120/365

Today lots to be thankful for:

Gods grace - rich, deep and refreshes the soul

Honest coffee with Ally

Rachels comment in our 121, on colossians 3 and sexual immorality being any sexual stuff outside marriage:

" Well yeah but even for married people theres still sexual immorality like, beastyism and stuff"

Think she meant beastiality etc! VERY FUNNY!

Date night with my lush hubby at Gourmet burger kitchen and seeing student Tom there, then onto wine bar for a real good honest talk.

... How lush!

119/365

Things to be thankful for today... lots...

AL the rat splatter - fun and laughter with the staff team.

Pippa's finished her Christmas shopping!! (victory song and dance)

This CLASSIC quote from Rachel, that i was reminded of at student bible study tonight by Hannah and Bimba...
(Over sunday lunch at ours on sunday, Matt for some legitimate contextual reason says Boys smell...)
Rachel: 'Mangoes deodorise you from the inside out!' (said in matter of fact voice)
Everyone: Burst out laughing - random!

Matt and I discovering we can make Caramel macchiatos ourselves at home, after buying the stuff! Ha ha - take that starbucks, 2 pound 55 i am no longer paying!!! haha!

Student bible study crowded out and going so well!

Finishing my rotas for January! Satisfying!

... How lush!

118/365

Two year old Tati seeing my picture (badly drawn old testament figure) of Job for youth group and shouting: "Thats God!".

Reading classic amazing stories to Tati like Snow White and The little Mermaid! Yes!!!

Lovely prayers by the lovely 4 & 5 year olds, really honest and pledging their trust in God, come what may. We pray they will indeed be praying that in 10 years time and twenty and so on!

Buying a smoothie and being delighted at the suprise of it wearing a pink bobble hat! WHY???!!! Because i like pink and bobble hats! No why is it wearing one? No idea, why would a bottle need one? Well maybe the fridges are a bit cold in sainsburys???

...How lush!

117/365

Feeling a lot better.

Going to have afternoon tea and prayer time with wonderful Jean.

My date tonight with Matt! yay - quality time together finally!!

... How lush!

116/365

Church was lush, great time with the kids loving sunday school!

The bestest sunday afternoon, in our snug house, having a roast dinner and apple crumble - my 2nd go at cooking a roast ever and yes even better! With the gorgous girlies Rachel and Hannah, then snuggling on the sofa of joy for girlie dvd!!! What better on a winters afternoon!!

... How lush!

115/365

Big Issue training day at oak hill. How to teach the bible better to YOOF!

Getting to see very special and key people to who i am today like Pete, Ali, Ian, Heather, Chris etc

Having brilliant chats on the phone with my bro, mum, and dad!!!

... How lush~!

114/365

Poppy laughing

Prayer full lunch with Kate. Brilliant to see and hear how Gods been working in her and through her.

Hug from lickel James!!

Ikea trip with the girls - super cool!

... How lush!

113/365

Great time at Bible study in mark chapter 11!! Very cool group gelling, finally and really tear jerking prayers!!!

Funniest thing, sorry Rach, of the night was Andy asking what a colt is (Jesus rode into Jerusalem as the king who will save on one, fulfilling stuff in Zechariah)...
Rach shouts out: " A baby cow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" - yes, she actually thought a colt was the name for a young male cow!!!! BLESS MY RACHY!!!!
Andy goes "No - it's a horse". We all go "It's not a horse - it's a donkey!" Got there in the end!

Bimba thoughtfully giving me a special Sainsbury's 'shopper' bag so i can get home from sainsburys with my 6 carrier bags each wk, more comfortably!

The thought of my 121 with rach tomorrow and THE trip to Ikea with Ally and Christina!!
... How Lush!

112/365

The vicar, my boss opening the front door to me with the gangster greeting "Yo bitch!"...
speechless!!!! Hilarious!!!!

The fact that he used to shop in Lidl for caviar!!!! This place is weird!

Amazing phonecall with Abi, sharing our struggles with sin, with what God is doing in us , for us and through us, of being truly open and real with each other and knowing we've got each other's backs, even though we're 210 miles apart.

... How lush!

111/365

At explorers... Andy's talk sending Nat into a deep sleep against my knee!

Titus and Matthew asking to show us their star dance for their Christmas nativity play, getting up not at all embarrassed or shy or self conscious and twirling around the place! Oh to be 5 again!

... How lush!

110/365

Our thoughtful boss giving Matt and i the morning off!

... How lush!

109/365

Getting locked inside the house with my inlaws - oh how funny but what an awful moment!!

Cooking my first ever roast dinner and it being super yummy scrummy!!!

... How lush!

108/365

Two years on from Hull UCU being threatened with being thrown out of the union because of our constitution saying we only wanted Christians to LEAD the CU and be on exec, us taking it to The Christian Institute and the local media, and getting told that was a really bad thing to do by many we expected support from (sorry - short rant), finally the fight for common sense and more importantly, against the gagging of Gods people speaking His word on campus, is bravely being fought in the public arena by Christians, for the other uni CU's that have suffered more recently!!! Better late than never!!!

Matts parents taking me to the Tower of London!!! Seeing the Crown Jewels and lots of other cool stuff!!!! Going to the National Portrait gallery, then on to Starbucks to chill with Matt and read The Times! Mooching round Covent garden market.

My Banoffee pie - i swear, and at the same time say very modestly, I am the queen of making it!!!

... How lush!

107/365

FINALLY figuring out how to back date my blog when i miss a day!!! It was so easy and there all the time!

Nathans text

Yuri's phonecall of joy

... How lush!

106/365

Being reminded what Jesus says it is to 'first' in his kingdom - it is to be a servant.

Remembering also that God is sovereign, and in all things he works for the good of those who love him. Not just some things, all things.

... How lush!

105/365

After such a rubbish day yesterday, my computer now works, it wasn't worth the tears and the other stressy thing is sorted too! Thank you God!

My very patient and helpful hero husband who tries to eliminate any stress i might have and fixes my computer 3 times and so doesn't get much work done and helps me get the house ready for his parents coming to stay tomorrow! Thank you Matt!

Knowing i had a thousand things to get done today and wondering how i would make it, but Gods grace in giving me an extra hour at the start as staff meeting finished at 10am instead of 11am!

Good time with Hannah praying

A suprise visit from my lovely Juliette and Thomas, what a joy!!

... How lush!

104/365

Great time with Emma my hairdresser, swimming and chatting!!!

Lunch with Bimba

... How lush!

103/365

Random ex-muslim now Christian at church today!

Wandering through Notting Hill with Regs, relaxing in funky coffee houses and posh places!

... How lush!

102/365

Youth group going fabulously! Kids really into the bible and really having fun and saying lovely and funny things.

Thea tutting and saying SSSSHHHHHHH, at the end of the night as she stalked across the room, at a noisyscreechy kid she passed, which is SO not a Thea thing to do! Even lovely, gentle, patient Thea sometimes has enough!

Kirsten Birkett speaking on Feminism at Womens Breakfast this morning! Ace!

... How Lush!

101/365

A good day of working in book of Job. Meeting Rach, unplanned in Kilburn Primark - great minds!
Walking home together laughing and joking but also having deep chats about whats on our hearts. A great time in Colossians 1:15-23 - Jesus being our all in all.

THE curry reunion dinner party going really well, my hubby sure can cook!! All the ex-hulls in London reunited.

... How lush!

100/365

100 days of managing to be thankful!

2 exciting out of the blue evangelism opportunities!

Curry dinner party tonight!!

... How lush!

99/365

Managing to get some of the blood out of my ugg boot! Ewwww - don't ask - all i can say is "Blister and didn't realise it was bleeding"

... How lush!!!

98/365

Ralf and Julia arriving from Germany, man and wife! Yay!

A lovely dinner with them, and taking them for a drink to the Hollybush pub - cosy and cool chats!

... How lush!

97/365

Morning off! Spending it in starbucks with Geoffrey! SO good to see him and catch up!

My brother not being dead after i had a horrific and upsetting dream that he'd killed himself!

Seeing melanie Sykes (of Boddingtons ad and Des and Mel fame in the post office in Hampstead and some b or even c list British actresses having coffee and examining a script in star bucks)

... Lush!

96/365

Good to be at church. Good new start by the new music group and great guest service on John 3.

Seeing baby Thomas Barrett in the flesh - what a cracking little man!

Lovely lunch with Maya, Owen, Christina, Matt, Cookie, then playing cars and 'rescue' games with godson Rohan - he's soooooo cuuute!

... How lush!

95/365

Going to my old student hometown of Kingston with Rachy Rach. Shopping with self control. Finding ideal gifts for others in Primark - result! Caramel Macchiato and millies cookies - indulgence! Rach asking me if i felt like a bull when i had a nose ring instead of a stud!

Matt having a great day at Sorted youth event and seeing lots of contagious camp people and hearing Pete preach on the cross and spending good time hanging with Steph.

Bonfire night evangelistic being safe and packed out again. The 'entertaining' of the kids so Al could do his talk to the parents being less chaotic than last year! Going "oooooh" and "ahhhh" with the students in a very over the top way at every single firework!

Spontaneously deciding to head down to the south bank for a walk with Matt, Hannah and Rach to see if we can see any more fireworks! Rach trying to explain to the lovely Lithuanian Regs what a chav is.
Regs: " SO you mean a chive?"

...How lush!

94/365

Speaking to Juliette and Adrian on the phone and hearing lickel Thomas crying in the background!

Catching up with Becci after a looong time

Managing to get all the craft stuff i needed from a cool art shop that i didn't know existed!

A good night at KK, though rowdy!

... How lush!

93/365

A heart warming 121 with Rach

Sipping gin and tonic and gazing out across the thames with steph at the beautifully lit buildings of London in our gaze. Sharing hard things. Stephs strength, breaking a candle holder in 2 with just a slight tap of her finger!

The way God has provided for us lavishly for next year, as Matt is asked to stay on at church in an assistant minsterish type role, with pay!!! Awesome!

... How lush!

92/365

'I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the foutnains of the deep. When he gave the sea it's boundary, so that the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.

Then I was the craftsman at His side, i was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his prescence, rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind!'

Proverbs 8:27-31
The Bible

Wisdom personified and the role in creation described. The new testament tells us that wisdom is Jesus Christ. The word translated rejoice means laughter or play. How cool is it that Jesus was playing around, really enjoying himself, having fun and delighting in the creation he had been involved in making! And that he delights in us, mankind!

Today on this cold, sunny crisp winters day, i am going to try to be like Jesus in this way!
... How lush!

91/365

' For in Christ all the fulness of the Deity lives in bodily form and YOU have been given fulness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. '

Colossians 2:9-10
The Bible

What more can i need, how can i get any fuller? It's impossible! I have been given the fulness of God in Christ! wow!

... How lush!