Who loves you that much?

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, evenwhen we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved—

Have a blessed Sunday! May the Lord bless you and draw you closer to him. In Jesus-Christ. Amen.

Golfing parrot

A golfer took a vacation in Florida. He was a big bettor and always had at least $500 riding on each round. He asked at the pro shop if there was anyone around who liked a little competition, and the pro introduced him to a man named Joe.

"Is Joe a good golfer?" the man asked when Joe left to get his clubs.

"He doesn’t look that good but he always seems to win his matches," the pro replied.

The man met Joe on the first tee, and they agreed to play for $500. On the first tee, Joe hooked his drive into the water, and the vacationer won the hole. 

On the next hole, Joe topped his drive and then shanked his second shot into the trees. The man won that hole, too. 

On the next tee Joe took off his hat and scratched his head. When he did that, a big parrot flew up and lighted in a nearby tree. "Want to double the bet?" Joe asked.

"Sure," the vacationer said, already counting his winnings as he stepped up to the tee. On the top of his back swing, the parrot made a noise like a train whistle, and the vacationer wiffed the ball and lost the hole. 

On the next hole, which required a second shot over a pond, the vacationer selected his iron when the parrot said, "Five iron’s too much." The player changed to a six and hit it into the water. 

While the man was putting on one hole, the parrot said, "It breaks to the left," but the putt broke right. The man missed it to go three down. 

By the 18th hole, the vacationer was ten down to Joe and glaring at the bird.

"What do I need to do to get rid of that lousy parrot?" he said to nobody in particular.

"Just pay me $100 more than Joe does," the bird said.

The gift of God

Let us not forget

Ephesians 2:8-9 

For by grace you have been saved through faith.

And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Pressure is on...

As we are waiting for our Spanish guests to arrive, Steven is making sure the 'boeuf bourguignon  cocinado a fuego lento' is perfect! He spent about 3 hours to prepare it.
I am going round preparing things...putting the correct plates, the cutlery, ...
Clotilde my adorable cousin is helping as well...
More news and photos later..
I hope you are having a blessed evening...

Source

All going down to see the Lord Jesus!

Tom Hall composed that song 'Jesus'  for Queen in 1973. 

"Jesus"

And then I saw Him in the crowd

A lot of people had gathered round Him

The beggers shouted and the lepers called Him

The old man said nothing

He just stared about Him

All going down to see the Lord Jesus

All going down to see the Lord Jesus

All going down

Then came a man before His feet he fell

Unclean said the leper and rang his bell

Felt the palm of a hand touch his head

Go now go now you're a new man instead

All going down to see the Lord Jesus

All going down to see the Lord Jesus

All going down

It all began with the three wise men

Followed a star took them to Bethelehem

And made it heard throughout the land

Born was the leader of man

All going down to see the Lord Jesus

All going down to see the Lord Jesus

All going down

It all began with the three wise men

Followed a star took them to Bethléem

And made it heard throughout the land

Born was the leader of man

All going down to see the Lord Jesus

All going down to see the Lord Jesus

All going down

lyrics

Another fundraising meeting!

Last night we had another fundraising meeting at the vicarage! The very ordered brainstorming session lasted more than two hours, not counting the time spent outside the box eating biscuits or going off on a tangent! It was fun! Everyone is responsible to put their idea into practice! 
One of our sister had a wonderful idea based on The parable of the tenants. So watch this space!

How to have an effective fundraising?
1) The event must be exciting and of quality, potentially attractive to all ages
2) It has to be well advertised. In the team Mid-trent Churches, we are using a magazine called compass and it's delivered free of charge in every household of the different parishes. 
3) In my personal opinion, it is effective when when people do what they are happy to do (obvious but not so easy to sort out). For example, one of our brothers enjoys preparing a quizz, and one of our musician sisters is sorting out a concert.
When does it go wrong?
1) Weather can make things go pear shape!
2) Not enough time given to organisation and communication could be disastrous!
It if goes wrong, not to worry, one has to learn from one's mistakes.
Do you participate to fundraising in your church? Do you find it a chore or a pleasure? 
Have a blessed day in Christ. 

Wise and foolish builders

Build Your House on the Rock, Matthew 7:24-27
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

The Authority of Jesus
28 And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

I found this video very funny and different. Ideal for Sunday school.

Both wise and foolish hear the words of Jesus but the difference is if they put in practice what they hear (cf The fruit v 16, by their fruit you will recognise them).

So we may profess something and do another! Are we having this special relationship with Jesus? Is it a genuine relationship, is our life reflecting that of a true disciple of Jesus?

Love your enemies

Oups, did you really say that Jesus? Yes Jesus did say that and we read it in Matthew

Love Your Enemies

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ 

44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 

45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 

46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 

47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 

48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Have a blessed and peaceful week-end.  In Jesus name. N

I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

The 10 commandments are found in Exodus 20

3 “You shall have no other gods before me.

4 “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lordblessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

13 “You shall not murder.

14 “You shall not commit adultery.

15 “You shall not steal.

16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

17 “You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.”

18 Now when all the people saw (X)the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid[d]and trembled, and they stood far off 19 and said to Moses, (Y)“You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” 20 (Z)Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to (AA)test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” 21 The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the (AB)thick darkness where God was.

Food for thought!

A Christian wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday.

"I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me I can't remember a single one of them. So I think I'm wasting my time ... and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."
This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor.

It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:
"I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But for the life of me, I cannot recall what the menu was for a single one of those meals. I do know this: they all nourished me and gave me strength. If my wife had not given me those meals, I would be dead today."

That pretty much ended the discussion.

A place in France

Flamingos and crickets or in French, les flamands roses et les grillons ou sauterelles!

Have a blessed week-end in Christ!
All photos: courtesy of SAJ

Jesus, you are the high way to heaven

Thanks Elaine for this lovely song of praise!
Tonight, my friends, i'd like to share with you the testimony of a former member of Hezbollah, Afshin who met Jesus..

Oriana London

Summer tops are the creation of students for their first year project! Only one size! (not mine though lol)
Have a blessed day.

Check out the link below for our new 'May' top, only added on Sunday and only a few left!http://www.orianalondon.com/#!product/prd15/4137000411/may

From Wales to London

During this week in Wales (see previous post), I planned to go to London to see my darling daughter Imo and help her move accommodation. It was a bit daunting driving all the way from Llantrisant to Finnsbury Park but on the map, all I had to do was to go on the M4.
It was hard work to empty her bedroom as she had lots of stuff but she gave me her winter clothes to take back home so it did help!
In the evening we took the tube to go to her 'favorite' chinese restaurant and we had a great time.
We started to take her stuff to her new house only 5 minutes away from her uni halls. However by car, it took a bit longer. We also had to get a few more things in the nearby Ikea. 

As I write those lines now, I get emotionnal, she has been busy working hard and I thank the Lord that we had this special time together!

Have a blessed evening.