Sweet Nothings

Well, germinating the seeds in the airing cupboard has worked, we've easily got ten butternut squash seedlings, which are a good two inches tall. Also a few carnival seedlings too.

Cayenne Peppers have germinated slightly better than the sweet peppers but as they have both germinated in March is fab.

We're now just waiting for the raised bed and coldhouse to put together.

All very exciting!!

Went to Edinburgh for the weekend. It was great and we were massively blessed by the generosity of others, including someone who had never met us lending us their apartment for free for the weekend. Went to Edinburgh Zoo and saw the only Koala Bear in Britain. Apparently Koalas sleep for around 22 hours a day and eat for the rest. THEY ROCK!!!

Otherwise Chris and I rested, which was great timing and a complete blessing. And it's just over a week to Chris' birthday - 21 again!!

Posted by susieb at 9:40 pm | Permalink | Comments

Good news...

Most of the cauliflower seeds have become seedlings although I am concerned that they are becoming leggy. I have put them in full sunlight on the windowsill which should help. Lots of the leeks have now sprouted but they're only a centimetre or two high.

Most exciting though is the progress of the Butternut Squash. Having placed the soil in the airing cupboard for a week to warm up and then planted the seeds and kept them in the airing cupboard, four seedlings would appear to be sprouting. Which is 400% of last year's first try.

Although I do feel like I have conned them a little bit.

Have moved the pepper seeds to the airing cupboard too as apparently they need 24 degrees to germinate. So hopefully it will work. I may, just may have one cayenne pepper seedling. But at the moment the sweet peppers are unfortunately staying tucked up in their bed.

Can't blame them really when you look outside this week.....

Posted by susieb at 10:53 pm | Permalink | Comments

This entry goes out to all the women in my life who I have been blessed to have act as mothers to me.

To those who persevered with my faltering steps, showed patience when I fell and who, more than anything else, believed in me and saw my potential.

It also goes out to all those women who (perhaps in the lack of available alternatives!!) have given me the priviledge of speaking into their lives and in some small way allowing me to be a mother to them. Thank you.

And finally it goes out to all those wonderful, intelligent, accomplished and awe inspiring women with whom I am currently walking this path.

You may not all be mothers but I think today is a good day to celebrate more than just bearing a child.

Posted by susieb at 7:37 pm | Permalink | Comments

Lying in my bed in the afternoon with a dodgy stomach. Think I may be reacting badly to eggs at the moment.

Somewhat frustrating and prayer appreciated.

Cauliflower seedlings have broken the surface of the soil - about 8 of them and one leek seed. No signs of life from peppers or parsnips.

Nor the squashes but as I've not planted them yet I think that's fairly understandable. In the circumstances....

Posted by susieb at 5:14 pm | Permalink | Comments

Interesting sermon this Sunday by Paul about time.

Main points:

Are you giving enough time to seeking and resting in God?
Are you giving enough time pursuing and growing your key relationships?
Are you leaving time spare to allow room for God to use?

I think I felt challenged on all three in some way or another and really need to give myself time to process it. However, the most immediate one is that I felt God was telling my to be more open to him using things, like bus journeys.

I went on training on Friday and in the first minute of a conversation with someone I got offered a lift back. Ended up having a really good chat with this girl and she asked if I wanted to meet up for lunch. I relaly feel like this was an opportunity given by God because I was open to changing my plans. So that's pretty cool. But I think that I need to carry this through, see where God wants me to take it.

Exciting!!

Posted by susieb at 9:05 pm | Permalink | Comments

Apparently last year the BBC did a programme where five or six guys went into a monastery for 40 days. This year it's the same but with women and a convent. The first episode was on last week and the second tonight. You can watch previous episodes on the internet though...

www.bbc.co.uk/bbctwo

Recommended!

Posted by susieb at 7:34 pm | Permalink | Comments

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age"

Am I missing out on an adventure, am I missing out on the adventure, am I missing out on my adventure which God has planned for me?

The comparable passage in Mark has additional words "And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hand; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people and they will get well"

I've always looked at the first passage, from Matthew as a command. But what if it is an invitation? And what if in the making of disciples, in the baptising of believers and in the teaching of God's commants, I discover the adventure that God has planned for me, the greatest adventure I could possibly experience.

And what of the risks? Can the adventure be worth the risks, the risks of rejection by others, the risk of losing my own agenda, the risk of trusting my path to another?

Or is the risk of losing the adventure simply too great to ignore?

In Deuteronomy Moses says to the nation of Israel "Know this" GOD, your God is God indeed, a God you can depend upon".
And John records Jesus' promise "Remain in me and I will remain in you"

And my God stretches out his hand in an open invitation of a life walked with him.

Will you accept his offer? Will you walk his path?

Is it time for an adventure?

Posted by susieb at 8:41 pm | Permalink | Comments

Had a great weekend away with cluster in Slaithewaite. The accommodation was in a renovated church on a hill which got the msot amount of weather I've ever seen a place get in one day - blue skies and sunshine, rain, hail, thunder and lightning and wind! The full spectrum.

Posted by susieb at 12:47 pm | Permalink | Comments

Seven working days until I leave my current job I will do a download of my tiime here once I've left. But not yet.

Posted by susieb at 11:24 am | Permalink | Comments

Very long if it's the length of a three month notice period. Veeeerrrrrrrrrrrryyyyy long and really quite painful at times.

I feel like I've got to the stage where you're walking somewhere and you're still a fair bit off although you know you've got far more behind you than ahead of you, but you've run out of energy and you're dragging your feet and each step that you take you're amazed that you've taken it because you didn't think that you had the energy. And sometimes if you wonder if the only way you're managing to move forward is gravity pulling your foot down each time.

I know that God will carry me to the end of my notice period but it's very hard work and I have coompletely, utterly, totally, comprehensively run out of steam.

Poof.....

Posted by susieb at 5:12 pm | Permalink | Comments

The Scene:

Sunday morning at Phildelphia and they're trying to teach us a worship song in a foreign language. Liz arrives a few moments late with Josh and sits down next to us.

Liz looks up at the foreign words on the screen, I lean across Chris and Josh:

Me (to Liz): It's Iranian...
Liz: No, it's snowing!

Maybe if you say it out loud it's funnier. Possibly it was more funny at the time. But it was classic anyway!

Posted by susieb at 8:55 am | Permalink | Comments

One! (day 'till my Birthday!!)

Yay!

Posted by susieb at 1:48 pm | Permalink | Comments

And this is how petty they have decided to be...

A month from leaving they've decided I can't attend the day's training that the whole of the rest of the department will attend and which I was going to use as a chance to say goodbye to people I know in other offices.

Posted by susieb at 2:58 pm | Permalink | Comments

2 days until my birthday!!

Posted by susieb at 11:53 am | Permalink | Comments

Two months ago I prayed that I would gain further experience at drafting witness statements ("WS's") before I left my current job.

Two weeks after that I was volunteered for a job in Leeds that might involve W.S's but was likely to settle.

Two weeks later I started working on the matter although everyone was absolutely sure it would settle and wouldn't get to the W.S's stage.

Two weeks after starting working in Leeds I started drafting the largest witness statement I've had to do.

Two weeks after that, I finished my time in Leeds.

It's been a good month or so. As I've said in previous blogs God's really blessed my time in Leeds and in particular relationships there, in addition to giving me the experience I wanted. It's also been more enjoyable than it would have been had I stayed in Sheffield. And less than a week after I started getting tired of the commute, He's brought me back to Sheffield.

So I've felt really watched over by God and really blessed. Which is additionally good going into a new job, a new area of law, a new workplace with new colleagues and new challenges.

Posted by susieb at 4:22 pm | Permalink | Comments