Chistmas Gingerbread Biscuits

Ingredients

150g Butter
60g Caster Sugar
60g Soft dark brown sugar
60g Golden syrup
360g Plain Flour
1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1.5 tsp Ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1) Preheat oven to gas mark 4/180C/350F. Line a baking tray
2) Melt butter with both types of sugar and golden syrup
3) Sieve flour, bicarb, ginger and cinnamon into a large bowl, then add melted mixture and mix together.
4) Knead the mixture for a few second until to comes together. add a little water if needed, but keep the sough soft, not sticky.
5) Flatten the dough into a round, 2cm thick, then wrap with cling film and put in the fridge for 30 mins.
6) Dust work surface and roll out dough. Stamp out shapes with a cookie cutter.
7) Bake in the oven for 10-12 mins or until golden. Remove from oven, cool on wire rack and ice then cool.
8) Icing - icing sugar and water to desired consistency (remember not very much water is needed at all)

The season of Giving

I absolutely love this time of year. I know any time of year should feel this way, but this season particularly is such a season of giving. We are busy with all sorts of activities, Operation Christmas Child boxes; Preparing winter food hampers for our members in need and interested contacts and homeless friends; Collecting and buying toys for the local children's hospice; Preparing food and manning the soup kitchen in town; baking for friends and neighbours! Whatever people believe about Christmas, whether it should be celebrated or not, whether we should get caught up with and involved in the festivities, you cannot deny that it is such a wonderful opportunity to GIVE and such a brilliant opportunity to preach Jesus our Saviour to those we come in contact with, seeing as many have their minds on Jesus at this time of year anyway.

Just sit down and brainstorm the kind of things you could do in your community at this time of year, what you could do for your neighbour or friend, and once you have your ideas, they can be carried on throughout the whole year in service to God. There is just SO much need. Yes, so much need for God in peoples lives, but showing God to people isn't always effective by preaching the gospel in word, it is more effectively proclaimed by LIVING the gospel.

I think of how Blessed I am, not just this season, but every day of the year, with such abundance of food, and warmth in my home, and love. I am so content curled up on the sofa with a book and a hot chocolate, but do I spare a thought for my elderly next door neighbour who is so lonely and longing for company, or the big issue lady at the roundabout who spends all day in the cold trying to get a few pounds for her 6 children? SERIOUSLY! This world is in such need. This city is in such need! We need Christ SO bad, but until then we have GOT to DO SOMETHING! We have got to think outwardly, selflessly. I hope and pray this time of year leads us all to think outwardly, not of our own arrangements and festivities, but of others!

Walk as Jesus walked

Today has been one of those days. Battling with a toddler who refuses to listen, asking God 'please give me wisdom' because I simply do not know how to teach him to listen! He is not always like it, his behaviour has been delightful recently, but today I wanted to tear my hair out! This on top of Isaac teething and being miserable and clingy, and me still recovering from us all being ill with a sickness bug over the last week, has just left me exhausted. When our children are ill we give them so much of our energy and attention to help them through that period of time, but then when we fall ill too, we STILL have to give them all of our attention in the everyday stuff, when all we want to do is get into bed and sleep! At least it is over now and hopefully an early night and Pete being off work for the next 4 days might help me feel a bit brighter and more motivated.

It has been snowing today and although it is so pretty and refreshing and 'wintery' my thoughts go out to those who are homeless in Birmingham, trying to find warm shelter to sleep for the night. I pray for them that they may be kept safe and warm and that through myself or somebody else they might see God reaching out to them showing them the love of Jesus. I pray for Jesus to return soon to put to right these hardships. It has been such an encouraging new outreach to be able to get involved in feeding the homeless in Birmingham once a month and really helps me to realise what it means to 'walk as Jesus walked' . This is what we are called to do. This is how we can show the Love of Christ.

'...if not us then who will go, and walk as Jesus walked?'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6MebAcPCbg&feature=related

By Our Love

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifQpZgtGHlk

Monday Morning

I have really been spoilt this year for my Birthday. Flowers delivered to my door, gifts in the post, an afternoon out in Stratford with hubby - no kids! Shopping, more gifts, more flowers, lovely food, family time, cake...and to top it off, a SURPRISE meal with all my dear friends. Thank you so much to everyone who were a part of my day. Thank you so much Pete for being so thoughtful and knowing what would really touch my heart.

My friends mean everything to me. They ARE everything to me. They are from God and I praise him for that blessing in my life, because without them I would be nothing. They have brought me through the ups and downs of my life. They have listened, they have rebuked, they have cried with me, laughed with me. They have taught me life lessons and showed me the love of God through their friendships.

And now here we are back to Monday morning, with birthday cake for breakfast and the usual to catch up on after the weekend - washing, cleaning, sorting. Another huge bag has been put out for charity because I have a policy that if I get some new clothes, I have to find something to give away that I perhaps don't wear much anymore, or if I haven't worn something for over a year, that automatically goes in a charity bag! So sorting has been done, birthday gifts put away, Asher is at playgroup and Isaac is asleep so I actually have some quiet time to do something edifying!

What will I do with this precious time? Will I use it for God's will, or my own? That is the question...

Birthday Love and Fun

Me and my lovely family

Us girls

Me and my wonderful boys!

For everything there is a season...

...and a time for every matter under heaven

a time to be born - Chole Rose and Thomas Burke

and a time to die - my dear Great Auntie Eileen

a time to plant - my dear children

and a time to pluck up - the weeds in my garden

a time to kill - spiders in the bathroom

and a time to heal - a grazed knee

a time to break down - the walls around me

and a time to build up - Spiritually

a time to weep - with those who are weeping

and a time to laugh - at Pete's jokes

a time to mourn - for the poverty/inequality and injustice in this world

and a time to dance - with my boys in the living room

a time to cast away stones - my past

and a time to gather stones together - new memories

a time to embrace - my loved ones

and a time to refrain from embracing - people who don't see it coming!

a time to seek - the truth

and a time to lose - my keys!

a time to keep - my treasured possessions

and a time to cast away - the clutter in my house

a time to tear - my hair out!

and a time to sew - a hole in a sock

a time to keep silence - in loyalty to a friend

and a time to speak - in honesty

a time to love - my neighbour

and a time to hate - myself

a time for war - against my flesh

and a time for peace - with my heart

I can hear again!

The house is quiet, all I can hear is Asher snoring beside me. What? I can hear snoring? I can HEAR snoring? I can HEAR? Yes, that's right, I CAN HEAR!!! Yesterday I spent my morning at the hearing centre getting new hearing aids fitted, and boy is it about time! I had my first pair over 2 years ago now and since then my hearing has deteriorated even more, and so have been given some more powerful ones. I just cannot believe I have been coping for so long with my old ones, straining to hear any sound, not hearing the front door knock, the kids, the beeper on the oven, prayers at church! But now I can hear again, a whole world of sound that I had forgotten existed. I can hear sirens, the noise of the wind in the trees, cars, people talking, footsteps, stuff that I just couldn't pick up before. Now I don't have to strain and feel the terrible frustration that goes along with hearing loss! I am eternally grateful and very thankful for modern technology that allows these amazing devices to be made.

Now there has to be some spiritual lesson in that somewhere...

Psa 115:1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

Psa 115:2 Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?"

Psa 115:3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.

Psa 115:4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands.

Psa 115:5 They have mouths, but do not speak; eyes, but do not see.

Psa 115:6 They have ears, but do not hear; noses, but do not smell.

Psa 115:7 They have hands, but do not feel; feet, but do not walk; and they do not make a sound in their throat.

We all have ears, but do we hear? We all have ears, but do we LISTEN? What is God trying to tell you? Is is trying to speak to you, but you cannot hear. Are you deaf? Is he SHOUTING to you, but you are non the wiser? OPEN your ears, OPEN your eyes, OPEN your heart! He is all around you. He is there in the everyday miracles of your life, in the stuff that could have happened but didn't, in the blessed end result. You don't HAVE to be deaf, your ears work just fine, so use them to listen, and listen carefully.

His mercies never come to an end

Once again, I am shocked at the length of time it has been since my last post! The summer has shot by and I have just not allowed myself time to stop and write. But summer is over and Autumn is approaching and I can feel it in the cold nippy air in the evenings. I like the change from summer to Autumn, the leaves changing, and I don't mind the temperature dropping, as it means I can dig out my jumpers and scarves and start wearing them again. I like to be cosy.

So, Handsworth camp was wonderful. A lovely week with all our young people. Apart from a crazy trip to Bangor A&E on the 2nd day, it was fantastic. The kids loved it, camping was so fun and being by the sea, it was great! Being with our close friends and brothers and sisters, encouraging the young people, watching them learn and have fun, it was special. The rest of the summer consisted of Pete starting his new job (Praise God), driving lessons, a surprise visit from Pete's sister Rosie, more driving lessons, seeing family, and then into September Asher started playgroup (5 mornings a week) and then the crazy surprise of Beck and Andy arriving at the front door, engaged! So wonderful. It was priceless to see my good friend so unexpectedly, and also marvellous to see Beck and Andy so happy together, engaged to be married! And me a bridesmaid! eeee

So it has been an eventful summer, and a lovely summer all around. As always it was been showered upon with blessings from God which takes my breath away. Sometimes it is overwhelming how good he is to us, I feel I deserve some evil in my life. But it is his pleasure to give us good things, and I simply thank him for my life, my family, my ecclesia, my friends, my health, and pray he will provide for those without, and show me where I am needed.

With my WHOLE HEART...

This is an extract from a brilliant book I have been reading recently (Search me, O God) and I wanted to share it because it was very powerful to me...

LOVE is life, and Love of God is the highest and holiest and happiest form of life. But, because He is so great, and high, and we are so small and low, love of God - to be anything - must be EVERYTHING, or else it is nothing. Many have 'love of God' as a part-time hobby, a pleasant palliative on the shelf, with the iodine and aspirins, to use as needed. What the love of God demands is the WHOLE heart, life, strength and mind - at all times and in all things. Anything less is a mockery - an indication that we are cruelly deceiving ourselves, and have not really made contact with God at all. If and when we truly do, the magnetism and attraction will be irresistible, and mere part-time service will be impossible and unthinkable.

Thomas Land...

A Very fun, sunny trip to Drayton Manor!

Sunday Evening

... PJ's on, boys in bed, toys away, vacuumed, kitchen clean and tidy (almost) meal plan done for the week, washing sorted...time to open my box of Jaffa cakes and take a breather.

Sunday is always a crazy day for us, as I am sure it is for everyone else. You spend the morning getting things ready, packing bags, making lunches, washing and dressing ourselves and kids (if we have them). Some of us might be organised enough to pack bags the night before, and I do sometimes, but even then it still feels like a mad rush. Then off to meeting we go, and we have a delightful day, but the day is also complicated by overtired children, overtired and busy parents, co-coordinating things etc etc. This day which happens to be the most busy and tiring day of the week, is actually meant to be our 'day of rest'. It is meant to be the day that we come away boosted spiritually and encouraged for the week ahead. The day that we feel revived and refreshed. Do you feel that after a day at church?

It occurred to me today that it is my challenge to make sure my Sunday IS my day of rest, the day I feel refreshed and revived, and I must do everything I can to make sure that happens. I want my Sunday to boost me, not drain me. I don't want to be so consumed in rushing around after my kids that I come way with NOTHING to contemplate. I need to pre-plan, prioritise, say little prayers of peace, and focus on what I am there for and what is really important. The reason I am there is to fellowship with others, to serve, to show kindness and patience, to be a listening ear, or to give a hug of support, and ultimately to remember Jesus, the reason that I can fellowship in the first place. To remember the great price he paid for me to be alive and living now!

Today, thankfully because Asher and Isaac behaved in creche, I was able to bring something strong away from the exhortation. I need and want to know my bible more. Christ knew his bible, his old testament, and it got him through many things. I need to KNOW my bible, to have it in my head, to have it there every moment of every day in my heart, guiding my decisions, my activities, my chores, my choices, EVERYTHING. This week, I want to read more of my bible and know more of it, and so draw closer to the Lord Jesus.

Now I'm gonna get back to my jaffa cakes!!!

Jehovah Jireh

'Jehovah Jireh, my provider, his grace is sufficient for me, for me for me! Jehovah Jireh, my provider, his grace is sufficient for me' PTL.

I have this song in my head because I have just come across a powerful verse which is also part of this song and it has reminded me of God's Grace.

'...and my God will meet all your needs, according to his riches in Christ Jesus' Phillipians 4v19

GRACE really is an amazing thing to contemplate. To be given that which we don't deserve. To have so much, even though we are not worthy of it. To have it because of God's incredible love, because he WANTS to give it to us, because he WANTS to bless us. The ultimate Grace was Christ's sacrifice, but I want to just reflect on the little everyday Graces that God continually gives me...

My loving and giving husband

My Children

My health

the amazing meals I eat every day

the fact that my cupboards have food in them

the warm shower I just had

the friends I can talk to

the bible in front of me that I can read freely

the loving ecclesia I am part of

the opportunity to learn so much from being a mother

the work that keeps us afloat

all the plenty of clothes I have in my wardrobe

my bank account that always has money in it

our car

my hearing aids

my voice

my sight.....

I could list so much more, but I don't want to get boring. I feel flooded with blessings, daily, and despite recent unemployment, I really do believe that our God does supply all our needs. He never lets us go hungry, cold, uncomfortable, unloved. Even if we did, we would never be stripped of the love of God, he will never take that away from us and that is a comfort. I pray that those people who don't have clothes, food, homes etc, feel the love of God in their lives. I pray that God will supply that need for them, that they can be comforted by his greatness. That they won't be completely naked, but be clothed with God's love. I pray Jesus will come back too to bring peace.

'For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither present nor future, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord' Romans 8v38-39

SACRIFICE

Wow, how has it been over a month since I have blogged? I really didn’t think it had been that long. This last month has pretty much been filled with illness, sleep issues, and childminding!!! Lots of colds, coughs, teething, allergies, and this past weekend a visit to A&E!

I was hoping this blog would be all about our amazing weekend away, where we were going to study ‘women of the bible’ and that i’d be able to report on uplifting talks and wonderful fellowship and fun and laughs, but instead, we have had a weekend at home with poorly boys-croup, vomit, fever, crying, 6 loads of laundry (because of the vomit!), sleepless nights, and lots of frustration and grinding of teeth!!!

But the ironic thing is that actually, I have learnt quite a lot spiritually from this weekend at home, even though I missed out on a wonderful weekend with my spiritual family. This weekend I have been reflecting on SACRIFICE.

This whole weekend of cleaning up vomit, 10 hours in A&E with screaming baby, washing sheets and clothes, cleaning up more vomit, washing more sheets and clothes, pacing the floor with crying baby, and it goes on. This WHOLE thing has just had me thinking about my attitude as a mum and how much my JOY and PEACE in parenthood is dependant on my attitude towards whatever situation I am in.

Thursday night in A&E and Friday had me totally frustrated and annoyed because it meant we were missing our weekend of fellowship with our spiritual family. I was SO looking forward to it and was totally put out by the fact that I wasn’t able to do what I wanted to do and that my boys were getting in the way of that! And then it hit me, my attitude, and how totally wrong it was for me to feel so begrudging! I am a mother, they are my boys and they need me. Whatever the situation, I need to sacrifice what I want, for what they need. I need to deny myself for them. That is what Christ did for me right? He gave HIMSELF for me! He denied his whole life, his whole self, his wants, his interests, his pleasures, for ME, so what I could LIVE and be FREE and have a happy and peaceable life in him. He did that for me, and so I must do it for my children. I must also do it for my God.

We are asked to take up our cross daily, and to deny ourselves. This can be in whatever situation we are in, serving God in OUR situation, whether we’re parents, uni students, husbands or wives, missionaries, single and working, whatever, we must deny ourselves for God, we must SACRIFICE.

So I wanted to be at our weekend away, but I found myself at home doing what I probably didn’t really want to be doing, not out of choice obviously as it was completely out of my hands, but it challenges me to sacrifice daily as a mum, because there are situations on a daily basis where I DO have choices to make.

This week, I hope God guides me to choose my children over my self, to choose him over me. To give my kids my time, when I want it for myself. To give them my attention when I have little focus. I hope that I am challenged to see how important my role as a mum is, and how much it typifies God’s loving role as a father to me. How many lessons are learnt from the way he deals with me his child, and how much I can apply to the way I treat my children. I pray he gives me the patience that he has for me, the grace to look over my faults for my children's, the longsuffering and perseverance to deal with their behaviour. I pray he gives it to all of us mums as we start a new week. Time for Bed…

To get me through the week...

Every Monday morning I make a big batch of soup to get me through the week....

Carrot and lentil soup

1 onion

3 garlic cloves (I love garlic! so nutritious!)

4 carrots

2 small potatoes

1 bay leaf

4 oz red lentils

2 pints vegetable or chicken stock (fresh or cubed is fine)

Chop all ingredients.

Sauté the onion and garlic for a few minutes in a tiny bit of olive oil.

Throw in the rest of the ingredients, and the stock.

Simmer for 30-40 minutes (or until the carrots and potatoes are tender)

Remove bay leaf

Puree soup

add a bit of salt and pepper if you like!

Asher loves it with some crusty bread, and its a great way to get some goodness into him!

Another thing that gets me through the week is muffins...

Banana and choc chip muffins

3 very ripe bananas

125 ml vegetable oil

2 eggs

250g plain flour

100g caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

100g choc chips (more or less depending on how chocolatey you want them!)

preheat oven to 200 c/gas mark 6.

grease a muffin tin or use muffin cases

mash bananas and set aside

Pour the oil into a jug and beat in the eggs

Put the flour, sugar, bicarb and baking powder into a large bowl

Mix in the beaten-egg-and-oil mixture, followed by the mashed bananas

Fold in the choc chips

Divide between muffin cases

Bake for 20 minutes

make sure the middle if cooked! yum

These muffins are great. I'll grab one for breakfast if I'm in a rush, have one for a snack in the afternoon, or i'll find myself eating one in the middle of the night while I'm feeding Isaac.

And the last, but most important thing that gets me through my day is a little bit of scripture. A proverb each morning starts me off with something to think about.

"Commit to the LORD in whatever you do, and your plans will succeed"

Proverbs 16v3

Don't do it alone

Today has been a day of realising how blessed I am to have people around me, and allowed me to reflect on others who don’t have this blessing.

Isaac has been quite ill today, still suffering with his diarrhoea vomiting, together with just being generally lethargic and pale and weak, poor little love. There were so many things to juggle today, but I had sisters all around to help me out. Hannah was my taxi service! Sarah was there to calm my worries over Isaac’s vomiting. Nat was there to reassure me not to worry about Asher’s sometimes crazy behaviour. Robyn was there to remind me not to stress about Asher’s eating habits, and dear Auntie Millie was there to show me that God is in control and it will all be alright in the end!

How glad I am to have these sisters around me, whether accessible 2 doors away, by phone, e mail, facebook, around the corner or a bus ride away…they are there and they are from God!! Each and every one of them today was a little reminder to me of God’s love and support.

We don’t have to do it alone! In the bible, Mary had Elizabeth, Elijah had Elisha, Moses had Aaron, Jesus had his disciples…All of these amazing people in the bible, and many more needed encouragement from other people. Mum’s certainly need constant encouragement from others, whether it is from elder woman, older mums, even younger mums, we all need each other. I pray you all have other mums to look to and support you nearby, and if you do not have them present, I hope they are accessible to talk to over e mail or phone. And if not, then please talk to me!!! NEVER go it alone!

It was especially nice to be with Auntie Millie today, to sit with such a wise and faithful and experienced lady and sister, a mum of 5 children and many more grandchildren and great grandchildren. She has so much to share and I am grateful of her advice and assurance. She encourages me as a mother, to do my best for my boys, to put trust in God on the bad days, and to NEVER forget to praise him on the good.

So today I am thankful for the amazing women in my life, who support me, reassure me and give me wisdom to be a better mother. Look for other mums near you who can build you up, and look for other mums around you who you can build up too!

What a day...

FINALLY I get to sit down, and with a tub of vanilla praline ice cream in my hand! HA, I think I deserve it after the day I've had! I have had to practice PATIENCE for sure...

Well, the day began at 5:30am with a SCREAMING Asher. I stumbled out of bed, eyes still closed, found my way to his room and tried to persuade him to get back into bed for more sleep, it isn't quite morning yet! But no, 'more more more' is all he had to say! NO, not 'MORE' I thought. I know what 'more' means. More means food and once food is on his mind, there's no changing it! How can he be waking up this early, hungry? ARGH! Well, it was probably because yesterday he hardly ate a thing because we've all been poorly all week and not felt like eating and yesterday particularly he went to bed without eating any dinner, and only a tiny bit of cereal to try and fill him up, which was unlike him! So at 5:30 this morning I shouldn't have been surprised to hear him up demanding food...

So, the day went from there, busy busy as usual. I hadn't managed to do any cleaning all week so the house was a mess, so as I was feeling much better than earlier in the week, I decided to use today to catch on on cleaning the bathrooms, floors and laundry! However, what should have been just the expected 1 load of laundry, turned into 3 loads of laundry! Not long after Isaac's morning feed, he vomited the WHOLE lot up all over me and the bedcovers! I thought it was just perhaps a one off so didn't think anything of it, just cleaned him up and put him down for a nap because he didn't seem interested in anymore milk. However, since than he has vomited another 3 times, basically thrown up every single feed all day! He must have a stomach bug...or perhaps it is not a bug and he is just vomited because of all the mucus, as he has the awful cold/cough we have all had! Whatever the cause, today has been a day of changing outfit after outfit and cleaning up vomit, shoving in another load of laundry and changing my clothes a million times too! LOL.

So I sit here now, in my PJ's, with my tub of ice cream and my glass of port, in complete silence as the boys are both fast asleep in bed (...but for how long?) glad that this day is finally over and I can put my feet up for an hour before I go to bed!

Thank you God for giving me the strength and patience and amazing energy to get through this 15 hour day!!!! I could not have done it without you. And despite this crazy day, I still feel JOY and LOVE, as I think of caring for my boys while they are ill. Motherly love eh, it's incredible!

Cast your cares

"Cast your cares on the LORD, and he will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall"

Psalm 55v22

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc9pEb-Ej7U

A new beginning

I want to start blogging again. Any suggestions on how to get started? I sit here wondering what to write, hoping something insightful and useful will come to me, but instead I am just exhausted, full of cold and ready for bed!

I will be heading upstairs, however, filled with LOVE JOY and PEACE, because this evening we've had a few friends and contacts around to discus the amazing parable in Luke 15 v11-32.

'It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found'!

LOVE - Because of God's UNCONDITIONAL love, regardless of who I am, what i've done, where i've been, my past, my present, my future. He LOVES me!

JOY - Because I feel SO loved by God, by my family and my friends, and because of the amazing things God has in store for me everyday!

PEACE - Because I can rest in the assurance that God means it when he says he loves me, and that Jesus died for ME and that I am saved!!! :)