A different Sunday

Church:
- We've got 2 tickets for the Ladies' Tea. I'm not sure what it'll be like, but I'm sure it will be fun to try something different next Saturday.
- A reminder of some of the ways God speaks to us, and the importance of doing what He says. We won't always understand why but we can know He has a plan.
- I was struck again at the way the Bible can live when I read it. Sometimes I just wonder if we've made it all up but then I come across a passage that I've certainly read before but it feels new and so relevant.
- Our triplet may be going to expand to 4. I hope C decides to join us, and I'm looking forward to it if she does.

Afternoon entertainment:
- We watched our god-daughter's dance show with her family. Little brother found it hard to sit still (ok... impossible) but we enjoyed seeing her. She looked to be having lots of fun on the stage.
- The family haven't been well this week so they left after her last dance. We were going to join them but...
- I'd bought a couple of raffle tickets on the way in and we won the top prize! We picked it up at the end and it's quite a hamper.

Afterwards:
- A quick visit to the shops for present ideas
- Christmas card writing... There are still a few to do but it's a good start.

Which all means I've only knitted 2 rows of Mary's scarf today. There are 80 rows plus grafting still to do, but it's probably a good thing to have given my hands and arms a rest.

A close network

A busy day:

• An early start: I was in the band and A was running the Sunday School.  Sometimes I've been a bit stressed on a Sunday morning, but this week was lovely and relaxed.  I enjoyed playing. And a visitor came up to me during the break to say he'd have liked the bass to be louder! I'm not used to that ;o)
• We had lunch in town (the same choices as last week!)
• Afternoon tea in Plumbland village hall for a farewell do.  They're heading south to help with their grandkids
• I was touched by how many people were there, and the different groups we represented.  They've been involved in running an activity centre near Bassenthwaite, working at the Keswick Convention, and supporting the schoolswork in the area.  I know that she's been a great support to my friends who've needed a shoulder to lean on.
• Back home for an hour or two...
• ...then out again for the youth service.  I've not been for over 10 years, and enjoyed seeing the young people gathering to worship God and listen to good teaching.  I'm glad I've become involved again.

I've had a lovely day.  I appreciated seeing different strands of the local Christian community are intertwined through relationships and faithful work over many years.  We're part of a long history in this area.  So encouraging :-)

Sunday thoughts

I was playing in the band this morning.  We didn't have our usual keyboard player, but had an extra guitarist and the drummer from another band which led to a quite different feel - I quite liked it.  I've learned to go with the flow a lot more on Sundays and to choose not to be stressed if things aren't quite as I'd like.  That's made a big difference.

And my bass is finally connecting properly to the system!  The pick-up was quite worn/loose so our usual drummer fixed it for me during half term.  What a star!

The sermon was about giving.  I was grateful that God had already spoken to us on this over the last few days - it feels better to know that we're making changes because of a conversation with Him, rather than because we've been "told" from the front.  I know that God is faithful in this and it's such a privilege to be able to join Him in helping others.

We had a lovely lunch at a cafe in Cockermouth.  We'd not planned anything after church, but I'd wanted to walk into town to try to clear my head a bit... I had a tasty baked potato with cheese and chorizo - yum!

I had a nap when we got home to fix my headache, then enjoyed the final F1 race of the season.  It was probably the best I've seen this year, and a great way to end the year.