Easter 2008

We came home last night after a relaxing break at Center Parcs. We took part in the Good Friday Witness in the town centre before we left which was great. The service was powerful. The weather was absolutely freezing and I didn't know how long we could realistically stay there. However the sun broke through the clouds and warmed us for the last twenty minutes or so. We then drove to Thetford stopping off in Cambridge to visit Alison's grave. During the service we were encouraged to take a small bunch of spring flowers which were at the foot of a large wooden cross which we took with us and poignantly placed alongside the other flowers we had bought. Alison's friends had also placed flowers and plants on the grave and there was a single red rose on top.

We spent much of the weekend swimming, playing badminton, cycling, eating and drinking. The eight children all got on well and there were no squabbles. Apart from Harry having his old bike stolen, a couple of keys were broken off in bike locks and in lockers it was thankfully accident and event free. Harry's bike was found by security and we got it back on the last day which was great.

We also had snow on Easter Sunday which was so beautiful to look at as we were in a forest. I totally marvelled at God's creation whilst we were there as we saw so much wild life including deer, rabbits, squirrels and ducks who all casually wandered about and played outside our villas.

I spoke to my sister last night once I got home and she told me something about a member of my family which I mulled over and prayed about when I woke up at 4.30am this morning and could not get back to sleep. The ramifications of the actions of this person are so awful that I can't believe it. I can only hand it over to the Lord and pray that His light will expose the hidden darkness of the situation.

Graham left early as he is back at work today and I got up shortly afterwards and prayed and read my bible. I am still reading Job and chapter 24 is so apt at the moment:


"Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment? Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?
2 There are those who move boundary stones; they pasture flocks they have stolen.
3 They drive away the orphan's donkey and take the widow's ox in pledge.
4 They thrust the needy from the path and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
5 Like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go about their labor of foraging food; the wasteland provides food for their children.
6 They gather fodder in the fields and glean in the vineyards of the wicked.
7 Lacking clothes, they spend the night naked; they have nothing to cover themselves in the cold.
8 They are drenched by mountain rains and hug the rocks for lack of shelter.
9 The fatherless child is snatched from the breast; the infant of the poor is seized for a debt.
10 Lacking clothes, they go about naked; they carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
11 They crush olives among the terraces [a]; they tread the winepresses, yet suffer thirst.
12 The groans of the dying rise from the city, and the souls of the wounded cry out for help. But God charges no one with wrongdoing.
13 "There are those who rebel against the light, who do not know its ways or stay in its paths.
14 When daylight is gone, the murderer rises up, kills the poor and needy, and in the night steals forth like a thief.
15 The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk; he thinks, 'No eye will see me,' and he keeps his face concealed.
16 In the dark, thieves break into houses, but by day they shut themselves in; they want nothing to do with the light.
17 For all of them, midnight is their morning; they make friends with the terrors of darkness.
18 "Yet they are foam on the surface of the water; their portion of the land is cursed, so that no one goes to the vineyards.
19 As heat and drought snatch away the melted snow, so the grave snatches away those who have sinned.
20 The womb forgets them, the worm feasts on them; the wicked are no longer remembered but are broken like a tree.
21 They prey on the barren and childless woman, and to the widow show no kindness.
22 But God drags away the mighty by his power; though they become established, they have no assurance of life.
23 He may let them rest in a feeling of security, but his eyes are on their ways.
24 For a little while they are exalted, and then they are gone; they are brought low and gathered up like all others; they are cut off like heads of grain.
25 "If this is not so, who can prove me false and reduce my words to nothing?"

Anyway after contemplating matters I phoned my mum who is still unwell with a sore throat. She can't swallow properly due to the presence of a lump. She has another appointment tomorrow with her GP so hopefully she will reassured. I tried to cheer her up by telling her we would drive up and see her at the weekend and take her out for dinner.

Rosie is at a party in Woburn this morning. If I was better organised I would have bought birthday presents for the twins whose party it is last week, but I wasn't so had to rush out to Sainsbury's first thing to buy some craft card making items for them. Today I will spend washing and ironing and catching up with the housework. The cleaner phoned earlier and is coming round this afternoon to give me a quote. Now that is something to look forward to.