Who are the street pastors?

Street pastors describe how they help youngsters who have had one drink too much ... 
Going out clubbing tonight? 
A few advice given by the street pastors
Top up your mobile phone
Charge your mobile phone
Make sure you stay with friends
Don't get so drunk you don't know what you are doing.
A short film about the work of the Stafford Street Pastors and the potential dangers faced by young people out on the town late at night. A big thanks to you, Street Pastors. 

If God is for me...

If God is for me, who can be against me?
Romans 8:31

A thirsty Canada goose!

It's been a beautiful Sunday, sunny and peaceful.After buying more carrots and kale for our rabbits in Rugeley, I stopped on the way back at the Wolseley wildlife center just in case I'd see the resident kingfisher. Alas, he was not around. A Canada goose caught my attention and I decided to film it. It's a very short video clip that nevertheless took ages to upload on youtube!

Good morning!

Psalm 8

1 Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory in the heavens.

2 Through the praise of children and infants

you have established a stronghold against your enemies,

to silence the foe and the avenger.

3 When I consider your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place,

4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,

human beings that you care for them?

5 You have made them a little lower than the angels

and crowned them with glory and honor.

6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;

you put everything under their feet:

7 all flocks and herds,

and the animals of the wild,

8 the birds in the sky,

and the fish in the sea,

all that swim the paths of the seas.

Let's go for a walk and take photos!

My favorite photo: a grey heron at Great Haywood

Have a blessed Sunday!

A wise poodle, a leopard and a monkey

Cuddles

A wealthy old lady decides to go on a photo safari in Africa, taking her faithful aged poodle named Cuddles, along for the company. One day the poodle starts chasing butterflies and before long, Cuddles discovers that he's lost. Wandering about, he notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch.

The old poodle thinks, 'Oh, oh! I'm in deep trouble now!' Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the leopard is about to leap the old poodle exclaims loudly, 'Boy, that was one delicious leopard! I wonder if there are any more around here'


Hearing this, the young leopard halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. 'Whew!' says the leopard, 'That was close! That old poodle nearly had me!'


Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So off he goes, but the old poodle sees him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something must be up. The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard.

The young leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, 'Here, monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine!

Now, the old poodle sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks, 'What am I going to do now?', but instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old poodle says.

'Where's that flipping monkey?
I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another leopard!

Instapray!

Have you heard of Instapray? Whether you want some encouragement or you need prayers, Instapray is a great tool to get together with other brothers and sisters round the world,

Social networking gets spiritual! InstaPRAY lets you post prayers or offer words of encouragement - and 33 MILLION have already been posted
Free app lets users post public prayers and messages of encouragement
They can also set up private prayer groups with other members
This can be for individual prayers, or prayers for global disasters
Instapray was designed to be a 'safe, supportive online community' that is 'free of the overwhelming negativity present across much of the web'
Have a blessed evening. N.A.

Jesus appears to his followers.

Today's gospel was Luke 24 v36 - 48. 

Jesus Appears to His Followers

36 While the two men were saying these things to the other followers, Jesus himself came and stood among them. He said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37 This surprised the followers. They were afraid. They thought they were seeing a ghost. 38 But Jesus said, “Why are you troubled? Why do you doubt what you see? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It’s really me. Touch me. You can see that I have a living body; a ghost does not have a body like this.” 40 After Jesus told them this, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41 The followers were amazed and very, very happy to see that Jesus was alive. They still could not believe what they saw. He said to them, “Do you have any food here?” 42 They gave him a piece of cooked fish. 43 While the followers watched, he took the fish and ate it. 44 Jesus said to them, “Remember when I was with you before? I said that everything written about me must happen—everything written in the Law of Moses, the books of the prophets, and the Psalms.” 45 Then Jesus helped the followers understand these Scriptures about him.46 Jesus said to them, “It is written that the Messiah would be killed and rise from death on the third day. 47-48 You saw these things happen—you are witnesses. You must go and tell people that they must change and turn to God, which will bring them his forgiveness. You must start from Jerusalem and tell this message in my name to the people of all nations. 49 Remember that I will send you the one my Father promised. Stay in the city until you are given that power from heaven.”

The two men to whom Jesus appeared on the road to Emmaus have rejoined the ten. What are the evidence that Jesus-Christ resurrected as in a court of law? First there are witnesses, Jesus appeared to Mary-Magdalene, the disciples, the disciples and doubtful Thomas. 

Witnessess matter a lot in a court of law. Secondly the material evidence. Thirdly the forensic evidence.

The material evidence. It's Easter Sunday evening; picture Cleopas and his friend who have dashed back to talk to the disciples.  

Let's think for a moment what the disciples have been through. First the betrayal of Judas, Jesus arrested and flogged, then put on the cross and mocked! Then the report comes of an empty tomb! They are still dismayed! What a rollercoaster of emotion and feelings. They must have been exhausted. Jesus is appearing from nowhere, he starts questioning them very gently. It's me, here are the scars. He is different, he has a resurrection body, transformed. What staggers the disciples is that He is standing there. Really? He should not be walking round. There is the evidence of the cross, his wounds are still there. This is the evidence that he has been raised from the dead. He eats. Another evidence of the resurrection. 

The forensic evidence. We have the Turin Shroud even though there has been a controversy is still an evidence.

Jesus, the saviour of the world gives us a special message. Not only He has fulfilled what Moses, the prophets and the psalmists had said but if you repent and confess your sins, put things right with God, He will forgive you. Jesus says to them that they are witness, and this include you too. 

Have a blessed week in Jesus name.

SJA

The Gospel of John

Did you know that you can watch the whole Gospel of John on youtube!

Author: John 21:20-24 describes the author as "the disciple whom Jesus loved," and for both historical and internal reasons this is understood to be John the Apostle, one of the sons of Zebedee (Luke 5:10).

Date of Writing: Discovery of certain papyrus fragments dated around A.D. 135 require the book to have been written, copied, and circulated before then. And while some think it was written before Jerusalem was destroyed (A.D. 70), A.D. 85-90 is a more accepted time for its writing.

Purpose of Writing: John 20:31 cites the purpose as follows: "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name." Unlike the three synoptic Gospels, John's purpose is not to present a chronological narrative of the life of Christ, but to display His deity. 

You should have been a boy!

Because Ruth was not a boy, her parents treated her cruelly. At age five, she was forced to work in their fields. She was never given much food to eat, and her parents rarely bought her clothes. See how God's hand was on Ruth's life and how He used her to impact so many other women in South Asia for eternity.
To learn more about women missionaries and how you can support one, go to http://www.gfa.org/women/

Picturesque Poitou!

Dear all, we are back home and I must say that tonight the temperature is cooler than in Poitou. Steven even got sunburnt in a few hours. Here are a few photos I took during our holidays in Poitou! 

A medieval tower in Civray

A medieval door in Civray

Eglise St-Nicholas, Civray

Eglise St-Nicholas, Civray

Fontenay le Comte

Leaving Calais

Another lighthouse at  Calais

Proud to be a Christian!

The reality of Christian mission in today’s churches is a story of thousands of quiet kindnesses. In many of our most disadvantaged communities it is the churches that provide warmth, food, friendship and support for individuals who have fallen on the worst of times. The homeless, those in the grip of alcoholism or drug addiction, individuals with undiagnosed mental health problems and those overwhelmed by multiple crises are all helped — in innumerable ways — by Christians.

Michael Gove: Why I'm proud to be a Christian 

Churches provide debt counselling, marriage guidance, childcare, English language lessons, after-school clubs, food banks, emergency accommodation and, sometimes most importantly of all, someone to listen. The lives of most clergy and the thoughts of most churchgoers are not occupied with agonising over sexual morality but with helping others in practical ways — in proving their commitment to Christ through service to others.

But Christian charity — far from being applauded — is seen by many as somehow suspect. Again and again, as a politician, I have found that when people who were open and proud of their Christian faith wished to help others — in education, in social work, in prisons and in hospices — their belief was somehow seen as an ignoble ulterior motive sullying their actions. Their charity would somehow be nobler and more selfless if it weren’t actuated by religion.

Read on in the Spectator.

Source: the Spectator.

Arty Thursday

So many sheep!

Good morning, Not feeling too good today so I thought I'd share this photo with you! Some people out there are definitely soooo arty!

Unsubscribe!

Yes I'm talking about my mail box. You never know how prolific some writers are and I have made the mistake of suscribing to various newsletters or others writings. I've realised that their writings clutter my in box and I end up spending a fair amount of time deleting. So now I have resorted to the radical unsubscribing! It's a shame in a way but as they say there is only so much time in a day!

Are you wiser than me and deal well with those self-inflicted emails?