Songs of praise at the pub!

3 incredible animals in Madagascar!

First,  attempt to find the giant leaf-tailed gecko. Unlike chameleons, which change colour to communicate and convey emotions, some geckos alter their appearance to make them hard to spot - partly as a means of defence, but also to allow them to catch prey. Chameleons want to be conspicuous; geckos want to hide.

The slow change in the body colour occurs when cells bearing differently coloured pigments beneath the lizard's transparent skin either expand or shrink. 

Not all the 2,000 species of gecko, found in warm climates around the world, can change colour. 

But they do possess the species' other qualities, such as self-cleaning toe pads that enable them to climb vertically or walk upside down. The only surface to which a gecko cannot stick is Teflon. Source

Second, the most famous of these animals is the lemur, but unfortunately they are in danger of becoming extinct due to deforestation. Less than 10% of the original forest cover actually

 exists today.

The Blue Coua is a species of cuckoo endemic to Madagascar. As the name suggests, what makes it unique – and incredibly beautiful – is the striking blue color of the feathers and the eye!

Source

Praise the Lord, for his amazing creation. Sometimes we forget that in other countries, animals are extremely different to our local species but however the similarities are striking! In my opinion, our Father has a sense of humour!

If God is for me...

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

Bless the Lord oh my soul!

Good morning my dear friends and family, it is such a beautiful day today, I want to thank our heavenly father for all his 'good deeds' Psalm 103: 2. You probably know that song from Matt Redman, the lyrics are below. 

Chorus

Bless the Lord, O my soul

O my soul

Worship His holy name

Sing like never before

O my soul

I'll worship Your holy name

The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning

It's time to sing Your song again

Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me

Let me be singing when the evening comes

You're rich in love, and You're slow to anger

Your name is great, and Your heart is kind

For all Your goodness I will keep on singing

Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find

And on that day when my strength is failing

The end draws near and my time has come

Still my soul will sing Your praise unending

Ten thousand years and then forevermore

Bechol libi - With all our heart

Have a blessed evening!

Praying for our children!

Not long ago, I was reading about the armor of God. Tonight, I' m reading a truly inspiring book by Janet Thompson,
Praying for your prodigal daughter. 

Here is what she says: 
 I stand and fasten the belt of truth around my waist and 
I put on the breastplate of righteousness..
as shoes for the feet,  I put on the readiness to proclaim the gospel of peace, .. 
I take up the shield of faith to guard my heart against all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 
I take the helmet of salvation 
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Ephesians 6: 10-18

Do you have any worries about your children or grand-children (I don't have any grand-children..yet!) 

Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you, he will never let the righteous fall. Psalm 55:22. 

Rely fully on the Lord who is in charge! 

Keep your eyes on Jesus!

For the last two weeks, my time has been hijacked by various issues. It seems there is no end to it. I can't even explain what's going on. All I know is that I have to bite my lips, praise the Lord for He is in charge and knows what is happening and wait. This is easy to think when you are calm! When the tempest is raging, it becomes harder to feel the peace. So, if you are feeling out of sort, if you are struggling with lots of burdens, emotional, at work, in your relationships, if you feel worried, angry, if you despair, do not give up, the Lord is there by your side, give your hand to Jesus, listen to the Holy Spirit comforting you and strengthening you.
When we found out about the tornado that wrecked the town of Moore on Tuesday evening, we were utterly devastated. Join us in our prayers for all the victims' families, may they find solace in the Lord and may He comfort them in those dark hours, may He pour his healing hands on them. In the name of Jesus our saviour and redeemer. Your sister. N.

Psalm101

Psalm101, originally uploaded by traqair57.

I will sing of your love and justice
to you, O Lord, I will sing praise.
I will be careful to lead a blameless life
when will you come to me?
I will walk in my house
with blameless heart
I will set before my eyes
no vile things
The deeds of faithless men I hate
They will not cling to me
Men of perverse hearts shall be far from me
I will have nothing to do with evil
Psalm 101:1-4

First place in our hearts

'The bible was written to help us know God better.
God doesn't hide who He is and what He has done. We can clearly see Him if we will open our eyes with humility. We see Him in His Word, We see Him in His creation.
Since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts and their foolish hearts were darkened Romans 1: 20-21
God must always have first place in our hearts. He says ' You shall have no other gods before Me' Exodus 20:3. We must be very careful that we not allow anything or anyone to usurp his position. The better we know Him , the easier that will be.
Tonight, after a long day at work, I needed to meditate so I flicked through The Prayer that changes everything written by Stormie Omartian and stumbled on that chapter. This is powerful stuff. It reminded me of all the arguments put forward by the many atheists I have encountered in my life voyage, those who denied that God exists because they say that they cannot see Him. In those days when I was not a Christian yet, I was taken aback, and even though I believed that God was there (though for some time I did not want to), adding to this that I was not reading the Bible then, I did not know what to answer!  This is why I do like this passage that Stormie quotes in Romans...'clearly seen'...Every day when I drive to school, I see birds flying up in the sky, trees, cows, horses, beautiful nature, pure blue sky; or lately grey clouds... And God revealed himself in Jesus, our saviour, our king and redeemer. How awesome! Just thinking about that is filling my heart with joy and peace, knowing that Jesus through his death and resurrection has allowed us to be reconciled with God, his father and also our father. This is just mind-blowing! Don't you agree?
Have a blessed evening. Your sister in Christ. N.

Birthday at the Bank House pub in Hixon.

A joyful celebration for Steven's birthday at the Bank House in Hixon. I will post a few photos. 

I'd better say that these are Steven's photos as I cannot use my computer at the moment!

It is great to spend quality time with our friends. Of course, we may wonder if the birthday boy enjoyed listening to lots of the usual comments about 'getting older', 'bus pass' and some very good jokes that unfortunately I cannot remember! Actually I can remember a very good one said by Philip..

A vicar is visiting an old lady who is 100 years old 

and asks her how things are going. 

She answers that everything is fine then pauses.

Then she goes on: Oh, things are even better now

 that I managed to get my son who is 80 in a nursing home...

So we were in excellent company, with superb food and drink. 

Do you find it difficult to get to speak to everybody?

 If I am having an interesting conversation,

 I find it hard to stop and move next to somebody else

 and start another equally conversation..

.well, I could spend the whole time talking to the first friend,

 however, I think that it's quite exciting to move on and talk to somebody else..

I knew somebody who'd s say very casually as soon as the conversation would become a bit fluffy, 

.excuse me, I must see X..

.she would say it so naturally that you could not  possibly be offended 

even though you had to find somebody else to talk to.

 I cannot do this if the conversation is not ending naturally.

Praise the Lord for our loved ones and our good friends. Your sister in Christ. N

You are my All in All

You are my strength when I am weak

You are the treasure that I seek
You are my all in all

Seeking You as a precious jewel
Lord, to give up I'd be a fool
You are my all in all

Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name
Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name
Oh, Your name is worthy

Taking my sin, my cross, my shame

Rising again I bless Your name
(I bless Your name)

You are my all in all
(Oh yes you are, yes you are)

When I fall down You pick me up
When I am dry You fill my cup
(You fill my cup)

You are my all in all
(My all, Lord, hallelujah)

Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name
(Oh, Your name, Your precious name is worthy, Lord)

Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name

You're my everything
The beginning and the end
The first, the last You are
The great I am

Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name
Jesus, Lamb of God
(Oh, my Jesus, my precious Jesus)
Worthy is Your name

Worthy is Your name
Worthy is Your name

Songwriters
Dennis Jernigan

Published by
SHEPHERD'S HEART MUSIC INC.

Read more: Natalie Grant - You Are My All In All Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

Shackles (Praise You)

"Shackles (Praise You)"

Whoo!
It sure is hot out here
Ya know?
I don't mind thought
Just glad to be free
Know what I'm saying, uh!

Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise you
(What'cha wanna do?)
I just wanna praise you
(Yeah, yeah)
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
(Uh feel me?)
And I'm gonna praise you
(What'cha gon do?)
I'm gonna praise you

In the corners of mind
I just can't seem to find a reason to believe
That I can break free
Cause you see I have been down for so long
Feel like the hope is gone
But as I lift my hands, I understand
That I should praise you through my circumstance

Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise you
I just wanna praise you
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I'm gonna praise you
I'm gonna praise you

Everything that could go wrong
All went wrong at one time
So much pressure fell on me
I thought I was gon lose my mind
But I know you wanna see
If I will hold on through these trials
But I need you to lift this load
Cause I can't take it anymore

Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise you
I just wanna praise you
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I'm gonna praise you
I'm gonna praise you

Been through the fire and the rain
Bound in every kind of way
But God has broken every chain
So let me go right now

Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise you
I just wanna praise you
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I'm gonna praise you
I'm gonna praise you
[repeat x3]

Take them off
What'cha gonna do, yeah

Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise you
I just wanna praise you
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I'm gonna praise you
I'm gonna praise you 

The visit of a Welsh princess.

At last our sister Pauline came to visit us. She drove all the way from Rhondda, in South Wales last Sunday. We were overjoyed to see her as the last time was for Dad's 80th birthday..On Monday, we went swimming. This was a shock to the system as neither of us had been for a long time! We had a bbq, courtesy of Steven..

On Thursday, we went to an Italian restaurant in Stone, Pasta di Piazza.  I do recommend it. The menu is excellent and the food very tasty!

On Saturday, we went for a walk in Cannock Chase. It is a beautiful place. I did see deers once on my way to work last year but none could be seen this time.

Red deer (credit Jenny Surry)

Group of stags..(credit Chris Blackburn)..

On Thursday, Steven and Pauline went to Cosford, the RAF place. Did you enjoy it Pauline ? Err, yeah ...of course.. Well, we had a wonderful week and we praised the Lord for it.

Quality time with friends and family

Some time ago, Patricia and Michael invited us for Sunday diner and we had a wonderful time.  It was great to spend some quality time. There was a beautiful log fire in the lounge and we were pampered beyond measure!






We love having friends round, however, finding the right time can be difficult. The week-end before last Pat, Alan and Jason came to ours. You can guess who is the cook! Diner was délicieux and I will extrapolate about the desert!

I was told that best English trifle is made with custard! I was quite happy to make it with jelly topped up with custard..I hear that there is a bit of controversy..so what kind of trifle do you prefer ? When we went shopping on the saturday, Steven put some summer fruits in the trolley but somehow, when he unpacked the shopping, he could not find them, ..checked the bill and he had not paid for them either..Earlier in the week, I bought a pineapple..you can guess what happened...this is a pineapple trifle façon Etienne.

Family and friends, cheerful hearts, are a blessing from the Lord. Praise the Lord.

St Augustine's conversion

St. Augustine, in his classic devotional work "Confessions", writes of his conversion experience and newfound love for God. Augustine had been a vile and wicked man. His life was filled with revelry, drunkenness, and sexual exploits.
But the God of heaven used a most curious providence to draw Augustine to Himself. One day, while in the gardens, he heard some children playing, and singing a song with the words "tolle lege, tolle lege" - "...take and read...take and read..." Under great spiritual compulsion and conviction, he obtained a copy of the Scriptures, and opened it randomly to the book of Romans, chapter 13, verses 13-14.
In this passage he read the inspired words of God penned by the Apostle Paul to the church at Rome some 300 years before he was even born, 
"13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. This was a vivid description of Augustine's life, and the remedy for such a life appeared in the next verse.14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 

Jesus Christ was his only answer. His life was transformed in an instant, in the power of regeneration. 
In his Confessions he writes of his lucid transformation, his salvation through the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
He said, "You stir man to take pleasure in praising you, because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you." 
After his conversion, Augustine wrote voluminously concerning the Lord Jesus Christ; the Confessions, though, are his most famous work.

By train or by car ? euh, euh, i say train!

Last Wednesday, I drove Camille to Manchester airport for 4 pm as she was off to Cyprus with her best friends, Cheryl and Grace. Not too much traffic and I was in the middle lane at a speed of 70 miles an hour of course. Suddenly, Camille said: What's this noise? - what noise? oh, it's just the road surface. It does happen. Then I heard this hissing noise coming from under the bonnet! Oh oh, not quite right. Now some cling clang were firing under there. There was a sign for services so I went to the inside lane and slowing right down entered the services looking for the petrol station. Stopped the car. What do we do now? There was no water in the cooling tank. We were in Sandbach services. The guy from Egerton car rescue team was pretty pessimistic and suggested I'd leave the car with them or I'd contact the AA. However, my priority was that Camille should get to the airport so we called a first taxi.He said it would take him half an hour to get to us. So we called another one who arrived within 10 min. Relief! Camille left.
I couldn't get hold of Steven and i guessed he was somewhere round Millwich as there is never any signal there! Eventually Steven told me that Trevor, the mecanic who looks after his car, would toll my car! Brill news! My prayers were answered. Camille rang me to tell she arrived safely at the airport! I can't remembered much of the evening apart that I was shattered. The following morning I had to get up at 6 a.m. and I still think that i had not quite recovered.
Now, it always puzzles me to see how a situation can quickly deteriorate. Here we are chatting away in the car when suddenly...The good thing is that I managed to park the car in the services. I thank the Lord for helping us to cope under stress and giving us guidance. Praise the Lord!

Breakfast with a difference!

This morning, we had breakfast at 9:00 then family worship. Our music group was there too, Helga on the keyboard, John with his mandoline and Steven on the guitar.

It was lovely to meet new people and chat over with our brothers and sisters drinking (strong) fresh coffee and toasts or croissants. There was a taste of summer as strawberries and yoghurt and cereals were on the 'menu' too.

A big thank to all those who contributed to that event!