Have you been carolling this year? You have still got time!

O Come, All Ye Faithful is one of my favorite carols. What's yours? 

O Come, All Ye Faithful

Attributed to John Francis Wade(ca. 1711-1786)

O come, all ye faithful,
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye,
O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold Him
Born the King of angels;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ, the Lord.
Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing, all ye citizens
of heaven above;
Glory to God,
Glory in the highest;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ, the Lord.
Yea, Lord, we greet Thee,
Born this happy morning,
Jesus, to Thee be
all glory given;
Son of the Father,
Now in flesh appearing;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ, the Lord.

Enjoy the Christmas church services

Last night, Steven went carolling at Stowe last night and I joined him later on. Everybody had a great time. 

Sunday 22nd December
St Peter's, Hixon - Team Service and Communion 10.00
St Peter's, Hixon - Carols at the Inn at 7.00.pm where the 'Inn' is the Bank House pub
Tuesday 24th December - Christmas Eve
All Saints, Sandon -  Christingle at 4.00.pm.
All Saint's, Milwich - Crib Service 4.00.pm
St. Peter's, Hixon - Christingle 5.00.pm
St. Andrew's, Weston - Christingle Service 6.00.pm
St. James the Less, Fradswell - Christmas Communion 8.00.pm
St. Peter's, Hixon - Midnight Communion 11.30.pm
All Saints, Milwich - Midnight Communion 11.30.pm
St. James the Great, Salt - Midnight Communion 11.30.pm
All Saints, Sandon - Midnight Communion 11.30.pm
St. Andrew's, Weston - Midnight Communion 11.30.pm
Wednesday 25th December - Christmas Day
St. Rufin, Burston - Christmas Communion 9.30.am
St. Peter's, Hopton - Christmas Communion 9.30.am
St. Peter's, Gayton - Christmas Communion 11.15.am
St John's, Stowe  - Christmas Communion at 11.15.am
Sunday 29th December
St. John's, Stowe  - Team Service at 10.00.am - farewell to Jason

The Daily Show: Extended Interview: Malala Yousafzai

Hang on to God's promises!

Brian and Gina Walden always wanted to have a family. Their first son was easy, their second son Ethan would wake up and scream. Mum says: I would tickle him, bring his toys and he wouldn't respond. As he got older, his parents worried. He would just cry and bit himself until he bled. Their doctor told them he had autism. 

They began to care for him but the stress strained their marriage. One night they realised they were up against something else and that this fight was a spiritual battle as much as a physical. 
Dad: I started to get up earlier and we would pray. 
Soon after that, they found an autism specialist Ginelle who was a Christian too: 'Prayer was as important as therapy'  and she would pray with them daily...
This is such an encouraging story. Our God loves us and He is there for us in every moment of our daily walk.

A prayer for today: Father, you hold us in our hands, you know our deepest thoughts and worries. 
We ask you to pour your healing on our little ones, their parents, grand-parents, carers, nurses, doctors and hospital staff. 
Guide them and help them keeping on looking after their patients, strengthten them, for your glory. 
In Jesus' name, our Saviour and Redeemer, amen.
Have a blessed day. N.

Worried about ?

Let's pray about it!

Bad taste joke? Let me know!

Husband Store







A store that sells new husbands has opened in London , where a woman may go to choose a husband. Among the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates:



You may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors and the value of the products increase as the shopper ascends the flights. The shopper may choose any item from a particular floor, or may choose to go up to the next floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building!

So, a woman goes to the Husband Store to find a husband. On the first floor the sign on the door reads:

Floor 1 - These men Have Jobs

She is intrigued, but continues to the second floor, where the sign reads:

Floor 2 - These men Have Jobs and Love Kids.

'That's nice,' she thinks, 'but I want more.'

So she continues upward. The third floor sign reads:

Floor 3 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, and are Extremely Good Looking.

'Wow,' she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going.

She goes to the fourth floor and the sign reads:

Floor 4 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Good Looking and Help With Housework.

'Oh, mercy me!' she exclaims, 'I can hardly stand it!'

Still, she goes to the fifth floor and the sign reads:

Floor 5 - These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Gorgeous, Help with Housework, and Have a Strong Romantic Streak.

She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the sixth floor, where the sign reads:



Floor 6 - You are visitor 31,456,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store.

PLEASE NOTE:

To avoid gender bias charges, the store's owner opened a New Wives store just across the street.

The first floor has wives that love sex.

The second floor has wives that love sex and have money and like beer

The third, fourth, fifth and sixth floors have never been visited.

Grapefruit health benefits

Enjoy Benefits from the Antioxidant Lycopene
Grapefruit is an excellent source of vitamin C, a vitamin that helps to support the immune system. Vitamin C-rich foods like grapefruit may help reduce cold symptoms or severity of cold symptoms; over 20 scientific studies have suggested that vitamin C is a cold-fighter. Vitamin C also prevents the free radical damage that triggers the inflammatory cascade, and is therefore also associated with reduced severity of inflammatory conditions, such as asthma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis. As free radicals can oxidize cholesterol and lead to plaques that may rupture causing heart attacks or stroke, vitamin C is beneficial to promoting cardiovascular health.The rich pink and red colors of grapefruit are due to lycopene, a carotenoid phytonutrient. (PLEASE NOTE: Lycopene is only found in pink and red grapefruit. White grapefruit does not provide this carotenoid.) Lycopene appears to have anti-tumor activity. Among the common dietary carotenoids, lycopene has the highest capacity to help fight oxygen free radicals, which are compounds that can damage cells.
Choosing to regularly eat lycopene-rich foods, such as pink grapefruit, and drink green tea may greatly reduce a man's risk of developing prostate cancer, suggests research published the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Jian L, Lee AH, et al.)
In this case-control study involving 130 prostate cancer patients and 274 hospital controls, men drinking the most green tea were found to have an 86% reduced risk of prostate cancer compared, to those drinking the least.
A similar inverse association was found between the men's consumption of lycopene-rich fruits and vegetables such as tomatoes, apricots, pink grapefruit, watermelon, papaya, and guava. Men who most frequently enjoyed these foods were 82% less likely to have prostate cancer compared to those consuming the least lycopene-rich foods.
Regular consumption of both green tea and foods rich in lycopene resulted in a synergistic protective effect, stronger than the protection afforded by either, the researchers also noted.

I am not so keen on green tea but I try to eat a pink grapefruit everyday. I noticed that the grapefruit juice content in sugar is too high so I prefer buying the fruits.

Have a blessed week-end!

Mattersight?

Ok, I confess that I should not even be here this morning on my blog as I have set myself another goal today still I just thought I 'd share this with you:

Are you the kind of person who prefers to be chatty on customer service calls, or do you like to get right to the point? Do you prefer to be lead through an explanation every step of the way, or do you prefer the person on the other end to just shut up and “do what they need to do”? Do you prefer person-centered explanations, or technical explanations? Are you outgoing, or are you shy?

Believe it or not, there is a computer system out there that can figure out the details of your personality and interaction style after listening to mere seconds of your phone calls. In fact, this may have already happened the last time you called a customer service line. There is no way you would ever know.

Mattersight is an extremely sophisticated data analysis system that listens to the way you respond on the telephone. It listens to you in the background, and breaks down hundreds of micro-features of your voice: volume, tone, pauses, speed of response, and so on. It uses extremely sophisticated mathematical algorithms to interpret these features, compare them to data in their databases, and come up with a personality profile for you.

All of this happens, by the way, during the first few seconds that you are on the phone. 

Then, when you are finally connected to a sales representative or customer service professional, Mattersight takes its analysis of your personality, compares it to the personality profiles of the call center employees that it has on file, and automatically connects you with the service agent that you are most compatible with.

So I have a question: are they allowed to do that? Your views are welcome!

Source : http://www.kernelmag.com/features/report/5648/sleepwalking-into-moral-censorship/

Let's celebrate!

We knew we wanted something different, so when our vicar (Vicar, St Mary's & St Martin's Church, Blyth) suggested a flashmob, we were sold.
Gary Richardson

A perfect husband?

A woman was walking along the beach when she stumbled upon a Genie’s lamp. She picked it up, rubbed it, and a Genie appeared. The amazed woman asked if she got three wishes. The Genie said, “No. Due to inflation, constant downsizing, and fierce global competition, I can only grant you one wish. So, what’ll it be?” The woman didn’t hesitate. She said, “I want peace in the Middle East. See this map? I want these countries to stop fighting with each other.” The Genie looked at the map and exclaimed, “Lady, these countries have been at war for thousands of years. I’m good but not THAT good! Make another wish.” The woman thought for a minute and said, “Well, I’ve never been able to find the right man. You know, one that’s considerate and fun, likes to cook and helps with the housecleaning, is romantic, gets along with my family, doesn’t watch sports all the time, and is faithful. That’s what I wish for—a perfect husband.” The Genie let out a long sigh and said, “Let me see that map again.”

The wrong wish

A married couple, both 60 years old, were celebrating their 35th anniversary. 

During their party, a fairy appeared to congratulate them and grant them each one wish. 
       
      The wife wanted to travel around the world. 

The fairy waved her wand and poof - the wife had tickets in her hand for a world cruise. 
       
      Next, the fairy asked the husband what he wanted. 
       
      He said; "I wish I had a wife 30 years younger than me." 
       
      So the the fairy picked up her wand and poof -

 the husband was 90.

Your boss and you!

Your Boss and You

Hopefully this does not apply to your boss! If it does you may want to consider moving on. There are after all lots of fish in the sea, i.e. lots of excellent companies around! You may not be in the right job! 

      When you take a long time, you're slow.
      When your boss takes a long time, he's thorough.
      
      When you don't do it, you're lazy.
      When your boss doesn't do it, he's too busy.
      
      When you make a mistake, you're an idiot.
      When your boss makes a mistake, he's only human.
      
      When doing something without being told, you're overstepping your authority.
      When your boss does the same thing, that's initiative.
      
      When you take a stand, you're being bull-headed.
      When your boss does it, he's being firm.
      
      When you overlooked a rule of etiquette, you're being rude.
      When your boss skips a few rules, he's being original.
      
      When you please your boss, you're apple polishing.
      When your boss pleases his boss, he's being co-operative.
      
      When you're out of the office, you're wandering around.
      When your boss is out of the office, he's on business.
      
      When you're on a day off sick, you're always sick.
      When your boss is a day off sick, he must be very ill.
      
      When you apply for leave, you must be going for an interview.
      When your boss applies for leave, it's because he's overworked.

Ecclesiastes 5:18

This is what I have observed to be good: that it is appropriate for a person to eat, to drink and to find satisfaction in their toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given them--for this is their lot.

Isaiah 3:10

Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds.

Have a blessed week-end! Yours in Christ. N.

Does this ever happen to you?

For instance, the minute you are engrossed in something really interesting, i.e. just now, I was in the middle of reading a new post (Why did God create evil?), I got interrupted by our daughter asking why there was a cardboard box full of bath  towels in the middle of her room! How do I know? on second thoughts, it was probably brought there by mistakes because when we moved back in there were so many boxes everywhere...
Earlier on, my personal chef (lol) asked me whether I wanted some home grown potatoes and beans. I politely said no thanks, I'd rather have a tomatoe salad..For some reason,  I never had time to make my salad so when the fish appeared, I asked him if there was enough for me too..grumble grumble, ok, why did you change your mind...Don't know! Just did!
I have been told recently that my vocabulary includes too many of these: basically, anyway, well.. I did not say anything, wondering why/when I had started to use these regularly. The following day, at break, my colleagues and I were chatting away, and within 5 minutes, I'd heard the word 'basically' 5 times. Could this be a simple osmosis?
Blessings :)

Take 30 post-it-notes

Whilst in the middle of unpacking boxes, I found a new website called faithsmessenge.com and the section about marriage was interesting. I share the 'marriage maintenance idea' with you and I appreciate your feedback!

Marriage Maintenance – 30 Days of Appreciation

Here’s an exercise that will rejuvenate your marriage and cause you to consciously think about and appreciate your spouse on a new level. Take 30 post-it-notes and jot down something that you love or appreciate about your spouse on each one. For the next 30 days leave one note per day in places where he or she will find them.

You can leave your notes in the car, in his or her lunchbox, on the mirror in the bathroom, or in a dresser drawer or closet. Get creative. The thought you put into what you love and appreciate about your spouse for the next 30 days will serve as a reminder of why you fell in love in the first place.

Don’t allow complacency, stress, and the cares of this world to rob you of the freshness of married life. Nothing speaks to the world more than a healthy marriage. 

Keeping love alive in your marriage will assure that your marriage and your family will remain strong when the storms of life rush in.

Continue reading, click here

Special verses:

My beloved speaks and says to me: ‘Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land. The fig tree puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. (Copyright: NRSV)

Song of Solomon 2:10-13

Guilty conscience..

Thief Returns Bible Stolen 42 Years Ago From English Church After Guilty Conscience Eats Away at Him
A thief stricken with guilt has returned a 200-year-old bible, 42 years after he stole it from the Holy Trinity Church in Hastings, England. The anonymous thief included a note accompanying the stolen item, confessing his transgression and saying he wanted a clean conscience.
The bible was returned in a package, sent from Germany, to church treasurer Simon Scott earlier this week. Accompanying the package was an anonymous, typed note, which explained the story of a retired German man who, in 1971, made the foolish mistake of stealing the large, ornate bible from the Holy Trinity Church.

The thief explains in the letter that in 1971, he and his wife, who both spoke German, had just recently married and had decided to take language courses offered at the church to improve their English. They were disappointed with the quality of the classes, however, and as a form of retribution for the money spent on the courses, the young man decided to steal one of the bibles sitting in the corner of the church. He said his initial intent was to read each chapter of the bible with the hope of improving his English, although he admits he never got around to it.
"Back home I felt my action was not correct. Even more my wife was very angry and tried to persuade me to return the book," the man wrote in the note.

"This Bible always brought me a guilty conscience. I was too cowardly to hand it over personally. Now I am retired and I make a final impulse to clear my conscience. I deeply regret what I did and can only hope this Bible finds its rightful home again," the letter added.

Read more at http://global.christianpost.com/news/thief-returns-bible-stolen-42-years-ago-from-english-church-after-guilty-conscience-eats-away-at-him-103131/#TfJIIwq8CeMuyvuE.99

Oh my dear, I'll wait for you!

Have you ever been in a situation when you keep on doing the wrong things and you feel that nobody wants to listen to you. For different reasons, maybe you weren't there for your friends when they needed you.. Maybe the only friends you ended up having were your friends because they 'added' you in the gang that was 'following' them - there is a bit of 'celebrity' in this kind of false friendship, to be counted in the 'in' crowd can lead to dangerous situations. Or not only you feel rejected by your friends but also your family is experiencing huge problems, whether financial, emotional, you thought they were strong and stable, there for you..no everything you thought was a rock is crumbling fast around you. What do you do?

The good news is that if you ever need someone to talk to, God is there 24/7 for you. He loves you, He is patient and full of compassion. He wants to welcome in His family, the family of all the Christian believers who believe in Jesus, his beloved son. He'll listen to every word you say, and cleanse your heart. He already knows everything about you and all the things that you have done that are bothering you and filling you with guilt.

Ponder on what Jesus said: 

 “Come to me,all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Let's watch a dvd!

My big fat Greek wedding

However our selection of dvds is very limited in our temporary home. Earlier in the day, Imogen asked me if we could watch 'My big fat Greek wedding' . What I did not realise is that when she visited her sister Camille at Bristol this week-end, she bought it there so tonight we all sat down to watch it.
Of course we'd seen it before but I still find it funny!

Blogroll

Hi everybody, just to let you know that all the inspirational blogs I followed have moved (much to my regret but I cannot seem to change it) in the blogroll section of this website (click on the word website). I hope that you are enjoying your week-end.

My parents were at the circus when I was born

As I am back from our hols, I have just read a beautiful story..let me share it with you.
My parents were at the circus when I was born. I’m sure they were having a great time celebrating my brother’s sixth birthday, but I was at the hospital, being born.

I was adopted at birth.

Everything was arranged before I was born, and when I was just five days old, my brother, Jeremy, carried me out with the caseworker to present me to my parents and bring me home. 

I had spiky hair and I was delivered with forceps, which temporarily pinched a nerve and made my mouth hang down on one side so I had a crooked smile. 

But when my brother carried me out in his six year old arms, he presented me to my parents and said, “Isn’t she pretty? Doesn’t she look just like me?!”

There are times when God intervenes in our lives in nearly flagrant ways. He interrupts the logical order of things, and turns everything upside down in the best way possible. In my case, He took me from being an unplanned pregnancy, to a pined-after, “chosen child” in a family where I have been inordinately loved.
Continue, click here or watch the video clip:

Blessings to you and your beloved.

Cranberry juice...why?

The Health Benefits of Cranberry Juice

Lately I found myself really enjoying light cranberry juice partly because it does not taste so sugary as other fruit juices. I wanted to know more about it so here are the facts. 

Cranberry juice is well known as a natural treatment for bladder and urinary tractinfections. Not only does cranberry juice kill the bacteria that cause the infectionsdirectly, it also makes the internal environment of the bladder more acidic. This can help to prevent bacterial infections before they start by making the bladder a hostile environment for bacteria.

Cranberries are a source of vitamin C, as well as manganese and other nutrients. Cranberries are also a source of different kinds of antioxidants, including polyphenols, which may help to prevent cancer and heart disease, as well as boost the immune system. Cranberry juice also has components that can fight against tooth decay, reversing the formation of plaque on teeth by reducing the amounts of the bacteria which cause plaque.

I found all this information on this website : http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/the-nutrition-of-cranberry-juice.html#b

Lower Cholesterol

High cholesterol plagues a growing number of people and cranberry juice can actually raise healthy cholesterol levels while lowering the bad. Pterostilbene, a potent antioxidant compound found cranberries may also help lower cholesterol. In a USDA Agricultural Research Service study, scientists found the cholesterol-lowering effects of pterostilbene to be as effective ciprofibrate, a lipid-lowering drug. So drink your cranberry juice if you’re working on lowering your cholesterol.

Maintain Cardiovascular Health

Heart disease is a leading cause of death in the U.S. and Canada. Atherosclerosis is a disease whereby arteries are narrowed due to a build-up of calcium, fat and cholesterol circulating in blood. The build-up hinders the flow of oxygen-rich blood throughout the body and could lead to heart attack, stroke and other events. Research indicates that consumption of flavonoids in foods and beverages – including cranberry juice – may decrease the risk of atherosclerosis.

Find out more, click here

Good nite. N.