Indoors but wanting to be outdoors!

I have been sat at the table working all day today. I haven't even been to the gym and came straight home after the school run, did a spot of tidying up and then started work. However I wish my writing had progressed as quickly as the day has! I've written a chapter plan and the introduction but that is all and it is 2.30pm and the children will be back home in less than two hours. So I thought I would have a quick break ( another one) and write a few words on here in the attempt to inspire my writing skills.

It has been a beautiful day all day. I'm looking out onto my garden and watching the birds who are watching the cat! There isn't a cloud in the sky and I so long to be outside walking across the fields and getting some fresh air. Never mind.

We've had a relatively quiet weekend although spent most of it ferrying the children to various parties and sleepovers. It was Harry's birthday on Thursday and we enjoyed a Chinese take away. He went to a party on Saturday. Charlie went to two parties on Saturday. I didn't sleep much as I was anxious about his whereabouts as he was staying at a friend's overnight and hadn't texted to say he arrived there after the second party. I know he is 17 and hopefully knows the boundaries where alcohol is involved and I know I should trust God but I woke up at 4am and didn't get back to sleep until 5.30am and most of the time praying for him! At church yesterday a friend whose son was with him at the same two parties said she also awoke at 4am feeling anxious and prayed. Anyway they both arrived at church, looking very tired nevertheless, but they were there.

Well my short break is over. Back to work

Spring is around the corner

Despite the cold weather we are having at the moment Spring is around the corner. The mornings are most definitely lighter as are the evenings and shrubs and flowers are growing and budding in the garden.

We had a good break although Graham and I were both ill with coughs an colds. We just couldn't rest as we had to be up early to sledge and ski every day. We walked miles every day. I'm sure the mountain air benefited us though.

The flat is looking more homely now with the addition of another sofa and a coffee table. The views from the lounge of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau are magnificent and we feel really blessed to not only have a place to stay but one with an amazing outlook. It is beyond my wildest dreams that we would ever have a home in the Bernese Oberland after spending the last twenty odd years in a tent on a campsite!

Back home and back to another chapter deadline for next Friday. If I can write 1000 words a day until then I will manage it, although I'm finding it difficult to motivate myself at the moment. Charlie has been on exam leave for the last two days as he has has mock AS levels so I am trying to motivate him to do some revision. It is Harry's birthday on Thursday and we'll go out for a family meal in the evening. He has a party to go to at the week-end and his recording studio session is at the end of the month where the band are going to cut their first disc! Rosie is busy planning her week-end as usual with friends and a sleepover will be involved no doubt.

Looking forward to my Freedom in Christ course tonight.

Almost half-term

I'm full of cold as is Graham who unlike him, spent most of the day in bed yesterday. Hoping that the Swiss air will blow away our germs next week.

Trying to write two abstracts, one a short one then the other 2,500 words, both for conferences in September. I'm also thinking about another chapter which I will write when I get back from holiday. This one is about how the caregivers in my project coped with their multiple care-giving roles.

About to stop for a break- a friend is coming round and we are going to go for a walk across the fields. The weather is brightening up a bit which is good.

I have had a strange week though. On Monday I received an email from somebody who I lived in Switzerland with 25 years ago. I haven't seen her since 1988 and she now lives in Australia. We established contact recently via Facebook. Well she emailed to say she wants to meet up in April when she comes back to the UK for a couple of weeks and also to impart some sad news which I have thought of little else this week. A mutual friend who also went to nurse in Switzerland at the time died from oesophageal cancer several years ago and she had only just found out. Of course, whenever I hear good or bad news about people from my past who I haven't been in touch with for years I start to ponder about the past and perhaps think too much about it. Whilst Facebook is a positive medium for reconnecting with people, I do think that God places people in our lives for seasons only and when we move on from various situations we also move on from certain people, leaving the relationship behind. What a tragedy that a forty year old mother died from cancer and it is so clear in my mind, memories of her vivacious and zest for life personality and of the fun times we had together as young nurses in a foreign country. Those memories are etched in my mind, and yet, we lost touch when I moved back to the UK and I didn't know of her suffering, firstly from rheumatoid arthritis and then cancer which ultimately claimed her life.

As a result of this I emailed her husband and received a lovely response from him. He wants to meet up and I have suggested that when the friend from Australia visits we will meet then. Although it is far too late to reclaim the lost years and friendships I think that meeting up with both of them will help me to make more sense of my friends' lives during the last 20 years. Whether we will keep in touch after that, only God knows.

Glimpses of Spring

Longer days are on their way-yippee! Not that I'm wishing the seasons away but the more noticeable they are to me the older I become. The daffodils are appearing through the earth as are other Spring flowers.

Started Freedom in Christ last night- a 9 week course. The first one was fab and what an affirmation to read out God's promises aloud:



I Am Significant
I am no longer worthless, inadequate, helpless or hopeless. In Christ I am
deeply significant and special. God says:

Matthew 5:13,14 I am the salt of the earth and the light
of the world.

John 15:1,5 I am a branch of the true vine, Jesus,
a channel of His life.

John 15:16 I have been chosen and appointed by
God to bear fruit.

Acts 1:8 I am a personal, Spirit-empowered
witness of Christ.

1 Corinthians 3:16 I am a temple of God.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 I am a minister of reconciliation for God.

2 Corinthians 6:1 I am God’s fellow worker.

Ephesians 2:6 I am seated with Christ in the heavenly
realms.

Ephesians 2:10 I am God’s workmanship, created for
good works.

Ephesians 3:12 I may approach God with freedom and
confidence.

Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me!
I Am Secure

I am no longer guilty, unprotected, alone or abandoned. In Christ I am
totally secure. God says:

Romans 8:1,2 I am free forever from condemnation.

Romans 8:28 I am assured that all things work
together for good.

Romans 8:31-34 I am free from any condemning
charges against me.

Romans 8:35-39 I cannot be separated from the love of God.

2 Corinthians 1:21,22 I have been established, anointed and
sealed by God.

Philippians 1:6 I am confident that the good work God
has begun in me will be perfected.

Philippians 3:20 I am a citizen of heaven.

Colossians 3:3 I am hidden with Christ in God.

2 Timothy 1:7 I have not been given a spirit of fear,
but of power, love and a sound mind.

Hebrews 4:16 I can find grace and mercy to help in
time of need.

1 John 5:18 I am born of God and the evil one
cannot touch me.
I Am Accepted
I am no longer rejected, unloved or dirty. In Christ I am completely
accepted. God says:

John 1:12 I am God’s child.

John 15:15 I am Christ’s friend.

Romans 5:1 I have been justified.

1 Corinthians 6:17 I am united with the Lord and I am one
spirit with Him.

1 Corinthians 6:19,20 I have been bought with a price.
I belong to God.

1 Corinthians 12:27 I am a member of Christ’s Body.

Ephesians 1:1 I am a saint, a holy one.

Ephesians 1:5 I have been adopted as God’s child.

Ephesians 2:18 I have direct access to God through
the Holy Spirit.

Colossians 1:14 I have been redeemed and forgiven for
all my sins.

Colossians 2:10 I am complete in Christ.


These are now pinned on my noticeboard.

At home today being productive. Doing some work but trying to have a short break as I have had a few late nights writing a draft chapter. So today I have done lots of housework including cleaning out the fridge freezer, mopping the floor and tidying up. Anyway, I met my deadline and am now thinking about the next one. I have two conference abstracts to prepare before next week.

Organising Harry's birthday party. Taking the band to a recording studio so they can cut their first disc! Very exciting. The band have a gig this Friday which we are looking forward to. Lots happening on Friday- Rosie finds out if she has got a place at the boys' school and also has a school disco to attend with her 'boyfriend.' Charlie has had 2 driving lessons and is already commenting on my driving habits- trying not to let it wind me up!

A quiet week-end ahead for us planned after Graham was away last week-end. Starting to think about half-term.

2nd February 2011

Feeling tired but refreshed after a girly week-end away. The weather was stunning and it was good to get lots of fresh air and exercise walking and sledging in the mountains. Now back to work. I envisage a long few days ahead- deadline 6 days

Knuckling down

I feel I am rewarding myself this week-end with a week-end away with a friend. We are going to Interlaken and plan on hitting the slopes on our sledges!! Looking forward to the break but apprehensive about being away from the family for 3 nights.

I'm writing bits each day and am still analysing my data. It is a slow process with slow progress and I can't do it in my own strength, only with God's help.

My dad died four years ago today. Not sure where the time has gone.

Happy New Year

Another year begins and it is exciting to wonder what God has in store for us as a family. No new year resolutions but my goals for the year include getting fit and healthy, to stop wasting my time on facebook and the internet when I should be working, to be focused and try to complete my PhD by the end of the year.

New Year was spent in Interlaken and we sledged along the lower slopes of the Eiger on New Year's Eve. The weather was stunning and watching the sun disappear over the Wetterhorn and the lights slowly appear in the Grindelwald valley as it turned into dusk was amazing. We arrived back at the flat about 6pm and after tea we headed into the town centre. Not convinced about the local New Year's Eve customs where lines of men carry large cow bells and march through the town centre ringing them. It was scary. We went back to the flat and saw New Year in as a family listening to World Service on the radio!

We have now been back at work and school for a few days and routine has been quickly established which is good. I took the tree and decorations down on the 2nd Jan and cleaned the house which I found very cathartic. Think I'm turning into a grumpy old woman as I dislike more and more each year the commercialisation and marketing which is associated with Christmas- and not the the true meaning. Christmas is not about giving presents. It is about Jesus Christ, end of!