Lazy week in London

While I was up above in the sky, well, in the plane, I felt very grateful to our Father in heaven as the girls and I were blessed with a great hols! Two weeks abroad, one spent in London with Imo and the second week in Malta with Imo and Cam. Here are a few photos. Last time I went in a plane was in 2012 when Steven and I went to Rome and I enjoyed the experience again!

From the plane 19 Oct Ryanair Poitiers to Stansted

At an Indian restaurant, N3

On the Thursday Imo took me to Hackney city farm established in 1984. Their aim is to give youngsters and local people the opportunity to experience farming. Nearby, there was an exhibition by #Green creates so we had a look. Great stuff!

I particularly liked the pieces above! 

Sadly I realise that if you stop talking about the environment, or recycling for instance, its importance may be forgotten! We travelled by bus in London and we were pleased to notice that more drivers switched off their engines when not on the move. This should have a significant impact on harmful emission levels which build up around stationary traffic. 

More to come...so watch this space!

Have a blessed evening.

Harvest supper at Milwich, Staffs

Here are a few photos of a great evening spent at Milwich village hall for the harvest supper. The four course dinner was amazing, a choice of vegetarian or meat lasagne with peas and new potatoes, cakes, cheese, coffee or tea, Then the auction followed. Bouquets and pots of beautiful flowers, home-grown vegetables and fruits were auctioned for the great pleasure of the community. Another beautiful event filled with love, fun and fellowship between friends and newcomers in the village!

Songs of praise at the pub!

Fundraising fun!

    The 'Tour de France' comes to Hixon! I am not very confident in my drawing skills, so I thought I'd find a few pictures inspiring me and others. However there is no French reference there. Well we'll have to add a flag!

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. 

Lent studies 2015

All are invited to attend this Lent course at St Peter church in Hixon. Have a blessed evening.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest

Jesus invites you to trust Him and He will refresh you. Are you going to accept his loving invitation?

Matthew 11:28-30English Standard Version (ESV)

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Urdu bible
28 اے محنت مشقت کر نے والو! اور وزنی بوجھ اٹھا نے والو تم سب میرے پاس آ جا ؤ۔ میں تمہیں آرام پہنچا ؤں گا۔ 29 میرے جوئے کے کندھے دیتے ہو ئے مجھ سے باتیں سیکھو۔ میں شریف اور خاکسارہوں۔ اور تم اپنی جانوں کے لئے تشفی پا ؤگے۔30 ہاں! جو کام میں تم سے قبول کر نے کے لئے کہتا ہوں آسان ہے۔ تمہیں اٹھا نے کے لئے جو بوجھ دے رہا ہوں وہ وزنی نہیں ہے۔”

Kindle, what's in it for you?

I downloaded my free kindle app from amazon.co.uk for my P.C. some time ago and in a few clicks I was reading one of my favorite books. Since, the number of books available on kindle has increased so much, and the choice is vast. I haven't had time to set it up on my laptop but will do soon. 
Now I am not sure about buying the actual kindle itself. When I attended the last deanery meeting, kindles and i-pods were there too! 
Prices vary from £89 for a basic version to the top of the line e-reader Kindle Touch at £169 and then there are accessories. Ideal for a birthday gift? However, it is easy enough now to buy a laptop i.e. a notebook. 
Let me know if you have been tempted and if you love it...

Messy church in Weston

 Messy church is about spreading the good news about Jesus, our saviour, in an  informal environment usually on a school day.
This is just what's happening in Weston once a month on the fourth Thursday.
Children are having fun, parents and teens are either having a cupper or helping out. The event is always well attended.
So if you live in the area and haven't been yet why don't you give it a go. Bring along your friends and you do not need to book for the session.  The next one will be on the 22/03/2012 from 3:30 to 5:00 pm. For more information, have a look in the Compass magazine.
Do you have a messy church in your parish? Let us know why you started it and how is it going.
The theme of this particular session was about light.

In John, we read that Jesus spoke to his disciples saying, “I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)
God said, “Let there be light; and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). The first thing that God created on the earth
was light; and not because He needed light to see, but because the heavens and the earth were still dark
and void. The words God spoke, caused the light to appear from His very countenance and expel the darkness. ‘Lord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us” (Psalm 4:6).

The psalmist says ‘Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path’ (Psalm 119:105). When we walk with the Light of the world, we will never again experience darkness. Have a blessed week-end! Your sister in Christ. N

Hixon Harvest Supper 2011

We had so much fun at the Harvest supper. Ger, Jo, Mandy, and I went to the village hall fairly early in the afternoon to see if we had everything we needed. The only thing missing were the forks, I suppose they have their role! When Jenny, Joy and Thelma came, we started a debate on the 'best way to cook the baked potatoes'. The views were shared. Do you prick them with a fork (what I usually do!) or do you slice them in the middle? Do you pre-bake them? This was fun..and before you say..we do go out! Later on we went back home and came back just for 6ish pm. Everything went smoothly, our friends brought lovely apple cakes, superb salads, thick slices of ham and turkey so we knew that we would have plenty to eat! Praise the Lord!

While the guests were sitting down and got talking, the music group were having a bit of a practice, Anna-Greta and Ingrid were singing, Chris on the guitar, mum Helga on the keyboard, and John on the mandoline. Thelma was giving the last tickets for the raffle. After Steven said grace, everybody went to queue and help themselves for food. I was told that there had not been a harvest supper in Hixon for ten years. This was an amazing opportunity to have fellowship and fun. After a bit of rehearsal, the members of the music group went to sit down and soon, you could feel the love coming from a relaxed and friendly atmosphere over diner. 

Later on, when Anna-Greta and Ingrid started to sing everybody stopped talking. Appreciation was read on every face. 

The quiz designed by Nigel was rather challenging, raising people's interest and competitivity. There were prices for the winner and the 'loser'! At this point, Ger was telling me that in days bygone, men used to go and play quiz often and even if they' d lose, they would win a pint of beer or two so they were very positive about participating!