Human contact

Sometimes I do wonder to what extent this could be true. Already you hear that parents hardly see their children, as these are kidnapped by their social network. 
This could explain why some parents resist going on Facebook or Twitter for fear of becoming addicted. Still, do the test, if you can keep away from FB or twitter ...etc, for a minimum of 1 week, I reckon that you are safe! What do you think?

Wireless, of course!

After having dug to a depth of 10 feet last year, Australian scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 200 years and came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had a telephone network more than 150 years ago.

Not to be outdone by the Aussies, in the weeks that followed, an American archaeologist dug to a depth of 20 feet and, shortly after, a story was published in the New York Times: "American archaeologists, finding traces of 250-year-old copper wire, have concluded that their ancestors already had an advanced high-tech communications network 50 years earlier than the Australians".

One week later, the Council in Manchester, reported the following:

"After digging as deep as 30 feet in Rochdale, Jack Smith, a self-taught archaeologist, reported that he had found 'absolutely nothing'. Jack has therefore concluded that 250 years ago, Lancashire had already gone wireless."

Just makes you proud to be British!


Blessings.

Love and organisation.

Sometimes it is pretty hard to juggle with all the things you have to do during the day and spend quality time with your family. If you work full-time the word 'organisation' crosses your mind. The girls and I spent a day in Manchester. We looked for a prom dress for Imogen (GCSE), we ate Tapas, looked at handbags for Cami and relaxed at my friend Dominique's, enjoying a natter over a strong French cup of coffee. 

When our grown-up children go far away for different reasons, it is harder to give them advice or show them our love. Unless you are one of those giants portrayed by Roald Dahl, your arms are not long enough to hug them! I find it difficult to phone my GP for a repeat prescription, and impossible to write letters at a regular interval. I end up feeling pretty guilty and my heart is crying! By now, you must have realised that I miss Camille pretty badly and I can't wait for her to return from Italy. 

Some time ago, I heard from a French cousin I haven't seen for 30 years. Such a phone 'reunion' calls for celebration and I am looking forward for us to meet her and her family.

Tomorrow evening, we are off to Norfolk to spend a week with dad. It will be strange to be in the caravan again! Steven has installed a shower in the 'girls' bathroom and Imogen is over the moon. I have suddenly understood that little things matter somehow! 

Blessings to all my blogger friends. Yours in Jesus-Christ. Nicky.

Friday night humour

One colleague sent us an email full of exam blunders!

At the end of a very good but tiring day, I quickly glanced at the first ones. Tonight I thought some of them would cheer you up too.
Bros and sis in Christ,  have a blessed evening. N.

Skyping

is probably one of the most useful way of communicating with your family members abroad...that is to say when it works.

 Up to now, it was perfect! Recently as the system providers try to upgrade and 'better' the programme, a pop up keeps appearing every time I want to go on the main screen. It asks me if I want to forward the calls to a mobile number etc...and when I try to close this pop up, it will not close. Then if I insist the whole screen has a fit and as you know, goes blurry and says : skype..is not responding...
Let's say that I find it a little bit frustrating!
What is your best way of communicating with your close family and friends abroad?
Have a blessed evening.
N.

This is our God!

By Friday afternoon, I feel absolutely shattered. However I will persevere and do some chores, i.e. hoovering. I looked at the pile of ironing and decided that it could wait until tomorrow morning! And later on I thought I would read my friends' blogs. This is when I discovered the following song! Beautiful! You may know it already.



Have a blessed Friday evening!

The wedding cake

The Wedding Cake

A couple was arranging their wedding and asked the bakery to inscribe the wedding cake with 1 John 4:18 which reads “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.”

The bakery evidently lost, smudged or otherwise misread the noted reference, and beautifully inscribed on the cake John 4:18 ... “For you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband.”
~ I found this joke quite funny, hope you do too.
I'm about to go to our morning service, have a blessed Sunday. 

Despicable me : a family film

Tonight, we, that is Imogen, her friends and I, sat down comfortably with a few nibbles and watched Despicable me and found it adorable and . Set in a techno world, it is the story of a thief (Gru) who wants to steal the moon as a way to impress his banker and maybe his mum. Another younger and more successful villain is in competition with him. As Gru (our anti-hero) keeps surveillance on Victor's home, he realises that three kiddies selling biscuits are allowed to get in the 'fortress'. As it turns out, Gru wants to use the three loving orphans and ends up adopting them just for his selfish purpose. However there is a twist ...I am not saying any more.
Have you watched this film? Did you like it? Let me know. Blessings.

Spring is here to stay!

Yesterday morning, I was on the phone to my auntie Rolande who lives in Bar-sur-Loup, north of Nice (south of France) and the first thing she said was it was too hot! 30 degrees Celsius. Wonderful, I declared..enviously. Here, the temperature was 20 degrees which is quite warm for April! In the afternoon, we took a stroll by the canal and noticed that the water was fairly high. A few barges were stationed by the bank, their owners either engrossed in a novel while sunbathing or eating outside in the field while their dog was on guard on the péniche.
Steven decided to walk by the river and crossed through the woodland that looked thick. Cowardly, I did not follow him but went back on my steps looking for an opening along the hedge. There was a small gate. As I was walking towards the river I heard him exclaim a loud ' Oh No' His right foot had sunk in a muddy watery patch! Still a few minutes later we saw a bird flying above the canal: it could well have been the elusive king-fisher! We have had a wonderful walk! Praise the Lord.
Blessings.
Note, the photo of the king fisher is on this website: http://www.zpc-naturefolio.co.uk/Gallery-Roy%20Blewitt.htm

Running slowly...

This week, I have found pleasure in running slowly. Let me explain, in the evening before total dark falls, I have set out and gone jogging for no more than half an hour. I find it hard to keep going but once I am out, I have to persevere. It is so hard though simply because in the winter I hibernate and lose any interest for exercises apart from the odd sessions in the gym so I become so unfit. However spring triggers in me the need for outside activities, i.e. biking, running or walking. In the last two years or so, I have suffered from a bad back, it could happen anywhere, anytime! it was so unpredictable so I started to have stack of paracetamol or ibuprofen ( I would alternate) in my handbag, pencil-case, school-bag, a bit everywhere! I was told that running was not the best thing to do hence a swift move to biking. This is a new start for me, running again gives me great pleasure. Praise be to God. Amen. Bros and sis, what is your favourite kind of exercise? Do you need to exercise? Do you find it hard to exercise? 

Women's world day of prayer

Chile
How many loaves have you?


This year, the service was held at Milwich. It was well attended, as parishioners came from the ten parishes in the team. 

Although superficially, with Chile’s rich list of natural resources things may appear to be flourishing, 80% of the wealth is owned by just 20% of the population, so there are many for whom life in Chile is a struggle. We enjoyed listening to 'The Song of Chile’.
The slides that were shown  illustrated some of the projects that are being run by Christian groups to empower women to be more independent and thereby take a greater control of their lives for the benefit of their families. A big thank to everyone who organised this lovely evening. 

New background...

I must admit that at times I am not on this planet..I forgot the difference between template and background! One is so easy to change, the background whereas templates can be awkward to set, especially if you have to fit the code into the html page, something I don't relish doing..still done!
This morning, I brought Imogen two tablets of ibuprofen as she told me that her throat was still painful. At least, her temperature was down so she was on the mend. Steven and I went to Stowe-by-Chartley and I was so glad to meet up with everyone. 
Reference to the i-pad and how many times its users downloaded the Bible in 60 days set an humourous tone at the beginning of the sermon. So can you guess the figure? the answer is 3.4 million times. It is certainly edifying to know that all over the world Christians (or people wanting to find more about Christianity) are reading the Bible, the only book that is God-breathed.  2 Timothy 3:16 says:  All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, Also, in 2 Peter 1:21 we are reminded that the prophets did not make things up as they wished but were used by the Lord: For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. The Gospel was about Jesus being led in the desert to be tempted by the devil. Matthew 4-1:11 In this passage, there is ample evidence that Jesus knows his Bible and it allows Him to defeat  the tempter. Another question was: would you find it useful to learn verses of the bible by heart? Now, my heart jumped when I heard that, as yesterday while I was exploring a new blog where the author had told her bible study ladies to learn some verses by heart. How extraordinary! Something that I might do, what about you, have you ever considered learning bible verses by heart?
Blessings to all. N.

Women of Faith: I'm trading my sorrows

I'm trading my sorrow
I'm trading my shame
I'm laying it down for the joy of the Lord

I'm trading my sickness
I'm trading my pain
I'm laying it down for the joy of the Lord

Chorus:
And we say yes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord
Yes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord
Yes Lord yes Lord yes yes Lord Amen

I'm pressed but not crushed persecuted not abandoned
Struck down but not destroyed
I'm blessed beyond the curse for his promise will endure
And his joy's gonna be my strength

Though the sorrow may last for the night
His joy comes with the morning

I hope that you will enjoy listening to this song! It does lift me up and helps me focus on what matters: Jesus is with us during our journey. 

Millie's baptism!

 At times, I think that photos speak louder than words. Don't you agree?

Millie was such a good baby for her christening.
Here she is totally relaxed with minister Jeff Reynolds who appears to be totally in tune!

 Oh dear, what is happening? Millie is looking very puzzled! However mum Sharon is not phased!

Paul, Sharon and Millie

Hang on mum and dad! Let me read that too!

 After the baptism that took place in Milwich, we all went to the village hall for a pink balloon party!

 What's grand-dad doing?


We had a fantastic time.

Millie, may the Lord keep on blessing you, your siblings, your parents, your family and friends. In Jesus-Christ. Amen

Big Society in Hixon!

Grow old in the Lord 'Tis sweet to grow old in the fear of the Lord, When we cease our tasks one by one; When His strong right hand helps us stand, Till the last day's labor is done.When His strong right hand helps us stand, Till the last day's labor is done. 'Tis sweet to grow old in the fear of the Lord; To live 'neath His loving restraints; 'Tis sweet to grow old in the fear of the Lord; As life's shadows longer creep; Till our steps grow slow, and our sun swings low, He gives beloved sleep! (Faith in the Future, copied from The Vegas Dive Messenger, January 7, 1966.)

Some time ago, Steven and I went to the luncheon club  in Hixon. 

As it happened it was Ray's 95th birthday and we had a cheerful nutter. 

The atmosphere was so friendly, the roast diner was 'excellent' I was told by the regular folk. 

 The luncheon club welcomes

 the over-60s from Hixon and villages nearby, i.e. there were a couple of pensioners living in Weston.

 It is organised by a team volunteers 

alternate Fridays from 12:00 to 15:00 

and believe me

 it is much appreciated by his patrons.

 May the Lord bless all the participants of this superb example of 'Big Society' in abundance!.In Jesus-Christ, we ask. Amen. 

On the left, Ray, in front of him, 

Vera who lives in Weston