Bye to the bags!

It's about time!

A 5p tax on plastic bags must be extended to all shops to prevent further damage to the environment, campaigners have warned.

Without the participation of smaller shops, and not just those employing more than 250 staff, the impact of the tax will be limited, they said. Friends of the Earth said ministers should extend the scheme after surveys showed that convenience store owners were supportive of extending the scheme to all retailers.

English shoppers face a 5p charge for plastic carrier bags from today as part of a government scheme to reduce litter and protect wildlife.

What friends, alcohol and smoking could not do!

Umit had no peace or joy. It seemed everywhere he looked, it was missing. If at a moment he found peace, it lasted only a breath; then his life went back to the same feeling of unrest. This restlessness overshadowed any source of joy. If the peace his young heart yearned for wasn't found in his religion, his friends or in the alcohol he consumed, where could he find it?
Seeking to Fill the VoidUmit had grown up in a very religious home. Every month, he visited the local religious institution in hopes of finding blessings and peace. As time wore on, however, Umit felt all his pursuits of peace were fruitless. He stopped worshiping his god and began filling the emptiness with friends, smoking and drinking. But the happiness and momentary fulfilment he felt would inevitably sweep past him, leaving the void more prominent than before. Slowly, Umit began to cling tighter to alcohol. His parents tried to guide him and counsel him away from his bad habits, but he wouldn't listen.

Aside from the time he spent with his friends, Umit enjoyed listening to the radio, which was the latest technology in his village. He liked listening to music. As he was skimming through radio stations one day, his fingers suddenly stopped turning the dial. The words of a radio speaker speaking his language quickened Umit's ears. A message of eternal hope and peace echoed in the air. Umit listened intently as the speaker hit on the very points he felt his life lacked. The program touched his heart, and from that moment, Umit's life would never again be the same.

Umit lifted up his voice in prayer with the radio speaker. Weary of his disobedient, miserable life, he longed for the hope that Jesus promised to give. After he prayed, peace immediately filled him. The drinking and smoking Umit once indulged in then became a thing of the past.
He wanted someone to tell him everything about Jesus and answer all his questions. But no one around him shared his faith, and he had no Bible to read. The only source he knew of was the radio program. Umit called the station, and on the other end of the line he heard the familiar voice of the radio broadcaster. Pagat, a Gospel for Asia-supported missionary, listened closely to Umit as he poured out his heart and told his story of pursuing peace
Read on this beautiful true story, click here!

Friday verse of the day!

By the canal!

 This afternoon, Steven and I went for a walk by the canal from Hixon to Great Haywood and back. On the way, I picked up some blackberries while Steven was taking photos. It 's been a beautiful day and lots of barges were about with a few  fishermen tackling perches while swans and cygnets were parading gracefully. 

Faith is....

Take a look at @LoveYvonnie's Tweet: https://twitter.com/LoveYvonnie/status/573632320789430272?s=09

3 Reasons Why Bible Reading Feels Like A Burden

3 Reasons Why Bible Reading Feels Like A Burden

What are you doing?

“Do nothing that you would not like God to see. Say nothing you would not like God to hear. Write nothing you would not like God to read. Go no place where you would not like God to find you. Read no book of which you would not like God to say, "Show it to Me."
Never spend your time in such a way that you would not like to have God say, "What are you doing?”
― J.C. Ryle

gomakedisciples: What's that? Did you say 'Laminin' ?

gomakedisciples: What's that? Did you say 'Laminin' ?: 11 days ago, my sister-in law Pauline sent me a message and somehow I missed it! Not because it was enigmatic but because I have been skimmi...

Addicted to your mobile phone?

Wherever I go, my mobile phone goes and i have perfect reasons to justify that:
1) My other hobby is photography and my mobile does just that!
2) I can keep contact with our children of course!
3) In case I get bored, well.....
4) At night, I have a light...
5) If I need to phone emergencies....

...Are you addicted to your mobile or are you like me in denial?

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!

Encouraging scriptures!

All scriptures are encouraging and when I am puzzled or taken aback by a strange or difficult situation, these verses found in Romans 8:28 come to my mind! 

Supply teacher is a star!

Supply teachers have an unfair reputation, with some people assuming they do the role because they aren’t able to secure a permanent job. This couldn’t be further from the truth with the teachers working for Aspire People, like Elizabeth. She has been busy teaching and travelling across India.
Elizabeth got in touch with Aspire People this week to speak of her journey so far: “I’m living in Jaipur, Rajasthan which is one of the poorest and most oppressive states, especially for women. I managed to get placed on a women empowerment project, so my job is to teach English, General Studies and ICT skills to girls aged 12-20 in a village about 10 km out of Jaipur. I have also ended up teaching a lot of the village kids as they love to come along and learn too!”
Supply teaching is perfect for people like Elizabeth who want to take time out of teaching to explore the world and use their skills to help the less privileged in other countries.

Elizabeth’s education consultant, Ann-Marie, has been really supportive of Elizabeth’s time away, she said: “Liz has worked for Aspire People since 2011. After completing a long-term position at one of my local primary schools Liz approached me about taking some time out to teach abroad. I am really proud of Liz, travelling to India, working in an orphanage with poor children, its very admirable. This is the second year she has travelled to work abroad. It is something Liz is passionate about and of course I wanted to support her in achieving her dreams. That’s what supply teaching is all about, it gives you the flexibility you need to achieve goals in life that you have outside of your teaching career”
Elizabeth will be doing more charity work in Goa and Karnataka before returning home to England.

Find more, click here

Blessed to be a blessing!

Thanking God for my blessings without forgetting that I am blessed to be a blessing!
Friends, have a blessed evening and a sweet night in Christ!

They will still bear fruit in old age!!

Psalm 92:12-15

12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;

13 planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.

14 They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, 15 proclaiming, "The LORD is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him."

How many promises can you count in these verses? Unlike men and women who promise and don't deliver, our Father in heaven keeps his promises. 

Songs of praise at the pub!