Preaching with a purpose

I went out at 9p.m. this evening to take pictures of the sunset. while doing that, waiting for the sun to go down, I discovered a tree with blossoms which was full of gently humming bees. When the sun had gone down I felt chilly and decided to go indoors. The bees were still busy. Perhaps another night I will take my fleece with me and find out when they finally go home. Meanwhile take a walk down a Devon lane. Down a Devon Lane

Off to chapel cafe with my new neighbour for an hour of chat and coffee, with toasted tea cake. Then back home to catch up on the house work. Lunch, then pick up two friends to go to an indoor bowling match. The triples won their game but the pairs didn't. A hurried tea and then a thirty mile trip to meet friends for a Bible study group. Home by half eleven but that was our fault as we love to chat.Perhaps you would like to know about indoor bowling? Indoor Shortmat Bowling

Some would say I'm doing well, but I'm not sure where to put the adsense link. It's here. Perhaps someone can tell me if that is right.

In August, approximately, for we never quite know when a baby will come, but probably in August, I will become a Grandmother. It's almost as exciting for me as it is for the parents themselves. I am also delighted that they are moving to my village. I've already been busy with the knitting needles and the crochet hook and have completed several little garments of various sizes. My friend is ahead of me and became a Grandma this last weekend. It will be nice to swap stories with her as the little ones grow. God is good.

About 12 1/2 years ago my family split up because I left to live with another man. That relationship did not last. Today, as we have been doing for some time, my first husband ,my son, daughter and son-in-law met at lunchtime in my flat to have fish and chips together. This is some sort of miracle to have my family back and I thank God for it. He is the God who loves reconciliation. Make your peace with God in Jesus and you too will know the joy of his mending your life. Justification by Faith

This morning I had a lovely time doing housework. I'm not a great lover of house work but this morning it just seemed to fit right. I got very engrossed in it all. I was in the garden when Ted appeared. Only then did I realise I was late for a bowling match. I shot indoors and grabbed my bowling bag and bowling outfit and joined Ted in the car. We managed to arrive in good time. We enjoyed an afternoon's bowling and now I am trying to catch up with myself. I am usually organized and early for everything, so I,m not sure what happened today. Get Follow Me Buttons

So what does this title mean? If you said it to children in many places in Britain they would tell you it is all about watching 15 minute playlets of Bible stories and it is great fun. Actually it is also great fun for the adults putting on the plays. I belong to a group which takes turn presenting these with another group doing the alternate weeks. We have only been doing it since May and have borrowed costumes and props from a completely different group in another village. Fortunately we have a handyman amongst us and he is collecting together various bits and pieces, swords and bows and arrows etc. I'm not sure who are benefitting the most, the children or the adults. Open the Book is designed to fit in with the school curriculum. It is a chance to bring back much of the Christian heritage lost to our children over the last few years.i played Saul today and enjoyed being thoroughly bad-tempered and miserable. It's good to get back to having a smile on my face.

Sometimes if you make friends easily you lose them just as easily. A good friendship needs working at, something like a good marriage. If you come to Jesus he will be your best friend ever. He already knows the worst about you and yet he is willing and able to forgive you. If you ask for his forgiveness he will blot out the past and turn your life around. Instead of pleasing yourself you will want to please God and amazingly you will also find fulfillment in that. Throw away you desire to rebel against God and turn to him. In Jesus he will accept all who come to him. For more help read this page. Justification by Faith Also for help finding friends. Making Friends and Keeping Them

Today I tried a new trick to cope with writer's block when writing poetry. I took several words at random from the dictionary and used them around which to build a poem. I was quite pleased with the result and will do it again. You can see the result in the Squidoo lens below. If you take a look you can also find my poems for every day of the year, split up into monthly lenses. How to write a poem just like me

Today was very pleasant. I played short mat bowls from 1015 a.m. till !2.15 p.m. It is a very enjoyable game for people of any age. You can learn more about it at the link below. I spent a great deal of time keeping up with my Squidoo lenses. Had a nap this afternoon. Had a short walk around to a friends house, returning just in time to be ready for my daughter visiting. This evening I have updated my lens about the apostle Paul. I can see the end in sight. Shortmat Indoor Bowling Interesting Bible People:Paul

This morning I was preaching at our local URC. They are planning to join up with the Methodist church across the road. We had a good time together. This evening in my little rural church we had a big event, a new member was accepted. That is quite amazing in today's climate. I said I thought we should have two new members next year, but I think I should have more faith then that. How about ten? I believe in revival. Perhaps we shall have so many new members next year we will hardly be able to cope with them all. Here is my lens about our chapel. A Little Methodist Chapel in Devon, England

I had never heard singer-songwriter Paul Field before but thoroughly enjoyed his night of music at Wellington Methodist Church.I particularly enjoyed his poignant song writer after his best friend died. Bereavement often brings out the poetry in us. I have written a collection of sad poems on Squidoo. Here is the link. Poems of Loss

Do you realise people are the same the world over and from the beginning till now. That means that the experience of Naaman can teach you something you need to know in life. This is an Old Testament account and as I said yesterday,"I love the Old Testament." Don't get me wrong I love the New Testament too, but they are complementary and need to be studied together. I have written about Naaman on Squidoo as you will see below. That gives you an easy to read version of the Bible story, but it's good to read it in the Bible too. Interesting Bible People: Naaman

The Old Testament is a vital part of the Bible. Often you cannot understand the New Testament unless you know the Old. Recently I have been writing about Justification by Faith. Paul writes about it and illustrates it by talking about Abraham and his relationship with God. To really understand you need to know Abraham's story. I have written several lenses on Squidoo about Old Testament characters, although not yet Abraham. I have however written about his grandson Jacob. In Jacob's story you can see that God deals with Jacob in grace, despite his early life of trickery and deceit. You might like to read more in this lens. Interesting Bible People:Jacob

I've just discovered I missed a day. Is the rot already setting in? Am I going to fail with this blog again? I hope not. The world awaits and I have things to say. Things that could change your life. The world is in a terrible mess, but if you keep your head down and fill it with TV and music you might be able to block out the realization of just how terrible it is. Much better to face the terror and turn to God in prayer for a solution. He has already provided a solution for your personal hell. Jesus promises to accept all who come to him and he has made a way for us to get back in touch with God, to have our wrongness washed away. Read more here. Justification by faith

Here I am an English woman of 64, on the internet trying to reach other people. What do I want to happen? Well I just want to give anyone searching for answers to their life, the answers I have found that work for me. I know that Jesus has been with me all my life taking me through the good times and the bad and never leaving me. Wouldn't you like a friend like that? If you ask Jesus to be your friend he will not turn you away. He has promised that in the Bible. But the whole point in having Jesus as your friend is so that he will deal with the sin in your life. There's an old fashioned word "sin". Don't worry about it, everyone has it in their life, yes even me!! It's just a part of human nature. We all have this problem and only Jesus can deal with it, take it away. Well you don't want to keep it do you? It's crippling your life and keeping you separated from God. Love you to add a comment below.Here's a story from the Bible about a wom...

Well I went to one today, so I'll tell you. It all seemed very odd as I had not been to a service in the morning. It really was a great big party with folks from all over the circuit enjoying each other's company, whilst listening to a jazz band and seeing some birds of prey, in a separate room. It was a chance for me to chat to a friend from a church which has been innovative in encouraging new folk into their church. I always like to talk to people like that because it's what we need in our village. Our congregation is tiny and I'm sure many folk think we should just call it a day. We have recently started a coffee morning on the second Saturday of the month. This has not grown much yet but the conversations we have with people are worth the effort. I think it's all about building community. I went to a service, well actually I took it, later in the day. Then I didn't feel quite so lop-sided about things. I come from a background of much attending o...

Have you ever wondered where all those billions of people on the internet are hiding. Not many of them seem to find their way to my blog or my Squidoo lenses. I must be in some little backwater in among the reeds and under the trees. I guess my keyword canoe is frail and not getting me out into the midstream. Amongst all the others crying for attention mine seems to be a voice crying in the wilderness. Well there was someone like that many years ago and yet he managed to introduce Jesus to the world. So I won't dispair, I will keep on crying until someone hears my message that Jesus is still available to them, wherever they live, whatever their age.Look here for a man who told as many people as he could about Jesus. Interesting Bible People:Paul

You'll be getting sick of me popping up again like this!! Well I want to be around here and make my little contribution to all this information and opinion that's flying around. After all I must have something to offer. I've been around for 64 years. You don't survive that long without learning a thing or two. What I've learnt most is that God is faithful. He never leaves me and brings me through every situation. So now I've learnt to trust him more and more, but being human, I do still fret and worry, but I think the worrying and fear are lessening. Now God isn't a push over. He doesn't accept any old behaviour. In fact he won't accept even our best behaviour. No, we are flawed by sin and he can only accept us if we come to Jesus first for forgiveness. Why? Because that is the way he has provided, no other will do. We don't like it. We want to do something. The only thing that works is to accept God's free gift of forgiveness p...

Where have I been since February? Well I was very busy with Section D of my preaching course. unfortunately I somehow managed to fail on the Exegesis. But I've re-done it all and sent it off for another try. Are you one of those phone cold callers? if so I have a new plan of how to deal with you. I ask for the first five minutes to tell you about how you need Jesus in your life and then I promise to listen to you.Seems fair to me and maybe it will change your life. Are there any other preachers out there? You might find my lens, aimed at helping those doing the Methodist Faith and Worship course, might be useful to you. Here it is. Faith and Woship: Useful links