite holiday/ vacation and include photos if you wish"

hmmmmmmm, holiday to me, vacation to my American friends. My favourite? it has to be my trip to America last year to meet online friends and stay in the home of one of them.

There wasn't much site seeing, there wasn't a lot of eating out, there was lots of chilling and being part of life and lots of reading, lots and lots of reading.

But the most important thing there was was FRIENDS. REAL friends. Not people who had been online imaginary friends who now became real friends but people who had been real friends all along. Some people have difficulty understanding how you can have a friendship of any depth with someone you've never met, particularly when we hear so many stories of people pretending to be who they are not on the internet and so on. One of my friends at church, Ken, was particularly worried about my trip, with me he would joke about it, but to my husband he expressed real concern. "How can you be sure she will be safe?"

You know what, we can NEVER be sure we will be safe, and if you read my response to the "what are you most proud of" question you will already know that I had a rather torturous journey to get where I was going and actually though the love and care that was shown me on that journey and during my stay, my friend Ken is now facebook friends with the friend who I stayed with.

So, some photos . . . . . .

THIS is what kept me stuck in various different airports for 4 days:



When stuck in airports, over and over again, you eat whatever you can find:








The little bit of sight seeing we did do was the Ocmulgee Indian Monument.



where, amongst other things we discovered that even the moon is bigger in America.



We also made a trip to another Indian monument which is best viewed from the tower, BUT we couldn't get to the top of the tower because of a hornets nest. This is the best I could do.



And no description of this trip would be complete without this photo.

Yes my friends, this is what passes for sight seeing in small town America. yes, that is the state mental hospital!

And finally, the absolute highlight of my trip was being asked to take part in the midweek childrens ministry at my friends church. I LOVED IT!

If you're interested in participating in the theme a day project, head on over to toddler awesome by clicking on the banner at the top of this post. Looking forward to getting to know you.

Read More

Theme-A-Day - Day 3 - What I am proud of

The challenge for day 3 of the the Theme-A-Day Blog Journal Project is:

"What are you most proud of?"

Two things:
Firstly I did THIS


I climbed a local hill called The Wrekin. This was October last year. And was the result of breaking through certain barriers that had held me back and prevented me tackling anything like that before. I chose this part way up photo rather than the one at the top because you can see what is on my arm in this photo.
That is not a long sleeved top under the shorter one, that is a tubigrip bandage. Because the week before this I had thrown a kettle full of recently boiled water all over my arm. No, not on purpose, it was an accident and resulted in a trip to the nearest minor injuries unit, which since we were in the middle of Wales at the time on church camp, was an interesting journey!


Secondly I survived THIS:


YES, I travelled alone to America via Newark airport during the great Blizzard of February this year! My journey took me a little longer than expected and you can read the story here and here. But I did it! I survived that whole adventure without falling apart and all by myself. Well, I had one little few minute fall apart in my hotel room the one morning but other than that I did OK.

If you're interested in participating in the theme a day project, head on over to toddler awesome by clicking on the banner at the top of this post. Looking forward to getting to know you.

Read More

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY, Tuesday 18th May...

Outside my window...
it is dry but overcast and a little cool. The weather is supposed to significantly warm up as we head towards the end of the week. Thankfully youngest's exam on Friday is in the morning so the exam room should not have time to get too warm.

I am thinking...
about some other blog posts I need to get written and my plans for date night this week.

I am thankful for...
a husband who has taken the responsibility for date night on his shoulders without complaint for so long, but now it is time to even the balance and reduce the load he carries for that.

From the learning rooms...
Well, I was hoping to learn to make lined curtains this week, BUT it looks as if the fabric I bought on Ebay will not arrive in time.

From the kitchen...
Tuesdays we have to have a dinner which can be ON THE TABLE within 5 minutes of walking in the door, because hubby and I have to be straight back out again fairly soon after, for small group. So last week, this week and probably for a few weeks into the future we are having baked potatoes with cheese and cold meats. I can put the potatoes in the oven on timer earlier in the day, leave the sliced cheese and meats on a plate in the fridge ready to go and put relish etc out on the table.
I don't know why I didn't think of this solution before last week.

I am wearing...
brown trousers, red jersey top and thick sweater (until it warms up later anyway).

I am creating...
red paper lanterns for date night on Tuesday (I'm doing date night at home and going with a Chinese theme.)

I am going...
to the theatre tomorrow night to see a local college do their production of West Side Story. My eldest is deputy stage manager and so has been run off his feet for weeks! today and tomorrow should be slightly easier days as last night was the first performance.
I'm looking forward to the show, especially as my sister, my dad and his girlfriend are all coming too.

I am remembering.... some of the fantastically helpful staff I met on my 4 day snow delayed journey from England to Atlanta.

I am reading...
"The Complete Home Decorating Book" and "Multi Sensory Parable for Small Groups".

I am hoping...
that eldest son does not have to stay our as late as he expecting tomorrow night to get things packed up at the theatre. They have to have everything out of there after the show tomorrow night and last week it took them 3 journeys between college and the theatre to get it all in. With a 20 minute journey each way, plus loading time, you can imagine it's going to be a long night just based on that alone.

I am praying....
that my eldest really gets a glimpse of his own worth and potential and sees how much people do care for him.

I am hearing...
passing traffic, and other noises from outside.

Around the house...
There is plenty to do this week, although not having to do those curtains yet has freed up some valuable time.

One of my favourite things...
is to see my children understanding what captures their passion and chasing after it.

A few plans for the rest of the week...
No youth cafe this week, so that i can get to the theatre on time tomorrow evening. Friday I want to take my journal, bible and a packed lunch and head down to a park on the river Severn, if the weather stays nice.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

That is the pack of dried chillies that youngest son was delighted to have me buy for him, at the Chinese Supermarket on Saturday! Did I ever tell you that he is a bit of a foodie? I put the ruler in so you could see how big the pack is.

SO, if you want to read more daybook entries or you would like to take part yourself. Click on the image at the top of this post and check it all out.

Read More

Theme-A-Day - Day 2 - Timeline of my Day

The challenge for day 2 of the the Theme-A-Day Blog Journal Project is:
"What does a day in your life look like - write a timeline of your day."

A lot depends on what day of the week it is, but the rough outline of my day is very loose and as follows:

7:00am alarm goes off and wake up

7:15am dressed and downstairs, and straight onto the computer, check emails (I have two main email accounts), facebook, my google calendar, and my remember the milk To-Do list.

At some point during that I will grab some breakfast, usually a bowl of cereal or a yummy cereal bar, sometimes toast and marmite.

8:05am every day youngest leaves the house to walk to school
some days eldest leaves the house to head to college (depending on what classes he has that day)

Then I will mooch around the house, do whatever chores are on my list, maybe pop out and get a few groceries, maybe do some journal writing, maybe some reading, but a lot of popping in and out of various websites, keeping my email and facebook open most of the time.

If eldest only has afternoon lessons he will leave later on.

2:30pm youngest finished school, he will be home by 2:45pm, unless he has an after school club that day.

If eldest has had afternoon classes he will be home at 4:30pm.

I usually serve dinner around 6:30pm which is more or less when hubby arrives home.
After dinner there will be some tv watching and maybe now the weather is better we'll go for a walk, and I usually head to bed around 10pm where I will do some paper and pen puzzles for a bit before setting up my CPAP machine for the night.

****<>< ****<>< ****<>< ****<>< ****<>< ****<>< ****<>< . Mondays I have to head out to a meeting in a local cafe before lunch with one of the church leaders.

Tuesdays after school youngest has a Spanish class at the college eldest goes to, So I take him there and go visit a friend who lives near the college during his class. When that is over we head home, usually arriving home around 6:40pm.
Hubby and I have to be back out the door for small group at 7:15pm most weeks, so while there is time to eat dinner there is no time to prepare it. Sometimes I use the crockpot, sometimes I put chicken burgers and oven fries in my oven on timer, but just this last week I hit on what I think will be our solution for a while at least.
Jacket Spuds (baked potatoes) with pickles, relishes, cheese and cold meats. Add a bag of salad and we have a fairly rounded meal. I can get the cheese and meats sliced up and put on a plate in the fridge before I go and whack the potatoes into the oven and when we get home dinner can be on the table within 5 minutes of walking in the door.

Wednesdays I volunteer at the local youth cafe, have to be there around 3pm and although it doesn't finish until 7pm I am usually away by 6pm and home by 6:30pm. Eldest currently has his young adults small group at church, which he occassionally needs a lift to, but I believe that is about to change night.

Thursdays hubby and I usually have date night, and at the moment youngest has an after school writing group at the town centre library every other week.

Fridays I try to keep as a day off, even from chores around the house, aiming to have all that done by the end of Thursday.

Add in to all that that my job entails being in different schools on different days in different weeks doing different things and we have a very unstructured life in some ways. But having a base structure, having things that I know I need to get done on certain days is the only way I can keep any kind of order.

If you're interested in participating in the theme a day project, head on over to awesome toddler by clicking on the banner at the top of this post. Looking forward to getting to know you.

Read More

Theme-A-Day Blog Journal

I know, I know, I'm way behind, but that's life around here, so get used to it. Heeheee, truth is I only discovered this project this afternoon. I aim to get caught up to everyone else over the next few days.

The project is being hosted over at Toddler Awesome and you can get there by clicking on the banner at the top of this post.

Here is her description of what the project is all about. . . .
I am planning on starting a Theme-A-Day Blog Journal tomorrow and I am so excited about this! My plan is to keep it for a whole month, with a new theme/ question each day. I figured this would make a good blogging exercise!

I wanted to know how many of you would be interested in joining in with me and I can add a linky to each post (theme/ question). I think I might even turn mine into a scrap project and post my scrap page each day!

So how many of you would be interested in joining in? If there are enough of you, I will even make a button!

The first day is going to be easy!

1. Write an introduction.

So here I am. I too need a push to be blogging more regularly and this looks like it could be fun.
I live in Shropshire, in England, am mom to 2 boys aged 15 and 18, and work 10 hours a week for my church in local schools. I lead the 5 - 11's work in my church and have just realised today that in September we will lose the 2 11 year olds in the group and gain three 4 1/2 year olds. That'll be fun!

There are all sorts of possibilities floating around my life at the moment, some of them nice and some of them not so nice, and I don't want to SIT AND WAIT, I'm fed up of sitting and waiting, I want to be active in the waiting, so I will document this month, and hopefully I will have some answers by the end of it.

Oh and BTW this is me (well last summer anyway, my hair is a lot longer than that now.)

If you're interested in participating in the theme a day project, head on over to awesome toddler by clicking on the banner at the top of this post. Looking forward to getting to know you.

Read More

1000 Gifts

Here is my entry for this week's Thankfulness journey, in no particular order . . . .

149. Fabric bargains on Ebay

150. All the other accessories for this project also on Ebay. I am making a curtain to go across the archway between our kitchen and dining room. Sadly the supplies won't arrive in time to improve the look of that space for this week's date night, but hopefully for the week after.

151. Although I forgot to buy the stuff for tomorrows Sunday's Cool class while we were out this morning, I did remember before it was too late.

152. Found hanging basket tomatoes at a decent price and hubby got them potted up in the baskets.

153. Eldest son appears to be doing well now that their theatre group from college has actually got into the theatre.

154. Eldest son had an early finish on Saturday, and didn't have to be in until noon yesterday.

155. Although I was on a rota at church and therefore could not take son to the theatre, hubby was not on any rotas and could slip out of church early to make sure son got there on time.

156. Youngest gained a place on a university experience course this summer.

157. Some lovely plates and bowls that weren't too expensive at the Chinese supermarket on Saturday.

158. I have walked over my target number of steps 6 days out of the last 7. Might be time to up my target a little.

159. A collection of recipe books that allows me to find recipes to meet our needs, as well as just chilling out flipping through them, daydreaming.

160. Nudging from God that expecting hubby to put in all the organising etc effort when it comes to our date nights is not fair and a nudging to move froward with taking on some of that responsibility.

161. Exciting possible work experience opportunity for youngest son in the summer.

162. Encouraging words from a number of sources this week. Thank you Kate, Donna, Stacey and Leann in particular.

163. No matter how much I avoid it and hide from the honesty it forces me to face, my journal is always there, waiting, when I decided to turn back to it.

If you wish to participate in blogging about your list of 1000 gifts, head on over to a holy experience, by clicking on the banner at the top of this post.

Read More

Date Nights

Hubby and I went on date night last night. We just went for a walk then supposedly to McDonalds for a hot chocolate before we had to go fetch eldest from somewhere. The queue in McDonalds was moving so slow that after waiting 15 minutes and still only being half way through we decided to nip to the nearby supermarket and grab a drink and a snack and go sit and wait for our eldest.

I realised something though as we were walking at the start of the evening. For a long time I have been allowing, no expecting hubby to take all the responsibility for date nights. OK, I was tired, I have sleep apnoea but that is now treated with a CPAP machine, and there really is no excuse for not making the effort any more.

There was a time when the boys were little and we could NOT afford to eat out that I used to make a real effort for date night, decorating (mostly with paper stuff I could make myself) and cooking along a theme. Our budget is probably just as tight right now as it was back then, so why not do that now?

So that's the plan. I'm not necessarily going to organise and plan every week, but I am going to start this week. My first major project is to make a curtain to cover the archway between our kitchen and dining room, so that we can make the dining room a separate space. Hopefully I have some fabric in my stash that is big enough to do that job and I won't have to wait until I can buy some fabric, but we'll see when I get to dig into my stash after I've finished writing this post.

This week I'll be cooking Chinese and these are the plans:

DECORATIONS
Red tablecloth,
Black place mats and coasters,
Shorter candle display in middle of dining table, and another candle display on the other table. (Using candles I already have),
Red paper lanterns (easy to make at home, but I will need to get red paper I'm sure there's none in my stash),
Possibly some red cord tassels if I can work them into the decorating design and pick any up really cheaply.

MUSIC
Somewhere we have a cd of Chinese worship music and I am pretty sure hubby ripped it to the hard drive of the computer that is in the dining room so if I can't find the CD we should still be able to use it.

FOOD
Starter - I will buy some mini spring rolls and other Chinese snacks
Main Course - Crispy Duck Breasts, garlic pak choi and Bejing rice
Dessert - crushed ginger nut cookies, topped with sliced strawberries, a scoop of good quality vanilla ice cream and then a grating of dark chocolate. Served with fortune cookies.

I'm not sure whether to try and make the fortune cookies or to go buy some as we do have a Chinese supermarket close enough to get to easily. If I make them I can insert my own "fortunes", but will I have time to get all that done? hmmmmmm.
I already have a bottle of sparkling wine in the fridge that we have been saving for a special occasion, so we can serve that with the meal.

So, are you having a date night this week?
What are your plans?

Read More

Rescuing? Or Experiencing Life Together?

If you have known me for a while You may well be aware that I often have moments where God speaks to me through TV shows or movies and so on.

Well this week I finally got to watch the episodes of Torchwood we had recorded on our V+ box from earlier in the year. The series of 5 episodes that were shown nightly for a week. I watched all 5 episodes over just 2 days and BOY was that an intense experience.

It was intense all along but I wasn't particularly crying or aware of God moments until the final episode, day 5. OH MY WORD. There is so much in that episode, so many intense moments, and I was most definitely crying. In fact, I was bawling, and my 18 year old son who was on the sofa with me, a number of times said "Right that's it, I am switching this off, you obviously can't watch it." but I managed to keep the remote away from him!

Like I say there were all sorts of HUGE moments but there was one that really stood out for me.

There is a section where the family members of one of the main characters are trying to get some children away to a safe place. The army has come in, to the area where those family members are and is trying to take those children, with riot shields, batons and probably tear gas etc. The wife takes all the children and runs and the husband tries to create a diversion along with a number of other guys from the area by fighting back against the army guys. None of these guys are armed other than with anything they find lying around, because it all happens so fast.

Watching this is a policeman. A policeman who used to work with one of the main characters when she was still in the police force. He is watching what is happening and thinking and you see a moment when he decides to stand up for what is right rather than what he has been instructed to do and he throws off the identifiable parts of his uniform and joins these guys who are fighting against the army and gets stuck in with them. The thing that REALLY struck me though was that he was wearing either a bullet proof vest, or more likely a stab vest. He could have kept that on, he could have kept himself protected in that way.

But he didn't!
He tore that vest off along with the rest of his identifiable uniform and he joined them on equal terms. He didn't just come in to try and help them or try and rescue them, he joined them, he became one of them! On equal terms of risk with them, to fight ALONGSIDE them.

Be warned this clip has strong language and violence.



WOW!
At the time I just bawled and said things like "WOW, did you see that, did you see what he just did?" I may have even rewound and watched that little bit again.

Looking back on it later it really made me think. Firstly about what Christ did for us, becoming one of us not just rescuing us.

And the 2nd thing it made me think of was missions, charity work and so on. I watch mission work and have even been part of it in some way, that swoops in, does it's thing and then swoops out again, never to be seen again, having salved their consciences with the fact that they have "helped these people". And my heart breaks!
Then I watch others, who immerse themselves in the lives and culture of the people they want to help. But it's more than that, it's not just people they want to help, it's people they LOVE, people that they have become part of, people that now have a piece of their heart and who will always be a part of them.

And I am desperate for SOMETHING OF THAT in my work in schools. To not just be "That nice lady who comes in and does some nice assembly talks" but to be a part of their lives. To be a part of the fabric of the school, doing whatever I can, whatever they need, whenever I can, whenever they need it. To be a safe spiritual "place" within the chaos that school can be. I want to know who they are and I want them to know me, I want to see big things, I want to be part of big things! I don't know how to make that happen, in fact I know that I cannot MAKE that happen, but I still want it, it is still my prayer!

Read More

The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY, Tuesday 11th May ......

Outside my window...
The sun is shining but there is quite a breeze that brings the temperature down if I open the door. Shame because it really is a beautiful day.

I am thinking...
about how tired I am and what I can do to remedy that.

I am thankful for...
An evening off small group tonight. Yes I know it's important and we need to meet together to encourage each other and so on but I am so tired that I am truly grateful that we get a week off this week because of some group members being away.

From the learning rooms...
Learning a new assembly talk for this morning. Thank You God For Pain - a talk about how you might not think that is a good thing to pray but leprosy sufferers get their injuries because they can't feel pain and so get injuries that the rest of us would pull ourselves out of.

From the kitchen...
Lots of different breads lately. The batch of dough that is currently in the fridge is 5/6 white flour and 1/6 a wholemeal flour with seeds in it. Might also make a fresh batch of challah dough, which reminds me I promised to type that recipe up for a friend and never did, ooops!

I am wearing...
Blue jeans, a black and white top, a rainbow necklace and a lovely thick hooded sweater.

I am going...
to school in a short while to do this assembly then finish my chores when I get home.

I am remembering....
That I promised myself I would do more walking this week.

I am reading...
New Sunday's Cool planning book. We finished 13 sessions on prayer and now are starting 13 weeks on "winners" in the faith.

I am hoping...
that we get some of the local young people visiting youth cafe this week when i am there tomorrow. It can be a bit boring on your own.

I am praying....
for cementing of all the new connections I have made recently and for further connections to be made.

I am hearing...
the tv on in the other room and my youngest knocking the front door to be let in after going for a walk.

Around the house...
Tuesday means living room, hallway and stairs and downstairs bathroom. it is a bit more than I would like on a day when I have an assembly to talk at as well, BUT it does mean I get a day off chores tomorrow, so let's GET ON WITH IT!

One of my favourite things...
is to dance in worship. But I have fallen arches and I like to dance barefoot, in fact, I really cannot dance in my big clumpy shoes and so a wonderful session of worship where I have freedom to express myself in dance often means aching feet and legs later in the day.

A few plans for the rest of the week...
hmmmmm . . . I don't have an awful lot planned for the rest of the week. As I said, no small group tonight, but I do have to take youngest to his Spanish class after school and go visit a friend while he is there. Tomorrow is youth cafe from 3pm till 7pm, although I probably won't stay until the end. Date night is supposed to be Thursdays but I don't have anything planned for that this week and am too tired to come up with anything, so unless hubby has plans we probably won't do anything.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...



SO, if you want to read more daybook entries or you would like to take part yourself. Click on the image at the top of this post and check it all out.

Read More

1000 Gifts

Here is my entry for this week's Thankfulness journey, in no particular order . . . .

136. Hubby's longer days on the road for work (at least once a week) means he gets to use the company car those days thereby reducing our fuel bill and the wear and tear on his car.

137. CD I needed for this week's Sunday's Cool was easily found and didn't hide from me.

138. I have been being consistent enough with the household chores that having a lazy week this week didn't make too much of an impact, thankfully.

139. Wonderful husband who helps me get caught up on the laundry when it gets on top of me.

140. Hubby worked on his car on Saturday WITHOUT INCIDENT this time!

141. Eldest son appears to be getting some extra sleep without too much complaining in preparation for show week, (West Side Story) starting on Wednesday.

142. Eldest appears to be over whatever bug he had, ready for show week, starting on Wednesday.

143. Youngest did well in his assessed food tech practical last week, despite leaving an ingredient at home.

144. Youngest did well in his assessed English oral presentation, despite not having his notes because he stepped in when others weren't quite ready (they had not expected to be starting them that lesson, they all thought it was the next lesson).

145. My legs aching means I have been getting more walking in this last week. (Still not as much as I would have liked but getting there).

146. new leaders for the Young Adults at church. One of whom took our eldest for coffee on Saturday.

147. Finally getting a few answers on some questions that have been puzzling us.

148. Online grocery shopping. Order placed, will be delivered tomorrow and all without me having to leave the house!

If you wish to participate in blogging about your list of 1000 gifts, head on over to a holy experience, by clicking on the banner at the top of this post.

Read More

Sexy And Trendy With Emo Girl Hairstyles Specially Emo Short Girl Hair Cuts Images

1.Sexy And Trendy With Emo Girl Hairstyles Specially Emo Short Girl Hair Cuts Image

2.Sexy And Trendy With Emo Girl Hairstyles Specially Emo Short Girl Hair Cuts Image

3.Sexy And Trendy With Emo Girl Hairstyles Specially Emo Short Girl Hair Cuts Image

4.Sexy And Trendy With Emo Girl Hairstyles Specially Emo Short Girl Hair Cuts Image

5.Sexy And Trendy With Emo Girl Hairstyles Specially Emo Short Girl Hair Cuts Image

6.Sexy And Trendy With Emo Girl Hairstyles Specially Emo Short Girl Hair Cuts Image

7.Sexy And Trendy With Emo Girl Hairstyles Specially Emo Short Girl Hair Cuts Image

Read More