Bumpa's birthday! again!

Well we went on Tuesday to see him at Westerley, but Mark and Charlotte were up for the weekend, so we went through the motions again! (any excuse for cake)Bumpa didn't looked too bothered about duplicating the celebration!

We also had uncle Jon in our thoughts as it was his birthday yesterday! Happy Birthday Uncle Jon!

And a little first in the household....

Leah drinking nicely out of a big girl cup!

It's cold!

I know the weather has been milder and we give thanks for small blessings as our oil tank appears to have ½ filled with water! Funnily enough our boiler is none too pleased about functioning on water rather than the oil floating on top of it above the outlet pipe!
But we are here tonight and the temperature is steadily decreasing... thank goodness it's almost teattime... then to bed me thinks for everyone! best place to keep warm!
Steve our most kindly neighbour (and most fortunately a boiler engineer) has come over in his home time to try and sort us out...
Prayers for a simple solution and a restoration of heating would be most gratefully received!

edit to add: That was quick! we are warm again, as well as having a outdoor bin full of water drained from the tank!

Happy Birthday Bumpa...

... and Great Uncle Derek of course!
78 years young... We went to see David at Westerley to give him his present at the end of his teatime, just in time to sing Happy Birthday to him with the residents and enjoy a piece of the gorgeous home baked chocolate cake courtesy of the cook.
Unable to go to Milton Keynes just now, we will be going with David to wish Derek a belated birthday at some point in the coming month.... probably once our first 'Vision' session has been and gone!

Giving thanks for blessings and grace

Yesterday was Plough Sunday, a day when we give thanks for our rural life and ask for a blessing over the plough (a symbol of all the tools of the land), soil and seed. A prayer for a bountiful crop.




Tractors! don't you just LOVE them!




Other than a memorable talk about "Wally the duck" who once was a wild duck, a high flying free spirit with high aspirations who was drawn to a flock of farm ducks and although had every intention of rejoining his flock next time they flew over.... every season got more accustomed to an easy life paddling around the farmyard eating corn and eventually over the passing seasons, forgot to look up at his flock. And the moral? don't be Wallies! keep focused and aspire to high flying ideals and do not be tempted into the humdrum "easy life"
NK church with a tractor in front.


The children loved the duddly toy duck who accompanied the talk. A traditional plough was blessed as well as the children's toy tractors discussed. And then at the end of the 1st ½ of the service we left the church of St Lukes in North Kyme,and followed the tractor convoy to drive on to the second venue St Oswald's in Walcott. Behind the tractors...

We gained a few more to the congregation for the 2nd ½, and following a talk introduced by peter rabbit (a hand puppet living in a cabbage with lots of finger puppet bugs to be found amongst the leaves) we learnt about cherishing our earth and it's bounty, the balance needed to keep everything moving on happily.... and of the imbalance, over production of certain crops, exhorbitantly high prices for grain making certain meat farming as the cost of feeding the animals is greater than the the price the animals can be sold to the supermarkets. The imbalance of the said supermarkets charging high prices for meats they've bought off the farmer for pittance... a fine balance.... no room for greed... living in harmony with each other, respecting each other and the world we live in. Amen

The children dwarfed by one of the tractor tyres!

Well after that thought provoking but educational morning we were ready to join in the church's Ploughmans lunch. A lovely time to come together... true fellowship: faith and a meal! feeding our souls and bodies.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Unfortunately at the end of a delightful meal, an incident with a cup of black coffee, meant our little Leah was scalded... an afternoon in A&E(Thank you so much Malcolm for taking us there so promptly!), lots of prayer and luckily although blistered, her burns were superfical and with a dressing we were allowed back home after a few hours. The dressing came detached in the night so the our surgery nurse kindly redid it, this time in two pieces, much more flexible for a mobile little girl! Here she is sporting her bandages, as smiley as ever...


Dear Lord thank you for your gift of this world in our care, help us to look out for it, not only our own needs.
We thank you for your comfort in times of need and your answering of prayers.... Thank you for keeping Leah safely tucked under your wing...

He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. Psalm 91:4 (New International Version)

New things are happening in Billinghay...

(clicking on the poster will bring it up full size,and make it easier to read!)

If you are interested or want to find out more, leave a comment and we will get in touch.

Re:vive

In preparation for our venture into worship this year, with "Vision" a contemporary worship group we will be setting up as of February and running monthly on the second saturday of each month 4pm-5pm in our village community rooms, today we joined the Re:vive group for a church meeting. "It's church Jim, but not as you know it" (sorry that silly song just jumped into mind!! :) ) Refreshing, relaxed and yet still an avenue for God's teaching.

Following the Fresh expressions advent course I did, it has truly opened my eyes to "church", people's perceptions of what it is and means... and importantly how armed with that knowledge, we can open the doors to many more by offering something a little... well ... different keeping the Bible as truth and Jesus as our focus.

Pray for us and for Vision, as we seek God's guidance throughout the coming year

La galette des rois

A traditional french celebration for epiphany, is to have a special "galette des rois" or "king cake" stuffed with "frangipane" a sweet almond paste and a "fève" (traditionaly a dried broad bean but now replaced with a porcelain figurine) Whoever gets the fève, is king/queen for the day celebrating the arrival of the three kings.
Guess who got the fève?

Back from our French Christmas break...

A lovely relaxing time.. lots of food, wine, presents, friends, family and most importantly, time together and love to share.

Happy New Year!!

May God's blessings be bountiful in your life this coming year,
may you seek and find His presence in all you do,
may He be a constant source of comfort and support,
and may His eternal and unconditional love shine through you everyday.
Amen