When you have had flu all week and wake up feeling horribly sick and miserable, you go downstairs from your shower and find awesome fairy cakes on your doorstep in a pot lined with jelly snakes with a pink smiley sticker on the top.  It totally makes your day. In fact, I have had a really good week considering how ill I have felt…  I will explain.

Moment of honesty:  Sometimes life really sucks.  I try to put a brave face on a lot of my illness because it is not very attractive to shake like a leaf, scream with agony, have your gut go into spasm or any other attractive manifestation that IBS brings out in front of people.  There are some weeks however, where everything gets too much and I break down a bit and get really fed up.  That happened this week when I got flu on top of the IBS and so after a few days of being miserable, I emailed my cluster from church and asked if they would pray for me.  They all said that they would and not only that, but they have been really kind to JT and me this week.

I have had cheery emails, phonecalls, texts etc then on Monday Dan and Sophie cooked us a delicious meal and brought it round with mini creme eggs for pudding and a magazine for me to read.  It was exactly what we needed, as JT has been working really hard whilst triyng to look after me and the house as well.  To have one evening with the stress off and a lovely ‘proper’ meal was a bigger blessing than they will ever know.  Jon and Sarah have also offered to make us a meal and today Jo and Sarah came round to see me with cake regardless of the fact that I am lurgy ridden.

I big them up on here not knowing if they will ever read it (I am not really sure who reads this blog sometimes!!)  Here is why they are amazing…  These guys didn’t do this to put on a show, in fact, maybe noone will ever know what they did and I am certain that they will never know how much it meant to us.  They never saw the smile that it put on our faces to know that people thought about us and about how they could help.  Whilst I hope that one day I can do the same for them, I know that their real reward is in heaven, because they performed an act that only God can see (so for His glory alone, an act of worship if you like - not everyone uses just singing to worship God).

I almost felt like you do when you are a little kid and you have been for a really long walk and you are just too tired to walk anymore. Then someone picks you up and puts you on their shoulders for a while and carries you for a bit.  If you ever read this guys, thank you.

Following on from George’s posts about the ‘dumbing down’ of society, I was astonished to discover that tuna contains fish…!!!

Look at this hilarious present I got this morning from my brilliant sis-in-law…  It is a tea towel holder!!

the druids of Cheltenham’s most persistent festival…

Is it just me, or does Cheltenham seem to have endless fetivals?  Science, literature, music, jazz, etc and, most prominently, all year round, ROAD WORKS.  This festival is getting a bit dull.

Weird.  The fish have come back to life!!  They are still a bit spacey and Nigel (Mansell) is pregnant.  He is now called Nigella.  After nearly two weeks of swimming upside-down and gasping for breath on the bottom, they are all perkier again.  I am so confused.  Clearly not a born fishkeeper.

I think it is time to go back to school…  I am a bit bored now!  Would anyone like to play with me?

I have wet hair by the way, I haven’t become brunette over night!

I am concerned that Twinkle is turning into a teenager with attitude before her time…..

I found this on the web and wondered if it was an advert for Dulux before they found the right dog…??   I am so thankful that neither myself nor my parents looked like this in the 80s…  I knew people who did though!

We had a great discussion at cluster last week about what it means to be church in cluster format, what has worked, what has not etc.  Although a little awkward, this discussion was a breath of fresh air for me, because people were honest.  We talked about making ourselves a burden (intentionally) to people when we need prayer, help, a chat or whatever else.  We also talked about the need for growth, commitment, honesty and creativity.  It was all very positive when you looked through the bits that smarted a little.

Anyhow, it became abundantly clear that every one of us are at different stages in our walk with the Lord and that we all need to help each other.  If we walk alone and are too proud to admit our weaknesses and failings then we simply burn out.  I am a classic example and actually, if you look round your congregation on a Sunday, you will probably see a lot of weary Christians.  We hold up what little strength we have left in our arms and cry “Send revival Lord!” and then wonder, with more than a little despair, what they are being ‘revived’ into.  It is a good job that God is God.

God says that we should cast our burdens on to Him, that He will make our burdens light and that we are to walk with Him, not independently.  The same goes for believers, we are supposed to share everything we have with one another, whether that is a struggle, a frustration, an irritation or a joy, an encouragement, or a laugh.  If we did this, I am convinced that our Christian life would be more fulfilling and more complete.  Sinners need revival, the church needs reviving.

*gLeAm!*