More Silly Tests!

You Are Strawberry Ice Cream

A bit shy and sensitive, you are sweet to the core. You often find yourself on the outside looking in. Insightful and pensive, you really understand how the world works. You are most compatible with chocolate chip ice cream.

What Flavor Ice Cream Are You?

You Are a Centaur

In general, you are a very cautious and reserved person. However, you are also warm hearted, and you enjoy helping others in practical ways. You are a great teacher, and you are really good at helping people get their lives in order. You are very intuitive, and you go with your gut. You make good decisions easily.

What Mythological Creature Are You?

In Other Words 2

“Salt, when dissolved in water, may disappear,
but it does not cease to exist.
We can be sure of its presence by tasting the water.
Likewise, the indwelling Christ, though unseen,
will be made evident to others from the
love which He imparts to us.”
~ Sadhu Sundar Singh ~

We all have different aspects to our characters, we don't need to tell someone about them, they will be obvious as people get to know us. You can't keep your short-temperedness a secret for too long or the fact that you are grumpy in the mornings or that you are hopeless at time keeping or ... As people spend time with you they come to realise these things about you, hopefully they also realise your good qualities too! That you are a good listener or that you are patient with children or that you are great at encouraging people or ... I'm sure you can think of your own good or bad character traits. In the same way as people get to know us they should come to see Christ's love in us. I'm not too good at telling strangers about my faith but I hope that my friends can see that Christ is in me, even if imperfectly, as I struggle with God's help to develop the better aspects of my character.

"It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.

This isn't the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God's kingdom.

But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely."

Galatians 5 v19-23 (The Message)

Tom and Jerry Censorship!

I just heard about this story on the Radio 2 news, apparently Tom and Jerry are going to be censored for smoking! Forget all the violence in the programmes, Tom is injured in horrendous ways in every episode, but you have to censor smoking!!! I couldn't believe it, so I had to look it up and here it is in black and white from the BBC website:

Smoke's no joke for Tom and Jerry

Children's TV channel Boomerang are to edit scenes from Tom and Jerry cartoons where characters are shown smoking.

The move follows an investigation by media watchdog Ofcom into a viewer's complaint that the vintage animations were not appropriate for young viewers.

The watchdog recognised the "historic" cartoons were made at a time "when smoking was more generally accepted".

However, Boomerang will only edit those cartoons where smoking appears to be "condoned, acceptable or glamorised".

Two such cartoons include Texas Tom from 1950 and Tennis Chumps from 1949.

'Stylised manner'

In the former Tom is shown trying to impress a female cat by rolling a cigarette, lighting it and smoking it with one hand. In the latter, Tom's tennis opponent is seen smoking a large cigar.

"We note that in Tom and Jerry smoking usually appears in a stylised manner," said Ofcom.

However, it said that "the level of editorial justification required for the inclusion of smoking in such cartoons is necessarily high".

"Depictions of smoking may not be problematic given the context," it continued.

"But broadcasters need to make a judgement about the extent to which a particular scene may or may not genuinely influence children."

Take my life

We sang this hymn at church tonight, I've sung it loads of times over the years but this evening I was really thinking about the words. It would be great to say that this is my attitude but I think I fail in just about every area!

Take my life, and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days;
let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands, and let them move
at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be
swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice, and let me sing
always, only, for my King.
Take my lips, and let them be
filled with messages from Thee.

Take my silver and my gold;
not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use
every power as Thou shalt choose.

Take my will, and make it Thine;
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own;
it shall be Thy royal throne.

Take my love, my Lord, I pour
at Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be
ever, only, all for Thee.

by Frances Ridley Havergal

I've just looked up Frances Havergal and it seems she had "delicate health" and died aged 42. Yet in her life she wrote 71 hymns, several of which I have been singing since I was a child!

13 Choices Meme

13 Choices meme (from my sister at Touching Heaven)

1. Tea or coffee? tea
2. Read a book or watch TV? read a book
3. Morning or evening? evening
4. Laptop or desktop? desktop
5. Country or town? country
6. Wild rollercoaster or gentle merry-go-round? gentle merry-go-round
7. Crochet or knit? crochet
8. Listen quietly or sing along? sing along
9. Action movie or romantic comedy? romantic comedy
10. Phone or email? email
11. Cat or dog? cat
12. Cake shop or bake? cake shop
13. Milk or plain chocolate? milk chocolate

Please join in and let my sister know if you do!

What planet should you rule?

You Should Rule Saturn

Saturn is a mysterious planet that can rarely be seen with the naked eye. You are perfect to rule Saturn because like its rings, you don't always follow the rules of nature. And like Saturn, to really be able to understand you, someone delve beyond your appearance. You are not an easy person to befriend. However, once you enter a friendship, you'll be a friend for life. You think slowly but deeply. You only gain great understanding after a situation has past.

What Planet Should You Rule?

Back Home

I'm back home after spending 2 weeks with my sister and its nice to be home. Although I love my sister and her family dearly and will miss them, its just so good to be back with all my things. It will be great to sleep in my own bed (and I am sure that Ben will be pleased to sleep in his bed again too!). Its also good to be in charge of the remote!!! No more Dora the Explorer, Scooby Doo, Tom and Jerry or Brainiac! I didn't write about what we were up to because my sister wrote all about it in her blog complete with photos. Briefly, we went to Fantasy Farm, the river, the beach, the playground, to visit Grandma (and her hot tub!), shopping and relaxed at home. I will miss my sister, I had to cook my own dinner tonight and there's no one to bring me a cup of tea in bed in the morning! (Sorry sis, I will miss more than that, honestly!) Of course, I will miss these two little angels too :>

Which disney character are you?

You scored as Goofy. Your alter ego is Goofy! You are fun and great to be around, and you are always willing to help others. You aren't worried about embarrassing yourself, so you are one who is more willing to try new things. Goofy 69% Sleeping Beauty 56% Pinocchio 50% Cinderella 50% The Beast 44% Peter Pan 38% Ariel 31% Donald Duck 19% Cruella De Ville 19% Snow White 19% Which Disney Character is your Alter Ego? created with QuizFarm.com

Predestined?

I'm back to reading Ephesians and am now thinking about chapter 1. Chapter 4 was about what we should be doing for God but the beginning of the letter is more about what God has done for us. Some of chapter 1 deals with issues that cause some debate - predestination for one thing.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves." v3-6

I have to confess that I'm not too good at remembering my blessings and tend to take all the good things God has given me for granted. Rereading this it says spiritual blessings rather than physical blessings, but I know I should be thanking God each day for every blessing of all types, its so easy to dwell on the things that don't seem so good in my life.

I like the thought that I was chosen before the creation of the world, its great to think that God knew all about me even then, it reminds me of Psalm 139, a favourite of mine.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." v13-16

When I think about how amazing that is I should be praising God for his blessings all the time, he made me just the way I am. When I am moaning about something in me or my life that I wish was different I'm really suggesting that he got it wrong, but sometimes its hard to accept that I am who I am because that is just the person God needed for his plan, no one else could take my place, he has a role just for me. That's pretty awesome!

I know that some people struggle with the concept of being "predestined" as its seems to clash with the idea of God giving us free will, but the way I see it is that God is not bound by time, we are because we are living in this universe which has to obey certain rules, but God is beyond all that. He has seen our past, our present and our future so he knows the decisions we will make and the way we will go, also he knows us so well he knows what we can and cannot do and he works all these to his purpose. I'm sure I haven't got the concept completely, but it works in my head! Please feel free to correct me or give your views if I've got a bit wrong! Predestined is mentioned again in verse 11.

"In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory." v11-12

I think that goes with what I was thinking before he "works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will". I think that the message puts it beautifully, avoiding the word predestined!

"How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He's the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son." v3-6

"It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone." v11-12

In Other Words

"Remember, we all stumble, every one of us.
That's why it's a comfort to go hand in hand."
~ Emily Kimbrough ~

This quote reminded me of a day spent with my sister and her family. We visited Eastnor Castle where, amongst other attractions, they have an assault course. My nephew at 7 1/2 was off and over the obstacles with ease but my almost 4 year old niece found it a bit trickier. She was determined to complete the course but she wasn't going to make it on her own. However if she held on to my hand she could tackle them all; balancing on the beam, crossing the bridge, over the stepping stones, over the climbing nets, ... So all should be well, she'd make it round the course in no time at all. But, of course, its not that simple, she's almost 4, she wants to try out her independence, so although the hand was there to hold, she wanted to try some by herself. All I could do was be there ready to catch her if it went wrong, be prepared to support her if she lost her balance, give her advice on the best way to tackle the obstacle and ultimately to pick her up and put her back on track if she fell.

Thinking about it this seems to be a lot like life, sometimes things are smooth and easy and then we come across an obstacle. If we held on tight to God's hand we would cope with the obstacles, they might still be hard but we'd make it safely to the other side. But we all have a tendency to think we can do it on our own, we take our eyes off Jesus, we let go of God's hand, think we don't need help and that's when we stumble or fall. Thankfully, God doesn't leave us to it, he's there to catch us, guide us back to the right path or pick us back up and put our feet back on the solid ground. Next time I come to an obstacle I'm going to try to remember to keep hold on his hand and go the way he leads, but I can also rest assured that he will be there to help me up when inevitably I lose my way and stumble.

A life worthy of the calling?

This Sunday morning the message was from Ephesians chapter 4 and it made me think, so I have been rereading the passage. I'm pretty sure I don't live up to v1-3:

"I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of Spirit through the bond of peace."

I do try to be humble, gentle and patient but I don't always succeed. I'm trying to love others but I'm finding it tough with some! The bit that struck me is to "live a live worthy of the calling you have received", what if you are not sure of your calling? In many ways I have felt teaching to be my calling, but then when you are caught up in the detail and bureaucracy of school life, you tend to lose your enthusiasm. Maybe there is some other calling that I haven't realised yet or should I be praying to regain my enthusiasm?

"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fulness of Christ." v11-13

If my calling is to teaching, should I be thinking on the lines of these verses "to prepare God's people for works of service", is my teaching preparing anyone for God's work? I'm not sure that teaching maths is achieving much for God, its not that a non-christian would teach it any differently. I suppose its not just the teaching but the whole contribution to school life, I am a fair trade rep, I organise various charity events and I try to encourage the girls to think of others and how they can help, but I don't think I'm really making much of an impact. What can I do "so that the body of Christ may be built up"? Maybe I' m looking at this all wrong, its not just about some big thing I can do, but about us all doing our bit, our calling, so that together we make a big impact, "we all reach unity in the faith".

"From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." ch4 v16

This verse reinforces what I was thinking about it being about all the little things we do according to our calling that together make the whole body, like the passage in 1 Corinthians 12 v12:

"The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ."

My mind is full of all sorts of thoughts and ideas, but maybe I should save some for another day, I need to reread the rest of Ephesians and get it all in context.

Am I Getting addicted to these quizzes?

Am I Nerdy?

Photo Friday - "Abigail"