I am a genius

Thanks to Mustard Seed Shavings for alerting me to this but apparently the readability of my blog is at genius level - very impressive. You can check yours here.

It says you can also check your facebook level but as mine's not working as usual I'll have to try another day.

Home Sweet Home

Hooray! We're home!! After two weeks of sleeping on a bed settee then an airbed I am very pleased to be home!!! The washing machine is whirring and the suitcase is unpacked.

We spent a very quiet Christmas with Stephen's mum and dad in Bangor which was lovely because someone else did all the cooking, although I did perhaps watch too much rubbish television.

Then we came home briefly (spent time in 3 countries in 24 hours) and then headed off to Edinburgh for Hogmanay.

We stayed with some friends in Dunfermline and travelled in for the evenings and I have to be honest and I know its uncool to say it but I much preferred the torchlight procession and the burning of the viking longboat and the street ceilidh to the new years eve event.

I had never heard of the band who were playing because I am so uncool and then I watched some fireworks but you couldn't see them because the smoke got in the way!! Oh well it was a good trip away, ate lots of lovely food perhaps too much and spent time with friends, made new friends and laughed a lot.

Back to work tomorrow - hmm....

December so far

Well it's only three days in and already three great things have happened!

• I spent the weekend with some girl friends from uni. Lots of fun, laughter, honesty and sharing. Can honestly say they are true friends who I could talk to about anything (and have) and they still love me - thank goodness.
• Led the evening service at Church to rave reviews!!! Is nice to be appreciated and to feel I'm using my gifts for God here in Cleveleys.
• I got a promotion!!! As of January I will be the phase leader for years 2, 3 and 4 at school and will be in charge of the teachers and children and other random things which I'm sure will become apparent over time, very exciting but also scary.

.....Oh and this evening I have given in and let Stephen put the Christmas tree up already... am ashamed of myself although last year he put it up earlier than the 3rd of December, so some progress has been made.

Notes on November

Oh dear, the whole of November passed without me having any thing or time to blog so thought I would do a catch up summary of what's been happening in the Boyd world.

• School has been a very stressful place to be with lots of assessment, hassle, paperwork etc
• Spent a good night out with some friends in Poulton but drank a lot of vodka!
• Got very annoyed with the Bishop of Blackburn (not to his face) which reminded me why I'm only an Anglican in disguise
• Made approximately 44 packed lunches for school!!
• Thought about Christmas shopping but didn't get much further than that
• Prepared the evening service for last night, the first service I have led since we left Lancaster (it went very well)
• Bought a new top whilst shopping for an outfit for Stephen (he came home with nothing!!)
• Enjoyed Alpha!! amazing commitments of faith from the group members and an amazing group session where we all prayed for each other to receive the Holy Spirit: tears, laughter and openess...awesome.
• Fell asleep every night as soon as my head hit the pillow!!

I wonder what December will hold....?

Church at its best

On Sunday morning it was announced that our minister is taking a short break for personal reasons for rest and reflection. This news was met by shock and dismay by the congregation. Having been in a Church where this has happened before and no one seemed to mind, I was overcome by the out pouring of love people showed towards our minister and his family. There were tears and upset but overwhelmingly a sense of calling on God for guidance, wisdom and provision.

Both services were filled with a tangible sense of the presence of God and the evening service in particular was sensitively and thoughfully led giving people time to reflect on God and an amazing time of open prayer happened where people prayed thoughtfully and with thanksgiving for what God has done and what God will do in this difficult and uncertain time.

This to me is Church as it should be with Jesus at the centre, guiding us and leading us. We were united around Him and were called afresh to focus on His word for guidance and comfort. We loved and supported each other and differences were cast aside. I can only pray that it continues and that the next three months will draw us as a community closer to the potter and that we will allow Him to shape and refine us.

Half Term Happenings

After a very busy summer holiday decorating our house, we have had a lovely chilled week off school. Went for a long walk in the Lake District around Great and Little Langdale which was just inspiring. Being that close to nature in all its glory makes me so aware of the majesty of God. But my legs ached for the rest of the week!!

We've played lots of board games with the Crowther and Downes and I have done plenty of scrap booking of our holiday in Gozo last summer. Have also sadly had to do some school work and been in to change a display around. Stephen has been very excited to go out and spend a couple of days policing with a regular officer and is always full of stories of exciting events that have happened!!

Alpha was still on and continues to excite me even though one of my group thinks I'm "sad" because I've read the Bible from cover to cover!! On the other hand another member of the group has started reading a Bible for the first time. Life is good and all about living it to the full -awesome!!

Alpha

As previously mentioned I am a small group leader at our Church Alpha course, although terrified by the propsect at the beginning, I am pleased to report that I am loving every minute of the course. Our group is nice and chatty and full of the kind of tough questions that make me think but show me that people are actively seeking God in their lives, it such a huge blessing to share a part of their journey of faith with them and everyweek I get more and more excited about the group members. I am praying earnestly and if you feel so inclined I would love to ask you to do the same, this is kingdom building stuff and its exciting and challenging.