Tarleton Young Life

On Sunday evening I had been asked to speak at Tarleton YL.  My cousin Jill had asked me some months ago when we were at a YL gathering in Leyland and to be honest I nearly forgot.  I knew it was in the autumn some time, but I had lost the date as I hadn't added it to my calendar.  Thankfully Jill rang me earlier in the week - phew! 

It was a busy weekend.  I had spent a large part of Saturday preparing to preach at the 4.30pm service at Kew, I then had to take Esther to Blackpool for the evening (now that's another story!!!) and then when we got back we had to go & clean the church at Kew.  I was up early Sunday am to finish the sermon, but I was unable because I had needed to go to Blackpool the night before, which meant I had to spend another couple of hours of study on Sunday afternoon.  Oh, and did I say I was leading the worship at Kew on Sunday am and needed to spend a little time on that as well, not to mention leading the Lord's Supper after the afternoon service.  Well all in all, I had had a good time so far, and the ministry from David Back at our morning service had been so encourging as we looked at Luke Ch18 v 1-8 (now I'll leave it up to you to go & have a look at the text).

So it was a quick exit from Kew at 6.00pm to get to Tarleton as soon as we could. I had decided during the week before what I was going to speak on & had told this to Anita 7 Hannah as we travelled over. When we got to Steve & Jill's the room was packed, with some having to sit up the stairs.  I sat down in the allotted place and looked around and felt so encouaged to see so many young people.  It was then that I felt that the Lord wanted me to change what I had proposed to do - and so I did.  We had a great time & I trust that they were helped by what God's word said.  There was certainly some deep thought provoking questions asked afterwards which was great to hear, as we need to be 'thinking Christians' and not just pew fodder.

Longtime No Blog

Well, it's been a long time since my last blog.  I did intent to add apost at least once a month - well the best laid plans & all that!

Quite a lot has happened since February;

1. I got a job! Hurray was the cry, but unfortunately it was in mid Wales and meant working away all week.  I sarted work the last week in April and finished the last week in August.  The working away thing didn't work out for me or my family, so here I am on the job hunt again and not very successful at the moment.  We will just have to trust the Lord again.
2. I have been unable to renew my Sale Sharks season ticket this year (boo hoo).  Well when it was time to renew I was working away in Wales and I didn't think it fair to the family to literally dash out on a Friday evening to go to the match as soon as I stepped off the train.  Anyway as now I'm without a job & just on JSA, the petrol cost would be prohibitive.
3. We have all finally left Grace Baptist & settled in at Kew Evangelical Church, which is in a superb location.  It is a small struggling work, which was down to one family and two other ladies.  But we are certain that the Lord took us out of Grace to plant us at Kew to make Christ known on the estate.  We are still settling in, but have begun tidying the place up and planning evangelistic events.  We currently have around 20 at our Sunday services and around 17 at the midweek bible study.  On Friday evenings at Kids Club we have had upto 26 children!  We have just put together a web site which you can view by clicking here http://www.kewchurch.org.uk/

I hope to put few more posts in the coming months and also keep you updated on 'Kew Church'.

Six Nations Championship

We are two games into the 2009 RBS 6 Nations and what a start for me. Sometime ago while on the RBS website there was a competition to win 2 tickets to see England v Italy on the opening weekend at Twickenham. I entered and thought no more about it - until I got an email one week before to say I'd won.

It was agreed by the family that Hannah could go with me. There was one catch though! Hannah has friends who live in Twickenham who she had met on camp in Wales - she wanted to meet up with them. As we would only get back between 10 & 11pm I suggested that we got up early so she could spend time with them before the game.

We set off at 5.45am and she was at her friends house by 10.15am. I had to spend the rest of the day prior to kick off by myself. I collected the tickets at 11 am and then had a look around the shop and bought Esther a tee shirt.

I saw the England team bus arrive, but unfortunately I was on the wrong side when all the players got off and couldn't see them. But hey, I was there, the sun was shining and I could see Jeremy Guscott, Jonathan Davis and John Inverdale on the balcony.

Eventually Hannah came back about 2pm. By now there was loads of people everywhere. There seemed to be a never-ending stream coming from the station.

We found our seats in the middle tier of the East Stand near to the new South Stand.



We were having a good time and enjoying the atmosphere for our 1st ever live 6 nations game at Twickers. We kept in touch with Esther on the mobile while she watched at home on the TV.

The game wasn't that good to watch, but we won, Mark Cueto from Sale scored a try and "we were there!" I just hope I'll get a chance to go again sometime.

Thanks very much Royal Bank of Scotland!

The Last Day!!

Today was my last day as an employee of Kingspan. I am now looking for a new job as I was made redundant due to the downturn in house building.

What will I do?
1 - wait on the Lord for His guidance and leading (you see I do believe the text at the top of my blog).
2 - try and find something in a similar role i.e. on the technical side of timber frame or project management.
3 - 'and now for something completely different'. What that will be I've no idea - I'll have to wait and see!

'How good is the God we adore, our faithful unchanageable friend, whose love is as great as His power and knows niether measure nor end'

Welcome 2009

I look forward to 2009 with great excitement.

I don't know what will happen with our meeting on Sunday's at Kew. We will just have to wait on the Lord for Him to make his mind and will clearly known. It is He who opens doors and He who shuts them. Whatever He wills to do, I look to be obedient to Him who loved me & gave Himself for me. We will take one step at a time following Him in faith. In 2009 we are now meeting mid-week every week, alternating between prayer and Bible study.

As for a job, I can honestly say that I am not worried. The God of all grace will look after me and my family, He will not leave us nor forsake us. We cast all our care on Him because He cares for us. I believe that God has brought my current employment to an end for a reason and I wait on Him to open new doors of opportunity - whatever they are.

So come on 2009, it promises to be a great year. A year full of exciting opportunities in the service of our Lord & Saviour Jesus Christ. Watch this space to hear what the Lord has done among us.

Bye Bye 2008

Well it's good bye 2008 and I'm quite glad it's over.

After a optimistic start things generally got worse. Order books at the factory were looking promising and a bumper year was forcast. I had an Assistant Technical Manager start in January with good knowledge of the business and experience to go with it. This was a long awaited appointment after many many months searching for the right candidate. But soon the orders were cancelled due to the credit crunch and optimism gave way to pessimism.

Church life was not what it was either, after 7 years as a Deacon at Grace I resigned, as I was not happy with the way the leadership was going - by August I had stopped attending altogether and was going elsewhere. This was one of the most difficult times I had experienced as a Christian.

The employment situation was also getting worse. As the year progessed so the orders began to dwindle. In august after reurning from 2 weeks holiday I had to make staff cuts in my department. I was able to keep them to a minimum as we had a large block of flats that needed designing. I resisted pressure from my Director to let my Assistant Technical Manager go and so only lost one Designer. This was mainly due to the fact that one Designer had left in the spring and one in the summer, neither of which I had replaced. Four other office staff and about 6 - 8 in the factory where also made redundant.

By the 2nd half of the year church life was beginning to move forward. The church I was attending on Sunday mornings was providing excellent ministry and fellowship. While every other Tuesday evening we have been meeting for Bible Study & prayer with a number of other people who have also felt it necessery to leave Grace. As the autumn came we began to feel that the Lord was beginning to call us to start another work in Southport. The Lord confirmed this to us at a meeting we had one Friday night in November. The Lord then opened a door for us to meet in a little chapel on Kew estate on a Sunday afternoon. Our first meeting was on 7th Dec, the preacher was David Back and we had a congreation of 37 including young & old, familes & singles. The Lord truly blessed us that day and has continued to do so.

Early in December I advised my Director at work that I should reduce the staff in my department as I was now struggling to keep them all fully employed and the prospect of enough work coming in was looking bleak. On Tuesday 16th December all the staff were called to a meeting to be told that our factory was being closed. We were all sent home on 7 days notice of redundancy. The factory would not reopen after the Christmas shutdown. I am now looking for new employment.

Beth Rowley

Over the summer Anita brought my attention to a singer she'd seen on TV called Beth Rowley. She is a Blues/gospel style, not something I'd really listened to before. She had just released her first CD called 'Little Dreamer' which we bought and I haven't stopped listening to it since.

In August I visited Beth's website and noticed that she had just announced her autumn tour dates, one of which was at the Royal Northern Collage of Music in Manchester in October. Without hesitation I booked two tickets for Anita & me. This was quite an unusual event as I have never been to a concert before, although come to think of it I did go to see Don Francisco once at the Southport Theatre many years ago.

Well, the concert was fantastic and I really enjoyed it. We were just 3 rows from the front and next to the drums!

Check out her web site at www.bethrowley.com

The Rugby Season so far..........

Well not a bad start for Sale Sharks. The season tends to divide itself up into small groups of games for different competitions starting with the Guinness Premiership - after 5 games we are in 3rd position. A top 4 place is the main aim for the season as the top 4 play off for the Premiership Final held at Twickenham in May, a top 2 place would be even better as that would ensure a home tie.

In the EDF cup (a bit like the old football league cup) we were bottom of our group and did not qualify for the semi-final, all was not lost as may top players were rested and many young hopefuls from the academy where given first team game time.

The Heineken Cup (like the Champions league in football) has only just started and so far we have played 2 games - won one & lost one - so it's all still to play for.

Next weekend sees the start of the autumn internationals so we will have several top players away on international duty for England, Wales & Scotland. With several injuries as well, we will almost certainly need to call upon the services of some of the young players in the squad. Hopefully their experience in the EDF cup will hold them in good stead.

Why not visit Sale Sharks website by clicking here

Universities

September saw us visit various Universities with Hannah. We went to Lancaster, Liverpool & Manchester on 3 consecutive Saturdays. It was hard work & we were there nearly all day on each occasion. One of the problems we have is that Hannah is undecided which subject she wants to take, so we were visiting Biology, Chemistry, Geology & Geography departments. So far Hannah has ruled out Chemistry. Lancaster, which is a campus university, is currently top of the list. We will have another look around next spring.

Hannah is going to take a year out. Hopefully she will earn some money and also do some kind of missionary work.

The Credit Crunch

Well, first week back to work in August after our holidays and I had to review the staffing in my Department. My Director asked me to make some cuts as the level of work through the business had slowed down significantly due to the down turn in the housing market. I had to assess the current & future work load & then decide how many staff I could let go. I had already had a couple of staff leave earlier in the year which I had decided not to replace, so I only needed to let one person go. For the next stage I had to conduct a review for each member of staff to be able to come to a fair decsion on who would be made redundant. I was a hard few days. The total number of staff who were made redundant was significant. But it was absolutly necesssery if the business is to survive the credit crunch.

Olympics, Rugby, Christianity & Eric Liddell

This is an extract from the worlds best selling rugby magazine Rugby World (Sept 2008 page 88).

"Immortalised in the Oscar winning film Chariots of Fire, Liddell is best known as a devout Christian who won the 400m gold medal in the 1924 Paris Olympics in a world record time of 47.6 seconds. Ironically, the 100m had been considered Liddell's strongest event but, with the final scheduled for a Sunday, he withdrew at the start of the Games because he considered the sabbath as a day of rest.

One aspect of the Scot's life omitted in the film was his rugby career, which was brief but brilliant. First capped against France in 1922, Liddell scored 4 tries in 7 Tests, including 3 in the 1923 five nations when, but for an 8-6 defeat to England would have won their 1st Grand Slam. Two years later the Scots achieved that distinction, but Liddell was no longer part of the team having settled in China as a missionary. He was still there in the early 1940s when the Japanese invaded the country during World War 2; Liddell was interned in the Shantung Compound and died of a brain tumor in 1945 aged 43.

A fellow internee wrote later that throughout his incarceration Liddell was 'overflowing with good humour and love for life...it is rare indeed a person has the good fortune to meet a saint, but he came as close to it as anyone I have ever known'."

Eric Liddell is also the subject of a new book by Gordon Keddie called "Running The Race" (published by Evangelical Press). I am currently half way through and thoroughly enjoying it. I hope to finish it before New Year.

This will be our last holiday blog

This is our last holiday blog from Hawes in beautiful Wensleydale. On Sunday we went to the evangelical church in Leyburn as we did last week and had a good time. It is a very warm and friendly fellowship. Today (mon) we went to the castle at Middleham where king Richard III lived. We have had 4 very hot days with lots of sunshine. Some in the family have got sunburned! Tomorrow is market day in Hawes.

Hannah & Esther posing with the locals.

Hannah & Esther posing with the locals. This was the best day so far (monday). Tuesday we walked to Ingjeborough cave & had a tour of the cave which was so fascinating. We went on a bat walk late last night (wed) with a bat expert - complete with bat detectors.

Hello, welcome to my holiday blog 08....

This is a view from the caravan site looking towards Hawes. We've had mixed weather so far, but it's very relaxing. More to follow soon.

Le Tour de France

This weekend sees the start of Le Tour de France 2008. This is one of the greatest sporting events on the planet. I will be recording and watching all the highlights shown on itv4 at 7.00pm to 8.00pm each day.

Last years race was really controversial with many riders and some teams being expelled for taking drugs & missing drug tests. Let's hope this years race free from such incidents so we can concentrate on the cycling.

If you've never watched le Tour before then tune into the highlights show on ITV, particularly when the race is in the Alps or Pyrenees.

The fitness of these guys is unbelieveable. They cycle around 150-180 kilometres a day, everyday for 3 weeks. By the end of the tour they actually begin to loose weight, all the fat is burned up and the muscles begin to reduce.


Last year Le Tour was won by Alberto Contrador, my prediction for this year is Cadel Evans from the Silence-Lotto team. One thing is for sure - Le Tour will be won or lost in the mountain stages.

Something to Watch #1

With still around 2 months to go until the new rugby season gets under way, I thought this TV programme called 'Talking Sharks' would keep us going. If you enjoy this, keep visiting my blog for part 2. Enjoy!! (I did).

Ouch - my wallet

Well my teeth are finally fixed with 2 new crowns and looking good. My wallet isn't very happy though. It's feeling rather underweight and wondering where it's next meal is coming from. It may take it some time to get back to where it was last week :(

Please make cheques payable to "Parky's Crown Fund". All donations gratefully recived.

Many Thanks

Father's Day

I'm fast asleep, but then suddenly I'm disturbed by the bedroom door opening and the sound of girls voices. I look at the clock and it's 9.00 am. The girls voices are those of Hannah & Esther carrying a tray and on it is my breakfast - shredded wheat, toast & jam, fresh strawberries and a cafetiere of coffee and all beautifully presented. I sit up and enjoy.

It's now 1.00pm and we're all back from church. Esther kicks me out of the kitchen while she makes dinner. I know generally what it is as I went shopping to the market with Anita & Hannah yesterday. At the butchers I was asked what I wanted for Sunday lunch - I opted for a piece of rump steak, then we bought strawberries on the veg stall for pudding. Yum, yum the steak was cooked to perfection. Well done Esther!

However something else is going on, I'm still not allowed into the kitchen. All afternoon I've been barred - what is going on? It's now 6pm and time for a cuppa before church. I'm not really hungry as we had dinner quite late. Ah! at last I see whats been going on, with my cup a tea a piece of homemade caramel shortbread - mmm heaven.

Thanks girls for a wonderful Fathers' day - I love you both.

Ouch - my tooth

Yesterday one of my teeth broke while I was eating a cereal bar. It's snapped in two & the filling has fallen out. Tomorrow I visit the dentist to get it fixed. So wait for the next installment; 'Ouch - wallet'

This is my first mobile blog.

This is my first mobile blog. This is my dog ellie a border collie. She is 10 years old and still very lively.