13 years!

Today is our 13th wedding anniversary....13 years ago minus a couple of hours Marc and I had the best day of our lives surrounded by wonderful family and friends, 13 years ago we made a massive step into a whole new realm of committmnet, 13 years ago who knew where we would end up!

I have to say over the last 10 days I have done quite a few weddings, I have tried, in the talk, to give some pearls of wisdom and advice on what it takes to make a successful marriage.
However statstics now say that the 7 year itch has been reduced to 4 years, fewer people are getting married and it is so quick to get a divorce now its scary and saddening.

I cant say the last 13 years have been a breeze...I am not the easiest person to live with at times and have had my moments but Marc is an amazingly loving and forgiving soul who I just would not have survived without.

As I sit back and reflect about the huge journey we have been on, the great ups and the terrible downs I can hear him and Dan playing in the garden happily and its music to my soul.

I first met Marc when I was just 18 years old and am so grateful that I was guided to ST Martin's Lancaster because one slight different choice and we may never have met.

Thank you Marc for the journey so far...here's to many more years of adventures!!!

For those who are just embarking on their journey I pray that it is as much a blessing as we have received...marriage is a great institution!

Community spirit

Today I feel exhausted, achey, tired but absolutely exhilerated!

Yesterday was the day; the day that we have spent months and months getting ready for; the day we have had blood sweat and tears over! Yesterday was the Hoo Community Fun Day!

The day began early, with Ian being away I was covering all the services, 2 eucharists, 2 different sermons and an all age. By 12pm I was finihsed and zooming back up the road to The Village.

The day really did exceed expectations, we stopped counting people after 4,300, the clouds cleared and the sun shone, it wasn't too hot and Daniel was amazingly well behaved considering the hours he was there and the amount of temptation in his way.

The day was great because it summerized everything  about community I would want to gain from my role. People of all ages were present, people of all walks of life were there and people from the original village and the new estates were there. People were having fun watching the strongest man competition, teams got together to join in the tug of war, different groups came to show their music and dancing skills, there was a fun fair, craft stalls, demonstrations and a real life fire engine that had to speed off half way through for a call out!!!!
It was great to see so many groups from the community and i was so grateful to my air cadets who came and stewarded and sorted the car park for us!
It was also nice amidst the chaos of being part of the organizing team being able to walk around and speak to so many people we know, it was lovely seeing Daniel stop and chat and play with friends he has made and it was great to be part of such a big thing.

The real touching thing though came at the end when I was approached by a lady who spotted the dog collar and wanted to chat...she'd been building up the courage all day to talk and am so glad she was brave enough to make that step.

Something like yesterday took a lot of work from a great team of organizers and volunteers...it was a real pleasure to have been a part of and look forward to more community events...well done everyone..I love being a pioneer!!!

Dyslexia

This week the issue of Dyslexia has come up no end of times, I know so many kids/ young people struggling at school because of it, so many adults not diagnosed soon enough struggling with it and people just not understanding what a big difficulty it is to have.

I myself have always struggled with my writing and spelling, at school from a young age I would write lines and lines of words on top of each other and could read them perfectly, trouble was no one else could! I was made to stay in and re write stuff, I would have lines to write to ensure the misspelt words were correct and even as old as 17 I would be made to stand up in class and spell words I had gotten wrong in my A level course work in-front of my peers.....yet I had a very high reading age and could read in class with the best of them on a good day.

Despite all this I slipped through the net like so many others and like some still today. It was only when i went to apply for my Masters during a routine entrance test did they pick up that I was probably dyslexic. Unfortunately the tests to confirm and guide you to the skills, colours etc to help cost so much at the time I couldn't afford them so have had to learn by trial and error how to get by.

Now I still struggle, I have to write and read constantly in my job doing so many talks, services and sermons, essays for further development course (KIME) and the other things that go with my job. My dyslexic traits get much worse under pressure and tiredness so things slip through the net and mistakes get made.
Computers are great but unfortunately only pick up some errors not all so you can often be left feeling silly.

Why say this all now.? Well as I said it has been a week of issues raised, people not understanding how difficult life can be for us who suffer and assumptions being made. Dyslexia is not always obvious in a person, it is not a sign of weakness but can make you feel very vulnerable. To those of you who suffer or are parents of children suffering my heart goes out to you...never ever would I want anyone else to go through what I and so many others have done and i just hope that the world will become a bit more tolerant of those who struggle in different areas of life.

Rant over off to battle another sermon and wedding talk...enjoy the sun!!!

mixed emotions

Today has been a day of total extremes, traditional to new expressions, old friends mixed with new!

8.30am arrival at St. Philip and James:
This morning began like any "normal" traditional Sunday you would expect for a minister in the Church of England. I was leading a Morning Worship service in the beautiful village of Upnor alongside 20 or so other worshippers, we sang hymns, listened to a sermon, prayed and had readings from the Bible.

10 am trek off to the carboot fayre:
The sun was shining beautifully as I left the Victorian building in Upnor and headed towards the carboot. over the last few weeks we have had a team of people being a Christian presence at the car boot using body, mind and Spirit tools. It really was a hot and sweltering day, it was a fairly quiet day for the car boot but still people came with their queries, their questions, their confusions and their complexities. Again hearing people's stories was a total and utter privilege.

1pm home:
We finally reach home for lunch, house work ( washing on the line etc) clear some emails and catch the first part of the Wimbledon Final

3.20pm: out again
Desperately trying to keep an eye on the tennis and the success of Murray we head off in a boiling car at this point towards Rochester to our old church to show some folk from our church what Tea Time Together is like, to see how things can be done and see if there is anything we can learn ready for September to begin a similar venture in Chattenden.
It was wonderful to be back at St. J's to see something that was my baby still growing strong, to see my awesome youth taking an active leadership role and to see people who I remember as babies all grown up. It is emotional seeing how things carry on despite you, it's emotional seeing how much you miss the folk who have known you for so long and its emotional seeing people who's lives you have walked alongside

6pm: home
discovering Murray a great Scot, the 1st Brit male in a long time to win Wimbledon has done it, sat watching the news with tears streaming looking at his life story and how proud he and those who know him are.
Food, tax credit forms and getting , one very excited and exhausted boy to bed.

It has been an emotional day, a day of such variety that reminds me just how much I really love my Job and even more excited about how much I am looking forward to the pioneering side really taking off and having the time to get my teeth stuck in.... a day to be emotional , a day to reflect, a day to remember !!

Greenfields car boot!

Car boot June 23rd 2013

I don't mind the mornings but I struggle when morning feels like night time! Whenever I have to get up earlier than is usual ( Easter morning vigil, a flight etc) I very rarely sleep much the night before, I have the intention to go to bed early to cram in the hours but 9 times out of 10 I will lie awake thinking about all the things that may happen, worrying about whether the alarm will go off etc....

This Sunday was the first of many planned trips to be a Christian presence at the car boot fair. We have created a\ team of volunteers from the Strood/ Peninsula area and Gillingham to have a body, mind and Spirit stall. For 2 years my heart has been yearning to be at the car boot that I pass every week when it is there on my way to church in Upnor. Thousands visit the car boot yet on a normal Sunday about 15 attend church...

Finally I was granted permission and so off we set!

We arrived at the Greenfield site at 6.03 am and already cars were pilling onto the site, having worked out whose car would be the base car we parked up and located the eager beavers ready to set up.

Before we had even gotten the gazebo out of its bag a man offered to buy our garden chairs ( for a mislay sum of 50p!) showing us that the real hard core bargain hunters were up and about early.

The morning started quite slowly with occasional people showing vague interest but not many interested and a few very skeptical about anything free...

And then people came, a few at a time, enough to make a crowd but not too many for us to be swamped. Some were just intrigued others were desperate to talk and some just wanted to see what was going on.

Most people were attracted to the Psalm readings which surprised me, people were very anxious about "picking a bad one !" highlighting to us that a lot of people are searching for positivity and happiness.

We were able to pray with a few people and there were some major encounters where people want us to pray for healing, for reconciliation, for confidence and for reassurance.

Throughout the 5 and a half hours we were there we only had 1 negative comment in passing but a lot of interest and intrigue.

Those who came to volunteer went from being exhausted to exhilerated about the morning the encounters and the opportunities.

We have learnt that chocolate giveaways encourage people in,

Gazebo is a good attraction but not so great in the wind.

A sign signalling that everything is free and a notice showing where we are from is vital.

This is an exciting new venture, who knows where it will go but we all felt it was definitely worth doing but regularly. 

It was so wonderful to be where people are, to be amongst them and to engage in conversation..it's what makes being a pioneer so wonderful!!

JOB as in JOBE!!

Over the last few weeks at church we were "blessed" with the titles from the book of Job found in the Old testament of the Bible...

Job ( pronounced JOBE) is a collection of chapters about a guy who suffers every possible ill fate you can dream of; his whole family day, he looses his house and all his belongings, he gets sick and his friends try and be helpful by telling him how bad he must have been for this to happen.
It does however have a happy ending where Job continues to believe and trust in God and  gets his livelihood back a new wife and family etc...

This has been the hardest subject for me to have to speak on....a man suffers the ultimate test and keeps on going...
How do we cope with pain and suffering, or at least how do we cope when those we love suffer?

It's about a year now since my aunty died having suffered several bouts of cancer and it was agonizing to watch her deteriorate but by some miracle she felt assured of her hope in heaven adn was at peace at the end.,
A dear curate colleague of mine has recently just died from our Diocese again after a 2nd bout of cancer leaving a whole load of people wondering WHY?

All I can say is I don't have the answers, the world is a horrible place to be at times and bad things do happen to good people. My only hope is that this isn't the end...something much better is waiting for us when the time comes...because if I didn't believe that I think I would go slowly mad.

Job has sent me slightly stir crazy but he has also taught me that if you have a relationship with God you can survive anything....

My prayer and thoughts this week are with all those who are or know someone who is suffering at the moment that we can be ears to listen arms to hug and good old British tea makers rather than try to give advice that is probably not needed or wanted!

Holidays !

this time last week we were playing in the sand, running around a swimming pool having fun with water pistols, enjoying fine food and drinks and SUNSHINE !

we had the real pleasure of spending 7 nights in Fuengarola in Spain, a place that after only 2 visits has become a place we love and know very well.

Daniel took to Spanish life instantly enjoying tapas sunshine and siestas and then staying up late to charm the locals in the bars and restaurants.

Having time with family just to chill out enjoy life and not be tied to any time schedules was just lovely, to see my dad and Daniel building boats, cars and planes in the sand was a delight reminding me of my own childhood beach days.

Spanish lifestyle really does suit us , but for now we are back in Hoo getting back into the swing of things and trying to keep the memory of Spain alive....and looking to see if we can book to go again