A special moment....

I was both excited and humbled this morning when Pastor Mike came up to me privately and said he had a Word from God for me. It is very private at the moment, but hopefully there are some specific plans ahead for me, which will be based on this.

It has confirmed something God has very much been laying on my heart, but it always staggers me that God speaks so directly to us. I cannot say that this has happened many times in my life, but maybe the scarcity serves to focus our minds on those incredible moments when God does break through.

It also re-affirms something I have always held true; that God uses people to share words only AFTER He has told us about it, not the other way around. A word from God through someone else should not really come as a surprise; only a confirmation of what He has already shared with you.
It may take a while, but watch this space!

Did you ever have one of those days?

Yesterday started off pretty bad….

Wednesdays are usually long days at work for me. I think lots of counsellors try to stick to between 3-4 sessions per day, as it is quite exhausting work. On Wednesdays, I do 5, with an hour off for lunch in the middle, so it gets tiring on good days. Yesterday I had the frustration of the first 2 clients not turning up – one should have been an assessment, the other a client who also had not turned up last week, and made no response to my letter. So although I had some reading I could catch up on, I was mainly thinking about a load of things I could have been doing at home instead. Thankfully the other 3 turned up.

Got home, to discover that I had left my handbag in Reception at work – so I’ll have to pick it up when I go in later today….

And then the fun really started. We are currently getting prepped for Andy Ormesher to come and skim a plaster layer over the artex walls (yes, walls, not ceiling!) in our Hall. It’s only taken us 14 years to get around to doing anything about it ….. and so John is taking the opportunity to take some of the surface wiring in under the walls before Andy comes and we decorate. Lots of brick dust later, he’s found a conduit that goes up the main wall, and in theory goes up into the loft. From here, John could take the wiring back to my study… I won’t bore you with all the details, but suffice to say, the plan meant picking up a floorboard in the upstairs bathroom. John takes up a section of carpet, saws through a floorboard, one huge yell later, and water starts flooding the bathroom and dripping through the hall ceiling! A water pipe had been run virtually touching the floorboard, and John had sawn through it! Two stopcocks later, several sodden towels and some nifty work with a blow-lamp, and the damage is mostly repaired. He’s taking time off on Friday to get the job properly sorted!

The more we decorate this house, the more bodged wiring, plumbing and sheer convolutions we discover!

Thought for the Day:
Have you ever found that you try to fix one thing, only to create 4 more jobs in the process? I sometimes wonder if God feels like that in our lives – as soon as we try to do what He wants, four other problems surface? Thankfully, His “toolkit” does not depend on when B & Q shuts; neither does His patience wear thin. He is able to bring every skill required to work in our lives. And He is constantly, wonderfully, creating us to bear the image of His Son, and never gives up on us as a bad job

Ice Skating...

Sinead and John Kerr ( GB)

Have you been watching any of the Ice Dancing from the Winter Olympics? I think it's amazing, the way those guys lift their partners so effortlessly, and watching it, I get scared that sometimes those skates look like they come pretty close to their partner's faces, or other strategic bits of anatomy...

Whilst I admire their skills and techniques, as well as the brilliant choreography, what we don’t see is the level of practise behind the scenes, and how many times they got dropped! (I think the “Dancing On Ice” programme has been quite enlightening in this respect! )

Sometimes, I am sure that my “walk with God” looks very much like very wobbly first steps on ice, with many a slip as I try to find my “footing”. I’m not sure I like the thought of being spun around inches from the hard, cold surface of an ice rink.

But the truth is, when God holds us, we are SO VERY SAFE in His hands. And so are all those we love. However scary it might look, or feel, God's grips are rock-solid, and He does not drop us.

Never has, Never will.

And this is true, especially when we feel that our feet are falling….

Committing people to God....

A number of folk have been asking about a word I gave in church this morning (11:15 service). Thought it might help to put it here. Praying it will be a blessing to you:

"For a few weeks the Lord has been challenging me on committing things to Him, especially committing our children to Him.

The story of the birth of Samuel has struck me so forcibly. We read in the First Book of Samuel that Hannah committed her as-yet unborn child to God. She honoured the vow, that if she had a child, then she would “give him back to the Lord all the days of his life”, but it was a joint commitment by her and Elkanah, Samuel’s father. They both agreed, and they both honoured the vow.

But it was not an easy vow to honour. Not only was Samuel very young when he left to serve in the Temple, but he was to serve at a point in Israel’s history where Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phineas, brought the priesthood into shame and disrepute. We are told that they were “wicked, and had no regard for the Lord.” (1 Sam 2:12), they were “treating the Lord’s offerings with contempt” (1 Sam 2:17), and they “slept with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting” (1 Sam 2:22)

It would have been easy, understandable and justifiable for Hannah and Elkanah to get Samuel out of such an atmosphere. I think they would have felt highly protective, and not want Samuel exposed to such sinfulness. They could have said that the circumstances had changed so much, that the vow was null and void.

But they had committed Him to God, and believed that He would protect their son. The only things we are told, is that they made an annual trip to see Him, at the time of their yearly sacrifice, and that they brought with them a new robe each year. They did not panic, and go up to see him more often. They simply made provision for his growth – fully assured that he would indeed flourish and grow in the place God intended him to be.

Who have you committed to God’s care? Your children, be they young, or fully grown, may often be in places and circumstances that concern you greatly. The world has never been an easy or stable place in which to raise families. But God is able, and more than capable, of caring for them, protecting them, and using them in just such environments. Samuel went on to become one of the most significant figures in Israel’s history, using the experience from those formative years in a powerful way.

2 Tim 1:12 reads:
"For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. (KJV)"

Would value your prayers at the moment. Struggling a bit at work, and I am feeling under quite a bit of spiritual attack over a number of issues.

Thank you

The Sport of Kings...

For all you Romantics out there - this is me, standing by the so-called "Lake of Love" in Bruges - and it was BITTERLY cold!

John climbed the 366 steps to the top of the Belfry to take this shot!

An amazing shot with John's new camera - the Belfy at Bruges

The famous Black Swans of Leeds Castle

This is John with Maggie, the Vulture!

Ozzy the Eagle Owl, and John with Brook, the Harris Hawk

Just returned from a fabulous week – the photos don’t really do it justice.

After a lovely family party last Saturday, it was off to Leeds Castle early Sunday morning. We both had a brilliant time, but it was magical to see the way Mark, our Falconer for the Day, was so passionate about all aspects of Birds of Prey and their care. John got to fly Ozzy, the Eagle owl (with the feather tuffs!), Maggie, the vulture – huge wingspan – and Brook, a highly intelligent Harris Hawk. It was all we could have hoped for, and a fantastic experience.


Then off to Bruges early Monday morning, courtesy of the Eurostar.Bruges was a lovely city, albeit cold (well, it is early February!) Managed to avoid too much chocolate – they give it to you with EVERY drink! – and all windows are draped in red hearts for Valentines Day. Flowers, chocolates, hearts – the whole deal, really.

The architecture is quite superb, and John managed to use his brand new camera to some quite stunning effects, even going up the 366 steps to the Belfry (I waited at the base for that one!) to get some incredible views of the city.

All in all, a great trip, but it’s also good to be home. John has decided that being 50 does not really matter at all – all that has happened is that instead of feeling 14 on the inside, he’s grown up a little, and now feels like 15!

See you all soon

An important milestone....

Leeds Castle

Tomorrow as a family we start a few days of celebration. It’s John’s 50th birthday, and we are having a family meal together at home on Saturday evening. He has already been treated to a new digital camera, because on Sunday we travel into Kent, as John will be a VIP Guest of the Falconry Team at Leeds Castle for the Day. We will be learning how to handle, and hopefully fly the birds around the magnificent grounds there.

Later on, we get to have lunch and afternoon tea in the Castle itself. John loves watching falconry displays, and this way he gets to handle them with the experts, plus they will set up photo opps, so hopefully we might have some good photos to show here soon! My role is to act as spectator, and carry the camera bags! If he wants to , and is up to it, they might also let him help out with the Falconry Display to the public in the afternoon!

Then it’s off to a luxury Spa Hotel in Royal Tunbridge Wells for dinner and a chance to unwind. After an early breakfast on Monday morning, we will then drive off to Ashford, to pick up the Eurostar train as passengers (i.e. without the car) to spend three nights in Bruge, Belgium.

Very much looking forward to a romantic break.

See you when we get back.