Yksi vaikuttavimmista lukemistani kirjoista on kanadalaisen William P. Youngin luomus The Shack. Se kummittelee mielessäni kerta toisensa jälkeen, joten on pakko kertoa siitä näin blogin muodossa. Varoitan jo etukäteen, että tämä kirjoitus sisältää paljastuksia kirjan juonesta. Yritän kuitenkin kertoa kirjasta niin, ettei mitään yllättävää ja oleellista kirjasta nauttimisen kannalta paljastuisi.

Mac on kokenut elämässään kauheimman asian, jonka perheenisä voi kokea: menettänyt oman nuorimman tyttärensä. Kirjassakin koskettavasti kuvaillut tapahtumat varjostavat Macin elämää päivittäin. Eräänä yksinäisenä, lumimyrskyisenä iltana Mac saa postilaatikkoonsa kirjeen, jossa ”Papa” kutsuu hänet vierailulle samaan vajaan(shack), josta Macin tytär löytyi kuolleena sairaan sarjamurhaajan jäljiltä. Jokin kirjeessä saa Macin ihon kananlihalle: hänen vaimonsa on aina kutsunut Macille itselleen vieraista ja kaukaista Jumalaa tuttavallisemmin ”Papaksi”. Vierailu vajassa muuttaa Macin elämän lopullisesti. Hän kohtaa Jumalan paikassa, joka symboloi hänen elämänsä synkimpiä asioita. Kohtaaminen on kaikkea muuta kuin tavanomainen.

The Shack järkyttää länsimaalaisen siistiä kristillisyyttä sen perustuksia myöten. Kirjassa Jumalan persoona Isä on lämminhenkinen ja tukeva tummaihoinen nainen. Mieleen tulee väistämättä Matrix elokuvan oraakkeli ja Oprahin kaltainen isovanhempi. Alitajuntaamme hakattu kuva Jumalasta gandalfmaisena ja pitkäpartaisena tuomarina ei näytä sopivan kirjailijan näkemykseen. Tarinan poikamainen Jeesus on veikeä mutta järkevä puuseppä, jonka kanssa Mac tulee parhaiten toimeen. Pyhä Henki on arvaamaton mutta kokonaisvaltaisen ihana tuulenomainen hahmo. Kirjan järisyttävä kuvaus kolminaisuudesta on saanut monet nimekkäät pastorit ja teologit nousemaan vastarintaan(Mark Driscoll; Mars Hill Church). Ironista tosin on se, että suurin osa vastustajista myöntää, että kirja on jäänyt lukematta.

Suomalaisten seurakuntien kasvattina olen tottunut siihen, että kristinuskon voi nauttia siistissä paketissa, joka tarjoaa vastauksen kaikkeen. Meidän uskoamme kantaa selkeät opit, joiden sanomme nousevan suoraan Raamatusta. Harva uskaltaa myöntää, että monet näennäisesti raamatulliset käsityksemme nousevat yhdenlaisesta raamatuntulkintaperinteestä. Meidän järkkymättömät dogmimme ja kauniit kuvauksemme ovat vain välähdyksiä siitä, millainen Jumala todellisuudessa on. Todellinen Jumala ei mahdu täysin yhteenkään inhimilliseen vertauskuvaan, uskontunnustukseen, opinkappaleeseen tai tunteeseen.

The Shack on tarpeellinen uskonpuhdistus jokaiselle kristitylle. Siinä kuvataan välähdyksenomaisesti niitä Jumalan piirteitä, jotka jäävät usein meiltä huomaamatta: äitimäinen huolehtiva rakkaus, terapiamainen eheyttävä voima ja se tosiasia, että Jumala ei tarvitse suorituksiamme tai rukouksiamme mihinkään. Kaamean isäkuvan saanut Mac ei käsitä ajatusta kaikkivaltiaasta Taivaallisesta Isästä, joka sallii Macin rakkaan lapsen kuoleman. Rikkinäisessä vajassa ilmestyvä äitimäinen Jumala näyttää hänelle, miten tämän kanssa suhteessa eläminen voi hoitaa syvimpiäkin haavoja. Samalla käydään läpi kristinuskon vaikeimpia kysymyksiä liittyen mm. pahan ongelmaan ja anteeksiantoon.

Jos luulet tuntevasi Jumalan, lue The Shack avoimella mielellä. Pääset kyynelten, naurun ja arvoitusten matkalle, joka toivottavasti muuttaa käsityksiäsi elämästä lopullisesti.

(The Shack julkaistiin omakustanteisena mutta nousi USA Todayn bestselleriksi, kun sitä oli myyty miljoona kappaletta. Kirja piti pitkään paikkansa ykköspaikalla New York Timesin paperikantisten kirjojen best seller listalla. Päivä Oy on ilmoittanut julkaisevansa kirjan suomeksi. Myös kirjaan pohjautuvasta elokuvasta on kuulunut huhuja.)

Hello sweethearts

Hope your both ok and keeping busy, missing you lots and lots today – but that’s alright.

Still not really doing much at the moment, mostly playing with my phone and watching films. I’ll probably be glad of the rest this time next week!.

Love you both soooooo much!

Daddy xx

I have to say, when I first listened to Cheryl’s debut solo album, I wasn’t keen, I really wasn’t. I’ve listened to it all week now and LOVE IT. It’s definitely a grower. Just give it a chance if you felt the same. I mean, I’m a massive Girls Aloud fan so there was always going to be the painful comparison of Cheryl on her own without the girls…. it wasn’t ever going to be the same. But hell, it’s not half bad, not half bad at all! Alas, I degress, 3 Words is one of the songs I was finding myself humming and singing, badly. So it’s quite nice that this is Cheryl’s follow up single to Fight For This Love.

In the 3 Words video, Cheryl takes on three ‘personas’: her usual Hollywood glamour look with big big hair, a blunt brunette bob and unusually her final look is a gaga inspired platinum blonde style. It’s definitely fair to say Cheryl looks best with her brunette locks!

Unfortunately, as the video has only just last night had it’s world premiere, I’m unable to embed the youtube video as of yet, I will indeed [edit] this post when the embed is available. Take a look at the screen shots below – video link at bottom of this post!

It’s not difficult to see where the stylist got Will.I.Am’s winterful look from for this new video – ALLSAINTS. You can buy all items on this ‘Outerwear’ AW09 campaign image on the AllSaints website – www.allsaints.com.

FOR NOW, YOU CAN VIEW THE NEW 3 WORDS VIDEO HERE FEATURING WILL.I.AM.

Let me know your thoughts!!

Cx

The past fortnight has found me in a suitably strange little place. Uncharacteristically, I have on the one hand felt very laid-back, comfortable in the knowledge that I’m well on schedule with all my projects (even taking into account the unexpected stay in hospital and its aftermath) and quite content to “potter” with bits and pieces of editorial work. On the other hand, however, I’ve started to feel that old, familiar twitchiness — the restless need to get back to my writing.

Briefly, a few days ago, I managed to convince myself that, you know, Christmas is almost upon us and, frankly, well, returning to As Morning Shows the Day (my half-finished work in progress) this side of New Year would be pretty silly, wouldn’t it?

And maybe it would… I don’t know… but, the way things are going, I’ll probably be writing again during December. Just can’t help myself, guvna.

Getting my final draft of Children of the Resolution off to Legend last week kind of underscored my need to return to my work. Still not completely back to full health but needing something to do, I’d worked through the manuscript steadily and methodically, falling back into that other world I had in part created. The autobiographical aspect of Children resonated even more, given my recent illness (you’ll see what I mean when you read it), and even as I found it cautionary I yearned to get back to shaping my characters and fictional vistas. And so, once this project was delivered, I returned to As Morning Shows the Day — merely reading through it at this stage, listening to the voice, refamiliarising myself with it.

Yes, I still occasionally manage to convince myself that this is merely my way of preparing for starting back on it in January… but I’m fooling no one, least of all myself.

In other news, the electronic version (for Kindle, Sony Reader etc) of If I Never is now available here. Pretty excited about this. I’m not a huge fan of electronic books but I know a growing number of people are — and having seen the finished product, I’m beginning to understand why! Looks great… but don’t take my word for it, check it out for yourself! (Free readers are also available for PCs.)

A sample chapter of If I Never can be read here.

To buy your copy of If I Never, please click here.

© 2009 Gary William Murning

Hi kids. I thought I’d post a video for you today – although you may have already seen it.

hope you both like it!

miss you loads and love you both

Daddy xx

the lobo side of my family

for a road trip to the city
family in a car with me

craving auntie mila’s gravy
playing with bella, char & cary’s baby

can’t wait to hear gina’s laughter
and joe’s jokes after

avoiding saying the prayer for grace
we’re all betting william’ll volunteer to do it if we each look away

i’m waiting for mom to appear at my door at any moment
but i’m spending some of thanksgiving hoping

for pancit, rice from a cooker, appretada,
honey ham, chop suey and lumpia

not hungry for a dinner or dessert
but for familial company, that’s for sure.

janice.

 As I reflect on the meaning of Thanksgiving and its beginnings, I cannot help but think of the heart of those faithful men and women who risked all for the love of God; many of them leaving their homes and families to endure hardship and death for many of them. What was their motivation and why was it so important that they would take such great risks? As the writer to the Hebrews puts it;

But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city. (Hebrews 11:16)

Although the writing was speaking of the patriarchs and not pilgrims, I want very much for God to say to me what he said about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, “I am not ashamed to be called your God.”

Now consider the reason he gives: “They desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God.” The reason is their desire. They desire a better country—that is, a better country than the earthly one they live in, namely a heavenly one. This is the same as saying they desire heaven, or they desire the city God has made for them.

So two things make God unashamed to be called our God: he has prepared something great for us, and we desire it above all that is on the earth. So why is he proud to be the God of people who desire his city more than all the world? Because their desire calls attention to the superior worth of what God offers over what the world offers.

This was the strong desire and motivation of the Puritan Separatists – those pilgrims who traveled from England in search of a better place where they may worship their God. The Reformation was an age of unprecedented religious violence and martyrdom. Many who resisted the King and the established Catholic Church would face certain persecution and martyrdom by fire.

But Daniel 11:32 says, “And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.”

And great were the exploits of the Puritan Separatists. William Brewster, was a founder of the Plymouth Colony in New England. He helped lead the Separatist movement in England, 1606, allowing the nonconformists to meet for worship at his home in Scrooby, England. He escaped religious persecution by fleeing with the Separatists to Holland, 1608.

William Bradford, was a Pilgrim leader who helped establish the Plymouth Colony. Sailing in the Mayflower, he was chosen as governor of the colony in 1621, and was reelected 30 times until his death. In 1650, William Bradford wrote a history Of Plymouth Plantation. In it, he traced the events which led to the Pilgrims’ departure from England, and from it is where we derive most or our information about the early pilgrims and the Plymouth Colonies:

Governor William Bradford stated: They shook off this yoke of antichristian bondage, and as the Lord’s free people, joined themselves by a covenant of the Lord into a church estate in the fellowship of the gospel, to walk in all His ways, made known unto them, according to their best endeavors, whatsoever it should cost them, the Lord assisting them.¹⁹⁶

In 1607, as a result of religious persecution upon their persons, reputations, families, and livelihood, the “Separatists,” or Pilgrims, departed from England for Holland. Governor Bradford recorded:

Being thus constrained to leave their native soyle and countrie, their lands and livings, and all their friends and famillier acquantance. … to goe into a countrie they knew not (but by hearsay) where they must learne a new language, and get their livings they knew not how, it being a dear place, and subject to the miseries of war, it was by many thought an adventure almost desperate, a case intolerable, and a miserie worse than death. …

But these things did not dismay them (though they did sometimes trouble them) for their desires were sett on ye ways of God and to enjoye His ordinances; but they rested in His providence, and knew whom they had believed.¹⁹⁵

They lived in Holland 12 years, but little did they realize that out of the 103 Pilgrims who departed, 51 would die in the first winter in the New World. On September 6, 1620, after two attempts which were canceled due to the ship, the Speedwell, developing a leak, the Pilgrims finally set out for America in the Mayflower, just as the stormy season began in the North Atlantic. On November 11, 1620, having been blown off course by violent winds from their intended destination of Virginia, the Pilgrims landed at Cape Cod, Massachusetts. They found the area deserted, as the Patuxet tribe which lived there, one of the fiercest Indian tribes on the New England coast, had been destroyed by a great plague just two years prior. Had the Pilgrims landed there earlier, they would most likely have been massacred as the survivors of a French vessel were in 1617, as recounted by Bradford:

About three years before, a French ship was wrecked at Cape Cod, but the men got ashore and saved their lives and a large part of their provisions. When the Indians heard of it, they surrounded them and never left watching and dogging them till they got the advantage and killed them, all but three or four, whom they kept, and sent from one Sachem to another, making sport with them and using them worse than slaves.²⁰⁰

On November 12, 1620, the first full day in the New World, Bradford described the Pilgrims’ thankfulness: Being thus arrived in a good harbor, and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of Heaven who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and stable earth, their proper element.²⁰²

Later he would write; what could now sustain them but the spirit of God and His grace? May not and ought not the children of these fathers rightly say: Our fathers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean, and were ready to perish in this wilderness; (Deuteronomy 26:5, 7) but they cried unto the Lord, and He heard their voice, and looked on their adversity. Let them therefore praise ye Lord, because He is good, and His mercies endure for ever. (107 Psalm: v. 1, 2, 4, 5, Yea let them which have been redeemed of the Lord, show how He has delivered them from the hand of the oppressor. When they wandered in the desert wilderness out of ye way, and found no city to dwell in, both hungry, and thirsty, their soul was overwhelmed in them. Let them confess before the Lord His loving kindness, and His wonderful works before the sons of men.²⁰³

Three years after the Pilgrims’ arrival and two years after the first Thanksgiving, Governor William Bradford made an official proclamation for a Day of Thanksgiving, to all the Pilgrims he said: Last and not least, they cherished a great hope and inward zeal of laying good foundations, or at least making some ways toward it, for the propagation and advance of the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in the remote parts of the world, even though they should be but stepping stones to others in the performance of so great a work.²¹¹

Thus out of small beginnings greater things have been produced by His hand that made all things of nothing, and gives being to all things that are (Romans 4:17); and, as one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindled hath shone unto many, yea in some sort to our whole na[i]tion; let the glorious name of Jehovah have all the praise.²¹²

The great and rich spiritual heritage of those who would dare go against the powers of this world and do exploits by the grace of God because of the future hope of a promised possession – a city made by God, eternal in the heavens. And for this, the same future possession, the Lord has called you and me to as well, as the apostle Peter tells us, “To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fades not away, reserved in heaven for you, (1 Peter 1:4).

¹⁹⁵ Bradford, William. 1607, in his work entitled, 4 (Boston, Massachusetts: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1856; Boston, Massachusetts: Wright and Potter Printing Company, 1898, 1901, from the Original Manuscript, Library of Congress Rare Book Collection, Washington, D.C.; rendered in Modern English, Harold Paget, 1909; NY: Russell and Russell, 1968; NY: Random House, Inc., Modern Library College edition, 1981; San Antonio, TX: American Heritage Classics, Mantle Ministries, 228 Still Ridge, Bulverde, Texas, 1988). Verna M. Hall, comp., Christian History of the Constitution of the United States of America (San Francisco: Foundation for American Christian Education, 1976), p. 186.Marshall Foster and Mary-Elaine Swanson, The American Covenant—The Untold Story (Roseburg, OR: Foundation for Christian Self-Government, 1981; Thousand Oaks, CA: The Mayflower Institute, 1983, 1992), p. 32.

¹⁹⁶ Bradford, William. 1650, in his work entitled, 4 (Boston, Massachusetts: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1856; Boston, Massachusetts: Wright and Potter Printing Company, 1898, 1901, from the Original Manuscript, Library of Congress Rare Book Collection, Washington, D.C.; rendered in Modern English, Harold Paget, 1909; NY: Russell and Russell, 1968; NY: Random House, Inc., Christian History of the Constitution of the United States of America (San Francisco: Foundation for American Christian Education, 1976), p. 185. Marshall Foster and Mary-Elaine Swanson, The American Covenant—The Untold Story (Roseburg, OR: Foundation for Christian Self-Government, 1981; Thousand Oaks, CA: The Mayflower Institute, 1983, 1992), p. 62.

²⁰⁰ Bradford, William. 1617, describing the fate of a French ship wrecked off Cape Cod. William Bradford (Governor of Plymouth Colony), 2 (Boston, Massachusetts: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1856; Boston, Massachusetts: Wright and Potter Printing Company, 1898, from the original manuscript; rendered in Modern English, Harold Paget, 1909; NY: Russell and Russell, 1968; San Antonio, TX: American Heritage Classics, Mantle Ministries, 228 Still Ridge, Bulverde, Texas, 1988), p. 82.

²⁰² Bradford, William. November 12, 1620, in recounting the Pilgrims’ first full day in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in his work entitled, 2 (Boston, Massachusetts: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1856; Boston, Massachusetts: Wright and Potter Printing Company, 1898, 1901, from the Original Manuscript, Library of Congress Rare Book Collection, Washington, D.C.; rendered in Modern English, Harold Paget, 1909; NY: Russell and Russell, 1968; NY: Random House, Inc., Modern Library College edition, 1981; San Antonio, TX: American Heritage Classics, Mantle Ministries, 228 Still Ridge, Bulverde, Texas, 1988), ch. 9, p. 64. John Bartlett, Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1855, 1980), p. 265.

²⁰³ Bradford, William. November 11, 1620, in his record of the Pilgrims’ landing at Cape Cod, Massachusetts. William Bradford (Governor of Plymouth Colony), 2 (Boston, Massachusetts: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1856; Boston, Massachusetts: Wright and Potter Printing Company, 1898, 1901, from the Original Manuscript, Library of Congress Rare Book Collection, Washington, D.C.; rendered in Modern English, Harold Paget, 1909; NY: Russell and Russell, 1968; NY: Random House, Inc., Modern Library College edition, 1981; San Antonio, TX: American Heritage Classics, Mantle Ministries, 228 Still Ridge, Bulverde, Texas, 1988), p. 66. Sacvan Bercovitch, ed., Typology and Early American Literature (Cambridge: University of Massachusetts Press, 1972), p. 104. Peter Marshall and David Manuel, The Glory of America (Bloomington, MN: Garborg’s Heart’N Home, Inc., 1991), 11.28. (note: reference to these first settlers as “pilgrims” is owed to this passage.)

²¹¹ Bradford, William. 1650, in his work entitled, 6 (Boston, Massachusetts: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1856; Boston, Massachusetts: Wright and Potter Printing Company, 1898, 1901, from the Original Manuscript, Library of Congress Rare Book Collection, Washington, D.C.; rendered in Modern English, Harold Paget, 1909; NY: Russell and Russell, 1968; NY: Random House, Inc., Modern Library College edition, 1981; San Antonio, TX: American Heritage Classics, Mantle Ministries, 228 Still Ridge, Bulverde, Texas, 1988), p. 21. Jordan D. Fiore, ed., Mourt’s Relation: A Journal of the Pilgrims of Plymouth (Plymouth, MA: Plymouth Rock Foundation, 1841, 1865, 1985), pp. 10-11. William T. Davis, ed., History of Plymouth Plantation (NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1908), p. 46. The Annals of America  20 vols. (Chicago, IL: Encyclopedia Britannica, 1968), Vol. 1, p. 66. Verna M. Hall, comp., Christian History of the Constitution of the United States of America (San Francisco: Foundation for American Christian Education, 1976), p. 193. Marshall Foster and Mary-Elaine Swanson, The American Covenant—The Untold Story (Roseburg, OR: Foundation for Christian Self-Government, 1981; Thousand Oaks, CA: The Mayflower Institute, 1983, 1992), p. 11. Gary DeMar, America’s Christian History: The Untold Story (Atlanta, GA: American Vision Publishers, Inc., 1993), pp. 34-35.,

²¹² Bradford, William. 1650, in his work entitled, 2 (Boston, Massachusetts: Massachusetts Historical Society, 1856; Boston, Massachusetts: Wright and Potter Printing Company, 1898, 1901, from the Original Manuscript, Library of Congress Rare Book Collection, Washington, D.C.; rendered in Modern English, Harold Paget, 1909; NY: Russell and Russell, 1968; NY: Random House, Inc., Modern Library College edition, 1981; San Antonio, TX: American Heritage Classics, Mantle Ministries, 228 Still Ridge, Bulverde, Texas, 1988), p. 236. John Bartlett, Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1855, 1980), p. 265. Fleming, One Small Candle: The Pilgrim’s First Year in America, p. 218. Peter Marshall and David Manuel, The Glory of America (Bloomington, MN: Garborg’s Heart’N Home, Inc., 1991), 11.25. D.P. Diffine, Ph.D., One Nation Under God—How Close a Separation? (Searcy, Arkansas: Harding University, Belden Center for Private Enterprise Education, 6th edition, 1992), p. 4.

[i]

My son came home from PreK with a paper pilgrim hat the other day.  After admiring his handiwork, my mind went to the obvious place.  

Pilgrim names.

Spokane’s Spokesman-Review reminds us that back in 1620, first baby born to the Pilgrims in New England was named Peregrine.  Big brother was called Resolved.  

There were, of course, plenty of men called John and William and women named Mary and Anne.  

The more interesting masculine names worn by Plymouth Rock arrivals included:

• Isaac
• Bartholomew
• Love
• Wrestling
• Moses
• Desire
• Degory (though he may have been Gregory.  Or Digory – we don’t know much about him.)
• Giles (brother to Constance, Damaris and Oceanus)
• Oceanus (born en route to Plymouth – see above)
• Solomon
• Jasper
• Myles (Standish, of course)

There were fewer women, but a few stand-out names:

• Remember
• Humility
• Constance (sister to Damaris, Oceanus and Giles) 
• Damaris (see above)
• Priscilla

I’ve read estimates that only around 25% of the Purtians ever had names that would’ve seemed unusual in their day.  If that’s true, then 75% answered to ordinary appellations for their time, like James and Elizabeth.  

It also seems surprisingly consistent with modern day experience.  Around three-quarters of all kids born in the US receive a Top 1000 name.  In the nineteenth century, names ranking in the 900s were only given to a few kids; today, names at those same rankings are worn by a few hundred.  Really unusual names have never been terribly common – but neither was there a moment where every boy was Robert and every girl was Jane. 

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s 1850 novel of scandal amongst the Puritans, The Scarlet Letter, introduced a few unusual names not worn by the original settlers, including Hester and Pearl.  Most of the other names were unremarkable – Arthur and Roger aren’t popular today, but they don’t make you think of the novel, either.  

Even in fiction, not every Puritan was called Flee-Fornication.

Happy Thanksgiving!

No es cuántos títulos tienes. Es lo que puedes hacer.

Ready…

…set…

…hug!

*No brothers or wee-ones were hurt during this hug-fest.  Just a whole lot of hugging going on.

Voilà la chanson que je chantais entre les contractions qui ont poussés mon bébé hors de moi. C’est de circonstance, non? Je l’écoute et j’ai envie de pleurer.

hello chickens

Nice, ordinary day today really. Tidied-up, posted some letters and cooked dinner, not exactly exciting!.

I’ve got a busy week starting Sunday so I’m making the most of the time I have at the moment. I’m reading the book “The lovely bones” and it’s very good, and I’m researching ideas for a new job – not really sure if going back to driving is the right thing for me. I’d like to do something that doesn’t hurt my knees as much because my limp is getting worse as I get older, so might have to use my noggin’ a bit. (and I feel silly using my walking stick)

Hope your both feeling well and learning lots – I wish I could be with you, but I’m still hopeful things will change before too long.

Look after each-other and do as Mummy says.

Love you both

Daddy xx

“I’ve never in my life been called Wilhelmina. It’s a frightful name. Everyone calls me Bill. After all, people call William Bill for short, don’t they? So my brothers said they’d call me Bill, short for Wilhelmina! If any of you calls me Wilhelmina I shall be miserable. I shan’t feel I’m myself.”

(Enid Blyton, Third Year at Malory Towers, 1948)

Inspired by my friends Scott and Angie, and in the spirit of Epic Change’s #Tweetsgiving, I am posting a short entry on some things for which I am thankful.

Bill — My husband, my partner, my best friend, he is a well of patience and empathy and gratitude that I should hardly deserve. I am thankful for all of those things as well as his love, his  companionship, his sense of humor, and his idiosyncrasies. I am thankful to have found someone who is willing to share an introspective relationship and really work at a conscious marriage with me.

Anna — My stepdaughter, a beautiful child with a sharp mind, she is so much like I was at her age in some ways and so totally opposite in others. I am thankful to get to experience her perspective on the world, to bask in her compliments (I know my time to be cool is so close to over), and to learn from the less-than-easy challenges we share. I am thankful to have the chance to not do to her (let’s hope) some of the things that were done to me at the hands of a well-meaning stepmother.

Goocher — My impossibly cute mutt, my ungrateful mongrel, he is a walking lesson on living in the moment. I am thankful to have a dog that likes to cuddle on the sofa, that greets us at the door with wiggles so fierce they nearly bend his body in half, and that has a great dog-smell. I am thankful that he loves me unconditionally (even when he is acting like a jerk).

My Family — Related by blood, marriage, or simply strong ties and shared history, they are people who I know I can count on. Whether we are in touch a few times a week, a few times a month, every few months, or every few years, I am always thankful to have them in my thoughts and know that I am in theirs.

My Friends — My high school & college classmates & teachers, my former & current work colleagues, my I-know-you-from-Twitter buddies, my friend-of-a-friend new acquaintances, they are people who make me laugh, keep me grounded, and further my belief that humans are fundamentally good, social creatures who naturally want to be part of a community. I am thankful for the  experiences we share: happy stories, sad stories, meals, music, movies, memories.

First-World Status and Technology — The very real advantages I have — making a decent wage at a decent company with decent benefits; having access to and using utilities like running, potable water, free-flowing electricity, high-speed internet, and signal for my mobile phone; eating nutritious food regularly; living in stable, comfortable shelter; utilizing modern medicine/techniques to keep me free of disease and mitigate my ailments; and enjoying the world at my fingertips thanks to Google (not only the search engine but Gmail, Maps, and Reader), Twitter, and everything else the interwebs has to offer — are not lost on me. I am thankful to live where I do and have what I have. I am thankful to have opportunities to give to those who need help, both in time and money.

I am thankful to have known so much love over the years. I am thankful for a future filled with more love.

Hello and welcome one and all to you, the person who has sought out our wee place on the internet. In case you are a wee bit mystified by this all, let me explain in the next few sentences what this website is about. 

We are a Bible study that meets on Monday evenings (beginning on December 7th 2009) at Cappella Coffee House which is located at 132 N E St in downtown Exeter. We have been meeting since August 2008 in my family home, but after much prayer, we decided to change venue and night of meeting.  

This page you are reading, although entitled the “home page” will be our home page for articles, blogs and hopefully inspirational thoughts from William and Chelsea. 

The website really comes in two parts, this page and the other pages which all have an individual purpose to give you relevant information about this Bible study. 

The purpose of the website is to promote the Bible study and hopefully getting people to pray that it has a powerful impact in the community of Exeter for Jesus Christ. (And all surrounding towns, if the LORD wills!) 

I truly want to thank you for reading thus far and I pray that God richly blesses you today, please do not forget to pray for us! 

William & Chelsea Mc Cafferty

ARE 50 STATE CONSTITUTIONS WRONG? Somewhere along the way, the Federal Courts and the Supreme Court have
misinterpreted the U. S. Constitution. How could 50 States be wrong?

 

 

THIS IS VERY INTERESTING! Be sure to read the last two paragraphs.

 

America’s founders did not intend for there to be a separation of God and state, as
shown by the fact that all 50 states acknowledge God in their state
constitutions:

Alabama 1901, Preamble. We the people of the State of Alabama,
invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God, do ordain and
establish the following Constitution …

Please Read All 50 Click Here

“Those people who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants.”
- William Penn

GOD BLESS AMERICA!

It’s been a slow day, working on homework, watching videos about the Canon T1i, and just relaxing.  With Thanksgiving Day only two days away, there is going to be LOTS of food around.  Brooke and Michael have already made a MASSIVE apple pie.  My parents have made loads of lobster and crab.  I have been eating canned spaghetti.  With all of the family and food around, I see myself having a LOT of pictures by the end of the week!

Brooke, Caitlyn, and Taylor all spent Tuesday playing on the PlayStation and outside cheer leading

Michael and Brooke spent the day playing Grand Theft Auto on the PlayStation and while taking a break from that, both would be whipping up something good to eat in the kitchen.

Tiger was also roaming around the house and relaxing throughout the day

William Sparkman the census worker who was found dead hanging from a park tree in Kentucky with the word FED written on his chest in black magic marker committed suicide it was concluded by police.

Apparently he had taken out a life insurance policy on himself for $600K and wanted to commit suicide but his son would not be able to collect any money if his death was ruled as such. So he staged the entire “murder” which was cruel to the very son he tried to help.  So now the kid is out the money and has no dad. My conclusion: I was wrong about the murder and I know think that William Sparkman did not live up to his name instead he went out with a whimper – the coward.

—Bonju Patten

Prince William came face-to-face with a rather embarrassing situation when he bumped into naked All Blacks rugby team players during his New Zealand visit.

The 27-year-old British royal had arranged to meet the players, but strolled in as they were still in the showers.

“The Prince did a bit of a double-take, but actually dealt pretty well with what could have been embarrassing,” the Sun quoted an All Blacks source as saying.

“Some of the boys were more awkward. I think they’d have felt more comfortable being dressed more appropriately – or being dressed at all!” the source added.

Hello rug-rats

It’s very windy again! I like it when the weather is dramatic it makes me feel snuggly and warm under my blanket.

I’ve had an interesting day, and got a lot of stuff done. I’ve got a very difficult week coming up next week so I treated myself to a present today and bought a new ’smart-phone’ so I can blog and ‘Tweet’ on the move. I can’t really afford it, but sometimes buying something silly cheers me up, and as long as I don’t do it too often things are ok. Was lots of fun researching which one to get and finding the cheapest way of buying it.

I hope you’re both wrapped up warm in bed. Have sweet dreams poppetts.

I love you both

Daddy xx

Idag har det hänt en del, mamma åkte hem tidigt i morse. Jag har jobbat på eftermiddagen och William fick vaccin mot svininfluensan. Än har han inte reagerat på något sätt, men vi får väl se hur det ser ut i morgon. På kvällen imorgon ska vi iväg och vaccinera oss på US. Jag hoppas att jag inte reagerar illa för på torsdag och fredag ska jag jobba eftermiddag. Och jag behöver ju min energi till skolan också.

Har lite träningsvärk idag av allt spring igår, sprang ju på morgonen innan lektionen och gick en timme i stan på kvällen så det känns i låren idag. Imorgon hade jag hoppats på att springa på morgonen igen innan lektionen men jag får se om jag orkar upp för just nu är jag jättetrött. Ska snart ha grupparbete online, ska beta av två stycken på en gång, i sista minuten faktiskt, de måste vara gjorda senast 24.00 inatt. Snart är det slutprov som väntar, vi ska hålla tal, läsa kanji och svara på frågor. Jag är skitnervös.
Bjuder på ännu en sötbild från Sara på William som avslut.

Last night I was standing in the kitchen when William came running in, grinning from ear to ear.  ”Mommy my tooth!” he exclaimed.  I turned around to see him holding his tooth in his hand.

I was unexpectedly emotional about this.

I know he is going to be six on Friday, but he still looks like a four year old.  So in my sweetly deceived mind, he is still a “baby”.   Surly he couldn’t be old enough to be losing his teeth.

To make matters worse, I didn’t even know he had loose teeth.  This was a grim reminder to me of all the things he doesn’t know to tell me.    I can’t even begin to count the number of times I asked him why he didn’t tell me one thing or another.  He doesn’t tell me because he doesn’t know to tell me.  That makes me so sad.  The fact is,  for the first four and a half years of his life he didn’t have anyone to tell his exciting news to.  No one who could take the time to love on him when he got hurt.  No one to hold him when he was sad.  While he has flourished in our family, I was reminded once again that he still doesn’t fully know what it means to be a son.  He is learning.  So are we.  We are learning that while our first three children would have run to us with joy to tell us they had loose teeth, I might need to ask the younger two.   I am learning while our first three would come running to us whenever they were hurt or afraid, and pour out their hurts to us, with the younger two I have to look for cues and facial expressions.  Then I have to delicately pull from them what is going on.  It is not an easy task.  It is time-consuming.  Sometimes I just don’t want to take the time to do it.

But I have to.

It is such a vivid picture to me of God’s pursuing love for us.  This orphan child, adopted into the family of God, doesn’t always run to my Abba either.  He has to loving draw things out of me.  He pursues me.  It is not in my nature to run to Him.  He is teaching me to though.  I am much quicker to seek Him now that I was when He first made me His own.  I have grown closer to Him.  I do trust Him with my hurts, fears, and joys.  Even now, He draws out of the deep recesses of my heart, and shows me things about myself I could never have known, were it not for his abiding love.

I pray I can be more like my Heavenly Father in my parenting.  His example of love, devotion, and discipline are more than enough.   I need only follow.

Now for the good news about this whole tooth loosing debacle:

William did come running to me after his tooth came out.  He was thrilled to get to show me his tooth.  That makes me smile.  May not seem like a big deal to some, but this mama knows just how huge that is.

Plus, I didn’t have to deal with the grossness factor of the whole thing.  That was a bonus too.

And now my Squishy, minus one tooth.