Adventures of Matt and Pippa

60 years of wedded bliss!

2011-04-16T20:51:00.003+01:00

Grandad and Nanna on their 60th wedding anniversary, diamond!

London in Spring

2011-04-16T20:45:00.003+01:00

Springalingaling...

2011-04-16T20:30:00.003+01:00

Discovered: new hangout of joy...

2011-04-16T20:19:00.002+01:00

Love this. Vintage stylee cafe, chintz and all, crafts to do, cool things to purchase... genius.

Things i did see...

2011-04-16T20:15:00.001+01:00

I love my city... so so random.

Summer in the city

2009-08-18T21:35:00.004+01:00

Some highlights of the summer so far...

Times are a-changing, this summer has been one of many endings and moving on to the next adventure God has prepared for us! After 4 years at St Luke's Hampstead, a fab time of growth in God, in our marriage, in friendships and in depth of understanding of the realities of running the Christian race in this broken world, we said goodbye and moved house, church, job with God's kindness and help evident in all.

God provided Matt with a job at a great church and us with a cosy flat, not in some random new city or country which would have been even harder, but further into the heart of the needy city of London, spiritually bereft and needy in every way. Largely without the gospel and without hope and meaning other than greed, materialism, selfishness and hedonism. Whirring away without God, building kingdoms that will only crumble. London IS a hard, dark place, it needs the Light of the World, Jesus Christ.

So though we have only moved 'down the road' or 'south of the river', we get to keep in good contact with our borthers and sisters at church in Hampstead and get to have some support networks and continuity around us, but we also have many new things to start again with - making friends, new church, new area, new jobs, etc. We trust in God, our rock and refuge.

The upheavals of the summer has been shot through with new beginnings for many of our friends/family too, our two best friends both getting married ( not to each other, Helena to Mark and Roger to Laura in August), my bro buying a flat and moving up to near Watford, amongst other 'beginnings' going on for others around us.

For the first summer in years we haven't gone away on summer camps like Contagious which has been sad, but wise for this year.

We are cautiously, slightly fearfully excited of what this next year or 2 holds and are going to keep on trusting that our times are in HIS hands.

Spring things in photo...

2009-05-19T22:26:00.006+01:00

Eurovision Parrrttteee scoresheet time

Cookie and His birthday cake

American Allie takes us to WICKED!

Spring Things...

2009-05-19T17:50:00.004+01:00

Random summary of past month or so! Am so bad at keeping this updated, though i doubt anyone really reads it!!! But for a record of life, and of course remembering the kindness of God in all things i will try and bother more!!!

Lately we/I have...started watching The Wire...hooked already!

I have baked many many cakes and perfected Pippa-ish recipes!

Enjoyed being 'Au Pair/Nanny' to some cuuuuuute kids, doing the school run etc.

Knitted pink wool on pink knitting needles

Saved lots of money in lots of ways

Had blood tests, made some medical progress, and gained more joy and hope and positivity

Been invited to 5 weddings this summer

Started excitedly organising my best friends Hen do

Spent time with my mummy in London, hung out with my brother and His beautiful wiffel

Spoken on the phone to Aussie and Korean pals

Had the privilege of meeting up and having quality time with very very good friends of mine visiting from USA and Oz

Risen to the challenges of serving God in new and different ways

Had generous friends offer to pay for me to go see them in sept in Dublin!

Viewed where we might live next and met some of the people Matt will work alongside and for

Had a hysterical evening at a Eurovision party

Loved celebrating Easter... the rescue of wretched sinners like me by the blood of Jesus at the cross and His victory over sin and death shown in Him being raised to life!

Learned loads about the Resurrection and our risen Saviour Jesus Christ and how that should be impacting life now and gained great hope and longing for future resurrection body and new creation, being finally with God and finally like Jesus

Seen some cool art at some funky galleries

Been taken to see Wicked ( 6th time - oh dear - too much?) with some new cast in, sitting in the best seats ever had, close up, downstairs - amazing

Played tennis and jogged

Injured my knee and recovered, nearly!

Watched the London Marathon

Played golf...badly

Enjoyed 121's in Hebrews

Learned God is Sovereign, Good, keeps His promises, protects His precious people from Exodus

Come up against hard things, hard times.

Experienced the overwhelming grace of God and generous provision of my heavenly Father

Thought long and hard about what i might do next, in september

Flourished through nurturing faithful friendship

Swung on the secret swings

Helped Steph give birth to Knit Wits!

Seen Martine Mchutcheon and Simon Amstell... b list famous people!

Fallen more in love with my church

March Madness

2009-03-19T20:44:00.002Z

Today...

The sun shone brightly and i felt the heat and warmth on my face and didn't wear a coat for the first time...in like at least 6 months!!!!

My husband and I talked deeply and started to think more seriously about our future and faced adversity, the unknown bound in faith in God together.

I knew that people were praying for me, for us

My baby brother has put an offer in for a property!! ( he is 27!)

I spoke to my bro on the phone!

Spoke to my mum, mum in law, dad in law on the phone also!

The cherry blossom trees made me gasp at their pink confetti like beauty!

I bravely tried out a power plate for the first time ever!

My husband proudly walked through streets of London with me, not ashamed of me in my bright pink tracksuit.

I got to see my Godson with his face painted like an animal scooting on his scooter down the street.

There were many grocerybargains for the bargain queen to get half price on at the supermarket!

I finally cleaned the toilet proper

I felt some joy, not misery, some relief not pressure.

I brushed shoulders with Ken Livingstone in a local store, and earlier this week walked past Sarah Cox leaving my gym!

Drank nice coffee and ate lush seafood.

I wore a pink lego ring and earrings!

It was a bonus to see my friends in the evening.

I twittered, googled and facebooked across major geographical boundaries with incredible friends.

What a superfunfilled day - what grace and kindness of God to provide such a super fun day!
Just a mad march day!

Looking for the one...

2009-01-20T19:19:00.002Z

Has he arrived? The One!
The Saviour, who people from all nations have flocked to be near, hopes are pinned on this man. The people long for Him to change the world, to unite people as the world needs right now, to bring peace and prosperity, justice and security.

Watching the news today, seeing the joyful history-making inaugaration of USA President Obama, to his position of one of the most powerful men in the world.
People interviewed cried out:
'If he can't sort things out in Gaza, no-one can.'
'A special day for billions of people all over the world'
'To some He is king'
... but can this man possibly have a hope, as a human being, or the power needed, of meeting these massive longings and bringing such change and peace across the world!!! It will be great to see what he does, but i really feel for Him under such pressure, the only hope of so many. Is he sufficient, can he deliver?

Gods word the bible speaks of a rescuer king, who can deliver, who is sufficient, who unites people from all nations, who brings peace and justice and security, forever and ever, in eternity.
Unique as fully God yet fully man. Not flawed in any way, not sinful and totally powerful. Jesus Christ, in whom we can have all of those longings met, never to be threatened or taken, an unshakeable kingdom that will never end, ruled by the most awesome King there could ever be.
I put my hope in Him.

Calvin on Prayer

2009-01-20T18:58:00.003Z

'The eyes of God are awake to assist the blind in their necessity, but He is likewise pleased to listen to our groans, that He may give us the better proof of His love.'

It finally happened...

2009-01-17T13:12:00.004Z

...one of the most embarrassing things that could ever happen to you, that maybe crosses your mind in particular situations as being possible to happen, but so cringeworthy and humiliating that you shrug it off and hope for the best. Yes, one of those moments happened to me, this week, on my 29th birthday. It is super funny but super embarrassing! It has to do with toilets. It's worse than leaving the ladies toilets in a public place with loo roll attached to your heel, or your dress tucked into your knickers. It's worse than doing a big poo on a toilet in a public place and not being able to flush the toilet afterwards.

So Matt and i were out for a birthday meal at one of my fave London restaurants, having a very pleasant time! At the end of the meal, before we were off to stroll around Hyde Park, Green Park and mayfair, i thought i should take the opportunity to use the public convenience, so off i went. It was a large and clean, minimalist space, very modern and agreeable! A bit like the toilets for disabled people, very spacious and with a pull outwards large door and 'lift up to lock' handle. So i lifted up to lock! And walked what seemed like a mile to sit down on the toilet, which now meant i was facing the door at the other end of the room.

As i was going about my business, i did hear a faint noise, like someone trying the door, but of course knew i had locked it so wasn't bothered in the slightest...until i heard the noise again and the door flew open to reveal a smartly dressed business man standing in front of me!
I shrieked, some might call it a scream, shouted "I'm on the toilet", as if he didn't know, and threw my hands down in front of me to conceal my front bottom!
By this time, in fact in the blink of an eye, the man, whose face i did not even see it all occurred so quickly, had gone back out, into the restaurant, shutting the door behind him. How considerate. I now faced the slight problem of waddling to the door speedily enough to LIFT THE LIFT TO LOCK HANDLE, though why i don't know as it clearly didn't work, and get out of the darn toilet, restaurant and local vicinity as soon as possible! My other slight concern was that i had no idea what this man looked like, but he sure knew what i looked like! I was now going to have to exit through the restaurant, probably past the poor man, and probably past his laughing friends who he's told, so i went back to our table where Matt was waiting, unaware of said trauma and put my bright coloured coat on with hood up to disguise myself. And we left. Quickly. With me looking in paranoia from left to right at those dining around us.

Yep - i think thats one of the most embarrassing situations that could happen - but heres the question - who should feel more embarrassed... the person who is happily using the public toilet, or the man who just walked in on her?

Tonic for the soul...

2008-11-30T21:47:00.002Z

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on your side;
bear patiently the weight of grief or pain;
leave to your God to order and provide;
through every change He faithful will remain.
Be still my soul; your gracious heavenly friend
through thorny ways leads toa joyful end

Be still, my soul: your God will undertake
to guide the future as He has the past.
Your hope, your confidence let nothing shake;
all now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the winds and waves still know
the voice of Christ that ruled them here below

Be still, my soul, though dearest friends depart
and all is darkened in the vale of tears;
then shall you better know His love, His heart,
who comes to soothe your sorrows and your fears.
Be still, my soul; your Jesus can repay
from His own fulness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the day is hastening on
when we shall be for ever with the Lord,
when diappointment, grief and fear are gone,
sorrow forgotton, love's pure joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past,
in His safe presence we shall meet at last.

Catharina Amalia Dorothea von Schelgal (1697-?)
Jane L Borthwick (1813-1897)

Paris in the Fall...

2008-11-15T11:08:00.006Z

I know everyone says this, but autumn is one of my top seasons - the deep russets, reds, browns, orange, yellow, the array of leaves fallen around, kicking through the piles of leaves on a crisp dry day, the winter sun bouncing off rivers, in bright flashes.
A season of beauty and a time to thank God for his majesty seen in creation.

With September and October being so hard for us for a number of reasons, (the easiest moments being Matt turning 30 and us celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary) in which God has been teaching me and changing me in oh so many ways, but painful and hard ways, it was a real treat to have the offer of a dear friend to pay for us to go on eurostar to see her in Paris! Paris!!! I have never been, neither has Matt - so we were very excited! It really took off some pressure and gave us a good start to November.

Eurostar from St Pancras was fun, seeing Christina and spending time with her was soooo great and another friend Tom, going to French church and singing some classic songs that we sing at church here in french was funny! We were given champagne in the hotel room, went and saw the Sacre Coure at sunset with cheese, wine and french bread of course! We saw the Eiffel Tower, Champs-elysees, notre dame, cycled by the Seine on a sunday afternoon, visited inside the Louvre, sampled French cafe's and went to the stunning roof view of Paris on top of Primtemps.
We are very thankful for such a restful 3 days in Paris! It is truly a beautiful city, with gorgeous buildings around every corner! Loved it!

Photos

2008-08-16T16:28:00.005+01:00

Aussie Adventure

2008-08-09T18:57:00.017+01:00

Back from down under, after travelling around the world, spending most of our 28 days off in Australia,via USA and home via Bangkok!!! God was SO kind as ever, in every detail of our travel and the special, quality time we had together and with our very close Christian friends abroad, who were so formative in walking with us on the journey with Jesus, and encouraging us on, in our time in Hull. What a reunion!!!

SO many things to write of, what God has used this trip for... largely to get us to rest in His grace, enjoy Him and His good gifts in creation, of basking in love and friendship, and no hint of pressure, requirement or performance. It really has bandaged or patched us up to carry on. Been a balm if you like.
Lots to learn from about how to live and serve God in our own context much more effectively and fully and prioritising prayer, proclamation, people and persevering!!! I always love a bit of alliteration!
And we had so much fun and saw so many cool things! And we went to Australia!! Can you believe it - always a dream, one we never really believed could happen!

Week one - July 12 2008
Flew to USA, to Orlando Florida to stay with our dear friends the Alexander family. Got met at the airport and driven home by Megan who can now drive - scary but she's actually very very good! We had a week of great fun, games, swimming in the pool, lazing around in chairs reading and doing bible studies, going out to cool restaurants and shopping and driving the golf cart to the beach most days! It was super humid though! We rested well and had really great, deep, honest chats with Lisa and got to know her parents and brother well too, which was a real blessing.

We saw an alligator out the back of their place, in the lake! And many lizards - very weird, and heard that noise of outside USA you hear on TV shows, of crickets is it, chirping away in the outdoors heat? What struck me was the friendliness, good service and care of people in shops and restaurants, being in real life America, with mail boxes at the end of the drive and an American flag flying next to it. Also the massive patriotism, that there is such a joy, appreciation and pride in being American, which was only slightly less so in Oz and is so eroded and denied and not celebrated at all in Britain! If i raved on like the Americans do about how proud i was to be British i would deffo be regarded as racist or part of the BNP, it's just to different!

And so with sadness, not knowing when we might see Stan, Lisa, Scott, Megan and Morgan again, we left for the airport and flew to L.A for a brief stopover, on an American Airlines flight which was fun. We had a few hours to kill so jumped in a taxi and headed for one of the nearest places to LAX, Manhattan Beach! Palm trees, gorgeous long stretches of sandy beach, a promenade to walk, cycle, roller blade down, a rustic looking pier to stroll along, volleyball nets everywhere, people having fun in the sun! Awesome!
Lots of funky houses and surf shops and cool smoothie bars. It had touches of the familiarity of somewhere like Brighton, uber cool people, glossy, tanned, fitness, outdoors lifestyle.
I wanted to stay there, as was feeling pretty nervous about the long flight to Sydney!
So Friday 18th July we got on a plane, lost the whole of saturday and arrived safely in Sydney sunday 20th at 6am, completely unaware of bomb scares and problems with other Quantas planes going on around us! Good job, or i wouldn't have gone!

The plane ride was pretty ok! A great entertainment system, we got hooked on Summer Heights High and saw a few films, though the food was pretty much just plain wrong!! As we came into Oz and vefore they let us off they sprayed the plane with disinfectant!!! Very funny. And we had to declare any fruit/cereal/seed/food item we might have - i had dandelion teabags and dried apricots to declare and good job i did, as man are they tight on their border security!!! So protective of their country, understandably for ecological reasons, but very very funny to the Brit whose borders are a breeze!
We'd told our friends Lee and Cathra not to meet us off the flight as it was so early in the morning and they live at Cronulla, outside the main city centre and have a 3 month old baby! We said we'd find our own way on the train to Paul Dale's flat, our home for wk 1, in North Sydney, near Milsons point. Paul is a minister at Church by the Bridge at Milsons Point and used to work at our church in Hampstead and SOOOOO kindly said we could stay with Him and then while he was on holiday that week.
Luggage collected promptly, ready for adventure, we came out of the gate only to see in the crowds in front of us, Lee and Cathra and baby Joshua waiting for us! Imagine many pippa screams of glee and hugs mid airport! What an amazing suprise!!! What an overwhelming joy it was to be with them again and meet their baba, who is just dream baby!
They kept us two shattered travellers on the go, seeing the sights of Sydney, walking round, having great coffee and keeping awake. They were amazing! We went to the early morning service at the cathedral and heard Philip Jensen preach ( he's a hero of mine) and i had a brief chat with Him at the start of church about mutual Christians we knew. Brilliant.
Staying at Pauls was a God send, he was so relaxed and said to use anything and everything, including his car while he was away! It was right near the business part of Sydney, train stations, and a funky street that had heaps of cafes and boutiques and led you down to McMahons point, basically a park right next to the Bridge and with excellent views of the oepra house! The weather that week was stunning, apparently one of the coldest aussie winters for years - yeah right, people are walking round wrappe dup in coats and scarves and gloves and hats, while we're sitting outside coffee shops basking in the winter sun! It's so bright there and every morning the sun beamed and most days was about 17 degrees. Long sleeved tops/a jumper but no coat necessary!!!

That week we did loads of exploring, walking and drinking good coffee. We went to the Rocks, the Opera house, Saw our good friend Emily and her boyfriend, visited Lee and Cathra in Cronulla beach resort, went to bible study with them, caught the ferry to Manly beach resort and cabbage tree bay walk, went to the Botanic gardens, took lots of photos of flamin gollahs and cockatoos and parrots, you know, just regular birds.
Christina's sister Mel and friend Georgina took us to an AFL aussie rules footie game on the saturday night! It was so much fun - a really fast exciting fun game, combining elements of footie and rugga and was a cheap but great night out, though sadly the Sydney Swans lost to Adelaide!
Christina, generous girlie that she is, had paid for us to go on a 'Bridge Climb' of the Harbour Bridge, something i was dreading and was thinking really wasn't for me! But bravely, we did it!! And it was incredible, absolutely exhilirating!!!! I wanna go again!!! Amazing views over Sydney and a very well done tour and history given over a headset and such care by those who work there. We got some great photos at the top and so had to buy them of course!!! Just brilliant!
Thank God we didn't suffer really at all with jet lag that much going out there and have had none coming back!

Week 2 in Oz - On the sunday we moved base to Cronulla, to a lovely B&B called Seabreeze, run by a VERY friendly couple, Richard and Marie. They sat down to chat with us and give us travel tips every morning at breakfast!! Very chatty but very sweet and the place was overlooking the beach and was truly beautiful. We'd walk down the esplanade to Lee and Cathra's unit nearby, or to Grind ( AKA Grinders), a very funky coffee shop frequented by Lee and Cathra and their friends. Cronulla is a surfers paradise, without the heavy tourism of Bondi, just a lovely seaside town with stunning views and friendly people. It was so great to see their everday life and how naturally they've taken to Parenthood. To just chill out with them and pray together and enjoy baby Joshua was such fun.
And then off we all went to Tasmania for a long wkend ( thurs 31st july - sun 3rd aug). It was so great to be reunited with Dave and Elsa and Ali and Graham, and to see how they are serving Jesus and loving Him and growing in their trust in Him in Taz. It was so great to also hear what God has been doing in their lives, the hard times, the valleys, the easy and fun seasons. Taz is beautiful, stunning mountains views and beaches, rugged and yet resort like bright blue sea and sandy beaches, but deserted! We climbed mount Wellington where we had a snowball fight at the top, walked to peppermint bay, hung out at Dave and Elsa's rural 'farm', made a beach bonfire, the boys went to catch fish in a boat in the bay and then we cooked and ate it! Matt killed a red back spider, without realising it was one! My hero!

Week 3 in Oz
We checked into our five star hotel, that we'd found fairly cheaply on last minute.com, and spent the week in luxury, at the Rocks, right by the wharf and opera house. We enjoyed the gym, pool, spa and sauna and the mahoossive bed and dumbed down aussie tv shows like Bondi Rescue and Border Security (!) and got ahead on neighbours and Home and Away!!
We walked down to Darlingshurst and Paddington, did the art gallery in the Botanic gardens, strolled around the opera house to then snuggle on a bench and watch the sunset, went with Emily to Newtown to check out the coolness and say we'd been to Moore College - a red brick building which didn't live up to the exterior i had imagined! Lee and Cathra took us to the National Park where we saw beautiful waterfalls and the most stunning beach i have ever seen. And more rainbows, but not much rain at all!!! Just bright sunny cool days! I'll take sydney winter over british summer any day!

The trip of a lifetime...it truly was!

Alligator Alert!

2008-07-16T00:44:00.002+01:00

Well we've made it to Florida, for the start of our month adventure of travelling and resting and holidaying. This really is a special time for us, after our 3 years in London we have been generous beneficiaries of the time and the cash to be able to have 28 days away travelling to stay with wonderful friends in Florida and then moving on to spend 3 wks with equally special friends in Sydney Australia and stopping in at Tasmania too! Theses are friends who were instrumental in our conversions and growth in faith and ministry and who have all ended up in Australia!

This is the first trip overseas really that Matt and i have done since our honeymoon in spain nearly 5 years ago, and what with anxiety and trepidation and fear and not knowing how to stop or switch off...well this really is venturing into the unknown!

But of course, as we knew but often sinfully doubted, God is faithful and kind and good and gracious and has caused our journeying to go without a single hitch, in fact, it really has been smooooooth, as good as it could be, aside from perhaps if we had been offered an upgrade to first class! Which we weren't, but you know what? That's ok!!!

And so the flight to Orlando was fine, the passing into the USA quick, including the fingerprint and eye scan and photo that apparently was necessary to pass security! I even got dandelion tea bags into the country, that may have looked suspiciously like drugs packages! No-one really checked. And Meg and Stan were there to warmly welcome us straight off the flight and drove us the 3 hours to their home near Jacksonville. And mainly our days have been spent at the beautiful beach, reading great books in the baking sun and paddling in the warm ocean, swimming in the pool in the back yard that overlooks the lake, bike riding and playing shuffleboard and eating out in lovely restaurants. It's a hard life!

The humidity is almost overwhelming here and we are thankful for the air con in the house and the car! There are palm trees everywhere, and weird lizards around. But the highlight has been today finally laying our eyes on the much talked about alligator who lives in the lake behind the house! Wo!!!!
And so we spend this evening with our sun burn and mosquito bites, but blissfully happy brits in the America i really thought i would never get to visit and never thought i'd like so much!!!
On friday we travel to LA to get the very looooooong flight to Syndey, arriving sunday at 6am.
More updates and hopefully some pics from wintery Oz next week!
All our love xxx

More spring pics...

2008-05-19T18:07:00.004+01:00

Spring Stuff...

2008-05-19T17:53:00.003+01:00

I Heart God

2008-02-14T11:56:00.002Z

O Great God, of highest heaven, occupy my lowly heart
Own it all and reign supreme, conquer every rebel power
Let no vice or sin remain that resists your holy war
You have loved and purchased me, make me yours forevermore

I was blinded by my sin, had no ears to hear your voice
Did not know your love within, had no taste for heavens joys
Then your Spirit gave me life, opened up your word to me
Through the gospel of your Son, gave me endless hope and peace

Help me now to live a life thats dependent on your grace
Keep my heart and guard my soul from the evils that i face
You are worthy to be praised with my every thought and deed
O Great God of highest heaven, glorify your name through me

Bob Kauflin, Valley of Vision, Sovereign Grace Music

December Parties...

2007-12-18T10:22:00.000Z

Superheroes Staff Christmas party and Alix's birthday drinks...

Celebrations

2007-11-20T19:21:00.000Z

The Wells/Wickham/Perkins clan

Grandad cutting his delicious 80th cake!

Nanna and the birthday boy

Uncle Mark and Auntie Caz

Grandad and his balloon

My bro, his wife Shireen, My hubby and moi

Matt and I with our niece Imogen, Matts brother Dan and wife Jo

Imogen and her daddy

Pam getting a strike on her 60th birthday!

So it was Matt's mum's 60th birthday the wekend before last and my Grandads 80th just this weekend gone, so time for fun, family and celebrations!!!

Radical life...

2007-11-20T18:41:00.000Z

Reading an amazing, inspiring, scarily challenging book called For what its worth: A call to no holds barred discipleship by Simon Guillebaud. It's a book about following Jesus Christ passionately, urgently and being sold out for Him! Here are some quotes from the book that kind of slapped me in the face!

'I'm not what i ought to be, I'm not what i'd like to be, i'm not what i hope to be, but i'm not what i was and by the grace of God I am what I am' John Newton.

Mr Dickson ( trying to persuade John Paton not to go and be a missionary on the South Sea Islands: 'You'll be eaten by the cannibals'

JP: 'Mr Dickson, you're advanced in years now and your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave, there to be eaten by worms; I confess to you that if i can but live and die serving and honouring the Lord Jesus, it'll make no difference to me whether i'm eaten by cannibals or worms; and in the great day my resurrection body will arise as fair as yours in the likeness of our risen Redeemer!'

'For today by and large, Christians no longer live for heaven, and therefore no longer understand, let alone practise detachment from the world. Does the world around us seek profit, pleasure and privilege? So do we. We have no readiness or strength to renounce these objectives, for we recast Christianity into a mould that stresses happiness above holiness, blessings here above blessings hereafter, health and wealth as God's best gifts and death, especially early death not as thankworthy deliverance from the miseries of a sinful world, but as the supreme disaster... Is our Christianity out o f shape? Yes it is and the basic reason is that we have lost the New Testaments two world perspective that views the next life as more important than this one and understands life here as essentially preparation and training for the life hereafter.' J.I.Packer

'Indeed if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the gospels, it would seem our Lord finds our desires not too strong but too weak. We are half hearted creatures fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.' C.S.Lewis

'Most people show by their priorities and casual approaches to spiritual things that they believe we're at peace, not in wartime... In war time we're on the alert. We're armed. We're vigilant. In war time we spend money differently because there are more strategic ways to maximise our rescources. The war effort touches everybody. We all cut back. The luxury liner becomes a troop carrier... Who considers that the casualties of THIS war don't just lose an arm, or eye or an earthly life but lose everything, even their own soul and enter a hell of everlasting torment?'
John Piper

I guess all the above quotes hurt and challenge me as i realise they are true of me and my so called sarcifical life of worship for my great God. I am so often half hearted, more concerned about comfort and happiness today, on this planet and thats lazy, half hearted discipleship for the God who gave his everything to be punished in my place for my disgusting treatment of Him and his son, who bled for me. I need to hear that first John Newton quote again and be assured of the promise in the bible that... ' He who began a good work in me WILL carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. ' (Philippians 1v6) despite my crappy half heartedness.

2007-11-07T17:09:00.000Z

More summer pics...

2007-09-24T18:03:00.000+01:00

Back to Blogdom...

2007-09-24T17:31:00.000+01:00

Well, i just cannot believe it's been this long! Where did the summer go - in fact it never really arrived weather wise in U.K although now the sun has been out and quite warm for the last week or two! Summer was jammed - I organised and led a Pirates Holiday club which went really well and had the most kids we've ever had to a club before! Then the last day of that we went off to taunton to Taunton 2 camp = it's a Christian camp for teenagers and has a student helper track called TaskForce which we helped with. Then we got 5 days off at home in sunny sussex with my parentals before embarking on our next camp - Contagious Bible centred youth conference which we adore! It was on the resurrection and was so amazing! God taught us so much and challenged us to change to be more like Jesus and know his resurrection power in our lives to say no to sin and yes to Gods ways. Then we ended august with another 5 days of rest and recovery housesitting with a car to use on the sunny south coast, near Brighton. We slept, watched dvd's went for walks and ate good food!

September has started crazily busy as usual - all the youth groups starting up and Matt starting at Bible college part time which has been very cool so far! I have started a new youth group up and we are up to 30 aged 3-7 yr olds on a sunday morning in sunday school!!! This is great growth and a real challenge for me as i seek to co-ordinate leaders and space! Also excitingly my best mate Abi has moved in with us for a month while she completes her TEFL Course! It's so lush!

Hopefully it won't be too long before i blog again!

Macey and lukey's wedding...

2007-07-30T19:38:00.000+01:00

Tourists...

2007-07-16T16:45:00.000+01:00

Wedding Fever...

2007-07-11T12:15:00.000+01:00

Macey and Luke - good practice!

The blushing bride

My hubby rocking on the dance floor!

Ally and Emma

My gorgeous Ventnor girlies!

Abi in her groove

Last weekend was Gary and Kath's wedding in Hull and it was just awesome in every way. Jesus was explicitly the centre and heart of all of it, Gara's short testimony of how he is now a Xian to those friends and family he hadn't seen for a long time was very moving. It was just perfect! Good friends, fun, food, music, no awkwardness or feeling excluded - it was a real taste of heaven! We had such a good time!

Macey and Lukey are next - on the 26th! Can't wait!

May...June...

2007-06-17T15:46:00.001+01:00

May pretty much came and went! For more details do look at my thankfulness blog i've been keeping for nearly a year. It's www.howlush.blogspot.com . Looking back heres what i can remember! All the youth groups at church are contuning to grow in number and maturity which is so exciting! God is doing His work as usual! I have been challenged that He is more passionate about seeing young people give their lives to Jesus and live their lives trusting in Him, than even i am! And i'm a pretty pasionate person, and i am very passionate about that!

I've just started in two school bible clubs for the rest of term, which is exciting! In one we're going through the book of Daniel which i love and is so inspiring for us as we weak little ones seek to live a life for God in a world/country/school or uni/family even that is opposed to God!

Matt got into Oak Hill bible college to start studying part time from Spetember which is very exciting. He will work for church the rest of the week. His preaching has been getting better and better!

For the bank holiday we had Matts parents to stay and the rest of the family also came to visit on the saturday. It was fun to all be together. And i nipped home for a friday and saturday as Matt was away with one of the youth groups, so that was great. Last week we spent time with my bro and his beautiful wifey and had a really greta time together shopping, chatting and having a lush Indian curry at a lovely restaurant.

We went to see We Will Rock You at the theatre and WICKED, which is my all time fave show! I adore it! We were dog au pairs for one fo the bank holiday weekends which was suprisingly fun! Matt got to pick up the poo though! Ha! Everywhere we went with this cute little dog we got comments of 'How cute!' and it made us broody for a dog! One fo the best parts of May was going to Hull for a long weekend to visit my old church, home and girlies that i read the bible with and wise older folk and it was so encouraging to see everyone still loving and living for Jesus. Some of my very best friends live in Hull, and its all change this summer as 2 of the girls marry, Abi moves to Italy, Yuri returns to South Korea and people move on and things just change! End of yet another era, but we reflect and see the way God has used the weak and faltering efforts of Christians in Hull to bring many the chance to hear the life saving Gospel and now have new life forever knowing and loving God.

Juen and July will be tres busyo! I have bible clubs, youth groups etc every week til end of july, some woemsn and youth bbqs to run, a holiday club to organise every aspect of, a big theology book to read and review, 2 summer camps to work hard on before and at, 2 weddings up in Hull and York to go to and hopefully a little time off!
Over and Out

Introducing Imogen...

2007-04-28T19:56:00.000+01:00

Imogen Perkins, our niece, 5 weeks old...

Holiday Fun...

2007-04-23T21:21:00.000+01:00

Arlington Resevoir

Eastbourne seafront - pier

Matt in the Bluebell walk woods

Cathra and I

Matt relaxed, in fact horizontal - i don't know how to make it right - sorry!

An afternoon in Alfriston with Matt and my mummy

Whats so good about Good Friday?

2007-04-06T14:06:00.000+01:00

Isn't it a bit twisted to call the day when a key figure of a major world religion died, Good Friday? What was good about an amazing man who left a trail of awe and amazement at his teaching and miracles wherever he went, who claimed to be the long promised rescuer king sent by God to rescue and liberate his people, being betrayed by one of his close friends, arrested for being the Son of God, the Christ and under false pretences, being mis-tried, having people baying for his blood, being mocked, spat on, flogged, beaten, made to carry his own cross, to have his hands and feet driven through by nails, smashing him to a cross, to then die the death of a criminal, in this horrific gruesome spectacle that is crucifixion, to even up on the cross face the scathing mockery of a thief dying next to Him, to experience the separation from his father for whom he has been in intimate relationship for all eternity, and the right wrath of God against Him, though he had done nothing wrong ever! It is Finished, he cries. Why is this good friday?

Oh mercy, oh sacrificial love, oh justice of God, oh shocking outrageous grace...

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied ; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Isaiah 52/53, The Bible

Thank God for good friday!

I like big...

2007-03-27T22:36:00.000+01:00

Matt got slated at Cornhill for doing a talk on a psalm and illustrating how today we praise many things by song and poetry...for example, and yes he gave the example of 'I like Big Butts' (baby got butt) song and The thong song! Noooooooo! And youc an imagine how it went down there!!!

Well today he found this and realised that there is merit in this line of illustration! Ha ha

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=97759aa27a0c99bff671

Enjoy...

Some photos with our digital camera that we got for Christmas!

2007-03-15T22:39:00.000Z

New Years Eve, central London, Abi, Christina and I.

February half term, house sitting in the most amazing house ever!!

Rach...miaow!

The february snow on our street

Matt outside Kings college halls, on the way to church staff mtg

Dan and Ally, our lush friends and fellow church family

January - Taskforce weekend reunion, us at the heath

Trying EVERYTHING out in the Hollycroft pad

A friday night with our American family, the beautiful Megan

Luke, Macey and Matt on our walk to Golders Hill
Park (AKA Goddards Park Avenue to you macey!)

Alix and Christina, friends from church

Me and my student nurses, Rachel and Hannah

The gorgeous Abimbola - what a star!

Lately...

2007-03-15T22:20:00.000Z

Our news lately for anyone who cares! A slightly random collection of things that spring to mind!
Since Christmas we have seen Gods mighty hand at work in causing Matts parents marriage to have a fabulous new start, including them going on a 3 wk trip round Italia! So amazing, real transformation.
Church has been growing, with the evening service totally different to how it was 18 months ago with a music band and more young twenties and thirties singles and couples joining us. It's exciting! Also, it is really on my heart to get a work started, a planet coffee style discussion and chill and short talk on relevant issues happening in West Hampstead. We are praying for a cafe or pub or shop to be approachable about lending out a function room or part of their premises.

We have been blown away by Jehovah Jireh, God our provider providing outrageously for us!!! Please pray for wisdom as we seek to bring Him glory in and through what he has lavished on us!
God has really helped and sustained us during a real hard time with our neighbour and lots of drama with her that was really unsettling and disruptive.

I have been reading The Word became Fresh by Dale Ralph Davis for staff book of the term on how to preach the Old testament and it has been ace! I love His style!
We have been immersed in the truth of the resurrection and how vital it is to our salvation!!

Matts brother and sister in law are due to have their first baby in the next couple of weeks, very exciting!
I saw Clive Owen, british film star and Jules Oliver and Jude Law in Starbucks in Hampstead! I have been shown George Michaels Hampstead house!

The youth work is going really well, just how we'd like it to be! We're teaching Jonah at the moment midweek and group numbers are swelling.

We are excited about the William Wilberforce (hurrah for Hull) film Amazing Grace coming out and pray it will be a great opportunity for us!

Matt has been given the opportunity to be employed by church in september for the last year of my contract, after He finishes Cornhill this summer. It's an opportunity for Him to develop further his preaching, and pastoral care of the younger men. His preaching is pretty good too! Praise God!

We are excited about meeting up with Matt and Kate Tarling soon for dinner and for Lee and Cathra coming over from Oz to stay with us!

Pippa is wasting lots of time on Facebook, not good, so addictive and has got Matt hooked now too!

Thats about it!

Us...

2007-03-15T22:16:00.000Z

2007-01-22T21:14:00.000Z

Taskforce Reunion

2007-01-22T21:05:00.000Z

17 twenty somethings descended on our house this weekend for the first ever Contagious Taskforce reunion. Contagious is the best bible camp there is, every august, and Taskforce is a group of student age guys and gals who are in the top age of Contagious and can have an opportunity to help and to serve the camp by doing loadsa practical stuff to help Contagious run well.

Matt and I helped lead them in August 2006 and have grown to love them very very much. They are an outstanding group of godly, committed, Jesus loving and living young men and women. They challenged and encouraged us so much and this weekend we all reunited and had fun and games and prayer and encouragement together! It was amazing!

Welcome to 2007...

2007-01-04T19:25:00.000Z

The start of the new year, the time when 'one' looks back to the year gone by and looks forward to the new one to come, knowing that the God of the universe has her back, and walks her forward hand in hand with him.

Let's reflect shall we, on that little bit of history that is 2006...
In 2006 i mostly:
- LOVED the place where God had brought us - the church family, the job, the people, the area
- Missed my good friends we'd left behind in Hull very much
- Saw my weakness and sin ever more clearly
- Understood something more of Gods grace and love for me at the cross, covering my sin and atoning for it, satisfying the right punishment deserved for it
-Rejoiced in GRACE a million times
- Fell in love with Starbucks
- Enjoyed amazing walks on the Heath
- Enjoyed marriage more than ever before
- Realised Gods amazing providence in bringing a special person to Hampstead who I already knew and loved very much
- Was encouraged by Christian brothers and sisters
- Got overwhelmed by their/God's financial generosity to me
- Had a girlie trip to ikea - the annual trip!
- Went on the London eye and ice skating and to art galleries and to open air cinema on south bank and for lovely meals and drinks with friends
- Visited Hull and all my old friends
- Got my nose pierced again
- Ate more fish
- Started loving white choc chip cookies
- Said goodbye to American Allie, rejoicing in her new faith in Christ
- Watched God work and bless our youth work at the Church family weekend away
- Did a counselling course with Kirsten Birkett at Oak hill college
- Turned 26
- Completed the marriage course at HTB
- Watched my husbands preaching gift develop
- Watched too much 24
- Was astounded at Gods protection of us in a number of scary situations
- Organised 2 holiday clubs
- Did 2 excellent summer camps
- Watched too much reality TV
- Was taken for tea at Harrods
- Went to a football match
- Did a food hygiene and first aid course
- Went on Church Student ministries easter Conference
- Went to a buffalo restaurant
- Was confronted with several personal struggles
- Went to a great eurovision party
- Started a book group
- Ate lots of sushi
- Said farewell to emigrating friends
- Went to EMA and lapped up the Piper
- Went on a modeling shoot with Macey
- Went to London zoo
- Had our German friends Ralf and Julia visit
- Had many friends and family visit
- Struck up some really cool new friendships
- Painted pottery
- Took 25 women from church to London Womens Convention
- Had Regina live with us
- Discovered i am the queen of making Roasts and Banoffee pie!
- Reached 3 years of happy marriage
- Had a romantic mini-break in posh hotel in Brighton
- Went to Primark too much
- Grew in love with my Jesus

In 2007, my prayer and hearts desire is to be a better, kinder, much more godly wife to my wonderful hubby and even more than that to love my God and glorify him in ALL my life more than ever before, through His Spirit's work in me.

Little Bro's 25th!!!

2006-12-02T16:10:00.000Z

For Clive's 25th birthday, we had a lovely family time at Cliv and Shizza's and a yummy dinner at Zizzi's...

Chinese crossing a zebra...

2006-11-14T09:44:00.000Z

Outside Westminster Central hall theres a zebra crossing. Funniest thing ever was seeing a group of chinese tourists being told by their guide what a zebra crossing is and how "if you put one foot down on it then the cars have to stop - like this" - and he demonstrated by poking one foot out onto the crossing, stopping cars, then quickly pulling it back in, then put it down again to stop the next car, then back again, it was like the hokey cokey - in, out, in, out!! Then one by one he got the whole group to each put their foot in and out on the crossing and then finally for the grand finale, each person got to practice walking across the crossing, then turned around and came back again! You can imagine the traffic jams that day in Westminster!!

These Words...

2006-11-10T15:34:00.000Z

I will glory in my redeemer, whose priceless blood has ransomed me.
Mine was the sin that drove the bitter nails and hung him on that judgement tree.
I will glory in my redeemer, who crushed the power of sin and death.
My only Saviour before the holy judge:
The lamb who is my righteousness

I will glory in my redeemer. My life he bought, my love he owns.
I have no longings for another, I'm satisfied in Him alone.
I will glory in my redeemer, his faithfulness my standing place.
Though foes are mighty and rush upon me,
My feet are firm held by his grace.

I will glory in my redeemer, who carries me on eagles wings.
He crowns my life with loving kindness, His triumph song i'll ever sing.
I will glory in my redeemer, who waits for me at gates of gold.
And when he calls me, it will be paradise,
His face forever to behold.

Steve and Vikki Cook, 2001

Carry on nursing...

2006-11-09T11:31:00.000Z

Sometimes i pray that i will never ever be seriously ill and have to go to hospital, or rather go to the hospital where my lovely little students will be fully fledged nurses. It's just scary when they tell us stories like they did last night! I love Rach very much but this is just petrifying!!

Rachy rach has managed already to blow up the blood pressure machine, be taken into hospital, take a friend into hospital and act like its a fun night out, screeching across the casualty dept and misinforming staff. She has also managed to go to the loos in the hospital and seeing a small hatch next to her while ont' bog, she decides to open it and thus comes face to face with a room full of people, screams and slams the door shut. As her friend who she's 'caring' for faints by the taxi home, due to her traumatic time there with Rachel trying to nurse her, Rachel is inside the taxi shouting - Hurry up, whats the hold up!!!! Get in the taxi and you'll be fine!

Darling Rach. I thank God that he's the God of miracles and also do let me know where your first nursing job will be so i can make sure i end up as far away as possible! It's enough to make you want to go private!

Leather...

2006-10-27T16:00:00.000+01:00

... yep, thats what the 3 year wedding anniversary is! Leather! I can even think of a lot of presents one could receive for this special anniversary!! Like shoes, belts, handbags, a leather jacket! But Matt and i just do cards and a meal... normally!

This year, with the cunning plotting and encouragement from Phil, and the idea of Matt of going out for the day to Brighton, i secretly booked a lush posh hotel, 4 * which for us, who've only been in hotels about twice ever, is posh! We had a gorgous time, a mini-break, half term being near matts birthday and our anniversary is always good as we get to take time off!

Reflections on 3 years of marriage, i know it's not thirty, but it's over halfway to five years, so i want to blog my thoughts and learnings already...

I am more selfish than i ever imagined before i got married!
I am growing in my ability to be secure in my husbands love
I am thankful to God for such a gentle, calm, kind husband
I am more submissive now than 2003 but nowhere near as much as i'd like!
We are more able to communicate and talk and be open and vulnerable than 3 years ago.
We have less arguments than in the past 2 years
We have more of a balance of ministry and rest than in previous years, of prioritising time together aswell as time given out for others, instead of sacrificing that precious time together
We are more established as a couple in a new place where no-one previously knew us as single
Marriage is harder work than i ever imagined or thought
I like marriage more than i did the first 2 years
I love Matt more than i did on our wedding day
We have grown more godly in Gods grace though nowhere near as much as we'd like to be!
We don't exactly know what the future holds for us but we do know God is all we need, He is our everything and He has it sorted and together we continue our adventure with Him.

Spotted...

2006-10-23T19:11:00.000+01:00

Latest sightings:

Justin Hawkins, in Pizza Express... eating!

David Walliams, coming out of the corner shop in West Hampstead...walking!

Jules Oliver, in Sainsburys... shopping!

Contributor - PP

German wedded bliss!!!

2006-10-20T13:13:00.000+01:00

AHHHHH!! Ralf and Julia sent through some of their wedding photos, very lovely to see, as we couldn't get to Germany to be with them due to holiday club and holiday club service at the end of August! They are coming to visit soon and we're so excited!! It's so cool as they met at our wedding nearly 3 years ago!!! AHHHHHHH!!!

Get up and move...

2006-10-19T11:33:00.000+01:00

I love my comfort zone - it's safe, quite, nice and pippa-ish. But i also hate my comfort zone and long to break out of it, more and more. To go on adventures, do crazy wild things, do the things i don't want to do and don't think i can do... for Jesus and his gospel. I'm gonna ask God to take me out of my comfort zone and further into the battleground, to experience his faithfulness, for my future here on earth and in heaven. To experience his provision and care and great unfailing love for me. What can go wrong? Lots, in my mind, but not in Gods already planned history and all encompassing control and care and grace. Here goes...

On Beauty...

2006-10-18T19:33:00.000+01:00

I love the girl talk site... found this gem!

Consider with me our culture’s physical beauty yardstick--for women then and women now as explained by author David Powlison:
A hundred years ago women might have compared themselves with the other ten girls in the village. Today, women compare themselves with pictures of the cream of the worldwide fashion industry.
And what ideal image does the worldwide fashion industry put forth as the standard for beauty by which today’s woman is to measure herself?

The Dove Campaign got it partially right—the fashion industry has certainly contributed to a distorted perception of beauty. And yet, their solution—“every girl deserves to feel beautiful just the way she is”—is well-meaning and yet fundamentally unbiblical.
You see, women believe that physical beauty will make them happy, successful, popular among the women, desirable to the men – so they pursue it with a fury!
Physical beauty, however, does not deliver as advertised. Proverbs 31:30 reveals the falsehood and the futility of this quest for beauty: Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain.
Even if every girl did “feel beautiful just the way she is,” it wouldn’t bring her true joy or lasting happiness or solve even one of her problems.
Truth be told, what we all deserve is not to feel beautiful but rather to be condemned to hell for sinfully seeking to attract the worship of our fellow creatures instead of living to bring glory to God.
God did not send Jesus to this earth to die so that women could get over their self-esteem problem and feel better about themselves. No, He sent his Son to die to rescue us from our sinful, futile quest for physical beauty and to reveal to us the satisfaction that comes from knowing God—whether we are beautiful or not!
What freedom and hope is found in Christ! We don’t need to feel beautiful about ourselves to find happiness! In fact, we’re better off not even thinking about ourselves. Rather, God has offered us in Jesus Christ forgiveness, hope, freedom from sin and a joy that never ends.
So while this little video effectively exposes the false front of beauty presented by our culture, let’s not look to Dove’s advertising executives for the solution to the beauty crisis. Rather, let’s join the campaign to tell others of the true freedom found only in Christ!

Fearfully and wonderfully made...

2006-10-18T19:24:00.000+01:00

Psalm 139:13, 14 says: "You knit me together in my mother's womb; I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. As Juliette soon gives birth and many at church and in our family are pregnant, babies are everywhere! Isn't that a wonderful verse!Whenever I see a baby, I always feel a breathless awe of how the baby looks. Every little finger and toe...and the tiny heart beat! Only God could have done that! Only God can "knit" each piece into place.God created me; He formed me, and knew everything about me even before I was born. He knew what I was going to look like and He designed me with special gifts and talents that He wants me to use for Him (Romans 12: 6, 1Peter 4:10). AMAZING!

GRACE!

2006-10-06T13:16:00.000+01:00

Found this great article by Jerry Bridges...

'It is because of Christ's death in our place that we do not experience the wrath of God which we so richly deserve. Jesus satisfied God's justice and turned away God's wrath from us by bearing it Himself on our behalf. Now God can extend mercy to us without subverting His justice. Mercy and justice meet together at the cross.'

' When I was a boy growing up in East Texas, we lived near some railroad tracks. In those days, homeless men (whom we called hoboes) often rode the rail cars from town to town. Occasionally, one of those men would show up at our front door and ask my mother for a meal. Without asking any questions, Mother would go to the kitchen and prepare a plate of food for him. She gave it freely, without requiring any "work for food" on his part. She didn't ask him to mow the grass, trim the hedges, or wash the windows. She gave freely without any consideration or conditions.
Was my mother's kindness an act of grace? It was certainly a gracious, benevolent act, but it hardly qualified as an act of grace in the biblical sense. We often define grace as God's unmerited favor and set grace in opposition to works, as in "We are saved by grace, not by works." If we hold to the simple definition of unmerited favor, though, my mother's gift of a plate of a food would qualify as grace. The hobo did nothing to earn it. The food was entirely unmerited on his part. So why do I say that mother's kindness was not grace?
To answer that question, let me take the story of my mother and the hobo into the realm of fiction. One day a hobo shows up at our front door, again asking for food. This time, however, mother recognizes him as the man who had robbed our home some weeks before. Instead of going to the phone to call the police, she again goes to the kitchen and prepares a plate of food. She gives it to him with no questions asked and no work required.
You can readily see that a new element has been introduced into the story. Now there is not only the lack of merit but more importantly there is the presence of demerit. The hobo not only does not deserve the food, in the sense of having worked for it; he actually deserves to be apprehended and punished for his crime. Mother's gift of a plate of food in these circumstances moves us toward the real meaning of divine grace.
God's grace addresses itself not merely to the absence of merit but to the presence of demerit. To understand divine grace, we must see it as more than unmerited favor. The idea of demerit is an essential element in the biblical meaning of grace. In our relationship with God, there is either merit for obedience or demerit for disobedience, but there is no such thing as "unmerit." There is either merit or demerit but no unmerit.
In our case, of course, there is no merit. Even our best deeds are stained with sin, and in a strict view of justice, we deserve to be punished rather than rewarded. That is why the Apostle Paul wrote of us that in our condition before salvation, "We were by nature objects of wrath" (Ephesians 2:3).
Since the concept of demerit is essential to an understanding of grace, I propose the following definition: Grace is God's favor through Christ to people who deserve His wrath. In this definition, the deserving of wrath picks up the idea of demerit, while the concept of God's favor is still retained.

GETTING CLOSER TO GRACE
Now let's go back to the fictitious story of the hobo who robbed our house but still received a free meal. I indicated that this scenario moved toward the meaning of grace. However, it still falls woefully short of illustrating God's grace to us. Let me give you several reasons why.
First, although my mother would have been personally violated (people who have been robbed often say that they feel they have been personally violated) by the hobo's robbery, it would not have been her law that was broken. If he were apprehended and brought to trial, the case would have been called "The State of Texas vs. Joe Hobo." It would not have been "Mrs. Bridges vs. Joe Hobo" because, although my mother had been wronged, it is the state's law that has been broken. At the same time, although it is the state's law that has been broken, we cannot say that the state has been wronged.
With God, however, His person and His law come together. It is His law that we break. Even though our sin may adversely affect someone else, it is still an affront to God personally as well as a violation of His law. When God sent the prophet Nathan to confront David about his adultery with Bathsheba and the murder of Uriah, Nathan said, "Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in His eyes?" and "The sword will never depart from your house because you despised Me" (2 Samuel 12:9-10). David in his sin despised both God's law and His person.
In our fictitious story of the hobo robber, we can say that he despised the law of the State of Texas and he despised my mother. But he didn't rob the state, and he didn't break my mother's law. David violated Bathsheba and had her husband Uriah murdered, but in so doing, he despised both God's law and God's person. Sin is more than breaking God's law. It is aggravated assault upon the infinite dignity of His person. Because of this, we deserve His wrath, but instead we receive His favor. That is grace.
The second reason our story does not fully illustrate grace is that my mother had neither the power nor authority to execute justice. All she could do was call the police and hope the man would be apprehended, convicted, and sent to prison. She might be called upon to testify at his trial, but she could not execute justice. But God can. God has both the authority and power to punish sin. Jesus said, "Be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28). God could have consigned all of us to hell, as He did the angels who sinned (2 Peter 2:4). But He gives us eternal life instead. That's grace.
Now let's introduce another factor into the story. Suppose my mother had recognized the man not only as the one who had robbed our home but as one who was suspected of robbing other neighborhood homes as well. Now she would have a civic duty to call the police. Suppose she would have said to herself, "I know this man has probably robbed other homes in the area, but I feel sorry for him. He probably has a wife and children back home. I'll just quietly give him the food and send him on his way." If Mother had acted that way, she would have essentially subverted justice. She would have subverted justice in the interest of mercy.
God, however, cannot exercise mercy at the expense of His justice. He cannot choose simply to overlook sin because He feels sorry for us. God's justice must be satisfied. Yet many people seem to have that concept of grace. They think of God as loving and kind, as one who will pardon our sins without regard to justice. But if God pardoned our sins in that manner, that would not be grace. That would be a miscarriage of justice.
There is still one more important difference between the hobo and ourselves. In the story, the hobo was knocking at my mother's door asking for food. In our relationship with God, we were not knocking at His door seeking salvation. As the Scripture says, "There is no one who seeks God" (Romans 3:11). Instead of seeking God, we were trying to avoid Him. Today some speak of those without Christ as "seekers." The truth is, though, that whenever an unbeliever is seeking God, it is because God has first sought him. We were dead in our sins (Ephesians 2:1). We cannot seek God until He first gives us life. God seeks us when we cannot and do not seek Him. That is grace.

THROUGH CHRIST WE ARE SAVED
Now let's return to my proposed definition of grace: God's favor through Christ to people who deserve His wrath. By His grace, we do not receive the wrath we deserve. Instead we receive the favor we don't deserve. Why is this true? The answer is found in the two words: through Christ. It is because of Christ's death in our place that we do not experience the wrath of God which we so richly deserve. Jesus satisfied God's justice and turned away God's wrath from us by bearing it Himself on our behalf. Now God can extend mercy to us without subverting His justice. Mercy and justice meet together at the cross.
Jesus did more, however, than satisfy God's justice and turn aside His wrath. By His perfect obedience, He earned for us all of God's favor, all of His blessings. To use the hobo illustration, He mowed the grass, trimmed the hedges, washed the windows and painted the porch. He did it all. He perfectly obeyed all the law of God, and He did it in our place. Just as He died in our place, so He also obeyed in our place. That is why those two words "through Christ" are so critical to the definition of grace. Without Christ's work for us, there could be no grace.
We also need to realize that God's favor to us through Christ is bountiful. It is much, much more than the hobo's plate of food. God receives us into His family as His sons and daughters and opens up the storehouse of His boundless riches to us. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ and promised to meet all our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:3; Philippians 4:19). He invites us to come with confidence to His Throne of Grace to receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).
OUR RESPONSE
How should we react to this definition of God's grace? We should respond, first of all, with a deep sense of humility. We really do deserve God's wrath. The awareness of that fact should not only humble us before God but also before one another. In the realm of grace, there is no place for the horrible sin of self-righteous comparing of ourselves with other people. Even with respect to the most flagrant sinners around us, we ought to say in all humility and absolute truthfulness, "There but for the grace of God go I."
Then we should respond in profound gratitude. Not only have we been spared God's wrath, but we have also been given all His favor. Everything we are and everything we do that is of any value we owe to the grace of God. Dutch theologian G.C. Berkouwer said, "The essence of Christian theology is grace, and the essence of Christian ethics is gratitude." It is gratitude arising spontaneously from a heart filled with grace that motivates us to obey God and serve Him wholeheartedly.
We're not just undeserving, we're ill-deserving. We deserve wrath, but because of Christ, we receive God's bountiful blessing. Only when we understand that, do we understand grace. '

Jerry Bridges has served on the staff of the Navigators since 1955. He was elected Vice-President for Corporate Affairs in 1979, but in 1994 he resigned that position to devote all of his time to a Bible-teaching ministry. A popular speaker, he is also the author of several best-sellers, including The Pursuit of Holiness and The Practice of Godliness. His most recent work is The Joy of Fearing God. He and his wife, Jane, live in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The old ones are the best...

2006-09-16T12:30:00.000+01:00

It's so exciting when you find a hidden gem of a hymn, one which you forgot existed, yet is deeply on the money theologically and has such depth and beauty and expression about our great God! Some of the modern stuff we sing in church is so indiviualistic and man centred and so samey that is a joy to rediscover the old and the great!

Great is the gospel of our glorious God
Where mercy met the anger of Gods rod
The penalty was paid and pardon bought
And sinners lost, at last to him were brought

Chorus:
Oh let the praises of my heart be thine
For Christ has died that i may call him mine
That i may sing with those who dwell above
Adoring, praising Jesus, King of love

Great is the mystery of godliness
great is the work of God's own holiness
It moves my soul and causes me to long
For greater joys, than to the earth belong

(Chorus)

The Spirit vindicated Christ our Lord
And angels sang with joy and sweet accord
The nations heard, a dark world flamed with light
When Jesus rose, in glory and in might

(Chorus)

William Vernon Highham (1936)

Jesus Jesus, all sufficient
Beyond telling is thy worth
In thy name lie greater treasures
Than the richest found on earth
Such abundance, such abundance
Is my portion with my God

William Williams (!) 1717-1791

The wondrous cross

2006-08-28T21:52:00.000+01:00

Had a great week at Contagious 2006! It’s just unique, every august up to 200 teenagers gather for a bible conference/camp. A theme is taken, e.g The Holy Spirit, the sovereignty of God etc and in many different ways over the week the whole bibles teaching on the subject is explored, preached, taught. In small groups, larger seminar groups, big preaches. This year the theme was The Cross, something with which, if I’m honest I had become overfamilar and complacent about. Theres nothing like Contagious out there, even for adults, apart from the CSM (Church student ministries) easter conference for students which is basically the same.

Matt and I had the privilege this year of being asked to lead the Taskforce, the studenty age, who want to practically serve to facilitate the bible teaching. These 17 young men and women of God just totally blew us away, and inspired and challenged us greatly as we taught them something of the bible’s teaching on Christian leadership. How we wish we had been as useful as them when we were their age, those passionate and willing to lay down their lives for Jesus and his gospel. The fun and fellowship was such a taste of heaven for us, such a spur and an encouragement! Praise God! We really grew to love them very much.

And what did I learn, what was I challenged afresh with? Heaps! Like…

Finding out more about the passionate, oh so deep love of the trinity for me, that love which I cannot even describe or comprehend the depths of! Feeling that as a reality in my heart once again, and knowing it in my mind for sure, despite my poor performance as a Xian!

And yet realising that my view of the cross was too small. That the cross isn’t all about me, me me but it’s a public, no, cosmic display of Gods glory! Yes, look at the cross and see the glory of God! God’s glory shown in love and punishment of sin!

Challenged by hearing again about Jim Elliott and his co workers who laid down their lives for the gospel and the work God did through and because of that! The challenge going out to all those young people to lay down their lives for the gospel and Gods glory also. And the positive response. 2 young girls trusting in Christ work on the cross for them for the first time!

Hearing again that Satan loves to make Christians feel unuseable and so we do then become less useful as we become convinced we’re not worthy enough for God. His tactics of sin, suffering and superior xians. Yet seeing from Colossians 2 that Jesus has disarmed and defeated Satan and so all he can do is put a plastic gun in our backs, not a real one and try and “hold us up” but we now in Jesus have the power to resist and fight him. We are set free to fight this loser!

And so now to remember all of life is about Gods glory, when tempted to know Satan is defeated, when thinking of the future know Gods call on my life and be thinking evangelism and mission, remember in my relationships that are difficult, the call to love.
Death to my self obsessed nature and now to carry on more zealously living the cross shaped life…

2006-08-19T21:02:00.000+01:00

The Pink ladies!

Gorgeous sky

2006-08-19T20:55:00.000+01:00

The Cooks

Phil

Ronke

Liam and the Gong!

2006-08-19T20:27:00.000+01:00

Taunton 2 Camp

2006-08-19T20:15:00.000+01:00

Matt and I spent 10 days helping on a new camp for us, in the heart of somerset, taunton. It was a CYFA Venture and we had a fantastic time of fun and friendship as many 14-18 year olds heard more from the Bible about Jesus and what he's done for them.

Heres some snaps. We go to Contagious camp tomorrow which we're really excited about as we get to lead Taskforce for the 1st time!

2006-07-22T12:43:00.000+01:00

When i feel like i can't go on
To you i turn all sufficient One
You pour out your grace so abundantly
Your Spirit working to transform me

Oh the wonder of your love, Jesus
That you would stand there in my shoes
Oh the mercy and the plan of God
that me, in my filthiness, you choose
Oh the depth of your passion for me
As i stand at the foot of the cross i see

I'm yours, you've chosen me, redeemed me
I'm yours, take my life, every inch for your glory.

New celebs spotted

2006-07-18T23:55:00.000+01:00

Add Emma Thompson to the list... much taller than we assume, and blonder!

Model Behaviour...

2006-07-10T11:42:00.000+01:00

Well heres the results of the photo shoot, there were many other crackers too but... we're poor!

B List Celebs...

2006-07-02T22:40:00.000+01:00

If you have never watched Holby city, cutting it, or even Coronation street, this means nothing to you. If you have it may mean not that much either...

I keep bumping into, almost literally Angela Griffin, actress off all the above and Tina Hobley, actress who plays Chrissy in Holby! It impresses me! Am i the only one?

6 things i'm looking forward to this week...

2006-06-21T00:19:00.000+01:00

Not in any particular order...

1. Going to Primark and Wagamamas tomorrow with Alix

2. Seeing many of my gowgous friends on saturday

3. Eating Thai Sweet chilli flavour sensations

4. Youth group on friday night

5. Going for dinner with steffy thurs, having coffee with Geoffrey tomorrow

6. 121 with Kate Bailey on thursday

Marital Bliss!!!

2006-06-21T00:09:00.000+01:00

Soooo we have finished our marriage course we've been attending at HTB for the last many monday nights! What did we think? Some useful tools from some wiser Christians for a happy and godly marriage. What did we learn that we didn't know already or had forgotton? We so often have too high expectations, i am a rhino (watch it!!!) and Matt is a hedgehog in terms of how we express or don't express anger, keep your drains unblocked (ask for clarification), invoke the ten o'clock rule (again ask if you want to know), my main love language is acts of service, Matts is words of affirmation, forgive quickly, say sorry even quicker, communicate communicate communicate, our marriage is just an itsy bitsy teeny weeny messy picture of an eternal, wonderful, fulfilling, perfect, intimate, committed, secure, passionate marriage between the Lamb, our Jesus, and the church, us who believe. Wowser, what an important role we have then as marrieds! We need to show Gods commitment and love for his church as best we can!

John Piper says that due to this great truth, adultery and unfaithfulness are actually rejections and offences against Jesus! If we settle for these we are lying about Jesus, we are lying about his commitment and passion for the church. Because marriage is to show Christ's relationship with his church... wow - serious stuff!

Friend sick

2006-06-14T22:02:00.000+01:00

Feeling an overwhelming sadness and distress and loneliness, like a wave that overtakes you and you go under for a few minutes. Pangs that seem to pierce the heart. I miss my friends so very much, it hasn't been so acute as this really since we arrived in London. But right now its a deep longing for my good pals, for friends who really know and love me for who i am, not for who i pretend to be. And relationships that change, due to someone else taking a loved one or family members affections away from me. Ok that sounded awful and selfish but i am realising that relationships, even the dearest best friend or sister brother relationships become more distant and strained, even though you don't want them to and try your best not to let them. They change. It's a heart crusher. But we have the Lord Jesus Christ, closer than a brother, who never moves away from us, despite us moving often from him. It's good then, that the frailty of human relationships changing and distorting keeps us longing for heaven, where we will be with our God in deep passionate relationship forever. But it still hurts the heart for now...

a looooooooong summer

2006-05-27T23:23:00.000+01:00

of football! I was told today by my husband to basically get my head around the fact that when the World cup starts soon, he will be watching all the matches. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I just really don't think i can cope. Does anyone have any ideas of how i will get through this summer of football? All suggestions legal and godly please. Maybe everytime it starts i could go and pray for a miracle, e.g TV blowing up!

Witch hunt

2006-05-27T23:16:00.000+01:00

Went to the theatre for the first time today, to see 'The Crucible' by Arthur Miller. It was very well done, very emotive. I love the play as I was one of the leads in secondary school production of it. I played super cow bag, Abigail Williams. It was so great to see a proper actress play her devious cunningness off perfectly! It was Matts first time to ever come across it and he enjoyed it, once he kinda got what was happening. It really shows the fear of the 'Christian' religious establishment of the time and the need to purify the community, yet scarily this purging is based on the lies of a selfish immoral girl, who wants anyone she doesn't like, out of the way! There was constant accuations, no love, grace or demonstration of true forgiveness. hmmmm...

Party on...

2006-05-24T12:46:00.000+01:00

Eurovision parties... the way forward. Went to a great one at Alix's house on saturday and it has to be the first time ever i have sat through the entire thing, scoring and all! And you know what? It really wasn't so bad, in fact it was quite fun! Especially as we chose to come to support Finlands Hard Rock Hallelujah entry... AND THEY WON!?!

SO, next year, eurovision night, party at our house yeah? You have to come dressed as the country of at least with a homemade flag of the country, also if possible bring food or drink from that country too! We'll get a big screen and everything! wow! It will be amazing!

Celeb Spotted Update

2006-05-18T23:25:00.000+01:00

So far...

Phil Spencer and Kirstie Allsop off Location Location

Ken Livingstone - does he count?

Liam Gallagher of Oasis in sainsburys

Steven Merchant a few times

Our friends saw Dermot O'Leary down the road in a restaurant - can we count that, coz thats a good one!

Angela Griffin off cutting it and waterloo road and other stuff

Ok their pretty B list, we're holding out for some bigger and better spotteds!

2006-05-15T15:28:00.000+01:00

Had Di Nuff Of Da Vinci Code...

Quick moany cow bit...Is it just me? I know it's important to address and all. I know the films coming out friday ( i'm gonna go see it), but it feels like everywhere i look, every church is preaching or every bloke is writing or every persons talking about it! I'm just bored of it!

2006-05-03T12:45:00.000+01:00

2006-05-03T12:32:00.000+01:00

Hull Homies

2006-05-03T12:22:00.000+01:00

Amazing Girl of God

Yuri is such a challenge and inspiration to me and so many others. She pours out her life for God and serving others, scripture is always on her lips and she is a little craaaaaaaazy! It was so good to hang with her on saturday!

2006-05-03T12:19:00.000+01:00

Why do i love pink so much...

2006-05-03T12:14:00.000+01:00

Abi and Alison - yee haaa!

2006-05-03T11:49:00.000+01:00

A Hull of a weekend...

Was so excited about my exotic bank holiday girlie weekend in..... HULL!
Arrived friday afternoon after a great train ride where a very nice Indian lady sitting next to me, didn't want to chat but kept randomly pasing me sherbet lemons at intervals in the journey! Thanks love!
My lush girlies picked me up from the station and our first stop was the Sun cafe. Alison is trying to convert me, to lure me away from the home that was Planet Coffee, for 3 years, to this new little chill out coffee house. I was sceptical but soon relented when the lovely chinese owner bought free cake round. Then we went home and Abi cooked up a fab korma and we chatted til the wee hours!
Saturday was so exciting as Alison, kath and I ventured into the city centre to get pierced/tattooed. Alison has wanted her nose pierced for four years and saturday was the day! I wanted a teeny tattoo but was very apprehensive of the agony it might be (low pain threshold!). We went to the new primark store and other such boutiques before finally going into "Classic Piercing". What happened next should've been enough to put us off, as 'Steve' and Mr 'Entire body tattooed' greeted us with a string of sexual harrassment abuse and F words. We saw some girls come out from being tatooed and i saw how sore it looked and though nup! No way!
Decided to get my nose pierced again instead, I had it done 6 years ago but let it close up after much skanky green stuff took over the look in 2004! This time instead of when steph and i got them done, for a fiver in a back cupboard of a shop with an ear piercing gun (illegal!), it was a needle job. Again, not very appealing, but we did it! Kath got her ear done halfway up and we all went to the chinese eat as much as you can with metal adornments! That night i saw like, the soppiest but best film ever, after watching mean girls, my lovely mates put on The Notebook. It's so lovely! sob sob!
Sunday was ace, as i got to go back to St Johns and saw my old Explorer kids and all the students and church family i miss so much! Was so good to spend time singing, praying and being taught by God together again.Then had a lush lazy afternoon with Graham and Ali and the girls. My goodness they've grown, Alys is so tall now! She's nearly 4! And Rosie has hair now and looks less baby like and more young ladylike! it was so much fun. it may be the last time i get to hang with the Sayers before they emigrate to Taz in the summer! So it was a precious time.
Alys just choked me when she sang "Jesus all for Jesus" to me, the whole thing! Ali and G have been singing to the girls Christian songs after their bible time! It really was beautiful and I pray Alys will give her life all for Jesus. The evening service was great and lee preached a brilliant and challenging sermon on Deuteronomy. And the challenge for us to enter Gods rest and not miss out as many of Israel did, due to disobedience and grumbling. It was a real encouragement for us sisters and brothers in Christ to keep each other accountable and encourage one another to keep on, even when we're apart geographically. It's been great so far that 3 girls i read the bible with in Hull have gone into gospel ministry full time themselves, and Abi is about to do that in septmeber, praise God for his transforming work in her life from her early shaky days as a fresher. I give great praise to God for his mercy and grace that these girls are soaking up and living out.
That night we had Prima Pizza (ouch the next day!), managed to get one free somehow and played THE BEST GAME EVER - Mrs Goggins old maid. It's amazing and kept us up late! Monday morning we were up early at starbucks in town for a final coffee before i got the train back. And those crazy four were can-canning on the platform, running after the train as it pulled out, waving feminine hygiene products (wrapped) at me! Thanks God for great sisters in Christ and for allowing our lreationships to flourish despite us being apart. May you keep them to that finishing line!

2006-05-03T11:40:00.000+01:00

2006-04-22T19:53:00.000+01:00

The God of Relationships

Just back yesterday from an awesome Church Student Ministries Conference (CSM) up at Quinta with around 100 students and leaders and apprentices from the UK. There is no other conference like it, with such intense and excellent bible teaching and digging for ourselves, such loving Chritsian community and honest sharing of the desire to lay down lives for our great God. We studied the topic of The Trinity this year, the One God in 3 persons, father, Son and Holy Spirit.

It was so striking that God is love because he has been love and has been loving for all eternity in the Godhead. And he invites us, sinners who have loved him not, to share in this intimate trinity relationship, to be not just citizens or servants but to be sons. Through the cross, we can be reconciled to the father, by the son's propiciation, made real to us by the Holy Spirit.

In John's gospel it is eye opening to see how Jesus prays to the father, who is in him and he in the father, that we might also be in him and know the same love that the father and son share for one another!!! And we saw though doing a huuuge new testament survey, all the one anothering stuff we are to do as church. Love and serve just keeps on coming out!! What amazing communities we could be for the light of the Gospel if we were to start loving each other, deeply from the heart. Why don't we?

The implication of us being Jesus' brothers, for His glory as the firstborn among many, is that we be what we are, that is, be holy because we are God's children. Prince Harry is a bit of a prat in the way he is a prince yet so often lives as if he is not, getting into drunken scarpes and the like. I guess he is behaving improperly for his status and so for us, the challenge of the trinity is also to be holy. I have a lot of work to do, but the trinity is changing me!

2006-03-11T23:30:00.000Z

Tea at Harrods darling!

Had a mad crazy social life this weekend (for once!). Sushi at Itsu in Chelsea with Regina friday night. A very classy fun sushi bar with amazing interior decorating and lush food! A really fun night hanging with Regs! I don't know what to do,here's the Christian conscience hurting me, they missed a couple of items off our bill, i realised today. I thought it had been amazingly cheap! Pretty sure i should tell them and pay the difference somehow, but a) it's inconvenient financially and geographically and b) well there is no b. I know what i should do! Pants, it was such a nice suprise to be so cheap!

This afternoon Allie treated me to one of the coolest things and poshest things i have done! She took me to Harrods for afternoon tea! It's so posh! I felt like such an imposter! The little waiter men even come and pour tea into your cup when you have finsihed it, though the teapot is right next to your hand and really, it's not that much of a strain to reach and pour! The scariest thing is that after an hour i was used to sitting with no slouch, straight back, nibbling at scones and clotted cream and listening to Les Mis songs being played on the grand piano by the pianist! The food was lush! You get basically all you can eat for £20 each (i should think so i hear you say) and their special blend teapot with it. Little Cucumber sarnies and others, scones and little pastries!
Most of the time i went red as the waiter poured my tea for me, man he should have been lifting my cup too! And i was giggling nervously saying i feel like an imposter! The loos are lovely, perfume on hand literally! And at the end we asked our lovely italian waiter if we could take the leftovers home! And he gave us a huuuge box ful of what we couldn't eat and put in a huuuge Harrods bag that made me look like i'd bought a large item! Thanks Allie, for a free tea at Harrods! What a treat!
Then with heavy scones sitting in my stomach i went off to meet steffy b for a currrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyyy - trying to rhyme. We went to this lickel cheap place but after harrods it was a bit horrible so steffy kindly put up with my snobbery and we went to drury lane to Bhattis! The man outside the front door practically pulled us in off the street, whihc wasn't a great time, but we had a nice little dinner and lovely chatting time. I love my friends and i love food, diet starts tomorrow!

2006-03-06T12:48:00.000Z

Jack Johnson Gig!

Wow what a great night we had saturday! Went to Hammersmith Apollo to see the legend that is Mr Chilled Jack Johnson! If you don't know who he is, you should really find out, his website is www.jackjohnsonmusic.com and his album thats made him more mainstream is In between dreams.

He's a Hawaiian surfer dude who plays amazing guitar songs and has a group of really great muso mates who accompany him at the gigs, like matt Costa, Ben Harper and ALO. We were in the seating area and by the end the whole place was up dancing and singing along to the mellow tuuuunes! It was well worth the wait, we booked tickest in October and got the last 2! As he sold out in 15 mins! We considered selling them on ebay (is that legal?) for hundreds of pounds but decided to go! I love living in London, apart from the no.9 bus, we had a great night!

2006-01-16T11:46:00.000Z

Wow - it's 2006! A new exciting year to serve and love Jesus in!

The run up to Christmas was pretty manic! Loadsa carol services for families with children, the church was full at every one with a sea of new faces! We worked right up to the eve of Christmas eve! Went to a drinks party in west hampstead, of a lovely girl who recently became a Christian at church. Didn't realise we were the ONLY people there who weren't in military medicine of some sort! Very weird!
We had a great Christmas, spending it with Yuri at both sets of parents and we went to see the Narnia film - full of Christian imagery! had new year at Helena's party as usual in eastbourne, however this year a vicar and his wife (to whom i applied for a job before taking this one) rocked up and well, they had some very interesting stories to tell, in fact a bit too intimate and interesting at times! A lively pair!
Last thursday hanging out with dan and alison in a local bar, realised we were sitting on a table next to Stephen Merchant! He co-wrote The Office with Ricky Gervais but isn't seen as much on tv as Ricky! That was cool!
Saturday 14th was pippa's 26th birthday and we went on the london eye with some friends before Helena suprised pip by turning up at the bottom of the big wheel! Idea was to go for dinner at the spaghetti house in goodge street with some more friends meeting us there. However, we stopped at starbucks and some nasty person stole Helena's mobile and wallet out of her handbag! This was pretty upsetting for her as she'd just come to see pip for the day! But managed to cancel all the cards and have a nice meal anyway!

2005-09-29T12:37:00.000+01:00

We've been in the sunny south for about 7 weeks now! So far so good. our adventures have included: ( get ready, brace yourself, these are very exciting and exotic!)

- Paying 15 pound for 2 burgers at the gourmet burger kitchen in Hampstead!
- Seeing some Deer in a park on Hampstead Heath
- Going to hear John Chapman (Author of A Fresh Start) at St Helens
- Playing Croquet on'Godfrey and Heathers' lawn!
- Making a compost heap and Matt cutting our hedge into a work of art!
- Walking down 'Abbey Road' (famous coz of the Beatles!)
- Seeing Phil Spencer and Kirstie Allsop of Location Location Location fame, filming down a nearby street and Phil Spencer giving Pippa a lovely smile, as she gazed at him.
- Seen Ferraris, porsches and aston martin and a pink Limo!
- Doing lots of youth groups with the cutest ever kids in one and the naughtiest ever kids in the other (though we pray that will change!)

It's a very friendly church, which is desparate to get the good news of the rescuer Jesus out to all around. We are enjoying serving God with them lots! Though we miss all our friends in Hull! Thats all fo rnow, til more excitment comes our way!
Over and out

2005-09-08T22:59:00.000+01:00

2005-09-07T19:54:00.000+01:00

Hi. Welcome to our very own website, nicked the idea off our friends who are travelling the world. Well we aren't but you can keep up with all the latest in our adventures with God in our new life in London here! If you are bothered that is, totally understand if you're not! We hope to keep you riveted with the latest local celeb sightings, with our comparison of London prices to our old city of Hull, and erm, well i'm sure the best is yet ot come!

Enjoy
Love
Matt and Pippa Perkins