the druids of Cheltenham’s most persistent festival…

Is it just me, or does Cheltenham seem to have endless fetivals?  Science, literature, music, jazz, etc and, most prominently, all year round, ROAD WORKS.  This festival is getting a bit dull.

Weird.  The fish have come back to life!!  They are still a bit spacey and Nigel (Mansell) is pregnant.  He is now called Nigella.  After nearly two weeks of swimming upside-down and gasping for breath on the bottom, they are all perkier again.  I am so confused.  Clearly not a born fishkeeper.

I think it is time to go back to school…  I am a bit bored now!  Would anyone like to play with me?

I have wet hair by the way, I haven’t become brunette over night!

I am concerned that Twinkle is turning into a teenager with attitude before her time…..

I found this on the web and wondered if it was an advert for Dulux before they found the right dog…??   I am so thankful that neither myself nor my parents looked like this in the 80s…  I knew people who did though!

We had a great discussion at cluster last week about what it means to be church in cluster format, what has worked, what has not etc.  Although a little awkward, this discussion was a breath of fresh air for me, because people were honest.  We talked about making ourselves a burden (intentionally) to people when we need prayer, help, a chat or whatever else.  We also talked about the need for growth, commitment, honesty and creativity.  It was all very positive when you looked through the bits that smarted a little.

Anyhow, it became abundantly clear that every one of us are at different stages in our walk with the Lord and that we all need to help each other.  If we walk alone and are too proud to admit our weaknesses and failings then we simply burn out.  I am a classic example and actually, if you look round your congregation on a Sunday, you will probably see a lot of weary Christians.  We hold up what little strength we have left in our arms and cry “Send revival Lord!” and then wonder, with more than a little despair, what they are being ‘revived’ into.  It is a good job that God is God.

God says that we should cast our burdens on to Him, that He will make our burdens light and that we are to walk with Him, not independently.  The same goes for believers, we are supposed to share everything we have with one another, whether that is a struggle, a frustration, an irritation or a joy, an encouragement, or a laugh.  If we did this, I am convinced that our Christian life would be more fulfilling and more complete.  Sinners need revival, the church needs reviving.

*gLeAm!*

Her name was, appallingly, Genevieve,
I thought she was joking,
She wiped her nose with her sleeve,
As she stood outside smoking.

As she approached the door,
My heart was full of dread,
The stain on the floor,
The hole in the shed.

She walked in and smiled
With that plastic  smile
She looked in her files
And poked at the tiles.

Her high heels scratched on the nylon floor
She peered at the ceiling
And opened the door

With an acid sentence she clomped upstairs
She sniffed at the toilet
And moved a few chairs

All too soon she stood in the room
Tore off some paper
To tell me my doom

The marks, like a teacher’s
Were curt and sour
She spoke like a preacher
And went on for hours

Finally she went,
Leaving a sickly trail
of cheap-ish scent.

Good riddance, to her,
Good riddance to them,
…They’re all the same.

Weird.  The fish are all dying, so it seems.  We are not sure why.  The other day Noah got fin rot, so we put some medicine in and ever since, all the little fish have been drunk.  They are swiming upside-down?!!  Some are lying upside-down on the bottom of the tank too…  I don’t know what to do!  We have put the same medicine in before and they were all fine.  I think they are dying Noah is stuck, resolutely, to the back of the tank.  I have finished chapter three of my dissertation and am summoning up the strength to tackle chapter four, the final one.

I don’t believe it…  Remember this guy from New Wine last year?

Imagine my glee when I received this from Luke today.. (Luke is at New Wine right now). He is even in the same outfit!!!