Another jolly trip.....

Back to Yorkshire again, to "An evening with Stuart Townend" at Boston Spa Methodist Church, as part of his latest tour.  This was a brilliant evening of worship, conversation and prayer, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.  

(image from www.stuarttownend.co.uk)

I'm facing some fears in my life and doing things I hadn't done before: I hadn't ever driven that far on my very own before, as all our long journeys had always been done with the FH and even when I drove to Aberystwyth a few years ago, I had the EFG with me. So I bought a sat nav, had the car thoroughly checked over, and sailed forth. And got there. I'd forgotten how much fun it is to charge up the A1!

Then afterwards I had to stay in a B&B so that I could visit friends in Lincolnshire on Tuesday on the way home, and I realised that I had never stayed anywhere completely on  my own before either!  But that was fine too... 

We had a whole 9 hours together, the weather was fine and warm, and it was good to be together again. I'm enjoying this!!

In other news, the EFG passed her driving test second time around on Wednesday [huge hip hip hooray] and the society ball of which she has been one of the main organisers is on tonight, and from the photos I have seen, it is a great success. Clever girl!  She's coming home on Monday for three weeks and I am really looking forward to catching up with her properly, instead of snatched conversations here and there.

The FH's cousin who has liver cancer now has sepsis too, has been in hospital for a week but has now been discharged into a sort of "hospice at home" scenario, with a hospital bed in the sitting room, and carers. He is in his last days now, and very pleased to be spending them at home.  We saw him on Tuesday night, and will see him again next week once the EFG has arrived.

I'm taking some time out from work this week - having a sort of "reading week" where people think I am not at work and so I don't attend things, but I am going to be doing a lot of stuff at home - there is a lot of admin stuff to catch up with, and internet setting up, and employment stuff to work on for the new people we want to advertise for, and I just can't do all of that when I am in the full swing of work. So I shall not work the 35 hours and I will definitely have some "holiday" but I shall be pottering about on the computer as well, and then taking more holiday later in the year.  I have plans to repaint my en-suite ceiling and interesting stuff like that....

I have had an interesting conversation with the YFG this week about being money-saving in the midst of this new relationship which is demanding travel. She is keen that I do not become a spendthrift, partly because there would be less in the pot for her, I think ;) She was relieved that I could report to having socked away £500 this month, so I think I have put her fears to rest. For now. Until I tell her about the hotel room I have booked in Carlisle for the weekend at the end of May... but I have time to save for that between now and then!  

York and stuff

York on Friday was lovely. We mooched around the Railway Museum, we pottered around in the Minster, we walked 7 miles altogether, enjoyed several cups of tea in various establishments, and a meal in a cosy little cafe, as well as a drink in a bar before the trains departed again. It was St Patrick's Day, of course, so the bars were busy in the evening and we poked our noses into a tent in the main street where there was an Irish Festival happening, and young girls were doing Irish dancing [which made me think of American friends with a passion for Irish dancing, CS!] and it was altogether a very good day.   Next week, we meet again in Yorkshire to go to a concert together, and then there is nothing yet in the diary until the end of May.  It's tricky - he works in ministry too, in another denomination, with a different day off......but as I reminded him yesterday, God's will finds a way, and if this is meant to work, it will.

The lady I told you about in the last post died last Sunday morning. It was a blessed relief for her as she was suffering very badly and in a great deal of pain.

You will be aware that I have been trusted with funerals for some time now.  I was so thrilled yesterday to be asked to take charge of a baptism on Easter Sunday at one of the churches where I have pastoral responsibility.  I had no idea that I could do a baptism, so that has come as a lovely bit of news: the child was due to be baptised next Sunday by the boss, but the child has come down with chickenpox so it is all to be postponed. The boss's diary and the family's did not align but they could make Easter Sunday when I will be there - so I shall be taking instructions most carefully at the next staff meeting!

And now I must away to fight to find all the financial information which is required for my part of the girls' Student Finance England applications - deep joy!  But I have a new series of Vera on ITV tonight which I shall look forward to watching - I do love Northumberland and Brenda Blethyn.

Catching up

Back into this space again.

There's a family in the street where the Grandad was the FH's best pal, and I buried him in October. Grandad's daughter's husband's mother is dying now.......right now. The family are gathering, visiting her, coming close to share in the last hours. She is being kept pain free, and the medical team are doing wonders to support the family in the need to keep her at home, where she wants to be. She's scared, afraid of what will happen to her.  I'm popping in and out, supporting the rest of the family, doing what I can, and praying for them all.

And then there's another family some miles away. The chap was another of the FH's best mates, his cousin, and he's slowly slipping away from us, as liver cancer weakens him. He has asked me to take his funeral, and we have prepared it together so that it is ready when the time comes. That has brought him peace. This lovely man is the YFG's godfather, and so she is significantly upset about it all, not only that he is suffering, but that she will lose another connection to her father.  That's hard for her.

Work continues well for me.  I've been made a Lay Pastor with pastoral responsibility for two of the churches, which is very exciting, and I am really pleased with the opportunity.  Personally, today has been interesting......being in a developing relationship with a Scottish bloke who lives in Carlisle has been difficult when England has thrashed Scotland in the Six Nations today and an East Anglian team, Cambridge, have given Carlisle a beating in the footie....... Best not to talk about that, and move on!  We're having a day in York on Friday so looking forward to that.  Don't think we'll be talking about football and rugby ;)

Sermon tomorrow is about risk taking, so I'm using the managers of Lincoln City as an illustration - giving up secure jobs in education to go and manage a football team takes quite a leap of faith. Would have been wonderful if Lincoln had managed to beat Arsenal today but I think that would have been expecting too much!

Have a good weekend.....