Sunrise Today

Beautiful....

Worrying Statistics

In further evidence of the decline of our nation I heard 2 concerning statistics this week:

1) Telford in Shropshire has one of the youngest populations in a UK town in Britain and it has the lowest church attendance in the country.

2) Between 1 in 3 and 1 in 4 marriages in Hertfordshire end in divorce.

We need to pray for God to have mercy on our country.

Zambian Mission

On Tuesday night Phil Bailey came to talk at the midweek meeting about the work of Zambian Missions Support. It was a really fascinating talk and it is amazing how much the project has grown in just 5 years. What I was particularly impressed by was the farming project where they showed that with using good farming methods of planting at the right time and taking care of the ground with regular weeding the crop quality and yields could be increased enormously. Another interesting part of the project that he mentioned was the trials they are doing with different plants. There is a particular plant which is very effective in reducing the likelihood of malaria. Phil stated that he felt that one of the most important things in fighting AIDs was to encourage good nutrition. The people would then be strong enough to fight off infections. So, with good farming methods and increased food and variety of food and vegetables health and welfare should improve. In Zambia 1 in 4 people have AIDs.

www.zambianmissionsupport.com

History repeated

Have you ever noticed how often history repeats itself through the generations? Reading through Genesis there are lots of examples of repetitions. Abraham pretended that Sarah was his sister and then Isaac pretended that Rebekah was his sister. There are also repetitions of immorality. Another more obvious example is Isaac and Rebekah had their favourite sons and then Jacob went on to have his favourite son.

I'm sure there are lots more examples, I will keep an eye out and keep you informed. Can you think of any more?

Last weekend..

I thought this was a nice picture of one of the Cheltenham colleges - lovely architecture, they don't make them like that now!

January Cloudy Skies

Speak often with one another

Last weekend I was away at a different church and heard some really good sermons. On Sunday evening the sermon was from Malachi 3:16-17:
'Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name. They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him'
I had only been talking with a friend earlier in the day saying that as Christians we often find it so hard to speak to each other about the LORD and therefore it is almost unnatural for us and becomes so hard when we try to speak to unbelievers. If we were used to speaking often with one another then it would be natural for the things of the LORD to overflow into our conversation with all people. The verses are a picture of salvation given to us in the old testament and give encouragement to be diligent in our Christian living.

Wii Fit

This evening I have had a good long session on a Wii Fit and I love it! I think it is a fantastic way to keep fit, I really like the 4 facets to the training to give you a really good all round fitness. It is a safe way to exercise with goal setting and regular monitoring to see how you are progressing. I enjoy the ski jump and slalom games as well as the hula hoops. My current fitness age on the Wii Fit is 41 so I obviously need a lot more practice! All good fun.

Welcome...

Welcome to Cloudy skies. Today is my birthday and I thought I would start a blog to see if I can keep it up for a year. I really enjoy reading other peoples blogs so I thought why not have a go myself.
What will it be about? My intention is to share my thoughts on all sorts of things and hopefully stimulate some response. Most of the posts I would imagine will be linked to the main aspects of my life - first and foremost being a reformed Christian in the UK and sharing thoughts related to sermons, things I read etc, secondly things related to my work as an osteopath and the studying I do about things related to osteopathy and then anything else I fancy really - life as a single christian, politics, the weather etc.

Why Cloudy Skies? Well, I love looking at the sky and the different formations that can be seen in the clouds and the beauty of the sky at different times of the day and year. It is wonderful evidence of God's creation. The blog title is "like a mans hand" referring to Elijah's prayer and faith when the servant sees a cloud like a mans hand on the seventh time of looking. Elijah is an example to us all as the book of James tells us.

I hope you enjoy reading my blog.