My holidays........

Oh my goodness, I didn't realise that it'd been that long since I'd updated......I can always tell whether life is going good or not by the number of posts that I make on my blog!!

Anyway as an update before I went to the States on my hols there was lots of family drama going on with my brother and I was signed off work for 2 and 1/2 weeks with back pain. Sadly the back pain has returned but I'm trusting in God that I'm going to be healed.

The holiday in the States was awesome and though I didn't get to spend as much time with people as I wanted to (I'd have liked to have caught up with my host family and some other friends) it was still a jam packed time. As it was my Dads first time over there I didn't want to overwhelm him or do too much so hopefully I'll be able to catch up with some people when I'm back there next summer!!

We did so much....Chicago for 2 days........Holland, Michigan for 4 days........Niagara Falls for 2 days........... East Jordan/Charlevoix, Michigan for 3 days........Holland, Michigan for 3 days.......and then the final day bumming around Chicago.....a lot of travelling (in particular me driving) while we were there! Had an awesome time and think that my Dad would move over there if it weren't for the grandchildren!!! Anyway here are some photos as promised!

Blessings!!

Dad and I at Cloud Gate or "the bean" in Chicago

Kendra and Quincy on their front porch

Amy and Rodrigo making Smores over the fire on July 4th before the fireworks

Myself, Amy, Rodrigo and Dad on Grand Haven Pier

Dad and I in our gorgeous Poncho's on Maid of the Mist, Niagara Falls

Dad and Pancho on Amy's parents coach! I promised you this photo Amy!!!

Dad having a Root Beer float before we flew home from Chicago....he can't be related to me, he loves the stuff!!!! To me it tastes like toilet cleaner!!!!

Saying goodbye......

I've just said goodbye to some dear friends who are emigrating to New Zealand. Ray and Eunice are going to work with Father Heart Ministries and are flying out there on Wednesday.

They have been an awesome blessing to me through their love, guidance, support and encouragement in so many areas of my life and I'll truly miss them.

Saying goodbye reminds me that there are seasons to our life that God has planned; and though our hearts do not want to say goodbye and for the friendship to change into something different we know that there is a reason for it and that God is moving us into another time, another area, another blessing in life.

Anyway here is a picture of myself with them. I pray that God will bless them mightily in their work in New Zealand.

A great day

So I had a really fun day today....though am truly exhausted now!

I was able to have Gareths children for the day, Osian and Lowri, and took them to Park Hall Countryside Experience near Oswestry. These guys have had it really tough over the past few weeks as Gareth has been in and out of hospital and as that issue is still unresolved I thought that the kids could do with a fun day away from it all. What was great was that the kids group from church were also going so it meant that they had other children to play with and we're able to just fool around and play all day. They petted rabbits, fed lambs, played in sand pits, went on a tractor ride, petted pigs, played in the parks, bouncy castles and on the minature tractors......it was great to see. Osian made a friend, Kathy's son William except Osian couldn't say his name so kept saying "lilliam"! So cute!!

Anyway all praise to single mums, especially those with more than one children.....I felt like I needed eyes in the back of my head!! From Lowri getting car sick after travelling up the Nant-Y-Garth pass to the constant toilet breaks Osian needed, to how much they were allowed to eat, to where Lowri had managed to escape to at that moment. Am truly exhausted now, but they were wonderful and it was such a great day. Anyway here are some photos!

~blessings~

Lowri in the 'playbus' eating wotsits!

Osian stroking the Shire horse called Charm

Osian and his friend "Lilliam"

Lowri spent about 1 and 1/2 hours on these little tractors (there were bigger ones for the older children) and was so content in her own little world!

So ready for bed now!!!

Stick jokes!!

Someone sent me these by e-mail and I just find them hilarious......hope that you also enjoy!!

I read this on Monday morning in my quiet time. It's taken from the Daily devotional book "At his feet" and just really struck the chord of where I've been over the past few weeks. I need to take my eyes off my problems, situations, workload and instead have a heavenly focus and spiritual eyes. I need to have a hunger to see, above and beyond anything else, God glorified in every situation..............will I strive for this is the question.........or will the "me" attitude return?


For His Glory
“This happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life” John 9:3

IN WORD It is in the nature of man to ask why. We see tragedy in our world and we ask why. We encounter hardship in our lives, or suffer loss, and we ask why. We want to know the reason for it all, the unifying purpose behind this strange, needy world. Jesus reminds us: It is all for the glory of God. The universe exists to display His splendour.
We can see many specific examples in scripture. The Israelites were kept as slaves in Egypt in order that God might be known as Deliverer (Exodus 11:9). He led them to near disaster at the edge of the Red Sea in order that He might gain glory (Exodus 14:4). Many Psalms of David would never have been sung if not for his persecution. This man in John 9 was blind for his entire life “that the work of God might be displayed.” Paul suffered in order that Christ’s power might be seen (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
But we are slow. We can’t help but think this universe is about us, and when life is hard on us, it doesn’t make sense.

IN DEED If we remember that it is all about Him, we begin to see. It all makes sense. By our captivity He is known as Deliverer. By our sin He is known as Saviour. By our weakness He is known as powerful. Next to our hatred, His love amazes. Every evil we can think of has the potential of being a platform for the goodness of God. It’s all about Him.
Do we suffer and questions God’s goodness? Do we complain about our hardships? If so, we have forgotten that the universe is meant to glorify God, not us. Consider how His power might be known in our trials. Redirect your prayers not to improve the situation but to have your situation demonstrate His glory. Thank him for making Himself known.

Fellula the Fiesta has passed away!

So many things seem to have happened over the past few weeks; some good, some bad. Some that appear to be awful news but are a blessing from God. I will start with the most recent.....though thinking about it the story won't work if I do that!!
Firstly my brother has been admitted into hospital with depression and will be there for 10 days to 2 weeks. It is a relief in some ways to have seen this happen, yet in others is devastating. Firstly he needed a break from where he currently lives as there are 7 of them in a 3 bedroomed semi-detached council house. He had been in and out of A&E at the local hospital for the past 3 weeks or so but they couldn't find anything wrong with him. Anyway he went to see a counsellor on Tuesday and they referred him to the psychiatric ward to be admitted. In some ways I think this is tougher for my Dad than me as Dad has grown up in that generation where there is a stigma attached to any mental illness. I went to visit my brother last night and more than anything my heart was broken for him (many of you know that this could only be Gods doing as my brother and I have never exactly got on!). He looked so lost in the hospital and the guilt that I felt leaving him there was reminiscent of leaving mum in Clatterbridge hospital when she was having her treatment.....this feeling of abandoning him (I suppose the reality that there is nothing that we can do to help him) was like a weight resting on me. But I was reminded that I can pray; and that is far from nothing.
It's been tough trying to see the kids as I get the impression that Amanda's mum is attempting to imply that they don't need us or Gareth in their lives and so is out doing something any time any of us are meant to call or try to pop around. I haven't seen the kids for 3 weeks, Gareth's seen them once in 2 weeks. I can't describe how devastating this is.
The other heartbreaking thing was the grandmother of 2 of our youth members died last week and walking them through this time of grief; while there have also been a million and one other things going on in their lives while trying to be normal teenagers has also been heartbreaking. I suddenly got to Tuesday evening, having attended the funeral and then had the phonecall off my Dad to say my brother had been admitted and just sat on my bed crying for 30 minutes. I felt like I'd given so much out in the past 10 days that I was alone and empty. But I was reminded that I wasn't. "Is anyone crying for help? God is listening, ready to rescue you. If your heart is broken, you'll find God right there; if you're kicked in the gut, he'll help you catch your breath. " Psalm 34:17-18
The straw that broke the camels back last night was that my car broke down; actually not just broke down but fell off it's last set of legs in a ploom of smoke! I was visiting my brother in hospital and came down the dual carriageway/freeway from my town towards the hospital when I started to hear this clacking noise. I pulled off at the next junction and knew immediately that the 'big end' had gone as the same thing had happened to me about 14 months ago when Becky Rasdall was visiting the UK. I rang my Dad and he said he'd come out and tow me home. It was actually a relief that I'd broken down but had been OK as there were a number of things wrong with my car and I was getting nervous at driving it (the steering was dodgy) and thought that I could end up in an accident. I was therefore so thankful to God that this had happened coming down a hill where I could pull off at a junction. I'd also decided that the next thing that went wrong with the car was the last thing, I was not going to get it fixed but replace it so Dad decided to drive it as far as he possibly could while I drove his car. My Dad is a star; he drove through St Asaph town, past a pub with 5 men standing outside staring at him in a car that was clacking so loudly I could hear it in his car, and he didn't care. As we were nearing Denbigh I could see that the car was beginning to struggle and could hear the crunching of breaks and was willing Dad to pull into the garage that we use for repairs that was coming up on the left. He didn't, but he'd only gone 10 feet past it when there was smoke billowing from underneath the car and the engine. I'm behind him beeping my car and flashing my lights at which point he thinks it might be an idea to pull in and that he probably isn't going to make it to the house!!! Dad and I just laughed about it; this was really the least of our worries. Of course, now I am worried as to how I'm going to afford a new car and where to I get it from so I won't get scammed etc etc. But I know that God has it all in hand.
There have been so many blessings over the past few weeks, not just 'bad stuff'. I had 2 weeks off work which was absolute bliss. I went out for days, slept in, had people over for lunch and dinner and visited people. I think I've barely cooked 2 meals for myself (when I haven't had people over) in over 2 weeks, what a blessing. The weather here has been beautiful and I was really blessed to take the 2 members of the youth group that had suffered the death of their grandmother to Bolton Abbey near Skipton where we met Jon. It was a great day out and such a reminder that you don't need computer games, TV and movies; you don't even really need books or outdoor games. All you need is a river, stepping stones, stunning scenery and prepared to have a laugh and you can have a great day.
Anyway that's pretty much been me.....still waiting on getting the camera fixed....a little more difficult now I don't have a car!!
~Blessings~

Camera- lack of!!

My camera is broken....can you tell by the lack of blogging that is happening at the moment! Maybe this is my oppurtunity for me to post the many random musings that occur in my head!!Too much to figure out at 11:00pm at night!!

Preaching on giants

As some of you know I preached in church on Sunday.....a very scary yet rewarding experience. There were so many things that I learnt about myself, about God and just about people in general. It was based uon the book to the right called "Facing your Giants" by Max Lucado. A book I would highly recommend and could easily be read in day.

It talks about the "giants" that David faced, not only the human one we know as Goliath but also the temptation, discouragment, loneliness etc that were giants in his life and can be giants in ours too. Sometimes I feel like these giants are so much louder in their pronouncements in my life than God is but I know that that isn't true.

The sermon went well (i think!) and I had great feedback from people. I always remember Mike Pilivaci saying that he wanted to graduate from youth preaching to adult preaching, and to a degree I have to admit that I went in with that kind of mindset.....so wrong to have that. With the youth it is a lot easier to provoke them to respond and they're quite used to interactive preachign where they also have to give their thoughts and ideas. It was great preaching to a different group of people with different needs and issues; but you do have to focus on the people that look like they're engaged and following what you're saying. That is not to say that people aren't listening, the feedback implies that are a number of people were; but when your uncle falls asleep for 5 minutes during the sermon and can only tell you that you spoke about 5 stones, you have to learn to laugh it off-don't let that giant tell me that what I had preached was worthless and sent people to sleep!! What was awesome is that my Dad came, my Aunt Mag and Uncle Tom, and my Aunt Lyn.....they all thoroughly enjoyed it and felt that they had been very much welcomed at the church, it felt like a family. Dad is even talking about coming back for Easter Sunday.....praise the Lord!

Anyway I feel like there is so much going on in my head at the moment, yet don't know where to start writing it.....maybe thats why I haven't posted in a while!

~Blessings~

Oops!

.....and I've just managed to dribble tea down my white vest....I think I need to go home!

Mmmmmm sleep!

Woke up this morning with a real feeling of not wanting to face the week. Am not normally like this and don't mind getting up in the morning; especially with the light mornings coming. I think I'm looking forward to the 10 days leave that I'm taking in April where I have nothing planned except lie ins and spending time with friends so am subconsciously winding down for that and I was in Ellel Friday to yesterday and always find that exhausting.

I think I may have been better staying in bed as have just managed to spill my first cup of coffee of the day down my white blouse in work. Praise God I had a white vest top on underneath and have just taken the blouse off and put my jacket back on........do I need to start keeping clean clothes in the office!?!?! With my track record of spilling things down myself I'd say yes!!

Anyway the weekend was good; God spoke to me about loads of different things. Am clinging too them now and not allowing the enemy to steal them away.

Must get back to work!

~Blessings~