Christmas Day 2011

Well Sue and my day started at 0500 and Stella's at 0600 expecting Lainie to be up bright and early? I believe it is called murphy's law, Lainie never even stirred until gone 7!!!

This is what Lainie found, the remnants of Santa's meal and a present for her on the plate.

Left is what was in the box, Hermoine Granger's wand from Harry Potter.

We then had a pressy opening time and the results of Lainie's endevours can be seen above.

It was then time for breakfast and then get dressed in her new finery (left) ready for us all to got off to church for the Christmas day service. Sue had already got the turkey in before we went off and finished it upon our return, as usual it was a superb meal.

Then a nap after lunch until the Queen at 3 then tea. It was a lovely day with lovely company.

Chrstmas eve 2011




Lainie with Nannie putting Reindeer Dust on the lawn to help them to find her.

  

Later in the evening Lainie gave us adults a Christmas carol recital which consisted of, Away in a manger, Silent night, Little drummer boy, No room at the inn and  Have you noticed the Christmas tree. Then after putting food and drink out for Santa and the reindeer it was an early night ready for the BIG DAY!!

Credits for Love Came Down

Thanks to all those mentioned for the sterling work put in..

Love Came Down 2

Still Buzzin'

Well I have been up since 0430 and I am still buzzin' from the excitement of last evening, it was a wonderful time that really gave glory to God through the storey of Jesus' birth.

The choir I feel was a resounding success thanks to Becky Bailey and Rachel Bate.

The Nazarene Gossips (see post below) seemed to be well received and was wonderfully performed by Chris & Jayne Biddle.

I gave Testimony (also see post below) as did Dan Blackwell and Suzannah Strong.

Hope to post more Photo's at a later date?

My Testimony

This was a testimony that I gave at Love Came Down last evening, not word for word as this was only in longhand in case I got stuck, which is far from unknown HA HA!

My Testimony 21st Dec 2012

My early life

Where do you start after 63 years of life, 43 of those as a Christian? I also have the problem of fitting this into a maximum of about 5 minutes, well here goes!

I was born in 1948 & Baptised as an infant at Trinity Church, Pontycwmr, Nr Bridgend in S. Wales on the 10th July 1949.

I spent my early life in Southwick, a village near Trowbridge in Wiltshire. I was the 2nd of 5 children. It was a very happy and loving childhood. We were poor but happy.

From a very early age I went to Sunday school, often twice each Sunday at the local Baptist Church. It was only in later life that my mother told me it was the only way they could get any peace at weekends! I enjoyed it anyway, especially the Bible stories.

When I was about 14 my parents became Christians and that was in 1963.

What was I Like

I had my 1st brush with the law on my 11th birthday and continued to be in trouble with the police many times over the next few years. In fact I remember my father remarking that Greenwood our village bobby seemed to spend more times looking for me at our house than he spent in his own home! I had many appearances at juvenile court and although I was often warned that I would be, I was never actually sent to Approved school or Borstal.

I was often in trouble at school for fighting because I hated bullying and would always side with and stick up for someone who was being bullied.

How I found God

At 18 I got married, my eldest child was born 10 months after and my wife fell pregnant again. My second child was born at 26 weeks which was 3 months premature; she weighed just 2lb 4oz. that is just a little more than a kilogramme bag of sugar. Obviously she was not expected to survive. This was back in the dark ages of 1968 when it was very rare for children born this prematurely to survive. When she started to lose weight and got down to 1lb 10oz we were told to expect the worst. What do you do in times of dire need, turn to God and pray for his help? That is what I did and I told him also that if Elizabeth survived I would give my life to Him.

It seemed from that moment Elizabeth started to gain weight.

Well Elizabeth did survive, she was 43 this year and I prayed a prayer giving my life to Jesus!

About 4 months later I was baptised at Southwick Old Baptist Church.

Difference since then

Well I have only been in trouble with the law once since then and there were extenuating circumstances for that which kept my children safe.

I have moved about the country with my job, as well as the church in Southwick I have belonged to churches in Rode in Somerset, London, Hilperton, Trowbridge and Trevethin in Wales.

Romans 8 v 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (NIV)

I have seen over the years how true this is, even when to start out with you cannot see it and think it is really crap! But as they say hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Lets look at the latest thing, how we come to be here?

I first had contact with The Community Church at Egloskerry when we came down to stay in one of Mervyn & Rachel’s barns on holiday about 4 years ago now. I found a very warm welcome and felt very much at home and every time we came on holiday we went there. I felt God was really moving within that fellowship and calling me to be here, but work was a must for me and my job was in Avonmouth. That would be a long commute!

Strange how things work out, about 3 ½ years ago my wife became so ill with arthritis she was forced to give up work.

2 ½ years ago I was found to have stress angina. As an HGV driver they took away my licence and hence my job and the job centre told me I was no good to them so they retired me.

To cut a long storey short we decided as we could move where ever in the country we wanted, so I prayed as to where God wanted us to be. Well He kept coming up with here and found us a lovely bungalow to rent in St Giles-on-the-Heath which has helped my wife no end with her arthritis, no stairs.

We moved to St Giles about 1 month after the church moved from Egloskerry to here at St Josephs.

We have had to be totally reliant on God for our income and He has more than adequately supplied everything we have needed.

When I look back I can see God’s hand in everything that has happened to me over the past 4 years as well as the preceding 39.

Remembering again Romans 8 v 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (NIV)

I still get a real feeling of joy, love, belonging and excitement when I walk through that door on a Sunday.

At Housegroup last week someone said something that I felt fitted my situation and the way I feel now to a Tee.

I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO POOR, YET I HAVE NEVER BEEN OR FELT SO RICH

The Nazarene Gossips

As I said in a previous post now the above has been given an airing I will post it so that it is availiable for anyone wishing to use it.
I am not worried about copyright all I want is to give GLORY TO GOD and if this does that, then I am happy!
The Nazarene Gossips



Written by Glyn Cotterill




Two people nattering by the well in Nazareth, George and Ethel?



George: ‘Ere Ethel have you heard the latest?



Ethel: No, what’s that George?



George: Well I don’t really know that I should repeat what I heard in the pub last night from Eric as it is really only gossip? I am surprised you have not heard as you seem to hear most things before me!!!



Ethel: Are you trying to say I am a gossip George?



George: Who me Eth? Now would I? (Pause) Does that mean you have not heard about that nice Mary getting herself pregnant?



Ethel: (gasps) You are joking!!



George: No I aint, do you know what excuse she is using? The hussy, she says it’s the Holy Spirit that did it! She must think that we are pretty gullible!



Ethel: She is from such a good home as well, and betrothed to that nice Joseph.



George: Oh they got married straight away. Well mind you I would as well, her dad is a pretty mean shot with that 12 bore!

Joseph says that it was all foretold by the prophets about a virgin conceiving. Well he seems to have slipped up there because they said it would happen in Bethlehem, this is Nazareth!



About a month later over the garden wall



Ethel: Hiya George. Do you remember a while ago we were talking about Mary?



George: What and her being pregnant you mean.



Ethel: Yes, well they have even roped her cousin Elizabeth in on it now!



George: Who’s Elizabeth when she’s at home?

Ethel: You know, old Zachariah’s wife Elizabeth, well she is pregnant as well when everyone thought she was past it!

Mind you I think she did as well. She says that what Mary & Joseph are saying must be so because her baby jumped for joy in her womb when Mary called to see her the other day.



George: (sceptically) Well I suppose blood is thicker than water Eth.



Around 9 months later.



George: Hello Eth, people are going to start talking about US soon if we carry on meeting like this!!!



Ethel: Oh George, you are awful, but I like you (as Dick Emery)



George: I may be awful but all this about Mary & Joseph has given me a lot to think about!



Ethel: How do you mean George?



George: All of the things that have been going on up Bethlehem way? It is too many things to be just coincidences!



Ethel: What things? You do infuriate me at times George!



George: You mean I have beaten you to some news again! You are slipping Eth! Ha-ha!



Ethel: (affronted) Well!!



George: Well it’s like this Eth. I bumped into old Daniel the other day who had to go up to Bethlehem for the census. He went up a few days before Mary & Joseph so he got digs ok.

Well that was the first odd thing!



Ethel: What was?



George: Mary was in Bethlehem when her baby was born!

It was a boy and they named Him Jesus, by the way.



Ethel: So?



George: Just as the prophets had foretold.



Ethel: You said the first odd thing, what is the other?



George: Others, plural!



Ethel: OTHERS! How many are there?



George: Oh there are a few which is why I said that it has to be more than a coincidence.

The next one is that they arrived too late to get digs so Joseph managed to find them room in a stable which is where the baby Jesus was born!

Then during the night some shepherds came to worship the baby!



Ethel: What do you mean worship him? He is only a baby.



George: That’s just it, IS HE only a baby?

The shepherds said that a host of angels appeared to them up in the hills and told them “that their Saviour was born this day, in a stable, in the city of David, Christ the Lord” they said.



Ethel: Who said?



George: (exasperated) The Angels! (pause).

Then there were these three old men turned up. Kings they were, they had followed a star all the way from the east. They brought some presents, gold, frankincense and myrrh.

They called in to see King Herod on the way through and told him they were on the way to see a baby who would one day be “King of the Jews”.

I understand they left him “not a happy man”!



Ethel: Is that why all those children were killed? Now that I did hear about! Was Mary & Josephs baby among them?



George: I am beginning to think it is not Mary & Josephs baby at all, just Mary’s and that what we were told all those months ago might just be true about Mary being visited by the Holy Spirit?



Ethel: George, get on with the story!! Was their baby, Jesus among them?



George: No, that is another strange thing. After the three wise men had left, an Angel appeared to Joseph in a dream telling him that Herod wanted to kill the child. So Mary and he fled with the baby Jesus to Egypt.

As you heard, Herod had all the boys two years old and younger killed. Not just in Bethlehem but in all the surrounding area as well.



Ethel: There really seems to be something special about the baby Jesus!



George: We seem to be living in times when prophecies are being fulfilled!



Ethel: I wonder if they will ever be able to come back to Nazareth?

I do hope so as Joseph is a good carpenter and my front door is in a shocking state!



The End

Love Came Down

Love Came Down

Well it is getting ever closer to the Launceston Community Church Gospel Choir's first public performance! Only 6 days to go.

Also on this evening a little sketch I wrote is being performed called "The Nazarene Gossips". This is a comedy (hopefully) and is being performed by Chris & Jayne Biddle who will, I am sure do it justice.

I will post it on here in its entirety after next weeks performance so that anyone may use it if they wish.

The Tree Is UP

It Must Be Getting Near!

Well Christmas must be coming, we have the tree up already as we are getting two lots of visitors this year so Sue put it up earlier than usual, we have Liz and family for a few days before and then Stella & Lainie coming on the 23rd until the 28th so thought we had better make and effort this year ha ha!

Glyn as Father Christmas

My First Time!!!



Well I can tick another one off the list of "always wanted to do" as yesterday evening I played Santa Clause at the Adventurers group (LCC) at Tresmeer Village Hall. I must say that after a few initial nerves I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Thank you Rachel for asking me!!

After that it was back to Splatt Farm to get changed and then had a lovely meal and spent a wonderful evening with them, Mervyn, Rachel and the girls.

Thank you so much for such a pleasant evening!

Dates for December 2011

7th Corben is 10
29th Lindy is the BIG 40
29th Isabella is 12
Just leaves me to wish you all a
VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS