Hello...

We must!

2008-09-28T15:24:00.000-07:00

Just flicking through some Blogs I came across this quote from William Booth that Estelle Blake had in one of her thought provoking moments.

"You must do it! You cannot hold back. You have enjoyed yourself in Christianity long enough. You have had pleasant feelings, pleasant songs, pleasant meetings, and pleasant prospects. There has been much of human happiness, much clapping of hands and shouting of praises - very much of heaven on earth. Now then, go to God and tell Him you are prepared as much as necessary to turn your back upon it all, and that you are willing to spend the rest of your days struggling in the midst of these perishing multitudes, whatever it may cost you. "William Booth.

Those who were at Romford SA today ....I think good old William certainly spoke to his generation and still to ours...we must! We have been very comfortable and we must expect that it won't necessarily stay like that. Others need God and we have the privilege of facilitating that.

(I feel a bit like a bus tonight...you know, no Blogs for ages, then two come along at once!!)

8 Interesting Facts

2008-09-28T14:30:00.000-07:00

Interesting....not sure but here goes!
1. My dad was a fishmonger when I was a child and I spent many happy hours sitting behind his market stall in Dewsbury eating prawns, cockles and mussels.
2. I got a Bronze Level in Trampolining (when I was 14!)
3. Denis and I knew each other as babies ..... but we didn't notice each other until I had moved from Hull to Batley to Blackpool to Bournemouth and then he came to visit!
4. On the day we really met we stayed up playing Othello until Denis could beat me ...he hates to lose a game and it took him 'till 4am!!!
5. I love dark chocolate but hate strawberry creams.
6. Aged 13 I cut my hand one Sunday teatime, opening a tin of Spam!(I still have the scar!)
7. I had a Saturday job in a department store which my family always refer to as my time in the 'knicker department'. Actually we had all other forms of clothing in my department but jumpers aren't as funny I suppose!
8. My piano teacher used to rap my knuckles when I made a mistake and I daren't say anything because my dad was away studying and my Grandad was paying for the lessons. .....I think that may have made a bigger impression on me than I could have imagined....hmmmm.

Where were you?

2008-09-04T13:16:00.000-07:00

Just a quick thought from my first day with my new class today.

I have a little girl in my class who has had enough trauma and family difficulties to last a lifetime yet she is always happy and cheerful, loves being at school etc.
During the summer her teacher from last year got married and this morning said teacher popped into my room to say hello to all. 'Why weren't you at your wedding Miss Berry?' calls child 'C'. Puzzled teacher insists that she was at her own wedding! but 'C' is equally insistant that she was not!!! Exit puzzled teacher!
We have no idea if they went to the right church at the wrong time or the wrong church on the right day or any other combination....anything is possible with this family!

So here goes for an interesting year!!!

Sunday

2008-05-11T15:01:00.000-07:00

What a day it's been. Songsters out this morning leading worship at Basildon, worship at 'home' this afternoon.....thinking again about our Spiritual gifts and how we should be putting them into practice...thanks Elwyn! Then a time of prayer and prayerful 'chat' about the Mission of our church in the very near future. So much to think about.

Then this evening we heard of the sudden ptg of Major Graham Grayston...a good Hull lad! He and Margaret married Denis & I and we were only talking at Roots to someone about the great marriage preparation they did for us! ie 'do you want the flag on the platform? do you want to be on the platform? Well that's about it then'!!! Well it's worked for us!

Seriously though we hold Margaret, Michael, Lianne and the rest of the family in our prayers at this time. Graham was great, as down to earth as they come and we are very sad that he is no longer with us. Heaven's gain.

hoping it will all go away?

2008-04-20T14:11:00.000-07:00

Well, what a long time between Blogs! I have started one a number of times and commented on others but........?!
I have been wondering why it's taken so long and have come up with the usual stuff but if I'm really honest, I think my main reason would have to be that I don't like posting something that I think isn't 'worthy' .....whatever that means! I tend to worry about things by going very quiet and hoping that they will go away. (ie I don't join in with Ofsted jokes at school because I am DREADING them coming). My last blog was way back after the Main Event and the thoughts I had at that time are still running around my head. BUT maybe I am just staying quiet and hoping that the confusion will just go away......maybe though I should be being more pro-active about this. (Note: am I having a 'hot flush' whilst writing this? ..my palms are very clammy now that I'm typing....?)
So...taking 'bull by horns' I am trying now to be pro-active.....look for signs.....work harder at what I am doing, wherever I am doing it. Oh scary for an old girl who's just had another birthday but I don't want another one in confusion so here goes!!

2007-10-07T15:01:00.000-07:00

Well, just got back from'The Main Event'......oh Linda Bond(sorry...Commissioner!) knows how to tell me 'what's what'!
I spoke to someone during the weekend about some very vague thoughts I've been having recently...no idea why I told him, except he's a friend and quite sensible...no scrub the sensible!!! ....only kidding Major! But how amazing it is that conversations/seminars/worship all contain those little (sometimes rather big) pointers towards what I know God is gently leading me towards, should I stop being amazed at how God has the Big Picture? This probably sounds very odd and complex...it's odd to me and I'm the one God is speaking to!!
On another note Romfordians!! our mate Linda said sometimes we have to stop doing some things in order to do 'other stuff' .......... oh wow we have a year of that in front of us....how did she know!?!?

FUNNY!!!!!

2007-08-29T14:45:00.000-07:00

We have just watched such a funny clip on You Tube I just had to tell you about it!!! Don't know how to do the shortcut but go to You Tube, type in 'water bed prank' and prepare to have a chuckle!

back again!

2007-08-02T14:03:00.000-07:00

Well, I suppose some of you may have wondered where I have been....but as you are my friends you know I haven't left the face of the earth!!!

Lots of reasons for the silence...reports to write, end of term 'stuff', etc, etc. boring !!!!!

We've just got back from a few days in Devon and Cornwall .... very relaxing most of the time. We started on Dartmoor, Fox family & friends on their annual walk. Again I was in charge of the tea/coffee/chocolate....sandwiches/sausage rolls/crisps.....mars bars/fruit etc etc and responsible for being where they needed me and when!
The first section went well. The children also managing the first 6 miles and all arriving safely, if with rather soggy feet after having to wade through a large, wet, boggy area (like walking on a moving waterbed said Judith).
From there it went downhill somewhat as it began to rain! I'll let the walkers fill you in on how awful it was to keep going when they couldn't see more than a few yards in front of them. I had enough trouble finding the group for the second stop ... all my map reading skills coming in very useful.
Point of blog coming up!..... Leading the group was a friend of the family who knew Dartmoor very well....he was able to lead them safely even when the weather was at its worst....you don't need me to tell you how grateful I was that we had 'a man who knew' to lead.
Oh I am so grateful that I have 'the Man who knows' leading me.

Tagged!

2007-05-29T13:42:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged and so am passing it on, if you don't know what to do ....these are the rules

1. grab the nearest book to you
2. find page 161
3.find the 5th complete sentence
4. send it to 5 people

mine is.......'I was appalled' ('Some other rainbow' by John McCarthy and Jill Morrell)

there is probably a technical way to 'tag' but I don't know it so perhaps Judith, Graeme,Dawn, Zoe and Claire would be so kind!!!!

God's timing

2007-05-23T13:49:00.000-07:00

This week has been a real mixture of confusion, highs, lows, confusion again, etc etc! Confusion is my own fault! highs and lows at school ...... back on level ground now!
Those who were at Romford SA on Sunday evening will be very aware of the impact that 'Breathe' had on so many of us. For me, it put into words lots of 'stuff' that I had been thinking for a considerable time (some of it buried for years!). Not that all those words are totally understandable yet!!
The phrase 'hearing into action' jumped out of a song we sang, maybe? ....definitely! ....I have done lots of hearing but not a lot of action.
BUT I think that although we know there is so much more we can do, we should not beat ourselves up over what we have done and are doing for God, thinking that its not good enough or the 'right' thing.
He prepares us in so many ways for what He wants us to do at a specific time. Whatever He wants me to do now and in the forseeable future I probably couldn't have done last year or 5 years ago.
So I need to accept that God is making the way for me now, that my future is in His hands and that He and only He will sort out any practical obstacles that I or anyone else might like to try and put in the way.
Last week in Word for Today was a line ...'God sets His watch for His time, not ours'.

HOORAY!!

Grace

2007-04-29T13:44:00.000-07:00

Well here is another blog from the 'oldest blogger in town'!(though not as old as Ann seems to think!)
I noticed today in our worship that the word 'grace' was in a majority of our songs, mentioned in sermons and in testimonies. It's a word I've been thinking about recently. Denis & I went to see the film 'Amazing Grace' in the Easter hols, lots to think about there....have we got any better?
We are learning the song in Choir at school for the Junior Music Festival, so I've explained to the children why it was written. Then on Thursday one Year 4 child suddenly said '...so what's 'grace' Mrs Fox?' Children are great aren't they ?! They ask the most difficult questions when you have the least time to think of an answer.
This morning Richard was talking about being at home and comfortable in our families. Perhaps we don't...I don't, appreciate how great my family is because they are just always there. Maybe 'grace' is like that ...I don't notice how great it is because it's just always there. God will never take it away from me but I have to make the effort to access it. Looking forward to Roots this weekend!, I need to make an effort to see what God has for me there and in the future.

My first blog! be kind to me I'm old!

2007-04-14T13:18:00.000-07:00

Well here we go...my first blog! Judith is being quite pushy so I'm doing this to keep her quiet in the hope that I'll be able to listen to 'Joseph' in peace! Zoe is nattering about buying stuff on ebay for her new hamster so its all very confusing...too much going on for an 'oldie'!
So, Blogging...what's all that about then? Judith says I should tell you what I've been doing today but thats not very exciting...apart from buying the hamster with Zoe and then sitting in the garden this afternoon playing Bananagrams with Denis, Paul and the girls...good way to finish the hols.
Not really looking forward to school next week as my Year 2 colleague is still off sick and we are heading very quickly towards SATs and an audit of what's going on. We can't expect the supply teacher to do all the assessments so muggins will have to take on more. The children are great, its just all the stuff around teaching that takes the edge off it now. Oh dear I'm sounding old and miserable...don't mean to!
Anyway I need to get organised for Sunday now....Home League Sunday.....lol!!!