Happy Easter everyone!!
Hope that your Easter has been good and that your chocolate intake has been positively delicious.
What a dilemma for us here in the wilds of Norfolk though. Never has there been such a quandary on Easter morning. What to do first....eat chocolate or play in the snow???? Everywhere looked so beautiful on Easter day morning, covered in a layer of snow that made it look much more like Christmas.
The children have done fantastically well over Holy week and Easter. It is not easy being the Vicar's kids and having to spend so much of your life in church, especially when, more often than not, you are the only kids there. But they made it to everything, took part in a lot of things and I am really proud of them for that.
I think that Easter is my favourite time of year. It always feels like we are doing what we're supposed to be doing, reflecting, remembering and allowing history, what happened 2000 years ago, to transform today, the present, because what happened on the cross then still changes lives today.
It means that there is hope when so often so many of us feel hope-less. It means there is strength for today because of the obedience of Jesus giving up his all for us 2000 years ago.
It means there is joy for us in knowing we belong to God because of the pain God felt at the sin and broken down relationships and the ultimate step He took to rectify and redeem all that.
It means new beginnings because God has made the way open for forgiveness and new life.
Yes, it is definitely my favourite time of year....all that and chocolate too!!
Much love,
Rachel.
Monday, 24 March 2008
Tuesday, 18 March 2008
Phew, finally made it back!
Hi there lovely blog readers! How are you? Hope life has been good to you over these last two and a bit weeks. I cannot believe where the time has gone. It has all been really busy here, so much so that the vicar that lives here and me are barely even ships that pass in the night at the moment.
This past fortnight has been filled with all kinds of good things, embarrassing things, boring and tedious things and all those other things that go to make up life in all its fullness.
Firstly we have a new member in our family here at Rectory Towers. No, I have not omitted news of a pregnancy (the thought fills me with untold horror!!!!). Rather we have some-one staying with us for a time. I love the dynamic of having someone join the family. He is a really nice guy, studying theology in England. He is from Cameroon and has become part of our family for a while. We are learning loads from him and really pleased that he is with us.
Last week I spoke at The Women's World day of Prayer. Always a rather strange event I think and made more so this year by the fact that there was very nearly a punch up between two of the participants...I kid you not. Always good to see how we Christians love each other eh?!
I had a rather embarrassing Vicar of Dibley moment a few days ago when I opened the front door to see a, how shall I put it? rather gorgeous man standing on the doorstep. My hands were wet as I was in the middle of washing up. He apologised for turning up at a bad moment. I, totally flummoxed, replied, "No, it's fine. I'm just a bit wet...that is my hands, not my personality I hope!!" I cannot believe I said that. Please floor open up and swallow me. Dawn French or what???!!!
Last Saturday we held a Fair Trade cake competition at church and it fell to me to be one of the judges...well, somebody had to do it.Homemade cakes are without doubt the best thing since sliced bread and church with cake is much, much better than church without cake as my lovely sister once said so wisely.
It was all good fun and we raised a whole stash of money for Fairtrade projects which is great. Have to say though that even with just a small nibble of each cake I did not feel at my best for the rest of the day and as I then had to cook for 24 it was a bit harder than my greedy self had reckoned on!!
We are now in full flow getting ready for Easter. This is my most favourite time of year, filled with hope and joy and wonder as we think again and re-enact the last week of our Lord's life and ponder on all that He has so graciously done for us. It is heart stoppingly awesome. So much of me wants to hurry on to Easter day itself. We must stop, though, at the places on the way...the Upper Room and Calvery because unless we stop the ressurection becomes less and we miss so much. We need to take it in slowly and deliberately because it was all for us.
Please post me a comment and let me know how you are.
Love,
Rachel.
This past fortnight has been filled with all kinds of good things, embarrassing things, boring and tedious things and all those other things that go to make up life in all its fullness.
Firstly we have a new member in our family here at Rectory Towers. No, I have not omitted news of a pregnancy (the thought fills me with untold horror!!!!). Rather we have some-one staying with us for a time. I love the dynamic of having someone join the family. He is a really nice guy, studying theology in England. He is from Cameroon and has become part of our family for a while. We are learning loads from him and really pleased that he is with us.
Last week I spoke at The Women's World day of Prayer. Always a rather strange event I think and made more so this year by the fact that there was very nearly a punch up between two of the participants...I kid you not. Always good to see how we Christians love each other eh?!
I had a rather embarrassing Vicar of Dibley moment a few days ago when I opened the front door to see a, how shall I put it? rather gorgeous man standing on the doorstep. My hands were wet as I was in the middle of washing up. He apologised for turning up at a bad moment. I, totally flummoxed, replied, "No, it's fine. I'm just a bit wet...that is my hands, not my personality I hope!!" I cannot believe I said that. Please floor open up and swallow me. Dawn French or what???!!!
Last Saturday we held a Fair Trade cake competition at church and it fell to me to be one of the judges...well, somebody had to do it.Homemade cakes are without doubt the best thing since sliced bread and church with cake is much, much better than church without cake as my lovely sister once said so wisely.
It was all good fun and we raised a whole stash of money for Fairtrade projects which is great. Have to say though that even with just a small nibble of each cake I did not feel at my best for the rest of the day and as I then had to cook for 24 it was a bit harder than my greedy self had reckoned on!!
We are now in full flow getting ready for Easter. This is my most favourite time of year, filled with hope and joy and wonder as we think again and re-enact the last week of our Lord's life and ponder on all that He has so graciously done for us. It is heart stoppingly awesome. So much of me wants to hurry on to Easter day itself. We must stop, though, at the places on the way...the Upper Room and Calvery because unless we stop the ressurection becomes less and we miss so much. We need to take it in slowly and deliberately because it was all for us.
Please post me a comment and let me know how you are.
Love,
Rachel.
Sunday, 2 March 2008
Mothering Sunday Musings.
Here in the UK we have been celebrating Mothering Sunday. Card manufacturers have made an enormous fortune, restaurants have put their prices up for the occasion and schools have made sure that all children have made a suitable card to give their mums on this special day.
Here at Rectory Towers the mother of the house,(That's me!) has done very nicely thank you. No breakfast in bed sadly but that's because I was up at the crack of dawn worrying about the service I was leading and putting on the old slap so that nobody would see my worry lines and know that I had lost all my notes!!!
Anyway, I received lovely cards, all hand made, so stick that in your pipe Mr. Hallmark! Lunch was great...I cooked it but the kids washed up, dried up and put away. Marvellous. The vicar that lives here organised flowers and a lovely teddy bear for me from the children so I was well chuffed.
Church, despite me losing my notes, went really well...even if I say so myself. I must confess Mothering Sunday is not the easiest service to lead. Yes, there is so much to be thankful for, IF our relationships with our mothers are good and, praise God the vast majority of us (myself included) do have good relationships with our mothers. But what of those for whom family relationships are hard and painful or filled with sadness for whatever reasons?
I worry that it is too easy to come out with trite sayings, to gloss over people's pain and not acknowledge it. Jesus never did that. He met people where they were and continues to meet us where we are, to walk with us in whatever circumstances and situations we find ourselves in.
Our identity is in Him, as His children, belonging to Him and being members of His family and sometimes, indeed often, it takes us all of our lives to begin to have some understanding of what belonging to Him means. It can be a long, slow process but through it we find freedom and hope and healing.
Well, I'm off to bed with my new "Best Mum" teddy bear to cuddle. My children have done me proud today and I love them with every breath of my being. I'm just hugely relieved that when my youngest told the assembled congregation that I snuggle her up in bed she did not, as she often does, remark that it's good because I'm fat and squidgy. Huzzah!!!!!!
Love,
Rachel.
Here at Rectory Towers the mother of the house,(That's me!) has done very nicely thank you. No breakfast in bed sadly but that's because I was up at the crack of dawn worrying about the service I was leading and putting on the old slap so that nobody would see my worry lines and know that I had lost all my notes!!!
Anyway, I received lovely cards, all hand made, so stick that in your pipe Mr. Hallmark! Lunch was great...I cooked it but the kids washed up, dried up and put away. Marvellous. The vicar that lives here organised flowers and a lovely teddy bear for me from the children so I was well chuffed.
Church, despite me losing my notes, went really well...even if I say so myself. I must confess Mothering Sunday is not the easiest service to lead. Yes, there is so much to be thankful for, IF our relationships with our mothers are good and, praise God the vast majority of us (myself included) do have good relationships with our mothers. But what of those for whom family relationships are hard and painful or filled with sadness for whatever reasons?
I worry that it is too easy to come out with trite sayings, to gloss over people's pain and not acknowledge it. Jesus never did that. He met people where they were and continues to meet us where we are, to walk with us in whatever circumstances and situations we find ourselves in.
Our identity is in Him, as His children, belonging to Him and being members of His family and sometimes, indeed often, it takes us all of our lives to begin to have some understanding of what belonging to Him means. It can be a long, slow process but through it we find freedom and hope and healing.
Well, I'm off to bed with my new "Best Mum" teddy bear to cuddle. My children have done me proud today and I love them with every breath of my being. I'm just hugely relieved that when my youngest told the assembled congregation that I snuggle her up in bed she did not, as she often does, remark that it's good because I'm fat and squidgy. Huzzah!!!!!!
Love,
Rachel.
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