Victory belongs to Jesus!

"Victory Belongs To Jesus"  by Todd Dulaney

An awesome song for the glory of our Lord  Jesus

Who will stand against the Lord?
No one can,
No one will.

Who will stand against the king?
No one can,
No one will.

[2x]
Victory belongs to Jesus.
Victory belongs to Him.

Who can stand against the Lord?
No one can,
No one will.

Who can stand against the king?
No one can,
No one will.

[2x]
Victory belongs to Jesus.
Victory belongs to Him.
Yes, it does
Victory belongs to Jesus.
Victory belongs to Him.

We put our trust in You
Yes, we put our hope in You

[2x]
You will deliver,
You're a provider
I find my victory in You
Forever victorious,
Forever we win
I find my victory in You

Victory belongs to Jesus.
Victory belongs to Him.

Victory belongs to Jesus.
Victory belongs to Him.

Walnut brownies

We had a lovely  afternoon; after  a service in Magné (shall I say half a service because we were late) near Gencay we found our way back home without getting lost!
Our 9 friends and Ray's dog Bobby, arrived at 2pm as Steven had moved the bbq by Christopher hut in case it rained!

Written in 2018

Serious Problems

No Matter What Serious Problems You Have, a Deeply Personal Relationship With God Will Bring Healing!: Part 2: There are positive steps you can take that will help you overcome the chains of your past.

Don't want to think about virus!

I have just realised that the English press has talked about the French flu warning its readers about it.... I went to my French GP last Wednesday and he gave me some Amoxycilline
I wonder if have that flu but then surely he would have told me right?
Sniff!
I still went to school today and spend the whole day trying not to cough and when I did, eyebrows were raised and sneaky smiles, probably because I sounded very rough.
At lunch time I went to a café in Niort and kept coughing and again it was embarrassing! So glad ti's the week-end!
A few photos


And I can't resist to share with you one of the latest photo of Timothé rabbit lol




Please brothers and sisters in Christ, keep me and Steven in your prayers.  I put my trust in our Father and ask Him to heal me in the name of Jesus-Christ. Amen
God bless you in Jesus' name.

A new year!

The French send each other New Year cards and avoid Christmas cards celebrating the nativity. You have the whole January month to send a New Year card to your beloved! However I gave our delightful neighbour a Christmas card and she returned the favour two days later. 

Last year, the Lord blessed us plentifully and I am so grateful for all our blessings. We have made new English and French friends. Belonging to a joyful chaplaincy where Christ is glorified warms my heart. Our English friends and our family came to visit us and we both went to England to visit them too.

It does not mean that at times, trouble doesn't knock at our door but when it does, we know that our Saviour is in charge and we give him our burdens whether spiritual or physical. Though I was very reluctant to move to France and I had to be persuaded, I am more serene about living here now, having talked to expat in the same situation as me and knowing that Jesus, our saviour is by my side.
At Christmas, both of us have been hit by different virus. I was given cortisone and Steven was given antibiotics to clear his chest infection. We are on the mend 😀

My friend, do you know Jesus, the saviour of your Soul? He is the only mediator between the Lord and you. He walked on this earth and died willingly on a cross so that if we believe who he is (God) we can have eternal life. What are you waiting for?

Brownies instead of the French Buche!

Our First term at school (in Niort) ended yesterday; I left the 'college' at quarter to five, by the time I drove home it was 6 p.m. A bit of rain but no fog and i was driving against the traffic! It's the first time ever that I've finished teaching only three days before Christmas. I remember finishing on the 21st a few times in England. 

After dinner, Steven and I watched a lovely film called Regarding Henry. We'd never watched it before and we both enjoyed it. While I was watching it, I fancied sketching something so here it is: 

Walnut Chocolate Brownies

Brownies are the sort of thing that shouldn't work at all, but in the same way that uncooked cake mixture is a delight, brownies are often better than the most perfectly cooked sponge cake. Be brave and take them out while still squidgy – they'll firm up when they cool.

Ingredients 
Plain chocolate, broken up into chunks 100g
100 g poudre
200g Butter, cubed 
3       Medium eggs, beaten 
250g Golden caster sugar  - 
250g Plain flour 
2 teaspoons of ginger syrup 
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C/gas 4. Melt the chocolate and butter. Cool. 
3. Beat the eggs with the sugar, pour in the cooled chocolate mixture, add a pinch of salt and sift in the flour. 
4. Beat until blended and stir through the chocolate chips and walnuts.
5. Pour into the tin and bake for 25–30 minutes (don't use a fan oven; the brownies will just become dry). 
6. The outsides will look crackled and the inside will feel firm but will still be gooey.
7. Allow to cool in the tin for 20 minutes. Slice into squares.

I'm fighting for you!

Tenth Avenue North

My friends, don't give up on Jesus-Christ!
 Even in the middle of trials and tribulations, He won't let you down.
He loves you so much that he died an unjust and cruel death for you and me.
Then he resurrected and appeared to thousands.
The apostle John reports what Jesus told them:

Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things.

7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. 

Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong

 about sin and righteousness and judgment: 

9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 

10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer;

11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. John 16

 As he promised, the Holy Spirit was poured out on whoever believed then. And just as the prophet Joel said ch 2 v 28

And afterword

I will pour out my spirit on all people

Your sons and daughters will prophesy

your old me will dream dreams, 

your young men will see vision.

The apostle Paul who had an encounter with Jesus while he was persecuting his followers says about him in his letter to the Colossians ch 1 verses 15-16

He is the image of the invisible God: the first born over all creation.
For by him, all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrownes or powers or rules or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.

And we read verses 19-20

For God was pleased  to have all his fullness

dwell in him

and through him

to reconcile to himself all things

whether things on earth

or things in heaven

by making peace through his blood

shed on the cross.

Powerful! Through the death of our Saviour Jesus-Christ we are reconciled with God our Father.

African penguins say 'Hi'

Three weeks ago when I was in England visiting our daughters, I went to Bristol zoo with Cam and we had a great time. Arent' they cute! Here is the story behind their presence in this zoo!

The African penguin is the only penguin found in Africa and the global population fell by 70% between 2001 and 2013. They are now classified as Endangered by the IUCN red list, with less than 18,000 mating pairs left in the wild. Without continued support and research, there is a substantial risk that this species could become extinct.

Why are these penguins endangered?
One of the primary causes of the decline in African penguins is overfishing, both near breeding colonies as well as in their key location, the Benguela ecosystem off the coast of Namibia. Ever increasing fishing pressure on the primary food source of the penguins (sardines and anchovies), has meant that traditional feeding grounds for the penguins off the Namibian coast have become severely depleted. 

This results in low adult penguin survival and poor body condition outside of the breeding season. One of the major ramifications of this, as well as low fish stocks near breeding colonies themselves, is that hundreds of penguin chicks are being abandoned by the parents in winter time every year. 

This is because adult penguins need to be in good condition prior to moulting (which they do when their chicks are young), as they are unable to swim, and therefore forage during this time. 

However, because of their condition and the lack of fish, they are not able to provide enough food for their chicks and they are subsequently abandoned and would normally starve to death.

What are we doing to protect African penguins?

Since 2006, Bristol Zoological Society has been working with a local conservation centre, SANCCOB, to hand-rear abandoned chicks. 

In 2016 alone, early 1,000 chicks were rescued and, of these, 83% have already been released back into the wild. SANCCOB also rescue and rehabilitate penguins that have been the victim of oil spills in the area. 

We are also involved with monitoring the penguin population on Robben Island with a number of national and international partners. This contributes to a critical dataset that allows scientists to evaluate the population change very closely and trial a number of strategies to improve survival and breeding success.

Read more, click here!

Summer best 2017 photos!

Do you like puffins?

Friendly Puffin Approaches Photographer

Credit: Megan Lorenz/Nature's Best Photography Awards/
Courtesy of Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History

Interesting facts

A puffin can load many fish into its beak thanks to backward-pointing spines on the roof of its mouth. The world record load (held by a bird in northern Norway) is more than 60 small fish - a number nearly matched by a Scottish puffin.

When and where to see

Puffins come ashore in Scotland from late April (some may be later in the north and west) until mid-August. July is the peak month to see adults with beak-loads of fish coming in to feed chicks. 

Some of the best places to see them are the Treshnish Isles off Mull, Handa in west Sutherland, Hoy in Orkney, Noss and Hermaness in Shetland, the Isle of May in Fife and the Farne Islands just across the border in Northumberland.

Source, click here

Puffins Pick the Perfect Home

Friendly Puffin Approaches Photographer

Family

A special family time!

So nice to have our relatives visiting us in France. They arrived yesterday in Limoges so we were all pretty tired last night. Their flight from Bristol was a bit delayed. 

This morning, we went to the Tuesday market in the heart of Civray. It was really busy and of course full of English people lol! 

We are so blessed that they managed to book a week off at the same time. Of course the chef, Steven A. is busy bbq and cutting melons!

God is love!

Sometimes, you just need somebody to point out the truth to you. By truth I mean, something that is radical and cannot be challenged because it is perfect.

The statement written by the apostle John is radical. The apostle John was a disciple close to Jesus-Christ and he says so in the Bible, he also reports what he heard.

So what is this Love?  Why is this Love so special? What is the meaning of this verse? Are you amazed or shocked?

The introduction of the Gospel of Luke

Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things
 that have been fulfilled[a] among us, 
2 just as they were handed down to us by those 
who from the first(B) were eyewitnesses(C) and servants of the word.(D) 

3 With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, 
I too decided to write an orderly account(E) for you,
 most excellent(F) Theophilus,(G)
 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things
 you have been taught.(H)

Newsboys : Born again

I found myself looking into the mirror
Knew I wasn't who I wanted to be
I was living life the way that I wanted
But my eyes reminded me I'm not free

Believed a lie so everything that I know
Says I gotta go, tired of going solo
But I'm never gonna go there again

This is what it is, this is who I am
This is where I finally take my stand
I didn't wanna fall but I don't have to crawl
I met the one with two scarred hands

Giving Him the best of
Everything that's left of
The life inside this man
I've been born again

I see ya walking like you're living in fear
Having trouble even looking at me
Wishing they would give you more than words
Sick of people telling how it should be

What'd ya download? Where'd ya get your info?
You saw that I'm sure, now you're in the in though
Gonna tell you what I believe

This is what it is, this is who I am
This is where I finally take my stand
I didn't wanna fall but I don't have to crawl
I met the one with two scarred hands

Giving Him the best of
Everything that's left of
The life inside this man
I've been born again

We are the ones they call by name
I'm never gonna look back
Let go, let go, the guilt, the shame
Said, I'm never gonna look back
This is who I am

This is what it is, this is who I am
This is where I finally take my stand
I didn't wanna fall but I don't have to crawl
I met the one with two scarred hands

Giving Him the best of
Everything that's left of
The life inside this man
I've been born again

This is who I am
I didn't wanna fall but I don't have to crawl
I met the one with two scarred hands

Giving Him the best of
Everything that's left of
The life inside this man
I've been born again
I've been born again

Photos: birds and sheep!