King's Daughters

As promised we will be hearing from Jordan from time to time! Jordan is not only my lovely 14 year old daughter but is also is a very talented writer. I am Jordan's biggest fan, hopefully she will pen some poems for us too! Sadly Jordan has gone through some tough times in her life and I have asked her to write about her journey. I hope it inspires you & helps anyone out there who has experienced pain in the area of their father's love. So without further ado her is Jordan's first post. Hi :) My name is Jordan, as you might have guessed by the title of this post I'm going to be writing about dads and fathers . Not only will I be talking about my biological father, but I'll be talking about my spiritual Father : Daddy in heaven, my step father and other father figures who I look up to. I'm going to spread this journey out over a few weeks to give you time to take it all in ( it's a long but AMAZING journey of healing and forgiveness). So,

I am so excited I could pop! Next Sunday is our first anniversary as a Church. On 7th September last year Eric & I along with our amazing team planted King's Church . The photo above was of our very first church service & this photo is one of my treasures. I love this photo & everyone in it! Anniversaries always make me reflect. This past year has definitely without a doubt been the best year of my life. Busy, yes... hard work, yes... tiring, yes... difficult, yes... but absolutely totally amazing too! I have seen lives changed, I have met amazing people, I have seen God do awesome things, I have seen people who are far away from God get closer to Him. I feel so privileged & humbled to be a part of what God has planned for His Church here in Gloucestershire. I can unashamedly say that I have a life worth living, thank you Jesus for giving me this incredible life! Come & celebrate with me on Sunday & hear all about this past year. For more details & to RS

This morning I sat in my garden & noticed a few autumn leaves on the ground. This got me into thoughtful mode & made me think about winter & being cold! I sat pondering (actually it was very early morning so I was still half asleep). Am I ready for winter? I don't even feel like we've had a summer this year. It's funny how there were only a few leaves on the ground & I was already panicking about winter! This got me thinking about life & the seasons in our life. (I did warn you I was in thoughtful mode lol). Do we sometimes jump ahead & miss out on the fullness of one season because we are worried about the next season? Jesus said in Matthew 6:34; " Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." He mentioned not to worry about tomorrow yet some of us worry about things so far ahead. We worry about all kinds of things, sometimes even silly things? Jesus said don

Hey girls, this is my new favourite CD! It is amazing & you can listen to it online . My favourite track is track 2, 'The Lord is My Rock' is so powerful, I highly recommend you listen to it. What a great way to start the week, singing; "The Lord is my rock, I won't be afraid". Whatever you are facing this week, KNOW that the Lord is your rock & you don't need to be afraid.

I have my own song, how awesome is that! My beautiful daughters Lorah & Jordan wrote it for me as a gift. A Song for You She is worth more than rubies and we love her more than diamonds She is precious in our eyes and we know she will always be there for us Her actions light up this world in darkness Her words bring joy to sadness She is filled with love and beauty And when she speaks her wisdom teaches me Words could never show her Just how much I love her Words can never tell her Just what I love about her Isn't that precious!!! I am so blessed to have such amazing & talented daughters. Lots more to come from Lorah & Jordan. Lorah has her new Blog which I am very proud of and Jordan will be joining me in authoring this Blog so keep a look out for posts from her.

Yesterday we had a lovely Sunday with Dave & Faye Edwards from King's Church Newport. Dave preached on Inconvenience or Invitation - a very powerful message. The question he asked was, "How do you see people in your life, in relation to your attitude, in relation to how you evaluate them in your daily life?" He also mention that many times strong & secure people look at weak people & people who have problems as an inconvenience. They don't want to reach them or help them so they bypass them. We always want to be people with a tender heart towards others. This is what Jesus as like, He was incredibly strong & complete in His life but he never relished in His strength & bypassed a needy world. Instead he used & utilised that strength & laid it down at a needy world. He brought joy & wholeness to the world around Him. We want to learn from Jesus & allow Him to use us in this needy world. Jesus never saw people as interruptions! We lead

As you may already know, I have been on major decluttering process recently. I have had a deep look at my life, my priorities, my purpose & my loves. You can have a read about it in previous post - Less is More I , II & III . It all started in April when I found myself tired soon after getting back from a lovely holiday. It has taken quite some time to work through this process. I guess that's why it's called a process as it is not a once off event. The final part of my decluttering took place about a week ago when I closed my FaceBook account. It may seem like a silly thing to do but it is very significant to me. I realise after a week of not having it that I never needed it! I haven't missed anything but have gained so much time. So now what? I have decluttered & am confident that there is nothing left to "throw out" in both my home & my soul. I asked God what the next step is. These two verses immediately came to mind: Psalm 23:2 H

Hope = to desire something with confident expectation of its fulfilment Wasn't Eric's message this Sunday powerful? It's so good to be reminded that God really is our hope in these times & always is. I found it very interesting when he mentioned the importance of inviting people into our world so they can see what hope looks like, but also that we shouldn't invite people into our dysfunction. We have to be living a life that shows hope & that believes God is our hope before we try to convince any one else of it. I really believe Eric spoke such truth here! Too many unsaved people are turned away from Jesus & a life of hope because they see the mess & dysfunction of our life - what is coming out of their mouth isn't lining up with the fruit in our life. - we confess God is our hope but we don't live like we believe it. Let's get our lives sorted out by lining it up with what the Bible says & believing what the Bible says. Then we won'

Thank you Marli for sending this recipe in, I tried it yesterday & it is delicious! One thing I would mention though if you are going to try this, leave a space at the top of the baking dish as the topping rises. I found this out after filling my baking dish up all the way to the top! 1 medium aubergine, peeled & sliced into 1/2 rounds 1 tin crushed tomatoes 2 large potatoes, thinly sliced olive oil 1 cup Parmesan, grated 1 large onion, minced 2 cups plain whole yoghurt 2 cloves garlic, minced 3 eggs, beaten 450g minced beef 3/4 cup single cream 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon butter · Preheat oven to 190 C. · Brown aubergine rounds in olive oil & season with salt & pepper. · Cook onion & garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil · Brown mince, add spices, onion, garlic & tomatoes then simmer. · Brown potatoes in olive oil, salt & pepper. · Butter baking dish & add potatoes, meat, aubergine & Parmesan. · Combine yoghurt, eggs & cream i

The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman is one of my favourite books. This particular book is aimed at married couples but I find the principles work in any relationship. You can also apply love languages to a friendship, to a parent child relationship, in a family & even your relationship with God. No matter how young or old you are this is a great principle to learn about. In a nutshell the 5 Love Languages are Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service & Physical Touch. You may already be able to guess what your love language is but I do recommend reading the book as you may find that your love language is not what you thought it was. Most importantly you may receive love in one language but need to speak another language to give love to someone. I have used the principle of love languages in my marriage, in my friendships, in my relationship with my children & in my relationship with God! It might sound silly to you but I try to tell God how I lo

I have been very spoilt since Amy was born. Every morning Eric brings me coffee & breakfast in bed so I can ease into the day. Amy still doesn't sleep through the night so mornings are not the best time of day for me. This morning I thought I would make Eric breakfast so he could have a day off from taking care of me. Let's just say after spilling baby food all over the floor, missing Amy's mouth several times & getting baby food up her nose... I decided to go back to bed & humbly ask for my usual coffee so I could wake up slowly & ease into the day! I am just too clumsy BEFORE COFFEE! A photo of me before coffee would be too shocking to share with you so I thought I would spare you & have a photo of Daniel eating his breakfast :)

With all these nasty bugs going around I thought it would be good to chat about what we can do to avoid them! Here are some tips on boosting our immune system so we can lead a healthy, fun filled life together. 1. Sleep. On average we need 8 hours of sleep each night but this varies from person to person. Whatever your personal sleep needs are make sure you get it! Sleep has been linked to balancing hormone levels, keeping weight down, having a clear mind & healthy skin. (Perhaps I shouldn't be working on this post at 2am then?) 2. Water . On average we need 8 glasses of water a day! I have covered this in a previous post & am very passionate about it. My children will tell you that my response to most of their complaints is, "Have you been drinking enough water?". 3. Coffee. There is a lot of conflicting information on this one, but I would say that if you drink too much coffee you are damaging your body! The guidelines I've come across is 3 cups a da

This Friday was quite a crazy Friday so I thought I would share it with you. The morning was a bit sad, I had to take my dad & brother to the station as they were heading home after a 2 week visit with us. I said my good-byes, drove off & burst into tears realising that I hadn't seen them for about 7 years & may not see them again for that long! Eric had to turn the car around & drive me back to the station so I could give them another big hug & I held them tight for ages. Life is so short & I needed to make sure they knew how much I love them. We weren't a pretty sight all 3 of us being all emotional at the station! The great part was the Eric took me out for breakfast afterwards to cheer me up... mmm nice :) Next item on the day plan was to rush home to clean up & prepare for another house guest who is staying for the weekend & for one of my piano students concert in the afternoon! Whilst rushing around getting ready, baking cupcakes &a

I am busy reading Christine Caine's book Stop Acting Like A Christian Just Be One & I can't wait until I am finished it to tell you about it so I may have to do a review in stages! This book is so packed with life changing principles that I feel if I read it too fast I will miss something so I am savouring it, picking it up occasionally only when I am sure I have totally applied what I have learned & can safely move on. Lust - you may be wondering why I have chosen this as my post title! Christine's book consists of two parts, the first sections covers some fascinating thoughts on how we are made up, who we are & how we can be all that we can be for Jesus. The second part of the book is a 31 day devotional. I am only on Day 8 & as I mentioned I only move on to the next day once I am sure I have fully absorbed what I need & applied everything that has challenged me. Day 8 is called "Be: Content" & the caption under the title says; &q

This movie had me in fits of laughter & tears! If ever there was an inspiring movie about the power of choice this is it! I tried to write a good review for you but thought I couldn't match what is already on the Dove website, so here it is: " After seven years of marriage, Caleb and Catherine Holt have drifted so far apart that Catherine wishes she had never married. Neither one understands the pressures the other faces--as firefighter and she as the public relations director of a hospital. Regular arguments over jobs, finances, housework, and outside interests have readied them both to move on to something with more sparks. As the couple prepares to enter divorce proceedings, Caleb's father challenges his son to commit to a 40-day experiment he calls "The Love Dare." Wondering if it's even worth the effort, Caleb agrees, but more for his father's sake than for his marriage. When Caleb discovers the book's daily challenges are tied into his p

Choosing who your friends are is really, really important. The person you will be in 5 years time will be mostly determined by who your friends are and by what books you have read. There are four types of people in your life: People who add or People who subtract People who multiply or People who divide Only allow people who add or multiply in your life to get close to you. If a person is subtracting or dividing, you need to keep your distance from that person, if possible cut them out totally. It sounds difficult but it's your l ife & you will waste it if you don't choose your friends wisely. "He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed." ( Prov 13:20 ). Have a lovely weekend & invest in your precious friendships! xxx

Every week I get a delivery of lovely fresh organic food from Riverford . This week in the box were loads of broad beans so I thought I would find something interesting to do with them & came across this recipe. 1T vegetable oil 1 onion 2 cloves garlic 2 medium potatoes, chopped 300ml vegetable stock 1½C shelled broad beans juice of 1 lemon 300ml single cream 1 sprig mint chopped salt & pepper to taste ·Lightly fry onions and garlic in oil. ·Add the potato and stock & cook for 15 minutes. ·Cook the broad beans in boiling water for 5 minutes & add to potato. ·Leave the soup to cool then add the lemon juice, cream and mint. · Purée until smooth.

I am loving Eric's series on Seeking, Stuck, Flourishing! It is so refreshing to hear such hardcore truth with very practical steps to move onto a flourishing life. The one bit that stood out to me the most was " If you are still the same person you were a month ago... that shows that you are not moving forward in your walk with God! And if you stay there long enough you will waste your entire life there! " The reverse engineering principles to Saul’s life was really helpful. Based on Saul in 1 Samuel chapters 10 to 15, we learned what caused Saul to stay stuck, which of course helps us know what NOT to do. Here is a little recap of those points. He hid himself (1 Sam 10:1) He avoided responsibility by hiding away He was proud (1 Sam 13:3-4) He took the glory for Jonathan's victory He panicked (1 Sam 13:9) He did the right thing in the wrong time He made excuses (1 Sam 13:12) He tried to justify his disobedience With this list of what not to do in mind I g

One of the most significant things that you will deal with in life is dating. There are so many opinions out there, so much conflicting advice yet still so little you can rely on. I hope I can offer you some advice that will help the dating season be pure joy for you. #1 Know Who You Are To me this is the most important thing in every area of life, especially dating! I have done a whole bunch of posts on identity as I am very passionate about this subject. If you don't know who you are, how are you going to let anyone else get to know you? A lot of energy and time will be wasted trying to be who you think you should be to please the person you are dating! If the relationship ends then you will be confused about who you are and  will go into another relationship to do the whole thing yet again, adding another layer of confusion to your already confused life. Sadly confusion is the only result. Your identity is so precious, don't compromise who you are for anyone. If you

More and more I am finding people saying that they are addicted to FaceBook, need to close their FaceBook account (but then don't) or say how they hate that they spend so much time on FaceBook but can't seem to get away from it! This got me really curious as to what has made us this way. I begun snipping up my FaceBook page to create the image on this post and realised that there is a lot that this little website has to offer. Take a look at the image and see all the bits and bobs that we use it for (there are loads more too). Facebook reports that its 200 million users worldwide are logging in collectively for 3.5 billion Facebook minutes per day. WHY? It starts of with an innocent glimpse at your friends profiles on the site and suddenly you are logging on 10 times a day to see if any of them have made updates to their profile, changed their relationship status or have posted pictures. I am not even going to begin to get into all the applications and quizzes that I hav

My wonderful husband sent me this quote by Rick Warren that will help all of us in our marriages: "Marriage counseling can be summed up in two words – GROW UP!" I had a good chuckle at this, but how true! If I look back at any of our arguments I have to laugh at how stupid and childish they really were. Do we ever really argue over anything significant or is it just silly things that we get sensitive about. Lately I am aware of my childishness in an argument and make sure that I "GROW UP" quickly to end the argument so we can get on with more important things. Life is too short for silly things like arguments and love is too precious to be trampled with unnecessary hurt don't you think? Enjoy your marriage! Love

A little more on " Less is More " because I have found another simple key on my journey of decluttering... a little goes a long way!!! It's quite simple really, I am replacing some bad habits with some good ones by using the 10 minutes a day principle (I just made that principle up ha ha). I have been complaining (bad habit) about being out of shape for ages now so have decided just to do something about it. I have started exercising just 10 minutes a day and I can't believe how much difference it is making. My tummy is flatter already and my energy levels are on the rise. I feel so much better for taking this very small step and am inspired to find other good habits I want to develop by just taking 10 minutes a day to implement them :) Other areas I thought this could be applied to could perhaps be taking time to develop stronger friendships, marriages or for special time with children - starting with investing just 10 minutes a day to build that relations

Thanks to Helen for her Romatic Rose Cupcake comment, I tried them and they worked :) One thing I found was to use a muffin tray and cases instead of the tiny cupcake ones. Here is the recipe! 150ml pot natural yoghurt 3 eggs, beaten 1 tsp vanilla extract 175g golden caster sugar 140g self-raising flour 1 tsp baking powder 100g ground almonds 175g unsalted butter, melted Line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases and heat oven to 190C. In a jug, mix the yoghurt, eggs and vanilla extract. Put the dry ingredients, plus a pinch of salt, into a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Add yoghurt mix and melted butter, and quickly fold in with a spatula or metal spoon - don't overwork it. Spoon into the cases (they will be quite full) and bake for 18-20 mins. Icing 100g white chocolate 140g unsalted butter 140g icing sugar Melt the chocolate in the microwave on High for 1½ mins, stirring halfway. Leave to cool. Beat the butter and icing sugar in a large bowl unti

I have had some fantastic feedback from some of you who are joining me in the de-cluttering process! Thanks for your emails and letters, it is really encouraging to hear how your de-cluttering is going. It would be great if you could post your feedback on the Blog comments box too as I am sure others would be encouraged too. Continuing with my "Less is More" process I am discovering what is clutter that needs to go and what is not. Here are a few thoughts: 1) Hanging out with my children doing nothing ISN'T doing nothing! This is an important part of their childhood and spending time with them is very important. Games, painting, baking, watching a butterfly pass by, catching frogs, singing songs and cuddling take up a huge part of my day. This is not part of the clutter that needs to go, this is a precious season I need to embrace. If you are a teenager I would say that hanging out with your parents is valuable! The older you get the more you realise how important y

I am in the process of decluttering my life, starting with my home and moving onto my soul! It's a refreshing process and I am positive at the end I am going to have a prettier home and a more peaceful soul. After getting back from holiday last week and feeling tired only a few days later I realised that something had to change. Before the holiday I was totally shattered! The holiday was amazing and I came back refreshed. (the photo above is towards the end of our holiday when we were all nicely refreshed, although Daniel looks like he still needs a bit more rest he he) I quickly jumped back into real life! You guessed it, back to shattered again. This is not the way to lead a healthy balanced life hence the decluttering! I figured that less is more, if I can do a few things well I will be effective in what I do and more satisfied with my life. Doing too many things badly or even mediocre is not the way I want to do life and living with a tired and stressed me is not what is be