tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24937487185077816032024-02-20T15:46:31.158+00:00Growing in the FensTrying to live my life for God and my family, with an eye on the pennies!Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.comBlogger2376125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-44169429514415722422023-12-01T21:40:00.000+00:002023-12-01T21:40:07.521+00:00Advent catch up!<p> Two years have passed, it seems, since I was last here....Well, I have been popping in occasionally to navigate to other blogs, but I haven't posted. What a lot of change has been going on in blogland.</p><p>So, the move to the south has brought change - and a lot of it: the girls now live in East Anglia with my dear UJ, who continues to be a faithful and wonderful presence in our lives. </p><p>The EFG is a baker, working at her second bakery since taking up the trade about 18 months ago. She had had enough of working at Asda, and took a leap into a new world. Commercial baking is a world apart from domestic baking, and she makes things on such scale now that I can't get my head around it. She has been nominated, and shortlisted for an industry award as a promising newcomer already - she doesn't do things by halves!</p><p>The YFG is now in her second year of teaching - the first year was a steep learning curve for her as she had a large class with a lot of challenging needs, in a school in a huge Multi Academy Trust, which has made resourcing her activities difficult and she did think about leaving there at the end of the first year, but then decided to stick it out until she has passed her ECT stage. That was called NQT when I was Chair of Govs years ago, but things change and it is now a two year process, but she seems to be getting there. She has a smaller group of children this year and seems more positive. I still think she will look for another post eventually, where she can focus on outdoor learning and Forest School work more.</p><p>I was ordained in the summer and released from some of the oversight processes, which has been liberating. I LOVE my role here, and am thrilled to be doing this work. It is a world away from my previous life as I look back through the posts on here and remember breeding my beloved chickens, school governing, gymnastics coaching, etc - but that was that season and this is now - and it is good in different ways.</p><p>I planted a tiny vegetable garden last year and grew beans, strawberries, raspberries, courgettes and butternut squash in it, with tomatoes in hanging baskets and in big pots. The weather down here was warm but very wet this summer so I don't think it did as well as it could have done, but I shall try again in the spring. The ground is incredibly hard to work as it is heavy clay, so I had to put the garden in as a raised bed. I might get another one in 2024 and expand a bit.</p><p>The Christmas cakes are made and waiting to be iced, a lot of the presents for the various family members are purchased according to their wish-lists, and I am still knitting hats whilst I watch tv now and then. Some things don't change!!</p><p>It is lovely to be "back" and I just hope that I get back more often now - we shall see! Lots of love xx</p>Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-46721806277680064112021-05-23T21:47:00.001+01:002021-05-23T21:47:07.174+01:00New beginnings<p> I've been shamefully absent from this space, and I will completely understand if there is no one out there still reading! </p><p>How much has changed in the world in the last year.....and how much has changed in our lives. </p><p>I am one essay result away from saying I have passed my course at the college in Birmingham, and the OH and I will be moving to my first position in ministry in August - all the way to a town close to the south coast in West Sussex! From Carlisle to the south coast couldn't be much further apart, but that is the way it works and that is where we are going.... going to be quite an upheaval. There is no job on the horizon for the OH just yet though he is working hard to make connections down there as his time here comes to a close. I am very excited about it all and can't wait to start work - it seems (it has!) taken years to get to this point!</p><p>The YFG is going to teacher training college in Cambridge so she is going to live with UJ at his house, and the EFG is going with her in the hope of looking for a job in science communication in that area - there are going to be more opportunities in that area than there have been up here. They will be just over 2 hours away from us so I think we will see them quite often.</p><p>The OH's son is hoping to be at uni in the north but will travel down to see us, and his father will travel up to see him and go on to Glasgow to see his parents as often as he can. We have to find ways to make this work for the next five years anyway.</p><p>The sad news is that my dad died on Christmas Eve, and since the coroner and Covid delayed the funeral, it didn't happen until the end of January. Covid made travelling difficult so we decided, with sadness, not to go down but to watch via the crematorium livestream facility. My sister arranged with the coach company that Dad worked for to take his last journey in one of their coaches, and it was a very special day. The OH's aunt died in America shortly after that and that was very sad - we had seen her on a Zoom call with her doctors just a few days before she died, but it was not Covid related - she had cancer. We were also able to watch her service of thanksgiving on livestream, but we were grateful to receive a transcript of the service from one of the relatives a few days later as the sound was not good.</p><p>Those are the headlines of our lives in the last year - there is SO much more, but not the headspace to delve into it all. I want to start another blog to move into some recording of my thoughts as we move house and start a new life in the south, with all the changes that that will bring. I will think about that some more and see how it goes!</p><p>My love to you all - I have been pottering around a few of the blogs in my sidebar occasionally over the last few months and I am so pleased to know your news.</p><p><br /></p>Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-27561997963969241592020-04-14T20:48:00.001+01:002020-04-14T20:48:45.054+01:00Lockdown living<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Coronavirus exploded into our consciousness less than three
months ago, and we have seen the different ways that various countries around
the world have dealt with it. What has fascinated me more, I have to be honest,
is the way that individual people have managed to live in this enforced
lockdown period, and what I have been able to reflect and understand personally
about that.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Let’s take two men: one is in his mid-eighties, a retired
medical consultant, married, living in the north. The other is a few years
younger, has had some health issues of his own, never married, lives in the
south, has had two or three jobs in his lifetime, but has worked most of his
life on a farm. Before we go further, both of these men are dearly beloved of
this family so all that I say is said with love and respect, but also with
honesty. Both are living alone as we go into the pandemic lockdown, and yet
they are each reacting quite differently to the situation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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P, our consultant, used to spend his mornings playing golf,
having coffee with some other retired gentlemen or doing some shopping. His
afternoons were largely spent visiting his wife, who now resides in a care
home. He largely eats ready-meals, or simply prepared suppers. Evenings were
spent at home, perhaps reading or watching some tv, unless there was a church
event on, and once a month, he attended the history society talk. He lives in a
flat, because the couple downsized some years ago, so he has no outside space
to worry about. <o:p></o:p></div>
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A, the agricultural worker, would potter in the garden and
greenhouses whenever the weather was fine, but he would amuse himself reading,
watching some tv, doing jigsaws, baking, preserving his produce and preparing
his meals from scratch, largely using fresh produce from his garden in season,
or previously frozen when not. He went to the bell-ringing group once a week,
attended church some Sundays, and a pensioners’ lunch group on Wednesdays. He
has a large house and about half an acre of garden to manage: he has lived in
the house for over 50 years now.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Who is facing the biggest challenges in the lockdown? To
whose life has it made the most changes?<o:p></o:p></div>
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A’s life goes on, pretty much as normal. Yes, he can’t go to
church, nor the other activities that he did on a weekly or month basis, but
day to day life has always been based around the home, and so he potters on.
He’s glad of the phone calls from the church members and family each week, but
he has plenty to do, as ever, and keeps himself busy. It’s spring and there is lots
to do on the garden at this time of year.<o:p></o:p></div>
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P is struggling. He can’t play golf, he can’t go out for
coffee with his friends, and very sadly, he is now unable to visit his wife. Meals
don’t take long to prepare, and nothing else is happening that he counted on
for regular connections. The neighbours are all quiet in their respective flats
and he sees few people. He goes out for a walk most days, but there are limited
opportunities around his area, and he is bored of them, even having done them in
both directions!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Having married P’s son in 2018, I can actually see that our
retirement years are going to be challenging to me. I am A’s niece, and the
different ways in which P and A are getting through this lockdown is mirrored
in our home here. Many things which my husband does to relax have been barred
from his life now – golf, badminton, swimming, Costa/Greggs coffees, the gym,
outings to NT houses, for example. Holidays have been cancelled and it is all
quite sad for him. He is grieving these losses and they have hit him quite
hard. <o:p></o:p></div>
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A and I come from a working class background, what one
commentator has called “Northern” this week, which I find a deep honour as so
many positive qualities emanate from the north, but the truth is that my
husband and his father both have greater claims to that moniker than do I.
However, what I do lay claim to is to thriftiness and frugality, which A has in
spades. We have no history of leisure activities that cost money – Heaven
forbid – we play draughts, we play whist, we read, we bake, we create with yarn
and fabric and plants and seeds, we work in the garden for exercise and we take
pleasure in our rest. There is a contentment in this that is inexplicable. <o:p></o:p></div>
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P and his son have had no need of such frugal ways in the past,
and find it hard to adjust to them now. P is too old to want to learn to cook
at his age with any great challenge, for example. They have expectations of
having the finances to maintain this lifestyle, and that is not now their
problem – the lifestyle is as unavailable to them as it would be to anyone,
whatever their pecuniary fortune. It is just not possible to do the things they
love because of the lockdown and the social distancing rules. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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If your background is one of financial challenge, as mine
is, I think that we have been blessed for such a time as this, when all that we
know is a bonus, that our time can be filled with simple pleasures that cost
nothing and can easily be done at home, that we are content with relatively
plain joys, with no great expectations.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
I spoke with both P and A yesterday. I love them both, and
we will continue to ring them both regularly. For P, our phone calls are a
lifeline to relieve his boredom and to keep his morale at least tolerably high,
because his world has been turned upside down in these past few weeks. His
separation from his wife just now is particularly troubling and he is very
concerned for her. In that, he has my greatest sympathy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For A, this different way of living is a bit
of an inconvenience, but he has weathered numerous storms in his lifetime and
there is within him an admirable depth of resilience that recognises the
seriousness of the pandemic but that says this too shall pass. Let’s hope he’s
right!<o:p></o:p></div>
<br /></div>
Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-42757806267284189612020-04-12T21:32:00.000+01:002020-04-12T21:32:08.637+01:00Easter Day<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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He Is Risen!</div>
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Easter Day has come, kind of in a whisper here in the city. The churches buildings are silent, I haven't heard any bells ringing, and when the OH and I went into the back garden to sing "Thine be the our glory," this morning, our audience was just two robins who flitted from tree to tree, but did stay the distance, bless them! It is, for most of us, an Easter Day like no other. Some things have stayed the same: there is a mountain of chocolate in the sitting room - 18 Easter eggs between the 5 of us - and we have had a lovely roast chicken dinner tonight, followed by Rhonda-Jean's self-saucing chocolate pudding (from Down-to-Earth blog) and/or apple crumble. My stepson, like a lot of 17 year old boys, is a bottomless pit at the moment and seemed to eat his weight in roast potatoes and two helpings of chocolate pud, bless him. </div>
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That seems to be life at the moment: some things stay the same and others are just so very very different. I thought about the disciples this morning as we did an Easter egg hunt in the garden. Mary searched the place near the tomb for someone to tell her what had happened to her Lord. Easter and gardens seem to me to be inextricably linked - Nadia Bolz Weber shared a section from one of her books today on her Facebook account where she talks of Jesus being mistaken for the gardener and wonders whether he had the dirt from the tomb still under his nails, surmising that if he was indeed mistaken for a gardener, he might have looked a bit rough around the edges, so to speak! But this was the risen Lord and yet Mary did not recognise him until he spoke her name.</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
I am constantly bothered by the reporting of the deaths from coronavirus at the moment and how we seem to just hear numbers, unless the person who has died was a high profile figure, like Tim Brooke-Taylor, whose death was reported today. But every single person who has died from this terrible disease was a husband, wife, sister, brother, son, daughter, cousin, or whatever - they were people who had lives, histories, families, stories, hobbies, preferences, funny habits, memorable foibles - they were individuals. They have names. Names are intimate, names are special, they identify us. And when Jesus identified Mary by her name, she knew that it was him - the one to whom she was special. The one who was special to her. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
As a lay pastor, I have often talked of having a ministry of presence, in which I listened to a great many stories, giving people my time, and holding space for them to talk and be heard. It has always felt to me that the greatest cry of the human heart is to be known, and that is one of the most precious gifts that we can give to another - to really take the time to get to know someone, to cherish their stories by actually listening to them, holding on to them and remembering them. As I take my next steps on my journey into ministry, I fully intend to continue this work because I have heard Mary's joy in being recognised in this story and I have seen an old lady's eyes light up when I have recalled her story. </div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
As we go forward into the next weeks and days, and we continue to spend time with our loved ones, in person at home or via phone lines and technological wizardry, let us all take time to listen, to hear and to cherish, so that we might truly know one another well. </div>
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I hope that you have had a blessed Easter Day today, however you have spent it, and that in the days ahead, however you spend them and however long this lockdown needs to last, you will be safe and well.</div>
</div>
Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-22355392925931011852020-04-11T22:07:00.000+01:002020-04-11T22:07:52.379+01:00Holy Saturday<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Today the weather has been lovely and we have spent some time in the garden. The sky has been a glorious blue and clouds have been sweeping along on the wind. The washing has dried and the birds have been singing their little hearts out in the trees. It has been really nice.<br />
<br />
How very different from how we imagine that day when Jesus was in the tomb: how very sad and grieving were his family and friends, his disciples and his followers. So much promise, so many hopes, all dashed as he died on the cross yesterday. Today his body lies in the tomb, safe behind the massive rock that was placed at the entrance.<br />
<br />
Today I have read reflections which have said that yes, that rock was there to keep Jesus' body safe from grave robbers who may have wanted to take it away, but other reflections saw that rock as symbolic to the obstacles in our way during our lives, the burdens that hold us back. Perhaps you can see both sides of that? I can, but I think I prefer today to think of the rock as holding Jesus' body safe whilst the battle raged for Christ to overcome death and to be resurrected. That resonates for me with the current war we are waging against corona virus - and all our front doors are shut tight to keep us safe whilst the scientists and frontline workers do battle on our behalf, just as Christ did back then.<br />
<br />
To be shut in a tomb would be a nightmare for someone who suffers from claustrophobia, a dark place with no light, no air, no windows, and no easy way out. There are a number of films in which people get locked in mausoleums, and I have every sympathy for those characters. I woke up one morning this week in the early hours, got up and flung open the window, muttering, "I must have air!" before getting back into bed. We sleep in pitch blackness with blackout blinds, and the windows are usually closed: the OH doesn't sleep well and is sensitive to every noise and possible disturbance. This isn't the way I want to sleep but one has to make sacrifices for those one loves, at least occasionally! But I can imagine that a tomb would be like that - dark and airless - and how desperately one who was alive would want to escape... And we want this experience now to be over, we want to be able to get out and live in the world again, free to see our friends and family, to be able to travel and enjoy life - this lockdown feels like incarceration to some, I am hearing, and I am so sorry for those who feel like that.<br />
<br />
Just as we are promised that Sunday is coming, that Resurrection is coming, that the resurrected Christ is coming, we can be sure that the end of this lockdown will come eventually. The question for me is one of wondering how we will be different after it? The Risen Christ is different from Jesus, and the world, for the disciples at least, is different once they know that Christ has risen - how will we find the world when we emerge again? It is going to take longer than tomorrow morning for us, but will we be ready? Can we take hold of all the lessons of community spirit, of caring for one another, of generosity and appreciation, and live differently in a post-pandemic world? </div>
Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-91990148881482147582020-04-10T21:22:00.001+01:002020-04-10T21:22:40.710+01:00Good Friday 2020<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Good Friday 2020<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This
afternoon, as I sat in the garden with a cup of tea, taking a break from the
kitchen, I heard a chainsaw somewhere in the neighbourhood. My thoughts turned
to Jesus’ cross, and who might have made it, and the irony of a carpenter
making a cross upon which another carpenter would die. I wondered how that
might have felt. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My thoughts
then turned to how those of us who create things feel about our creations. I
have spent much of the day in the kitchen, making brownies, lemon cake, and
banana bread, and then I helped my stepson make a steak pie for tea. The banana
bread was the only disaster – I made it with every good intention but it has
unfortunately ended up beyond edible and only fit for the birds. I have a sense
of disappointment about that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despite
that, I am happy that the other cakes turned out well and can be enjoyed. I am
happy although I know that my creations will soon disappear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Lots of us
are creative, but I think there is a special kind of person who can make
something knowing that it will be destroyed. I think back to July 2014 when my
elder stepson spent hours lovingly crafting a wooden coffin for his father’s
body, knowing that within days that beautiful creation would go up flames in
the crematorium. I remember the grace and love with which he worked on that
precious project. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">And so my
thoughts turned to God, sending his beloved Son to be our Messiah, knowing that
the fulfilment of scripture would be the breaking of that precious body on the
cross. For me, I know that my God would have felt enormous pain in that death,
although God knew that the resurrection would come. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">On this day,
I feel sadness and pain at the way Jesus was treated, how shameful his death
because humanity “knew him not” and for me, it is a day of regret and
penitence; when I think about what my faith means to me and how I live [or fail
to live] for Christ. But today I found some respite in realising that God knows
about seasons and intentions: that God sent Jesus to be with us, for a season,
and that Jesus had a purpose – to bring humanity back to God – and then his
time would be done. To have a grasp of that, I can remember that other
creations, though far less divine, might also just be for a season, and that we
might hold on to them more lightly if we realised that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Loss is
devastating, and as a widow, I know that – I might be the OH’s wife now but I
will always be the FH's widow. In this terrible pandemic, the global society is
losing loved ones at an alarming rate, and the way that death is having to
happen in the current circumstances is incredibly sad: those who die separated
from their loved ones, and the families and friends unable to be with them yet
desperate to share last words, last loving words, and the anguish that that
causes will always be unanswerable. In this awful season, I draw some
comfort from knowing that Jesus knew the pain of dying alone on that cross, and
that God knows the pain of that separation too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Lord Jesus,
who knows our every pain, we pour out our regret today, our sadness and our
repentance. Forgive us, for our sins as we remember your gift of yourself for
us. Don’t let us hold on to things which are past, when you want us to give our
energy to the future. Don’t let us live in the sadness of Good Friday and
overlook the hope of the days yet to come. Amen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br /></div>
Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-50092310763092826162020-04-09T22:39:00.000+01:002020-04-09T22:39:02.410+01:00A Reflection for Maundy Thursday<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
John 13.1-20<br />
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Maundy Thursday in lockdown is different from any other: we are unable to come together to worship, to share Communion, to recall that Last Supper in the upper room. I have had some memorable experiences on this day through the years, all of them spent in congregational groups. We have to find another way through this one, and perhaps for me, it is a call to a greater intimacy with Christ instead of hoping to share it with others.<br />
<br />
Studying for Methodist ministry as a student deacon, I am more drawn to John's account of this night with the powerful description of Jesus as he humbly tied a towel at his waist and knelt right down there to wash his disciples' feet. There is an intimacy, a gentleness, in the description and it feels to me as if Jesus would have been careful to wash each foot thoroughly, taking his time and concentrating on one after the other. I can imagine the others watching as he made his way around the room, each perhaps slightly incredulous that their master, their leader, was on his knees washing their feet in that most lowly of roles.<br />
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Feet are a very personal part of our anatomy - we often keep them covered up in shoes for much of the year in this country, and it is very different from the context back then. Their feet were exposed to dirt and dust and even dung, if we are honest, and they must have needed a good washing very often! How different from the faint and slightly cheesy pong that might emanate from a pair of shoes we have had on all day! I recall the Bible stories that tell of how the disciples walked miles with Jesus and think of how important it would have been to them to have had healthy feet, able to walk those miles with him. Many of us don't like to have people touching our feet and the instances of public foot washing these days are lessening. Pope Francis caused a stir in 2015 by washing the feet of prison inmates and then in 2016 of refugees - this is a pope who is not one for staged niceties but actually gets out there with real people.<br />
<br />
Today as I write this, my feet are nicely wrapped up in socks and trainers, and probably will be so for most of the day. That will enable me to do kitchen work, pop in and out to the garden, be comfortable and make sure that I don't tread on anything dodgy in my bare feet in the garden. I do however live with a family who prefer bare and stockinged feet so I'm different. It is good to be different sometimes! Indeed, Christ calls us as his followers to be different in his name, to live for him and in him whilst being in the world, in order to show the world what he brings to our lives.<br />
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This Maundy Thursday, as I think about the foot washing in John's gospel, I know that my calling is to be alongside people like me who might need a bit of a spruce up, spiritually, mentally or physic; to listen to stories - and some of them are painful to share, to hear and to hold; and to be as close as I can be to Christ as I allow him near my vulnerable places, to allow him to wash me clean. I am always in need of his forgiveness, and he promises that there is nothing we can do which can overcome his love for us, so he will always wash us clean when we come to him in repentance. He calls us to wash one another's feet, to a holy intimacy of care for one another, and that is the lockdown message at the moment - stay at home and protect the vulnerable - and so we can do that in his name, to his glory and by his word. Let's show that love for one another by staying at home!<br />
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Father, as we remember Christ's passion this week, as we stay apart and are unable to share together in person, grant us your peace in this situation. As we think of the intimacy of the foot washing, grant us wisdom to know who might need a personal word of encouragement this week, whispered quietly or written lovingly in a letter. Help us by your grace to have some measure of Christ's gentleness with others today. Amen.</div>
Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-77088096035714779832020-04-05T15:02:00.000+01:002020-04-05T15:02:07.445+01:00Thank you<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It was really exciting to see your comments appearing in my inbox over the last few days. Thank you for your warmth and encouragements - much appreciated.<br />
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I'm now in my third week of not going out, and it is fine for me - I have so much to do that it is not, for me, a big deal not to be going here and there. I explained to the OH the other day that it is actually a great freedom from the routine of life at college that I am not expected to be anywhere or do anything at a particular time just now. My time is my own and it is like a little sabbatical from the quite rigorous expectations of the college routine.<br />
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Life at college is very regimented: 0915-1215 lectures, with a half hour break for coffee. 1230 - 1300 Chapel 1300 lunch. That much is the everyday routine. Then we have Cell groups once a week - we meet on Tuesdays at 1400. Some weeks there is a community meeting at 1530 for an hour. At 1700 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays there is a communion service, and it is mandatory to attend one or other. Dinner on those days is provided and is served at 1800. Wednesday afternoons is mostly free, but there has been a lecture on Thursday afternoons both terms so far, until 1600 in the first term and 1645 in the second. After that, I'm preparing to travel - I come home on the 1915 out of Birmingham New Street on Thursday evenings which gets me back here around 2200 if I am lucky. And then I am at home until about 1645 on Sunday afternoons when the OH takes me back to the station here to head back south to Brum. Another student travels from Wigan so we meet up at the station and go back to college together most weeks.<br />
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When I am in the college, the routine feels comforting and regular, but once released from it, I have taken some time to adjust to a new schedule at home in the past few weeks. The YFG and I exercise in the mornings, taking over the sitting room for our DVD sessions, by which time the OH has done half an hour on the exercise bike and disappeared off to shower and then to his study. I make a point of cleaning all the "contact points" in the house each morning, which for me are door handles, light switches, taps and toilet flush handles, the doors/handles/dials of the white goods like the fridge, the washing machine, the microwave and the freezer, and then the knobs of the cooker and the oven handle. The kettle handle and lid finish it off and I am done - though if I have missed anything that you clean regularly, do shout. I do also clean the doorbell, the letterbox and the door handles at the front door too - we are having quite a few online deliveries at the moment.<br />
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I am finding that housekeeping is a comforting routine and I have even done some baking again. I bought a new bread machine a few weeks ago and have enjoyed digging out old recipes and making them again. So pleased to read that some of my old recipes shared here are still in regular use! The sausage plait is a recipe we introduced to the OH the other month and he enjoyed it too. He doesn't eat much cake, though he is a bit of a stress-eater of chocolate. I have to say though that we have discovered that when everything is clean (crockery AND clothing), there isn't enough room in the cupboard for all the mugs, and the wardrobe is a bit stuffed - I think that the OH was quite used to his laundry cycle taking a long time pre-marriage and had bought quite a lot of clothes....now that the washing cycle is faster, more of them need to be in the wardrobe at the same time!!<br />
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The YFG gave me a FatFace knitting kit to make a bobble hat in 2015, and I still haven't made it, so I dug it out this morning and it may become my pandemic project! The girls have got out the YFG's sewing machine and there has been much going on in the conservatory - the EFG has learned remarkably quickly! She is also involved in some online projects, like learning Norwegian, so she is keeping herself occupied whilst the YFG and I are studying.<br />
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Today is Palm Sunday, so the OH and I have decorated the front window with green paper palm leaves, and we shared a simple spiritual activity together before lunch. There is a multiplicity of worship currently available online, mostly through Facebook connections, but he is working hard to keep in touch with less technological congregants. We have heard today of his first member to go into hospital with an infection so he is worrying about her, but there is no indication yet that it is Covid19. He is in touch with the family and we are praying. The niece of another member has sadly died, so we are remembering that family too.<br />
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I give thanks for this community in times like these - for the encouragements, for the resources, for the sharing and the kindnesses, for the inspiration. We don't know what the future holds in the coming days, but we travel the road in the company of Jesus and those whom we love, and we can draw a little comfort from that, I believe. Stay safe, keep well and keep in touch with all for whom you care and pray.<br />
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Back soon xx<br />
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Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-75101353892721124062020-03-28T12:40:00.001+00:002020-03-28T12:40:12.372+00:00Anyone there?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Oh my goodness - we are back!<br />
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This seemed the right time to come back to this space again - whether anyone is out there reading it or not, it will be a record of these days for us in the future.<br />
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Coronavirus has come to Carlisle in significant numbers, much higher numbers than the Fens are currently experiencing, apparently. The YFG's uni has closed and moved all lectures online until September, so she is home with us, and the college I attend in Birmingham has also closed for the foreseeable future: we are waiting to hear from the tutors how we are going to be taught next term.<br />
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A bit of catching up seems necessary:<br />
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The EFG passed her Masters at Edinburgh with Merit and moved home with us in July last year. She has been applying for lots of science jobs and had many interviews but nothing has come right for her just yet. She was taken on by Asda in the pre-Christmas boom and is still there - she has a 16 hour contract but usually works up to twice that as they haven't enough staff. She is currently off with pay for about a month as she has asthma and we want her to stay at home whilst the virus peaks. She will review that situation at the end of the period.<br />
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The YFG has been thriving in many areas of her life, like uni and gymnastics, but she's battling some health issues. We finally got to a consultant in January, who ordered an MRI and a colonoscopy, as well as multiple blood tests. The next appointment to go back is in June. He seemed convinced that her issues might be in the bowel, but she had another very painful three hour episode in the middle of the night Thursday night, and I am still more convinced that it is something to do with her gallbladder....we shall see. The Geography degree course had included a week in a major international city as part of one of the modules, so they started off aiming for Hong Kong but the rioting stopped that, and they moved the plan to Singapore, which the virus outbreak ended. London was on the cards for about a week and now, of course, all travel has been cancelled, so they will have to redesign that module, she thinks, or change their plans!<br />
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My stepson started his A level courses in September and is working incredibly diligently at RS, PE and Geography. <br />
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The OH is working hard to support his congregation in the midst of this - we can more easily contact those who have the internet but we are desperately working on communications with those who are limited to less high-flying tech like radio, television and phone. He spends time on the phone each afternoon making pastoral phone calls to his flock, and has written a service to share with his people each week so far that the churches have been closed.<br />
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I've LOVED the college course in Birmingham and it has been a wonderful experience - the 18 of us in my cohort all get on together quite well, and we spend each morning [Monday - Thursday] in lectures, as well as Thursday afternoons. The college is a great place and the accommodation is very comfortable - single study bedrooms with en-suites, and lunch provided every day, as well as two evening meals. I have passed every module so far - no exams, just essay writing, and I am currently working on another set of essays to be handed in early April.<br />
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My dad had his 90th birthday in October and we had a very small get together which I was able to attend with the OH. Dad is definitely very frail, but he has care in the mornings to help his partner, and he remains in good spirits - the thing with my dad is that he is incredibly content!<br />
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I shall sort out some photos soon and get them on here, but I promised that last time and they didn't appear, so don't hold your breath. That last trip to the Cotswolds was lovely, then we had a few days near Pickering in July. We spent a weekend in Crieff followed by a couple of days in St Andrews to celebrate our first wedding anniversary so last year we did get around quite a bit. Oberammagau was on the cards for this summer but they have postponed the performance until 2022, so we shall have to rebook for then.<br />
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Take care of yourselves and do say HELLO if you pop in!<br />
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Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-63213462304746407712019-06-05T19:43:00.000+01:002019-06-05T19:43:25.632+01:00Results are in, decisions are made<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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That might give you a clue, friends! I'm to commute to Queen's in Birmingham on a weekly basis, beginning in September, for a two year course. I shall start in the first year with a Certificate in Theology, Mission and Ministry, and aim to convert it to a Diploma in the second year. There's the opportunity to convert it to a BA and continue to do it as probationer studies, but let's not put the cart before the horse, as they say!</div>
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It's a challenge I'm looking forward to but I have to be honest and admit that the thought of going back to uni in my later forties is a bit daunting. No one that I have met in the process so far is doing that same arrangement, as they are all either doing the part time option or already live in Birmingham and will come in on a daily basis. I dare say, though, that I shall find new friends and cherish my existing contacts through email and messages, and will meet up very occasionally. We shall be ships that pass in the night, as they will come to Queens for 7 weekends each year on the part time pathway, and I shall be at home on weekends!</div>
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It is a term-time arrangement over 33 weeks of the year, and so I shall still be at home for long periods at Christmas, Easter and the summer, which is good when one has not long got married!!</div>
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The OH is a bit peeved though that my half term is not closer to our first wedding anniversary - Queens seems to go along with Birmingham school holidays rather than Cumbrian ones, naturally, and my week off falls a week later........he had something up his sleeve apparently and he is "sad" that we can't take that week together. For "sad", one can actually read, "very sad, verging on devastated." But that is life, and we are now, more than ever, going to be bound by terms!</div>
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I have handed in my notice with my job and will finish at the end of July. We've a Norfolk holiday planned in August and I shall see my family as well in that window of opportunity. Form filling will be the next chore - I had just got my tax return done, thank goodness - but there will shortly be forms to fill in for the college, and then for the church, to apply for funding etc. The course is fully sponsored by the church, so I have no loans to apply for, which is a blessing, and they give me a monthly bursary to keep me fed and clothed. And, joy of joys, I have discovered that despite being far from the 16-25 age range, I can apply for a railcard as a mature student, which will help the finances of the weekly train journeys to and from Birmingham no end.</div>
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The girls are doing well - the EFG is busily doing her dissertation and has her head down, working hard, but managed almost a week here with me not long ago, and that was lovely! The YFG has her last exam of the year tomorrow and then she will be home a week on Saturday, for a short while, before she heads off to Uganda for three weeks...... My stepson is in the midst of his GCSEs and I had a lovely message from him tonight, reminding me that it is a maths exam tomorrow and he will "just do his best" - he and I have worked together on some maths and he has a brilliant mental maths ability but doesn't always write down all the workings so he misses out on vital marks. He hopes to do A levels in September so we are praying he gets the results he needs to do those. </div>
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Your comments and good wishes are a wonderful encouragement to me. Being completely honest, these last six months have not been a bed of roses. I'm still coming to terms with all that I have left behind in the Fens, and the distance between me and those I love there still. I'm getting used to being married to a man I had only really seen on high days and holidays, and the nitty gritty of working life for both of us has been quite different - and he is a younger man with a much more independent streak than the FH ever had, so I have to get used to allowing him to do things his way (and ooh, that's hard sometimes, when of course, I think my way is better ;) but I am getting there!) I'm also dealing with the loss of my beloved bridesmaid, a different job which I haven't really enjoyed very much, although the people are amazing, AND not really having had much opportunity to really make connections within my own denomination here. But God is GOOD, always, and I have been blessed with some brilliant new friends, some dedicated old friends who go the extra mile to keep in touch, daughters who are loving, mature and kind, a stepson who has taken me as I come, and most importantly, a very loving husband who adores me. There is much joy in all of this, despite the challenges, and whilst I do occasionally look back and wonder, I am doing that less and less as God points me forward to the way ahead and asks me to bloom where I am planted [Jer 29.4-14].</div>
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We have just had a week off together in the Cotswolds, and when I can move the photos from the phone to the laptop, via email, I shall share that with you too: it was lovely!</div>
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Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-21449314867221545832019-04-12T12:48:00.000+01:002019-04-12T12:48:08.753+01:00Folks, they said yes!I was going to wait until I had the whole story to share, but I have had a gentle nudge so I'm back with what I know so far!! The selection committee of the Methodist Church has recommended me to be trained as a deacon. That bit is the good news.<br />
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What is still uncertain is as to how they intend to do that - there are several options and I still have to attend an interview at The Queen's Foundation in Birmingham on 10th May which will enable them to make the final decision - and I will know the week after. They could send me to Queen's full time as a weekly boarder Sun-Thurs term time for two academic years, or they could train me part time over three years. Both have pros and cons but after lots and lots of discussions here, we think we are coming down in favour of the two year option so that we can get on with it - but the Church has the ultimate decision - and we might ourselves have changed our minds after further chatting by the time the interview comes round. There is just so much to consider.<br />
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The interview process last month was just brilliant - the people were amazingly supportive and kind, and we all just felt very cocooned in the environment as we went through the procedures. It was good! Nerve-wracking, but good!!Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-10778123204690950652019-03-22T21:41:00.001+00:002019-03-22T21:41:40.758+00:00The time is drawing near...Nearer and nearer draws the time, as the hymn assures us! The time for the big round of interviews for ministry has just about arrived: I'm leaving to head south in the morning, and will go to the conference centre where the interviews are held, on Monday. I will be there in various rounds of interviews from 3pm Monday for 24 hours, and should get home Wednesday afternoon. Praying for wisdom and discernment on the part of the interviewers, and courage and calmness, inspiration and blessing from God for me in this process - I am nervous and it feels a bit like I'm about to sit an A level in Methodism without really knowing what's on the curriculum - the scope for the questioning is vast! <br />
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Many thanks for all your support and kind words since the last post - glad to be here and to hear from you all. The outcome of the interviews will be made known to us on 3rd April, so if I don't get back here before then, I shall hope to be back with news shortly thereafter.<br />
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I've got a virus at the moment so I am resting as much as I can and will be taking the journey tomorrow in lots of stages! I spent Tuesday in bed and only ventured out briefly Thursday though I went to work this afternoon for an hour and came home exhausted and had to sleep for an hour to get some energy back... This is partly why I am travelling tomorrow - so that I can rest on Sunday before I have to go to the centre on Monday.<br />
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Much love to you all!Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-8288516632839942902019-02-08T12:51:00.000+00:002019-02-08T12:51:00.625+00:00From the NorthYes, I'm now blogging from the north instead of from the east - I moved up here at the end of October, and am just about finding my way around: I still get lost but not as often as I did to start with, and rely less on the satnav to find Sainsbury's!<br />
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The EFG is half way through her post grad course at Edinburgh - it is hard work but she is enjoying the placements and working hard. The YFG is entrenched in Newcastle life and producing some satisfying essay results, so we have to be reassured that she is well able to manage sports, social and work lives to the max! She has joined the Gymnastics club and is participating again as a gymnast so we hear tales of what she has been able to do in the gym each week. Next week she flies off to Berlin with the Geography Society for three or four days of adventure, and in the summer, she is going with a group to Uganda for three weeks - there is no stopping this one! There is a fundraising campaign underway as she will be working with an organisation called East African Playgrounds to build a playground at a school, and she has to make a sizeable donation to that cause as well as pay for her trip.<br />
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The two cats, his and mine, have settled in to some kind of truce that only brings about hissing if they meet in a confined space like a doorway or on the stairs, but his is out a lot of the time and my old lady cats spends her days sleeping in the sun, so there aren't too many arguments. Mine has yet to step foot outdoors on her own - the girls took her out very briefly at Christmas but she was on a lead. She has settled into the cattery now, having been there three or four times, and gets on well with the owner, whom she allows to give her her medication, which she won't yet let my husband do! He has had the scratched hands to prove his willingness to try though....<br />
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I've got a new job working for an Anglican parish in the city as a community worker, 20 hours a week. I just started that last month, so I am really just getting going with that.<br />
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Two pieces of news, one good and one sad.... our beloved bridesmaid, my co-worker in the Fens, who wasn't going to let me leave the Fens unless she could be my bridesmaid, died in December, scarcely two months after the wedding. She was diagnosed with lymphoma on 7/11, having gone into hospital on the 5th. She never came home. I went to stay with a friend so that I could visit for two days, whilst she was in Critical Care, but when I left, she was hoping to be moved back to the ward, but she took a turn for the worst, and didn't get any better, suffering multiple heart attacks, and dying just before Christmas. The Fens ministry team, which was the Super, the new minister and I, conducted the cremation service and the service of celebration of her life together at the end of January. It was a very sad occasion but it was a joy to remember all that she had loved, done and wanted to share in life - she was passionate about sharing the gospel and so we reflected on that in the service and shared much of her life with others - the church was packed and about 50 or so folk had to stand or perch on the cushions around the communion rail! That was an accurate reflection of the love that people had for her, and respect for how she lived her life for God.<br />
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The better news is that the District Candidates' Committee have unanimously recommended that I go forward to the Connexional [national] committee next month, which is great! It was a very challenging experience to get through, in the same week as the funeral, but it was positive and affirming in its approach, and they were all lovely people. Now I have to go to London next week for an interview with the warden and deputy warden of the Methodist Diaconal Order, and then wait to know the exact dates I'm to attend the national committee - I know which week it is but not yet which 24 hour period. Those of you who pray, I'd be grateful to be included in your prayers as this discernment process continues.<br />
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And so I continue to settle into life up here: days at work, days off, trips into the Lakes for walks, the odd cinema visit [Mary, Queen of Scots and The Green Book most recently], odd visits to Newcastle and Edinburgh, exercise - I've joined the local pool/gym and swim now three or four times a week, worshiping with three denominations over the course of each month, taking the odd service here and there, although I shall be back on the plan properly from next month and preaching regularly for the Methodists, but I am also taking occasional services for the Kirk.<br />
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God is good and continues to bless us, amongst the challenges, and we are doing well. I'm happy to be here with my husband [he needs an abbreviation if I'm going to blog regularly again!], not far from my girls, and finding my way.....<br />
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Thanks for dropping in xxMorganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-24815637676738447992018-10-05T20:07:00.000+01:002018-10-05T20:07:23.417+01:00Wedding day fast approachesTwo weeks tomorrow is the day we plan to get married! Life is hurtling past at speed and the day is fast approaching - and it is exciting and scary at the same time....<br />
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The EFG graduated from Aberdeen in June and did well enough that she is now doing postgraduate studies at Edinburgh uni - still in Scotland, bless her! The YFG has just started at Newcastle uni to do Geography. Once I get to Carlisle at the end of the month, we will all be within a reasonable distance of one another. <br />
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Graduation was a special day in June when the chap and I went up to Aberdeen to share it with the EFG. We arrived the day before and took her out for a meal that night as she was going to the graduation ball the night of the graduation, and the chap had to hike back to Cumbria on the train to go to work again the next day. I was able to stay and bring her and all her stuff back home - the Yeti was packed to the maximum capacity! It has been great to have her here all summer and to have some precious time together.... although my dad did very generously send them off on a cruise in July - they saw some of the coastline of Croatia and Italy, embarking the boat at Malta so the trip included their first experiences of flying. They did very well and enjoyed every minute.<br />
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I had a more sedate holiday in Northumberland in a cottage at Belford with the chap and his son, and the YFG joined us for most of the time.<br />
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The house has just about sold - God's been teaching me a valuable lesson about trusting him for the times that things happen so He has brought us to this point before the right buyer came along! I had three couples all wanting to buy the house but all subject to selling their own properties - and then a young first time buying couple came along so that there is absolutely no chain: it is just them buying this house. I do suspect that they may be getting some parental support with the purchase, but as long as they come up with the money, I will be happy - and it is such a weight off my mind to know that I don't have to rent it out or leave it on the market once I am gone from here.<br />
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And I shall be gone from here in about three and half weeks - a man and a van are booked and we head north on the 31st. I shan't be growing in the fens any longer, but I'm certain I still have a lot of learning and growing to do. Cogitating in Cumbria? Maturing in the mountains? From Fens to Fells? We'll have to think of something!<br />
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I have officially stopped working here now and my time is focused on the candidating procedure for the ministry, packing, organising last minute things about the wedding and wondering how to fit it all in. I was quite stressed at the beginning of the week but I seem to have calmed down a little bit now, thank goodness. The YFG is nipping home tomorrow until Tuesday due to some cancelled lectures, so I am looking forward to hearing more about her first two weeks in Newcastle - she has already connected with a gymnastics club there so she clearly has her priorities straight!<br />
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<br />Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-40591831544368043462018-05-03T22:33:00.000+01:002018-05-03T22:33:10.254+01:00Updates from the FensYou wouldn't believe the procrastination I have had to overcome to work out how to get back in here after so long! I had forgotten so many passwords..BUT I'm here now - and glad to be able to catch up.<br />
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Thanks for the gentle nudges which have come my way in the last few weeks - lovely to know that you are still here and interested. Life has moved on significantly here and there is lots to tell! Weird to realise that I haven't been here since last August....<br />
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The EFG went back to uni in September and has just today had her final exam. She should get the results on the 25th May and then graduates in June - and I have to fetch her and all her stuff home! She's looking at post grad courses in Edinburgh or Bristol at the moment, depending on the results.<br />
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The YFG has had quite a year: she's continued working at the cathedral six days a week and then she has got jobs in two different gymnastics clubs to work to gain experience for doing a Level 2 coaching qualification - and she passed the final assessment for that about two weeks ago! She works in one capacity or another 7 days a week and has not had much time to herself at all. She has applied herself to it all very well and done herself credit. She has also applied to uni again and has accepted an unconditional offer to go to Newcastle to read Geography in September.<br />
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And me? I'm working hard in the church, full time now - 37 hours a week. The Superintendent is currently off sick for a long period so I am holding the fort with three supernumerary ministers [retired] and today an acting Superintendent has been appointed to work with us from a distance - he will advise by telephone and email and come over for big meetings but not be here on a day to day basis.<br />
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I'm pursuing the process to candidate for the Methodist ministry as a Deacon - this is an Order of ministry which is permanent - we do not have Deacons who are on their way to becoming presbyters. This is the calling I have and I feel very settled on it so I hope that the selection committees affirm it and put me forward. I have a long process to get through and won't know whether they are accepting me until next March.<br />
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By that time, [drum roll] I will be married and living in Cumbria!<br />
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The chap and I are getting married here in the Fens in October in my big church and the house is on the market so that I aim to move up there to be with him permanently after we are married. If God wills it, the house will sell at the right time and all will work out. Let's pray that it all comes together!<br />
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2018 is turning out to be one heck of a year - marriage, candidating, moving house, YFG off to uni, EFG graduating!! It won't be a year to forget in a hurry....<br />
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I shall attempt to come back more often now that I have sorted the password out - and wish you all very well!<br />
<br />Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-86091046878307768162017-08-19T16:15:00.001+01:002017-08-19T16:15:28.264+01:00Exam reliefThe days have passed and it's all getting better now, but the anxiety levels in the house were skyrocketing as the day approached on which the YFG would find out her A level results. She went off to school at 0645 Thursday morning to open the envelope - and it felt like the envelope held so much more than just a piece of paper with some letters on it! <br />
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Turns out she's one bright girl - A* in Religious Studies, A in Geography and B in Politics. She's blown the predictions out of the water and done so much better than she had even dared to hope. The place she was holding at Norwich would have been settled with lower grades, and now that she has the grades in the bag, so to speak, decisions have been made: she's going to reapply for autumn next year, and she can apply to more challenging universities this time around... because she knows what she has to offer. So here we go again with some open day visits etc, but it'll be fun.......[I'm trying hard to convince myself of this, as this will be the third time!]<br />
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The job she has already secured for the holidays is hers to continue after some discussion there yesterday, and she will look for more work to supplement that as it is only 15 hours a week.<br />
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The EFG is here for another two weeks and then heads back northwards, I've some more dates booked with the chap from the Lakes, and lots of work to keep me busy. Life continues and we're all looking forward with anticipation - we're all September-lovers who rejoice in fresh beginnings in the autumn. There's a little chunk of me which is secretly quite chuffed to keep my baby at home for another year, but I do appreciate that it is only postponing the inevitable - but she will be saving hard, working hard and I hope enjoying herself as well in this intervening time.<br />
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Much love to you all - and I hope that those of you with folk awaiting results or had results are doing OK too xxMorganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-87931594253375187942017-08-08T11:41:00.000+01:002017-08-08T11:41:15.562+01:00And here we are again!I'm grateful to FC for the gentle nudge - blogging today from a cosy little cottage in Armathwaite in the Lake District. We're halfway between Penrith and Carlisle, and the cottage is tucked away from the road in a wee courtyard. The girls came up on Friday and I arrived on Sunday after the morning service had been delivered. <br />
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I had a full day out with them and J [the FH's cousin's widow, whom we have brought with us] yesterday but the girls have gone to a wildlife park today whilst J and I are having a quieter day at home, so far, anyway!<br />
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Yesterday we went to <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/wray-castle">Wray Castle</a>, but <a href="https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/hill-top">Hill Top</a> was packed out so we gave that a miss. Huge scones were scoffed in Keswick, and we had a mooch in a few shops there too. The weather was very pleasant and the driving, although very different from the Fens, was a lovely experience - everything from the M6 to one-track roads with passing places, where we had an incident with a Stagecoach bus! We survived though ;)<br />
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I spent the evening with the chap - what a co-incidence that he lives only 9 miles from the cottage ;) We watched some athletics on the tv as he had taken his son to London to the Olympic Park last weekend to see some of the IAAF World Championships so there were heats that he had seen there that he wanted to see the relevant finals for - and it was tense for a couple of the races. We really thought Laura Muir might pull off the 1500 metres but she came in fourth, which seems heartbreaking but she did take it well. The girls and I met his son the previous weekend and really enjoyed spending time with him: he seems like a very well-adjusted and lovely lad, very keen on being active and sporty, which might be a challenge for us, but he was witty and wry with it, and very realistic about some of the challenges of ministry - he has no fear in telling it like it is!<br />
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Hoping to nip over the border into Scotland tomorrow, pottering around in Carlisle and perhaps the cinema on Thursday and then home again on Friday. The Yeti's going well and I am very happy with it. It drinks slightly more diesel than the Fabia did but that is to be expected, so I am not complaining.<br />
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Some challenges continue at work - we tried to appoint a Children's Worker to the circuit team but the candidates were not suitable, the Super's not terribly well, and the rest is in God's hands, as it always is. His constant presence upholds us in all that we do, and I am encouraged by looking back to see all the blessings in our lives, which then enable us to be stronger in our certainty that He will continue to support and bless us into the future. Quite what that future holds isn't as clear at this point, but I continue to appreciate your prayers and support. The YFG's exam results are the next hurdle and we will be jumping that one next Thursday........<br />
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<br />Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-14669012140828806812017-05-31T09:28:00.002+01:002017-05-31T14:28:34.571+01:00Jaunts continue<div style="text-align: center;">
What a month May has been here! </div>
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I've taken a funeral for a fine man with a gracious and patient widow, and because they were URC members of one of our churches instead of Methodists, I have investigated and used the URC service book for that, which was appreciated. </div>
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I've been on a long train trip to Durham for the day - the things we do for love! A glorious day in which we walked about 9 miles up and down and round the city, went to a beautiful garden, attended Evensong at the cathedral and just enjoyed being together. </div>
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Durham Cathedral in the glorious sunshine</div>
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We've closed our village chapel. The last service was well attended and joyful, and it was the right thing to do.</div>
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I've sprained my ankle and had some recovery time for that - good excuse to put my feet up for a couple of days. Still aching occasionally but wearing walking boots most of the time is supporting it and I'm doing everything normally again now.</div>
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I've bought a new-to-me car. I stuck with the Skoda brand but I've got a Yeti this time..... Quite a change for me, and the FH would be turning in his grave if he was in one [still in the sideboard] because he called 4x4s "Chelsea tractors" and thought they were an affectation but I love it! I appreciate being a bit higher on the road and I love all the features, and just feeling that bit more secure. </div>
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The Yeti took me to Cumbria for the weekend to see my love, and it did very well. It was a joy to drive, but the roadworks on the A1 caused a lot of congestion so I came home through Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, and Nottinghamshire and did a lovely tour of the Midlands once I left the M6 at Jct 15. </div>
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Pooley Bridge walk on Sunday after chapel at Penrith</div>
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A brief excursion over the border to Gretna and Longtown Sunday evening</div>
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We went to Ireby Festival on Saturday where Martyn Joseph was playing - it was brilliant to see him live. They were handing out leaflets for other music festivals and we were given one for a festival in North Wales. I looked at it hard and wondered what had taken my eye, and then I realised it was in Trelawnyd Memorial Hall and I thought immediately of <a href="http://disasterfilm.blogspot.co.uk/">John Gray</a>!</div>
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It was a lovely weekend, but the Premier Inn where I stayed was looking a wee bit tired so I might look at an alternative for next time. There is another one about a mile away......</div>
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And the FH's beloved cousin has entered his last days now. His liver cancer has weakened him dramatically, and yesterday he had stopped responding at all when the carers moved him. He came home from hospital last Wednesday. I shall have a funeral to do in June, I'm certain. I promised him that I would do it for him, and we have it all planned so that he has peace about that. </div>
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The EFG is home for the summer, and the YFG is beginning the battle with A levels, so lots of hard days ahead for her until the last one at the end of June. </div>
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Much love to you all. </div>
Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-43101704607368663542017-05-09T22:59:00.000+01:002017-05-09T22:59:17.827+01:00Just a wave<div style="text-align: center;">
Much news but no time! Will be back soon.......</div>
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Have popped in to a couple of your blogs and trying to keep up with some of your news but failing miserably!</div>
Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-65008153173623738242017-04-11T22:48:00.002+01:002017-04-11T22:48:48.046+01:00Holy, holy, holyIt's Holy Week and the pressure is on. I've got a service on Good Friday in the afternoon, but that's not such a big deal as I did one last year in a completely different area of the circuit so I am fairly hopeful that I can repeat it this year and no one who was there last year will be there to recognise the salient points. Just have to remember to borrow the wooden sword from my friend before she disappears off on holiday Thursday night.....<br />
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Easter Sunday on the other hand, is getting complicated: baptism, sacrament and Easter in an hour.....could be a challenge. I had a visit to the baptism family last week and had a wee hold of the baby - so cute - only born in January! So out of practice at holding babies am I that I said to the mother that I really needed a cuddle to see how it felt again. He is adorable. Just pray for me that he doesn't wail too much....<br />
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And the other question which occupies my thoughts at the moment.... what does one call a man who one is seeing at this age? "Boy"friend doesn't seem right.....suggestions welcome! The YFG is amusing herself with her own suggestions which are not being taken too seriously. He was here for the day yesterday and we went for lunch with the girls and Grandad and MB: he passed muster, and since he shares Grandad and MB's love of football, they were well pleased with him. He had a tortuous journey home on the train but made it eventually, about three hours overdue.<br />
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Today I have accompanied a lady to the CAB in order to help and support her in sorting out benefits, and it has been eye-opening, but well worthwhile for us both. We also had a hilarious time at a Knit and Natter session which was just after the meeting. She's becoming a part of the church family and they are taking her under their wings and looking out for her nicely.<br />
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Wishing you all a very blessed Easter holiday season if I am not back again before then. Much love xMorganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-6506835161848309142017-03-31T21:41:00.000+01:002017-03-31T21:41:13.132+01:00Another jolly trip.....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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. </div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(image from www.stuarttownend.co.uk)</span></div>
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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!</div>
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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... </div>
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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!!</div>
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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.</div>
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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.</div>
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I'm taking some time out from work this week - having a sort of "reading week" where people <b>think </b>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....</div>
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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! </div>
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Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-59484395331364909772017-03-19T16:03:00.001+00:002017-03-19T16:03:20.892+00:00York and stuffYork 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.<br />
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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. <br />
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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!<br />
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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. <br />
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<br />Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-52085268134338449772017-03-11T20:38:00.001+00:002017-03-11T20:38:41.953+00:00Catching up Back into this space again.<br />
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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. <br />
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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.<br />
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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 ;)<br />
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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!<br />
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Have a good weekend.....<br />
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<br />Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-27969202811530400422017-02-22T07:56:00.000+00:002017-02-22T07:56:30.852+00:00ExploringIn the quietness of this space, it seems right to share with you, friends, the news that I am beginning to gently explore a new relationship. It is new and fragile and precious, and I am not sharing it widely in the real world, as I seek to protect it and hold it close, but here I know that it will be held in prayer, and I thank you for that.Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2493748718507781603.post-15525216364567980232017-02-14T23:00:00.001+00:002017-02-14T23:00:59.231+00:00Driving newsThe worst happened......the YFG passed [which IS good] but the EFG failed :(<br />
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The YFG did extremely well to pass with only one minor, but the EFG had a catastrophe at a junction: the lights changed and she did not know that she had to move forward to trigger a sensor which would change the filter light to stop the opposing traffic so that her lane of traffic could move forward. Because she didn't move, the lights went through the cycle back to red and she held up the whole lane - so that caused the fail. She'll do it again, and should be fine. Apparently she executed an immaculate three point turn.<br />
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The YFG has been out on her first solo drive - she went and did the grocery shopping yesterday morning whilst I was at work. She's on half term so she thought she would get that nerve wracking first trip over and done with. She's out in the village tonight at her best friend's house having a takeaway but I think she should be home soon.<br />
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Thank you for continuing to read. Lovely to read all the comments on the last post.Morganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10875708145472914122noreply@blogger.com6