A whole jumble of thoughts.

Hi lovely people!! Where have the last few weeks gone?? They seem to have passed me by in a blur of chicken pox, the usual round of mundane household chores, which frankly are boring the pants off me and an increasing number of senior moments.

It's these senior moments that trouble me most. In the past few weeks I have forgotten to cook for my family. It is most disconcerting to be leading worship and just as I was about to announce the creed to suddenly have flash through my mind that I had forgotten to put the lunch in before leaving for church. My beloved family were less than impressed.

I lost a child...or rather I didn't. A friend asked me if I could look after her son after school one day. He didn't show up. I panicked. I spent 30 minutes looking the streets for him. It felt like eternity. I went to the school. Everyone was concerned. I finally caught up with him in the park. He told me that he was coming the following week. He was right. I was wrong. I was also embarrassed and had to inform the school. I felt a right twit. The school laughed at me. Hardly surprising.

My girls have started Brownies. They love it and I love the fact that they belong to something that I belonged to when I was a child. The first week they came home full of excitement. "Did you dance round the toadstool?" I asked. They looked at me with the withering look that only seven year olds can give. "NO!" was the reply. "Oh we used to dance round a toadstool when I was a Brownie." "Well," said one of my little angels, "I think things have moved on a bit since your day mummy!!!" Words failed me....

Chicken pox is not pleasant. The twins have just come through it. The first one to get it wasn't really ill...just spotty. The second one was so ill. Really nasty. Today they are both back at school. The sun shone all day so I changed the beds and washed the revolting scabs away down the drain. How satisfying...I am a cheap round.

I have a lovely new mobile phone. It's a very long story as to why and how and if i wrote it all down it would take so long I would get arthritis so I shan't bother. What I will say, however, is that I hope one day I shall actually be able to work out how to use it. Thank goodness I have a 13 year old daughter to show me how.

I am so grateful to God for his strength these last few weeks. There never seems to be a minute to call my own and tiredness is constant. But there is much to be thankful for, especially for his love for me even when my behaviour is that of a dotty old lady. Wonder what I will be like when I really am old....

With love,

Rachel

Thawing out....

We have been away and it has been glorious. It was unbelievably cold but if you insist on going to Skegness at any time of the year you deserve to be cold!

We went to Spring Harvest which is an annual event that takes place at very cold Butlin's holiday resorts. Thousands of Christians wearing several layers of clothing, gloves, woolly hats and carrying large Bibles get together for worship and teaching and general jolliness as we all make the most of the Butlins swimming pool, fun fair and delights of the East coast.

It is always a great time and good to get away from the phone and doorbell and general day-to-day busyness of parish life.

The children are always delighted that we actually have time to do things with them and swimming is a hot favourite...for them, not for me. I actually do like swimming but it's all this taking your clothes off malarkey and all the performance of having to shave your legs before hand that seems to blight the whole experience to be honest.

This year I did manage to take them all on my own. This is no mean feat as my son is always ready in two seconds flat, my little girls not long after and then my eldest daughter and me last as we have to have the obligatory "Does my bum look big in this?" conversation. The answer to her question is, "No, you look gorgeous." When I ask the answer is not the same!

We make it through to the pool .....Me trying to look very cool and together while at the same time trying not to let my self be seen and then getting into the pool with immense speed if not grace.And then...there is the art of trying to keep my eyes on small children who are totally fearless, full of excitement and possibly still on the side of being not-quite-swimmers-yet.

It's interesting to note that since these swimming outings my hair really does appear to be greyer and my brow more furrowed..and all this before the deep, deep joy of finding a family changing cubicle and making sure that all are properly dressed.(can't be bothered to get dry as no matter how hard you try it is impossible to get dry after swimming). After ensuring everyone has everything you then have the joy of everyone being grumpy because they have all used up so much energy that they are starving!!!

But God is good and we were able to be part of some fabulous worship and some great bible teaching. The children had a wonderful time and it is such an encouragement to them to see that they are not the only kids who have Christian parents and that actually it is cool to know Jesus and that is a huge encouragement to us.

It all spurs me on especially as I went there feeling really exhausted and a bit low. It's an awful feeling to believe that you just cannot keep up this being a Christian thing. I guess that's why we need each other so much...to give each other a prod in the right direction and keep each other going.

Well, must sign off. Me and the vicar that lives here are about to transform our sitting room into a tropical island. Our babies are going to be 7 tomorrow so we have a whole host of girls coming for the party of the year. That will really not help the grey hair situation will it???????

With love,

Rachel.

Happy Easter!

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.

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.

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.

A posh lady reflects

Well, well, well. Let me begin by saying that it is totally and utterly impossible to learn to tie a bow tie in 3 hours. Please treat this statement as public service information so that you, dear reader,can save yourself the angst.

Anyhow, we managed to be washed, dressed, teeth cleaned and in shiny shoes in time for the taxi to take us to the very lovely venue where the poshest do we have been to in many years was getting under way with lots of lovely Bucks Fizz.

The vicar looked quite ravishing in his dinner jacket and hastily borrowed, already made up bow tie. We turned the house upside down looking for his cuff links. No luck. But honestly what you can't do with a paper clip isn't worth doing! (He did also wear trousers!)

It was a great evening. The food was sumptuous and the whole event raised loads of money for charity. AND it was just so fantastic to spend the evening with 6 (well,7 if you include the vicar) such great friends. ( There were other people there obviously...!!)

So a great time was had by all. My daughter's shoes made for immense pain so I was thankful there was no dancing. I didn't drop anything on the dress, I didn't tell any rude jokes and think I possibly...almost, could have passed for posh. Huzzah!!!!!!

So, that was that. The weekend then trolled on in its usual way, although we did have glorious Christmas lunch on Saturday, bit that's another story. In the midst of so much mundane routine it is great to have these special respites of loveliness. They do keep you going when life is full of cooking, cleaning, washing and children. God is good.

With love,

Rachel.

Going posh.

Tonight I am going to be a posh and beautiful lady!!!!!!!!

Well, that's the theory anyway. The vicar who lives here and I have been invited to a black tie dinner and auction of things money can't buy. We are going with some very lovely friends. But..I am nervous.

As the mother of 4 full on children, all lovely but not what you might call demure, I am not used to posh. I always think we've been reasonably posh when no-one has burped or farted at the tea table for once.

And as for dressing up and looking gorgeous..well the word "never" springs to mind. I try to remind myself each day that the Lord looks on the heart not the outward appearance. I use this as an excuse for looking like I've been dragged through a hedge backwards most days. But as I also struggle with a quiet time I'm not too sure how my inner appearance looks either.

However, I am in possession of a b-e-a-u-tiful dress, lent to me by a very dear friend. I am borrowing my eldest daughter's shoes which are a perfect colour to match...a sort of raspberry pink. The dress feels gorgeous and I shall be trying my hardest not to spill anything on it.

The vicar is wearing a dinner jacket and trousers he found in a charity shop 5 or so years ago for a tenner. As long as he remains in the right light you would never know that the jacket and trousers are a different colour.

I bought him a bow tie and with 3 hours to go until we leave it is all systems go to learn how to tie the blinking thing!!!!!! My small girls who are very girly girls are keen to help me with my hair and make up. This does not help my nerves.

So, why am I nervous?? Well, can I really do this? Can I look ok? Will I be able to walk in these very lovely shoes that have a....heel?? Will I be able to manage a glass of wine and not tell a dirty joke? Will my hold-everything- in- pants be all that should be? Will I manage not to nod my head in the auction and spend several thousand pounds on a scuba diving experience in The Wash?

All these questions and more will be answered at the earliest opportunity. In the meantime I have a nearly seven year old daughter weilding the hair straightners. Pray for me Sisters!!!!!!!

With love,

Rachel.