Preaching with a purpose

Every time I take a few days off from my blog my ratings slump.  Very rarely do people go back into my old posts and read again.  This is a typical attitude of the human heart, always wanting something different.  At this time of year we should not be greedily wondering want new thing we will be getting for Christmas.  Instead we should be looking at the old, old story, which is ever new of a baby who amazingly was God incarnate, God's gift to those who will put there trust in this one who was to grow up to give His life for His people.  Set aside the controversy over whether December 25th is the actual date of His birth.(Shepherds do not keep their sheep out at night in Israel in December.) and set aside time to think about the fact that He did come and ponder if He came to set you free and if your answer is ,"Yes," He will make you free indeed.

I watched The Detectorists tonight. I have not watched it before. It is about a group of people who use detecting equipment to discover old coins and other things of archeological interest. This was the last in the series and had a bitter sweet feel to it.  One of the main characters asked,"Why do we do it?" and the other replied,"This is the nearest you will ever get to time travel." You have to be an optimist to do metal detecting.  There is always the attraction of making a big find or an important discovery.  Among all the tin cans and coat hangers found there is the hope of a Saxon hoard, or Roman gold. Optimism keeps them going.

I think I'm becoming a fan of BBC 4. Tonight they showed a reenactment of the Roman cavalry in Carlisle.  An amazing sight which the archeologists really enjoyed and learnt from.  You have to have a lot of imagination as an archeologist, sometimes it leads them astray, sometimes they find the right answers , or at least we hope so.  Archeology is fascinating, but one and one does not always make two.  As I said a lot of imagination is needed and it is difficult to sort the useful imagination from someone sticking to their own pet theory, come what may.

I have written in previous posts about disasters. In the case of Concorde, decisions by people, plus other factors were directly to blame for the event.  In the case of the Penlee disaster it may have been avoided if someone had made a better choice in the time beforehand and as a consequence brave men and the ship's crew and the captain and his family died. 9/11 was certainly the result of wicked men committing a terrorist act, but even in this there was heroism notably by another Cornish man, Rick Rescorla who helped many to safety and left it too late to help himself.  In situations like this we see what the human spirit is capable of both good and evil. What of disasters that come on people because of the earth restless movement of tectonic plates.  Often people live near volcanoes because the land is rich and fertile and they have the chance of a better life there when the volcano is resting.  We cannot blame them for that but sometimes people become complacent and fool thems

December 19th this year will be the 36th anniversary of this disaster. Eight brave men from the village of Mousehole, Cornwall gave their lives in an heroic attempt to save the crew and Captain's family in a storm which had crippled their ship and driven it near rocks. I heard the story at a 60 plus meeting. It was the most moving account I've heard and given by a man from Mousehole, who was no doubt a relative of some if not all who died on the Solomon Browne. Apparently the captain of the Union Star had previously refused help from a tug, presumably because the tug could then claim salvage.  He might well have been saved by such a move but he refused only to lose his life, the lives of his crew and family and even more tragically the lives of brave men trying to save him against the odds.  The captain of the Solomon Browne obviously realized the danger of the situation as he refused to take one young crewman because his father was already on board and it was his policy not to

There was a fascinating programme about Concorde on television last night.  My memory of it was that as it passed overhead in Devon it reached supersonic speed and we heard a load bang every time as it broke the sound barrier.  I think they eventually got it to do it more out to sea, so I guess the Scilly Isles heard it instead. It was a phenomenon in my time.  Such a shame that it crashed and lost all on board.  As usual most of the problem was down to "human error." Extra luggage had been allowed on board and extra fuel had been taken in.  They couldn't help the piece of metal on the runway, I suppose. What finally did for Concorde was 9/11.  After that, for some time, people were generally put off air travel. I guess Concorde was a sort of titanic of the skies. Maybe even a Tower of Babel. When we worship things other than God they always let us down. When we worship these things we are worshipping man's achievements and man himself and always we are let down.  Jes

Canada 57 United States 9 Germany 5 United Kingdom 3 Belgium 1 Brazil 1 France 1 Peru 1 Romania 1   When I was young I used to wonder if I would be a missionary.  Would I go to darkest Africa or somewhere in India.  It all depended on the current visiting missionary on furlough.  For a while I was interested in Lebanon and later in Nepal.  There was no way I could have believed you then if you had told me I would be able to write about Jesus to people all over the world, at the same time and with no stamps involved (you know those little squares of sticky paper you can put on envelopes.) But here I am and there you are and I do hope I am bringing blessing into life with my blog. As you see I am not going viral, but if someone is being blessed I am happy. Sorry I let you slip Romania.

What a sad but fascinating story David Attenborough told us tonight.  Jumbo was a young African elephant brought to England in the mid 1880's.  He was taken to London zoo.  He had a devoted keeper but had a very bad diet and was used to give rides to several people at once. He also did not have the company of any other elephants which must have been very lonely for him. Attenborough tracked down his skeleton in New York and listened to the findings of scientists who pointed out the tale tell signs in his bones.  Also there were stories of the time of Jumbos rage at night and this seems to have been due to toothache, too many sticky buns and not enough fibre.  The people then , including Barnum the circus owner, were not as aware as we are of the needs of elephants, but we have no excuse, elephants need to be kept in their country of origin where they can live out their lives in the company of their own families.When we have a world where people exploit people it is not surprizing t

This is a beautiful programme to watch but sad because of the impact we are having on the ocean,  Why can the makers not see that people are sinners and this is the problem.  They are desperately trying to solve the problem of our rubbish and its impact on the sea, but they are choosing to ignore the Bible which tells us that the earth is headed for destruction.  Man thinks that he can solve the problem but he cannot.  He can only make sticking plaster solutions.  The good news is that God has said he will make new heavens and an Earth.  That will be glorious and unaffected by sin. Perhaps we will be able to swim under water, certainly unhampered by diving gear.  I hope to see you there.

We always think in terms of time, the here and now, but God is not limited by time, He invented it not for Himself but as a framework for us to live in, He knows everything that has ever happened or will ever happen.  If you are His He has forgiven you everything.  God is not surprised tomorrow when you fall.  He does not say,"I am so disappointed in Liz, she has sinned again. I didn't see that coming." He knows.  Now sin is no small matter, it sent Jesus to the cross.  Sin is a huge barrier between us and God which only trusting in the death of Jesus can wipe away. So we should never treat our sins as unimportant little blips, but we should never let them crush us under their weight, because we are forgiven.

If you had joy in your heart because Jesus has saved and someone else has crushed that joy by telling you how bad your sin is, be crushed no longer.  Jesus has forgiven your sins, even the ones you haven't committed yet!  He wants you to fully know the joy of sins forgiven.  Don't fear the future, He is with you.  He knows the way you are going and He knows He will turn the sins into lessons He wants to teach you.  If you are His He will always forgive you and never desert you no matter what you do.  So step into the future trusting Him to keep you no matter what is up ahead and don't listen to those who want to pull you apart and criticize you, they are on dangerous ground because you are a precious child of the King.

When you repent and put your trust in Jesus He forgives you and God forgets your sin and puts it away as far as the East is from the West. That's a very long way as there is no East pole or West pole. If you travel East you can keep going forever and never find an end to it and so it is travelling West. Once you are forgiven no one has the right to delve into your sin and remonstrate with you over it, but some will try,  You may think your sin is a particularly bad one, but all sin is bad and an affront to God.  All that other christians need to know is that you are a sinner saved by grace by faith in Jesus.  If God has forgotten your sin so should your fellow believers.

I have been learning Russian for more than a year now.  Like most Brits I am shy of using another language other than English.  I desperately want to, but it is just too easy to let the other person speak English, especially when they are so accomplished at it.  Today, however, I had an encouraging experience; at the bus stop was a lady and after a while I said something to her in English, naturally.  She indicated that she did not speak English.  I asked if she was Polish, she said Lithuanian.  A light dawned and in Russian I asked if she spoke Russian and she did and a little conversation took place between us which we otherwise could not have had.  I have a Russian friend but she speaks excellent English so the incentive to use Russian is just not there. I need to get out of my cozy little village and find some Russian speaking people who are not good at English.  Two things could happen; I could improve my Russian and now as I am a qualified teacher of English as a foreign language

Recently I've been teaching a friend to play the piano.  I said she could learn any way she liked, by reading the music, playing by ear or from memory.  This encouraged me to play from memory and it has been a very liberating experience. no longer am I thinking about processing dots, but I can play more expressively. I always felt that people who played by ear or from memory(the two are very much intertwined) played more expressively. So if you play and have been bound to your music book all these years make a dash for freedom. If you want some help and live in my area give me a call, I would love to help.

Britain is blessed in many ways.  We have so few disasters happen.  Seeing the fires in California made me think of this.  I guess they are taking place over a large area which is difficult to control.  We are such a small island with relatively small areas of wild land so any fire can be dealt with quickly.  We don't have earthquakes, well only minor ones that you hardly feel.  Today in more northerly parts there is snow.  If we have three days of snow we panic and wonder how we will cope, but before we have time to decide what to do we find it has gone away again. We moan about our weather but really it is very mild, at least, most of the time. In Russia last July I found the Russians have a similar attitude to us about summer never making an appearance.  I don't know what they say about their snow, but they certainly get enough of it.

What a jolly evening.  First I watched Chernobyl being entombed and now I'm watching a programme on Porton Down, all about nasty things like mustard gas. The presenter is a doctor who has worked with soldiers on active service.  He asks questions and the personnel often reply,"I can't tell you that." Hardly any relief from Wilfred Owen's poem, Dulce et decorum est which describes the effect of some nasty gas on a soldiers breathing.  It's all gloom and doom tonight. It's just amazing what horrors man inflicts on man.  I guess I need to do the sensible thing and switch off the gloom machine in the corner of my living room.

I remember when the Chernobyl disaster happened. I remember we had tadpoles in a pond in the garden in Devon.  The next day they were all dead. I firmly believe the two things were connected. I am watching a programme on T.V. tonight about a new bid to contain the radio activity at Chernobyl.  The narration is very upbeat but it seems to me that containing something like this is not an easy task.  I commend to you the men working on this project.  Hopefully their health is being monitored and every measure taken to keep them safe. For years after the disaster I remember children from the area came to Tiverton for a month each year, as this gave them valuable time away from contaminated areas where they lived.  I think we do not know the full story of the effect of Chernobyl.  Maybe even the increased incidence of cancer in our own area has something to do with it, but most certainly it is the people of Ukraine who have suffered the worst.

Often as we grow older we are forced to down size because of moving to a smaller dwelling, but its good to down size anyway.  Over the years most of us tend to gather many things which seem precious at the time but when we died would be thrown out without a backward glance by those who come after us.  I prefer to do the throwing out now and lessen the burden on my loved ones.  It's not that I'm planning to go just yet, but then again who knows when. I've found it liberating in the last year to take a hard look at my possessions and find that I really don't need many of them any more.  This included my violin. I sold it to an adult learner in about May and I really haven't regretted it. Of course with the violin gone there were several piles of music to be passed on too. I love Jesus and I have so much to look forward to in being with him forever so why would I want to hold on to anything from this life.  The butterfly doesn't hang on to its cocoon case, it flies

Nostalgia is usually a sudden pleasant memory triggered by a present stimulus.  The other day I opened a new bottle of bath creme which immediately sent me back to my youth.  The scent was described as lilac but to me it was the scent of violets and especially reminded me of the violet flavoured sweets we sometimes had.  I think my brother once used some to try to disguise that he had been smoking! Not a good move, whoever heard of a teenage boy wanting to smell of violets.  Nostalgia is usually a pleasant but maybe bitter-sweet thing. The smell of Astral soap always reminds me of a childhood holiday at my uncle's farmhouse.  Sometimes it is not possible to know why these triggers happen.  Do you often have nostalgic moments?

I have many friends about my age who simply cannot cope with computers and the like.  For me it was just an interesting challenge.  Before blogging I used to write on Squidoo and there I needed to upload photos.I loved doing that.  My best teacher was my daughter because I would say, "How do I do .....?" and she would reply, "Oh mother find out for yourself.!!" And I did.  Previously I went to a short course in the local town and got the basics from that.  It was just a matter of working through a book with very little input from the teacher.  That's the thing with computers you just have to experiment. Don't let the bounder win!! The annoying thing about computers is that you can do something in about six different ways.  You can use ctrl and P to print or go to file and find print.  I know that is only two ways, but I think there are more. A friend of 77 recently bought a smart phone and I am very pleased with how he is getting on with it, even though he a

I'm sorry I've not written here for a while.    I have been finishing off my online course in teaching English as a foreign language.  I have now passed the 120-online course and received my certificate.  What comes next?  Well, I am redoubling my efforts to learn Russian.  I recently reached a log jam situation where I knew all sorts of thing, but they had all become jumbled like a log jam on a Canadian river when the logs are being floated down the river and get stuck.  I now have to tease these bits of knowledge apart and make sense of them again. It is the sort of situation where one could easily give up. Well now of course, I hope to find some people who need to improve their English.  All sorts of interesting people could surface here.  I like to think that I could help someone in a low paid boring job learn enough English to be able to do something more interesting.  It could be a life changer for them and more interesting than  retirement for me. How do you keep your br

Modern life splits families apart.  those of  us who have children and grandchildren living near us should value this contact highly. With many parents both working there is not the same contact with the children.  Little ones are bundled off to a carer as the busy work day begins and picked up again just ready to go to bed.  Just what sort of family life is this.  Grandparents often help out and then shared family values can be passed on.  The parents are working constantly in order to keep up the mortgage payments,  mistakenly they think they own their own house when really they are just renting from the bank!! Is this unequal struggle really worth abandoning our children to carers.  Nice as they can be they are not Mummy or Daddy.

I've decided to write a new blog. It's called Canny Granny's Advice to the Young , but anyone is welcome.  I've been thinking about doing this for some time. In this modern world I'm not sure how many young people have access to Grandparents and their experience of life, so I decided to try to fill the gap there may be.  Parents are so busy these days and many of them are very young themselves and burdened down with modern life.  I'm intending to write about money with it's many pitfalls and also relationships, plus plus. I intend to keep writing here in a more general way.

Do you notice how many people say that time is whizzing along faster than ever?  "Where has this year gone?" they say. Now I remember my parents talking like that, but we as children found that time was very slow especially in term time, but even the six weeks of the summer holiday had a leisurely feel to them as if they would never end.  But today even the children think that time is passing quickly today.  I think it may have something to do with technology. We spend so much time on computers and phones that we don't have that time in the evening when we used to sit back and relax. At this moment I am gulping at a cup of tea and staying on the PC when I should be sitting in an armchair, sipping slowly and mulling over the happenings of the day. I should be savouring life and giving my brain the chance to unravel the tangled yarn in my head.  I guess if I did that I would sleep better. I'm going to be sensible tonight and not see the ten o'clock news.  I'm go

After several months of thinking it over my friend who is 77 decided it was time to get a smart phone.  So we set out for town in the car.  We went to the shop run by his provider but was told by the young lady that she couldn't find any record of him from his number.  This could have been the end of the day out but instead we went to another shop across the road.  The young man there immediately found his records but said his first name was wrong.  My friend remembered that he had been called by that name by the provider by mistake when he first had a phone.  The young man said it was best to continue with that name as it would require lots of involved paperwork and proof of name and address.  So he remains Kevin!! Next we had to change his address which he had not done 5 years ago when he last moved. For that he had to produce passwords etc. I have learnt to turn the other way when he does this as he gets very flustered if I watch. He has a large collection of credit cards and ge

This must puzzle so many people.  After all as you get older everything seems to wear out and not work as well.  All those aches and pains happen and you can't reach the top shelf or easily pick things up off the floor.  It all just seems a nuisance.  You look at old people in a home sitting in a room together but mostly not talking to each other.  What are they doing?  Are they doing anything? I believe old age is God's last gift to us to bring us to Himself.  Those old people are thinking mostly about their lives.  They have a lot to think over, some have 90+ years of living to consider.  Of course there are some sprightly ones of this age who are still relatively active, but even they sit and think at the end of the day.  Never underestimate the blessing of quietness in later life.

It is good to be content with what we have and most of us have every reason to be content.  We have more food than is good for us, clean water, so many clothes that we have to find new places to keep them and even then we can't actually wear all of them, there not being enough days in the year.  I do have a favourite lightweight blouse come jacket that I get to wear about three times in the year, when the weather is warm enough. Regularly I have to sort out which clothes I am not wearing and take them to the charity shop. Is it good to be content all the time?  Well in our personal lives it is, but there are injustices in the world that should stir us out of contentment with a righteous indignation for the many wrong things in our world. Even if there is little we can do about the situations, maybe our indignation is like a prayer for God to help those suffering, always with the realization and acceptance that we may be God's answer for that situation.  William Wilberforce saw

The evening is ticking by and I've turned the T.V. off. It's time to think.  The silence sings in my ears, well actually it's tinnitus, but I am fortunate, it is not an intrusive, unpleasant kind.  Sometimes it takes the form of music, pretty much like Glen Miller and his big band.  I used to think my neighbour was thoughtlessly playing music at 2 a.m. Once I found out it was my own Big Band I made friends with it and it lulls me to sleep. So many things in life are not so bad if you think them through and accept what is. The problem with noisy neighbours is often with you.  The more you fret the worse it seems and you get yourself all steamed up. Of course we should all expect to have a quiet life and people should be considerate.  In Britain we had a sitcom called "One foot in the grave."  The main character was an older man, Victor Meldrew, who was very grumpy and took great offence at the lack of consideration of others, but consequently worked himself up into

There is a good selection of programmes about Russia on the BBC at the moment.  For me this is delightful, having been to Russia back in July. It is a new experience for me to be able to watch such programmes and say, "I've been there." My trip to Russia was the first abroad I had ever made.  Aha I think I just saw a clip that was supposed to be in Moscow, but I'm sure it was the church on the spilled blood in St Petersburg and not St Basil's. It is easy to make that mistake but St. Basil's has more green on it. A year ago I would not have known the difference. I am glad there are still things in life that I can enjoy for the first time.  Some people have been everywhere and done everything; how bored they must feel. But my obsession is with Russia; there is nowhere else I want to go, as yet.

With all this talk of men abusing women and behaving in an inappropriate way I want to know why no one is taking to task the women behaving in an appropriate way to men.  Women  do not have a monopoly on being treated badly, there are men out there who have been propositioned by their women bosses. And why do they not come forward?  Because they think, "Who would believe me?" I hasten to add that I have no knowledge of any cases but 70 years of life on this earth leads me to believe it must be so. How much of this is all a witch hunt.  I know a very nice man who has patted me on the knee but he meant nothing by it except sympathy and I knew that, no problem.  Why are the women accusers treated with kid gloves and believed when many years have passed.  Just say, "No," and get on with life and let the water flow under the bridge. Or is this just about wrecking the government. Everyone gasps with horror at the stories revealed, surely they have noticed that sin has bee

I came out into the  cold air as the sun had set and the light was dying.  I was on my way home.  I wondered why I felt such a sense of how good this felt and realized I was remembering my school days when I would be riding my bicycle from the village where the bus stopped, to my home a mile away. Then it was so good to be heading home after a day at school ten miles away.  I would get home knowing that a cheerful welcome would greet me and the warmth of a coal and log fire.  The time of life I have reached is one where nostalgia and memory play a significant part in the day. It is good when one has good memories for there are people who are not so blessed. We must all be grateful for the good things in life and also for the difficult things that have taught so much.

http://omnicrone1.typepad.com/katethoughts/2009/01/prayer-in-old-age-attributed-to-a-17th-century-nun.html I hope I'm not breaking any copyright by including this. I found it at the above address. "Lord, you know better than I know myself that I am getting older and will someday be old. Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. “Release me from craving to straighten out everybody's affairs. Make me thoughtful but not moody, helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom it seems a pity not to use it all, but you know, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end. “Keep my mind from the recital of endless details - give me the wings to come to the point. Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are increasing, and my love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter. I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others' pains, but help me to endure them with patience. “I dare not ask for i

There are churches where getting everything "right" and grimly holding onto the letter of it is the most important thing and just as you think you have grasped the sum total of things you must hold to the goalposts seem to move and more important things are added.  Another sort of church is the one that majors on "love" but falsely so called often being a wishy washy thing that sets out not to offend anyone no matter what is at stake. Now I regard doctrine highly but it probably can't be something of which you can grasp the totality.  When it comes down to it love is an important part of doctrine.  When the Bible talks about love and it being the greatest of, "faith, hope and love," in 1Corinthians 13 we need to look at the meaning of the  word  "love" used there.  You see the Greek language in which Paul's letters are written has three words for "love", "Eros," "Philio" and "Agape"  (pronounced Aga

When I was feeling low a couple of weeks ago a good friend of mine said,"You must remember you are an old lady now." I didn't take offence as I know he meant it well.  O.K. so we may say 70 is the new 60 and it may be for some people but we need to adjust according to how we feel as an individual.  Sometimes I have lots of energy and sometimes I don't.  It is all a question of recognising these different times.  I now have a new regime for getting up.  If I have a particular reason to get up I can do it quite easily even if it's getting up at 3 a.m. to catch a plane, but with my normal day I want to stay in bed an extra ten minutes, or maybe an hour! Getting up used to be a terrific wrench of leaving a comfortable bed to rush through a shower and quickly dress. Now I do it differently.  I get up slowly and go to the kitchen and make a coffee, sit in the living room and enjoy it while I come conscious and then I have a leisurely shower and get dressed.  My problem

When Samuel, directed by God went to Jesse's house to find the next king, the chosen one wasn't even in the room, where Samuel was making his decision.  David's brothers all looked the part but God kept saying, "I have not chosen him." Samuel had to ask if there were any other brothers and was told that there was David looking after the sheep.  He was sent for and on God's instruction he was anointed king.  Here was someone who had spent hours alone with the sheep getting to know his God, but he was only a young lad, nevertheless chosen by God.  Are you missing out by not recognizing that special person God has chosen in your life?

Is there anyone on the edges of your life that you are not really valuing, someone you think is o.k. but nothing special?  A year ago I thought like that and helped out someone in trouble.  Since then I have found that person to be a little goldmine,and spiritual comforter.  I'm beginning to think I am getting more spiritual help from her than she does from me.  So look out for someone like that in your life or you will be missing out too. What this world thinks of someone is not their true value.  the world thinks education and wealth are the things that matter, but what really matters is a person's walk with Jesus.  Someone who can cope and cope well when the world walks out on them is someone worth knowing. When the Lord guided me to help my friend He knew that it would be beneficial to both of us. At the time I guess I thought I was the magnanimous benefactor!!!  But my Lord knew better. Who are you missing out on?

You can be too tidy.  You can be so obsessed with tidiness that you don't give enough attention to more important things. Except in unusual circumstances you do not need to get the vacuum cleaner out three times a day. The surfaces do not need to be polished every day either. Moderation in all things.  It is surely more important to spend time with a friend rather than make her feel guilty that her house does not match up to yours.Of course families do make more work than faces a single person and if you can do the housework with a happy spirit that is very good, but you should always be prepared to stop housework and give attention to your husband or your children.

I am definitely not a naturally tidy person. I have been working hard at improving in this department for the last year or so.  I can have no excuse for the clutter around me, I live alone and I am the only one here causing chaos.  The first big thing to do when you want to tidy is to sort out the things you have had for ten years or more and never used and send them to a charity shop or the local tip.  You have to be ruthless with this if you are to make real progress.  If you don't do this your tidying will consist of finding new places for old things in a different room, and that just won't do. The problem for people of my age, born just after the second world war is that we were brought up by mothers who had to make do and mend.  Old clothes were cut into strips to make rag rugs; Mother's old dresses were cut down for a daughter.  When you have been brought up in that kind of atmosphere it is hard to lose the habit. We are living in a different era now.  I have been mak

Well I did do a bit of peeking on my phone, but I feel refreshed and I got a lot of tidying done.  Now I'm back with renewed energy. Too much of anything leaves you jaded.  My flat needs several years off my computer to make any real difference!!  It's strange how we cling on to things that we never use.  Obviously it is good to have pictures of our past and little drawings our children did, but do not think that you can hold on to the past, you cannot.  No matter how you try it is past and gone.  By all means use the past to inform the present.  Remember the things you used to worry about which never happened, what a waste of energy! So now you can put your worries into perspective and treat them as imposters who will never come home to roost.  If you are trusting in Jesus there are no worries than can touch you, you are safe in His keeping. But you do have to keep reminding yourself of that fact or the worries will creep up and cloud your vision. I love you dear reader!

If you answer with a bold "Yes!" I am inclined to doubt you.  At least admit that it wavers sometimes.  Jesus said that all it takes is for you to have a little faith and that will see you through.  He will encourage that faith like a mustard seed until it grows to tree size.  I want to encourage the ones who have that little faith.  It is unassuming and doesn't look for praise. Similarly He will not quench the smoking flax, but will blow on it till it glows red. No matter how you trip up and fall He is there to pick you up and put you back on the road to heaven.If that little bit of faith  you have is in Him He will never desert you or send you away.  He who is faithful has promised. "He will never leave you or forsake you.  Or as my translation goes, "There is no way I would ever leave you, there is no way I would ever forsake you,"  The Greek is strongly emphatic. Apologies to those of you who love your King James Bible, I love it too and was brought up

Probably far too much time.  But today I have spent time with family, and this evening with a friend.  I enjoy talking with people on Facebook but there is nothing better than spending time face to face.  For people who are introverts it must be very tempting to keep people at bay on the internet, but really it is well worth the effort to get to know someone in the same room. Communicating owes a lot to body language which helps clarify what your friend is feeling and meaning in what they say. I think it would be a good idea to have at least one computer free day each week so that you can discover other things about life and make some tangible friends. I haven't been doing this but I think it is a good plan.  I will try to remember to tell you how I get on.

Those of us, who love and know Jesus, we need to be reminded again and again of what a wonderful salvation we have.  Last week I felt low and everything was a burden.  That's when I needed to know that Jesus has my life in His hands.  We forget so easily.  That's why we need each other to remind and help.  We must say to each other, "But don't forget this problem of yours is in the Lord's hands.  Only what He says can happen, and if it happens it is the Lord's will and no matter how bad it may look to you, it is the very best plan for you." Yes we need each other, we must remind each other.Thank you to those of you who commented on my blog recently, it helped a lot.

Are you taking your statins and vitamin pills? Having a ten minute brisk walk every day? Having all the modern trendy healing sessions? I assure you it may make you feel better at the time but it will do nothing to keep you alive one second longer than is already chosen for you.  You need to get to know the Divine Healer who can make you fully healthy in body, soul and spirit.  His healing lasts forever giving you abundant life.  If you have His healing this world's pains will not matter.  If you drink His water you will never thirst again. Don't be content with second class healing that doesn't last, come to Jesus the only Answer that lasts forever.

Instead of yesterday's post about my difficult week I could have made no comment and written you a saintly homily about the Christian life, but that would be dishonest.  If we don't share our problems where can people go when they are in difficulties.  If I pretended the Christian life was just full of roses and mountaintop experiences someone reading my post would wonder why they found everything so difficult when I was floating on cloud number nine.  We need to be honest with one another and admit to the problems we have.  Of course for most of us there are the beautiful days when life is wonderful and that is to be gloried in, but the hard times come too and these are the times that stretch us and make us stronger. We have this idea that life should be wonderful all the time.  Wherever did we get that idea from?  The history of our families before us is one of struggle, why should ours be any different?  This is not heaven, we are not there yet.  Let's admit our problem

Last week I pulled up the drawbridge and went into hibernation.  Everything was just too much for me.  I'm not proud of this reaction to problems but it seems to work for me.  After a week of not knowing why I was doing this, sleeping more or less night and day, I faced up to my problems.  Someone suggested coffee might help, I had a cup and started to perk up.   I was brought up not to make a fuss and this leads me to saying everything is fine when it is not.  Now that I've come out of the womb again I can kick myself into shape and face the world.  After all my problems are minute compared with those of others. "Where was your faith?" I hear you say and you may get a handbag across your head for saying it.  When did faith ever make life easy.  Faith causes you to face battles when you least want to.  Faith is tough to exercise and sometimes the battle is fierce and you need a ditch to lie in to recover.  So look at your own faith before you question mine. Maybe you

About a week ago I told you I was feeling peculiar due to too much coffee.  Tonight I give you the other side of the story.  This week I have felt rather down and struggled to keep going.  I slept a lot too.  This has been a pattern all my life and now that I am 70 perhaps more likely to happen.  A friend suggested I have a cup of coffee and it helped a lot.  Like many drugs I guess a small amount of it is good for you.

Do you love them or hate them? Do you hate to see the years taking their toll or do you delight in your survival?  I have never worried about anyone knowing my age.  I am 70 and rapidly approaching 71. With age comes the added certainty of death, though that can happen at any age. As a child I was very worried about the thought of death, when I was three a little girl who lived near me and was two, died after an accident. As I have grown older I have been less worried about death and most older people will say the same.  How strange is that?  Dying tends to bother us rather than being dead.  I believe Jesus will take me to live with Him, what could be more wonderful.  I think dying might be something like being born.  The birth process is a traumatic time for the baby. So there is trepidation that dying might be the same.  When a baby is born it soon knows the comfort of its mother's arms, when the believer dies he enters into the joy of His Lord.

So what do my house plants teach me?  I am not the most green fingered of people when it comes to house plants, but I do seem to have some success with orchids and African violets. The orchids need to be stood on the draining board in the kitchen once a week to have about half a jug of water poured onto their roots and allowed to immediately run away and down the sink.  They need feeding about every three weeks.  I find they are happy in a moderate temperature. Recently I have been rewarded with some beautiful blooms, still going strong after six weeks.  Soon, of course the flowers will drop and the plant will need to rest.  The African violet needs a north facing window for preference and needs very, very small amounts of water daily in the dish it stands on. So what do I make of all this in relation to my thoughts on the way young Christians are expected to be.  Well you can give them too much food and too much water(lots of meetings) and wonder why they are not thriving.  After some

I wrote recently about gardening and how you should not dig seeds up to see how they are doing and that you should not treat new Christians in that way either. I remembered something from my childhood which also illustrates this in a more radical way.  In the Spring we used to get a jam jar and line it with blotting paper and put water in and then push a runner bean bean between the glass and the blotting paper. (For those who don't know, blotting paper is paper which absorbs liquid and holds on to it.  It was used to blot handwriting written with wet ink, it absorbed the excess ink quickly without causing a mess, so that you could immediately close the exercise book.) The bean in the jar would begin to germinate and send roots down to the water, splitting the bean open.  There followed a shoot going upwards which quickly turned green. This was all very fine for children to see the wonder of new life developing but the poor old bean was usually discarded.  If it was thrown on the c

Follow the link.  It's true that under 25's get paid less in Britain for the same work.  I had thought probably that the living wage didn't apply until 20 (still mean) but fancy having to manage on so little for another five years.  So I hope all my readers in the U.K. will get out their internet pens and sign the petition. https://www.change.org/p/greg-clark-mp-paid-less-not-worth-less?recruiter=815977990&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=psf_combo_share_more.combo_new_control_progress_3nono&utm_term=autopublish

Nowadays I live in a flat with no garden, but I used to have quite a big vegetable garden.  I grew broad beans and runner beans and black currants and gooseberries and raspberries and potatoes and probably other things that I have forgotten. With gardening there is need of hard work and lots of patience.  First you have to choose the right time of year to prepare the ground.  When it is a fine tilth in the Spring you sow your seeds.  You have to put the seeds in at the right depth.  Bigger seeds need to go down deeper than tiny seeds.  If the tiny seeds are too deep they will not be able to germinate and grow to the surface.  Once they are sown you have to wait for them to germinate and break through to the surface.  You do not keep digging them up to see how they are doing.  This is a great example of sowing the seed of God's word in a friend's heart.  You must sow the seed at the right time having prepared the ground with friendship and care. Then comes the part we find the h

I think we are all addicted to something.  Some people are addicted to their work.  There are the obvious addictions like cigarettes, alcohol and gambling. I don't actually gamble but I'm addicted to thinking what I would do with lots of money. That makes me cross with myself because I believe God is in charge of all the money in the world and if He wants to give me some He will.  But sometimes I just want to give Him a hand, make it easy for Him.  Stupid women is anything too hard for God? I sometimes think I am addicted to writing this blog.  I love to see how many of you are visiting. I used to be addicted to playing Spider Solataire.  You wouldn't believe the hours I wasted on it.  Then I gave it up so that I could spend the time on learning Russian.  I guess now I am addicted to that! I used to play Farmville and that got out of hand.  When I escaped it was such a relief. I have a friend who was addicted to buying books and reading them in alphabetical order of author.

There is something liberating about sorting things out, throwing away the really worthless things and taking good things, which you really do not want to go on cluttering up your life, to the charity shop for someone else to enjoy. I am one of life's hoarders but over the past year I have done a marvelous job of sorting things out and getting rid of them one way or another.  What amazes me is how much stuff I still have.  It is also a good thing to sort through what is really important about our beliefs and to give the heave ho to things we once thought important and so leave room to major on the really important things.  But if you do do this make sure you don't throw out the baby with the bath water, especially if that baby is Jesus, God's own son.

Well really this is the story of a friend whom I helped through the tricky process of getting on to Universal Credit. My friend had her work as a carer disappear.  She had no transport so could only work in her local vicinity.  I persuaded her she needed to get help from the Job Centre and together we went to town, incidentally there was only public transport on a Friday, so she relied on friends to get her to town.  First we went to apply for housing benefit but we were told this could not be done until universal credit was sorted.  We went to the job centre just up the road.  There she was told she must apply online.  Before the look of horror could spread across her face I said,"It's o.k. I can do that for you." How many others in her age bracket who are not familiar with a computer do not have a friend to help out.  Always it is the weaker and more vulnerable who cannot cope with these things. Once we had got her signed up, the difficult six weeks had to be endured wi

Today has been good.  I have spent over an hour studying Russian, mostly writing a letter to a friend in Yaroslavl.  It is not complete yet as I need to check the grammar.  Next I popped over to the Baptist Church where they usually have coffee on Wednesday mornings. In the afternoon I met a friend at a local garden centre and had a large coffee.  If you have read my previous post tonight you will know that the coffee was not a good idea, but the friendship was.  This evening another friend came to my flat and she had coffee, but I had realized by now that it was doing me no good. I had a nice glass of water and apple juice. I was able to keep my friend interested by showing her photos of Russia taken by my travelling companion.  Great photos, great memories, a great day.

Do you sometimes feel peculiar and yet can't quite think why?  Think caffeine. Today I felt like that and then realized I had had more coffee than I usually do. Problem solved.  Since I made the discovery I have been drinking water copiously.  I had this happen several years ago.  I travelled about thirty miles to play quartets with some friends.  After a while we took a break and the host gave us coffee.  She asked if we wanted leaded or unleaded.  I said unleaded but perhaps I dropped my voice at the beginning.  Three large mugs later I was not sure whether to drive home or not, but I did without any problem.  It is amazing how much effect a bit of caffeine can have. I am feeling much better already.  From now on it's only one mug of coffee a day for me, either that or buy myself some decaff.

The Ukraine is top of the list followed by Canada which has only fairly recently shown any interest.  Next comes U.S.A.easily the most frequent vistors, then Russia and Britain.  Then in no particular order Germany, France, Belgium, Portugal, Brazil, Romania and I think for the first time tonight the Philippines. I thought you might like to know this.  I apologize if I have left you out, each visit is treasured.

I know only too well what a lot of rubbish there is on our televisions, but tonight I have seen two interesting programmes, one about the women in the times of the wars of the roses (or the cousins wars as they called them then.) The other about church music from the times of the reformation; this music is still sung in the big cathedrals of the land.  I miss a lot of good programmes because I forget to look up what is available each day.  I tend to flick through the channels when I should be using the guide.  Life's like that, you can be so keen on flicking through the possibilities when what you need is to look at the Guidebook.  Do you understand what I mean?

With so many of life's activities you have players and spectators. In classical music you have the orchestra and soloist playing to an audience.  In sport you have the footballers and their spectators.  In athletics you have the famous athletes and their crowd of supporters.  In the church you have the minister with a watching congregation????? Now just a minute that should not be the case.  All the church people are members of the body of Christ.  Paul likens us to athletes who give up all the things in our lives that stop us running the race.  There is no place in the church for spectators. Athletes train hard and long with their mind only on winning the race.  Christians should spend their lives doing all they can to please Jesus.This will include caring for one another and helping one another to get closer to our Lord.  Stop spectating and get on with the job in hand.

In this life there are many things needing to be done, but you are not expected to do them all! If you are living in Canada and the cousin you have seen very little of because he lived in Mexico has died what need is there for you to go to his funeral, when you have people who need you at home. Jesus said,"Let the dead bury their dead." If the Lord tells you that you should take that trip to Mexico by all means do it.  A young healthy person with plenty of money could and probably should do it , but even then if he has a family to look after where should his priorities lie. Missionaries have to face this problem.  Has the Lord sent them abroad or do they need to look after elderly parents? That is the sort of question each of us has to wrestle with in this life. Should I spend time with a clingy friend, and how much time? Someone like that can eat up your time which, could perhaps be spent more fruitfully. Yeah, life is full of difficult questions. You are the only one who ca

I have just come across the song by Bobby McFerrin.  It seems like a nice easy way to get through life.  There are people who get through life taking it as it comes and not being phased by anything, it would seem. Then there are the worriers who have to meticulously plan their every move and plan each step they take.  The truth is, what matters is our eternal destiny.  If that is sorted the worry temperature goes down.  It is not sufficient to hope all will be well with our eternal destination.  If you are going to worry about anything by all means worry about that. Search after the answer to being accepted by God at the end of time.  Trust in Jesus the rock on which you can stand. If you are already a Christian and find you are a worrier read your New Testament and discover the position of strength you are in.  Your Lord loves you come what may.  If you sin, repent and then be joyful in the salvation He has given you.

We know that we have an enemy, but don't major on his power.  What is his power?  It is only what he is permitted to have.  He cannot go any further than God allows.  No always think about the power of the Lord Jesus who has died to save all who believe.  That power is immense, incredibly strong.  That power can never be conquered.  "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes." The good news that Jesus died for us is wonderful and it is the power of God working to save us.  You cannot get any more powerful than the power of God.  This means we are safe in Jesus no matter what the world and the devil can throw at us.  Yes we are small and frightened often, but we can never be lost if we trust in Jesus.  Nothing can finally defeat us!Read the beginning and ending of the book of Job to see a believing soul being brought through awful problems but still hanging on to his belief in God.  If he could do it befor

For those of us who trust in Jesus the only happy place is to be where He wants us to be, doing what He wants.  Think about it, your Lord has a plan for you and whatever that is is the best thing for you.  It may be He wants you to continue in a job you find difficult, but it maybe that He wants to move you on to something new.  He will give you clues along the way to prepare you.  Part of God's plan for me this year was to go to Russia, something I would never have thought possible two years ago, but now it has happened. Life with Jesus is a wonderful adventure.  Maybe the only reason I went to Russia was so that on the plane home I would talk about Jesus to a young man from Indonesia.  Maybe my Russian adventure will continue. I hope so, I believe so as I am continuing to learn the language and loving doing so.  What adventure will Jesus take you on?

You won't like my answer! You have to be 100% perfect if you want to get into God's heaven and be accepted by Him. " What?" you say in amazement."That's not fair.  I try so hard but I can't be 100% good.  What human being can?" You see if you told me you were 80% per cent good, I as a fellow human being would think you were doing pretty well, but I am not making the rules. God's standard is you have to be 100% good to get into heaven.  But before you turn away dejectedly let me tell you the good news, "God has made a way for you to be perfect and you don't have to do anything to add to that."  His way is for you to trust in Jesus and He will throw over you His robe of righteouness  to cover all your wrongdoing, wash it away and make you totally acceptable to God. Surely you aren't going to try to get to heaven under your own steam now. And yet on hearing this many say, "I'm sure God will accept me if I try my best."

For the ones who cannot make the grade For the ones who cannot hack the rules. Jesus came. Lay your broken heart at His feet And feel Him mend you from within. Just come Just come. For the ones who have tried to live life the right way And have failed. Jesus came. Your entry ticket is to admit defeat. Half perfect people who think they are good enough Are not welcome here. You can only come in brokeness To receive the healing touch Of the One who heals body and soul. Just come.

Jesus didn't come for the strong in body or the powerful in commerce.  He came for the sick and the sad and the sorrowing.  Those who know they are hopeless. He came for the lost sheep who will hear His voice and follow Him.  For those who have come to the end of their strength and turn to find their strength in Him.  For those who have loved and lost and find in Him the one who fulfills all their dreams, in a way no other one can do.  The One who will never fail them or let them down. Jesus who is the way the truth and the life. Sad, sad world stop looking for answers in this broken world full of broken people and look to Jesus who says, "Come unto me and I will give you rest."

Paul in the Bible tells us that he had learned to be content whatever was happening to him.  His confidence was in Jesus, so whether he was well fed and warm or if he was in a shipwreck, whatever was happening he was content, because he knew Jesus was His Saviour. He was even unsure whether he wanted to be alive because he knew that to be with Jesus would be far better. His only reason to go on living was so that he could help his christian brothers and sister to find this same contentment that he had.  Those of us in the West have very pampered lives and yet we moan.  We need to take a leaf out of Paul's book. Those of you who have genuinely difficult lives can be encouraged knowing that Jesus has your best interests at heart.  Those who love Him are promised abundant life here and in the time to come.  All our earthly problems will then melt away.  Just as a bad toothache is soon forgotten when a tooth is taken out, so all this life's very difficult days will melt away as we

There is a great danger in putting our trust in the preacher.  No man can help us.  Our confidence  must be in Jesus alone.  We are told we will receive persecution in this life but we expect it to come from those who hate Jesus and all He stands for.  It is a shock when it comes from a fellow christian, one who is supposed to be tending the flock and not mistreating them.  Always Christians tend to idolize those who teach them but we are not meat to do this, only Jesus is the one we should worship.  You may say you respect your minister, but be careful that this is not really worship.

From time to time some people will metaphorically batter you over the head.  They think they have the right to do so and they think they do it from higher ground than that on which you stand.  However they too are weak human beings and have no reason to feel superior.  We are all fallible.  But how should we deal with such an attack?  After all an attack like this can set one back considerably and leave one reeling and feeling unable to live ones life in a God honouring way. I have suffered an attack like this in the past week and one result has been that I have not felt able to write my blog. All along I have been holding on to the fact that Jesus has died for me and I am forgiven, but nevertheless I am smarting from the attack I received about something in my life that happened nineteen years ago; something which I have repented of and received forgiveness for. When this happens one's life is full of joy, to have received such forgiveness, but this joy can fill others with jealou

I've made a new breakthrough with my i-phone.  I was wondering why it is that every time I go on holiday I run out of Mb known to me as broadband on my phone.  I hadn't realized that when I am at home I am using my home wifi but when I am out using 4G that comes off my mobile allowance.  Now my friends have shown me how to switch off the button that receives the 4G knowing that if I really need it I can switch it back on. Fortunately when I was in Russia my friend told me to keep my phone on airplane mode and use the ship's wifi.  Now this will be totally boring to most of my readers but might help someone like myself who is struggling to keep up with modern technology.  Of course every time I catch up "they" invent something new!

I can't remember how long I've been writing this blog, maybe eight years.  I have had 42000+ views in that time, so you can see I'm not breaking any records.  When you are a little old Grannie from darkest Devon you don't expect fame.  So what keeps me pounding away on the keyboard?  I've said it before, I am just reaching out to the few who will listen, when I talk about Jesus. It is only a few who will listen.  I don't expect a revival except a revival in the hearts of a few.  Will you listen to the message or does it fall on deaf ears? If God has chosen you, no matter how bad you have been, He will forgive you because of Jesus.  That's my short, but very important message for tonight.

So many churches are encouraging their congregations to make efforts to improve their standing before God by doing things.  By attending meetings and putting out chairs and maintaining the building.  How can you improve your standing with God if He has already forgiven you and clothed you in the righteousness of Jesus?  In His eyes you are perfect. Because you are in your body on earth you will experience temptation and sometimes fall, but Jesus has saved you, you are His, nothing can change that. Modern churches often have huge congregations. Is this good?  Jesus did preach to thousands at a time sometimes but often to much smaller groups, notably the Twelve.  They asked Him questions and He replied. This is much the best way to learn.  How many sermons  have I listened to in my life that went on for forty minutes or more?  How much can I remember of them?  When you discuss as equals in a group, always keeping the Bible central to what is said, then you learn and apply it in your life

Of course you want to find out more about this wonderful Saviour who has forgiven you everything just as you asked Him to. This will certainly seem too good to be true.  You will want to find out more about your Lord.  So you read the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament. Start here where you can read the words Jesus actually said.  Do this because you love Him and want to get to know Him.  Do not do it as a brownie point getting exercise.  That is over, behind you. Your love for him springs from His love for you. Walk in His love and live for Him.  It may seem like a good idea to read the Bible through in a year but this is a foolish idea, because to read that much, in a day, you cannot possibly take it in and benefit from it.  By all means choose a book of the Bible to read through at your own pace and giving due thought to it. Now you want to do God's will, ask Him, he is the only one who knows what that is for you.  Don't worry He has planned in all your mistakes and h

The main important thing about church is that christians are meeting together to consider the Bible. That is what really counts.  The more rituals take place in a church the less people are focusing on the the only book that can tell us what we need to know.If you are going to church to gain brownie points( notch up points to get you nearer to God.)  Going to as many meetings as you can to be in God's favour.  Think again.  There is absolutely nothing you can do to get into God's favour.  You can't give Him anything because all that you have is already His.  Yes that handsome amount of money in the collection plate is His already.  Your very life belongs to Him, your strength and therefore what you earn.  All these attempts to get nearer to God on your own terms are not only a waste of time, they are a huge insult to him.  God has decreed the only way back to Him and that is through trusting in Jesus alone.  So stop being stupid,TRUST IN JESUS.

I used to find life itself to be a treadmill, a continual circle of getting up, eating, working going to the toilet, going to bed ONLY to start the same routine next day. I guess that was a part of being depressed.   If we treat this life as all important we are going to get into trouble.  Even if you are rich and famous everything can become a bore.  We should be living this life as well as we can, but be looking forward to the next, something you can only do if you have Jesus as your Saviour.  When you are sorted for the next life this life becomes an interesting prelude to the next. A simple life on little income is but an hors d'oevers to the bliss which it will be to worship our Lord Jesus in heaven.

Sometimes I think that writing a blog is like working on a treadmill; you just have to keep plodding on.  No-one is interested in what I wrote about last week of last year, but only in the thought of the moment.  Perhaps I should go back over old ground.  So why do I keep going?  I think I have important things to say.  Of course a lot of what I say is quite commonplace but when I speak about Jesus I believe I am saying very important things.  I know that not everyone wants to spend any time at all thinking about Jesus, but I hope that what I have to say will reach to the heart of someone who longs to hear that there is hope and good news in Jesus.  This is for the person new to thoughts of Jesus as well as for the ones who already know Him.  We all need to remind ourselves of what Jesus can do for us, or has already done for us.  Sometimes we get depressed with this life and forget what a wonderful Saviour we have.  All this life's problems will one day be over and we will live fo

I have had five restful days in the Principality of Wales.  Apart from Wednesday even the weather was kind. The rain on Wednesday contributed to the enjoyment of rapids in a river next to the place where we were shown how coracles are made and used.  Many people think they are special to Wales, but we learnt that these small, flat bottomed boats covered in hide of various sort,s are known in many parts of the world, including Vietnam and India and amongst the Native Indians of U.S.A. If you know of any other places where they are used, please tell me in the comments. Our coach driver was very Welsh with a strong accent.  He kept training us to say Welsh place names, which was good, but I think I'll stick to Russian, even though I have to go further to use it. Our hotel was comfortable and the food good. It is good to get away but coming home is the very best thing.  There's no place like home.

I've just finished reading Dostoevsky's masterpiece.  I found it fascinating although I did not agree with all his conclusions.  I was surprised that Raskolnikov did not get the death penalty back in the 1800's.  Eight years in Siberia did not seem quite justice, but then I did not know what Siberia is like, until tonight.  I went to BBC iplayer to see if there were programmes about Russia and discovered one about prison life out in the wilds of Russia, probably Siberia, the exact location was not revealed.  It was a fascinating programme and tied in nicely with what i had read in the classic.  It always seems to me that the prison warders are also given a sentence although,of course, they clock off duty and go home to their families.  However, perhaps the whole family is kind of serving a sentence. Raskolnikov speaks of the woman he murdered as being a "louse." None of us has the right to judge another in that way.  From such thoughts come the actions of Hitler i

Rushing and gushing The white water flows, Over the rocks, While the thundering grows Louder and louder. I can't hear you speak, As the mighty river travels down Hundreds of feet. Feel the mist in your hair And on your face, While the waterfall descends With consummate grace. I could stay here all day And be caught in wonder, My brain being numbed By the constant thunder. But turn away I must With a beautiful memory in time. Return to life from this bliss sublime. Gradually as we trek away the noise grows less, Saying "Come back soon O do say "Yes"."

I passed the 13+ and went to the Grammar School.  I cycled a mile each morning and then caught the bus to take me about ten miles to the school.  After a while a new music teacher came to our school and he wanted to start an orchestra. I was able to learn the violin.  We learnt in a group every dinner hour.  The teacher was very enthusiastic and it was catching. I put the same enthusiasm into violin playing as I now put into learning the Russian language.  If my teacher had known then that I would sell my violin to go on a Russian holiday he would not have been amused.  I have not played my violin for several years, to start with because of cataracts.  When thinking about if I wanted to play again I decided not.  It's not much fun to play on one's own and not practical as I live in flats.  Using a practice mute also makes the experience less enjoyable. I decided I do not want the stress of playing in a string quartet.  Keeping in the right place can be difficult when you have a

Now I have a computer, an iphone, a  tablet, a camera and a car, but what did I have as a child.  One of my favourite delights when it was raining was to go up the path to the coal shed.  Here the rain seeped under the top door and ran in a little rivulet down the dirt floor, through the shed.  I spent many hours making little dams with bits of wood and small pieces of coal, and deepening the bed of the "river" by scraping away the dirt floor.  That is the sort of amusement that gives you lots of time to contemplate about life and anything in general.  Down  the lane there was also a stream where I could walk up and down and walk under the bridge. There was some talk of polio but I survived.  Then there was the ancient yew tree which had branches low down and was easy to climb.  As a little girl of two I had been taught to stamp on the naughty berries, to keep me from eating one thus avoiding fatal consequences. Much of my childhood was spent on my own as my brother was five

In the Autumn in the village where auntie B worked there was always a Sale of Work to raise funds for the little Congregational chapel. A sale of work consists of the women of the village making items such as knitted layettes for babies ( a layette is a set of matching clothes.) Also toilet roll holders, these would often be a knitted doll to cover a toilet roll to make the bathroom look attractive!! There would be crochet doilies to put on coffee tables and matching sets of leg warmers and mittens. Everyone donated something they had made and everyone bought something. The women enjoyed making the little bits of nonsense and buying something too.  It was a win- win situation. How simple life was then except that there were farm accidents where the men sometimes lost a limb or even their life. In those days every women learnt to knit and sew; nowadays girls don't even know how to sew on a button.  I can't remember Auntie B knitting, but her foster sister Peggy knitted a mountai

Auntie B did any work she could find, mostly on farms.  She did house work. At Christmas she plucked turkeys.  She had a little mongrel terrier dog who loved to be with her.  One day she rode off alone on her bike, having shut the dog in the house.  After a while she heard panting and found Toby was chasing her.  The house walls were made of cob, a soft mixture of straw ,clay, water, and lime. Toby had scratched a hole and squeezed through such was his desire to be with Auntie B.   Later Auntie B moved to a village five miles from home to be a housekeeper for two men who had a coal delivery business.  Some people speculated on the chances of her marrying one of them but I think she decided they were both too mean with their money.

In the first world war in a town about fifteen miles from where Auntie B lived was a little family, father, mother and baby girl.  Father went off to the war and when he came home many months later he had two little girls! He decided to take on the second little girl as his own.  He then went back to the war and many months later he came home to find he had three little girls.  This was too much for him and he said that the last little girl would have to be fostered out.  Unbelievable to us they advertised her in the shop in Auntie B's village and auntie B saw it and pleaded with her mother to take on the little scrap.  After some resistance her mother agreed.  She had had eleven children of her own most of whom had by now grown up, Auntie B being the youngest surviving child. So the little girl whom we will call Peggy came into this home and flourished.  Although Auntie B was to have no children of her own Peggy became something between a daughter and a sister to her and was alway

Two posts ago I spoke of Auntie B who was born in 1900.  She told me the sad story of how whilst working in the kitchens at a school she had badly damaged her knee so that she was taken off to hospital.  At this time, in her twenties, she was engaged to Bill, but while in hospital she heard that he was "playing around" with another girl.  Whether this was true or not she took umbrage and on next seeing Bill she threw her ring at him and that was that. One day when she was in her eighties a letter arrived.  Incredibly it was from Bill.  He told her that he had come from about thirty miles away where he lived, on a coach trip with a group of friends.  They had called at the pub in her village and he had asked the locals if they knew of Auntie B.  They did and said where she lived.  She replied to his letter and went to stay in his home for three weeks.  How amazing is that.  Bill had married and had six children.  I often wonder if she had been less hasty if she would have had

Today I looked into my six-year-old grandson's eyes and shared the wonder of discovering the world anew.  He drew robots and lifeboats and mocked my efforts to draw like him, but very gently.  Most of all it was the look of wonder in his eyes that charmed me.  I hope I have captured some of his enthusiasm and will take it with me into tomorrow.  How foolish people are to spend so little time with children.  Parents these days are encouraged to spend less and less time with their children, because material things are seen as more important than they really are.  A child doesn't need gadgets but time to be listened to.  It's time you really made your child much more important in your life.  Find time for your child by throwing out some glitsy gadget that gets between you and seeing the real wonder of being six.

It seems an awful pain that modern technology is continually being updated.  Today my techie son-in-law informed there were updates for my phone.  This resulted in me spending a lot of time and using a lot of ingenuity to get these updates.  What a panic it causes for old biddies like me.  Nothing stands still in this age, I don't suppose it ever did.  I used to marvel over the changes my 90 year old aunt had seen.  She was born in 1900 when cars were a rarity.  We have a photo of my first husband's mother sitting on his father's knee before they were married and their chair is right in the middle of the road outside our aunt's mother's house.  It's true it is still a rural road but you certainly could not sit on a chair without being disturbed frequently. I expect our aunt could almost remember when the road was just a dirt track, but lived to see computers coming into frequent use. You wonder how she could cope with it and yet here am I determined to keep up w

Some of the nicest, cleverest and most interesting people are the disabled.  Today I was with a friend who had her back broken when she was a young woman in a farming accident.  A huge bale of hay knocked her down and did the damage.  She is now in her eighties and although paralysed from the waist down, she has led a full and useful life albeit from a wheelchair.  She has a positive view on life and gets on with it without complaining. Another example of a disabled person is the young Russian singer Danil Pluzhnikov.  He is fifteen but only 98 cms tall.  His legs are not strong and he can only walk short distances and when performing on stage he needs a stool to sit on for some of the time.  I find it very difficult to think of Danil as disabled because he is such a power house of energy and determination.  Because he has suffered from childhood, he understands how to express emotion in his songs and this makes a strong connection to his listeners. Look for Danil on Google Play where

I've just had the television on in the background and there was talk of Isis in the Middle East and a bomb on the Underground in Britain and then someone was speaking of the gun mass murders that happen in the U.S.A. With all these things happening around us every day when are we going to see sense and realize that we are all sinners.  If we are being nice people it is only because the wrong provocations haven't come along.  Put in a different position we would all reach for the gun and call it self defence. Put somewhere with limited food and water we would fight to survive.  If you are prepared to gossip about your neighbour you are capable of more than just character assassination. I remember as a school girl really not liking someone and wishing they would move away.  That has the seeds of murder in it.  Most people will say I am talking rubbish and move on to another blog, but if you are perturbed by what I say, maybe you would also like to know the solution to the problem

What were my motives?  What did I not like about the situation last year?  I felt that the power to decide where our country was headed had been taken away from us and Europe was deciding instead, and those in Europe making the decisions were not voted for by us and so did not have a mandate to decide.  I wanted our borders to be secured and for us to be able to decide how many people came into the country.  I am not against immigration I just want it to be sensibly controlled.  We are a small island and space to live is limited.  Already the countryside is disappearing under more and more housing. I am well aware that our services and in particular our NHS is  highly dependent on immigrants and these people should be welcomed with open arms.  On another level the immigrants who do a large amount of the agricultural work are also invaluable. I am learning to teach English as a Foreign Language and hope to help immigrants settle in this country and feel they belong. I have seen huge cha