Busy week & Brasso

Its been a busy week of meetings, prep for talks and pastoral conversations so the poor old blog has suffered .

Finished reading a very challenging book on prayer "Power through Prayer " by EM Bounds ...if you want your prayer life challenged then this is the book to read . the online version is found by clicking here .

Also this week picked up a great tip for cleaning scratched CD's and DVD's ... Brasso .... try it it works a treat . Old Cd's that I thought were destined for the knackers yard have been resurrected ..Brilliant .

If evolution were true...

If evolution were true then your average guy would probably be walking around looking a little like this ..

I am probably tempting one or true wise cracks with this one :-)

Daughter has a blog

Anna my eldest , has been writing a blog for a couple of months now . She rights in tandem with her mate Becca .

Being the dutiful dad that I am, I promised to give it a plug ...so here is the link ... click here

Well I survived another wife free weekend !

Yes I made it through the weekend . Left to the marauding pack of daughters , I cooked , I hung the washing out , I delivered many words of timely wisdom ;-( ..and we all came through it relatively unscathed

Gill ( my wife ) returned blessed from her weekend with the 'Women of Wheelock '. Dot Bygroves was the speaker , forgiveness the subject... It must have been good because she hasn't stopped smiling and telling me and the kids that she loves us ..... I wonder when the real wife will return !! ..I'll keep you posted :-)

You can read more about Gill's weekend away by clicking here and going over the adventures of Mrs Mellish

Preached over at Bradley road evangelical church in Wrexham on Sunday . It was good to renew fellowship over there with some of the folk .

Abandoned Again !!

She has gone again !! this weekend Gill has taken herself off to the Wheelock Heath ladies weekend over in Bala ( Wales) . That's two weekends running that I have been left to deal with the marauding daughters ;-(

Things are getting desperate , I was even spotted hanging washing out on the line yesterday !!

Preaching at Bradley Road Baptist Church in Wrexham tomorrow so today is about prep for that as well as serving my daughters of course ...

Pessimistic Snowman

This snowman just couldn't look on the bright side could he :-)

"A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity

An optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty!"

Winston Churchill

Senior citizens day out and 12th Night

Action packed day yesterday . In the morning I traveled with 50 of our senior citizens over to Port Sunlight for a day out . It was great . Lord Lever was a very rich man and he certainly knew how to look after his workers . He even advocated a 6hr working day , very unusual in an era that expected 12 hr days .




In the evening Katie had a staring role in "12th night"playing Olivia .So we all went along to watch the performance . Shakespeare for me is hard to follow but I managed to pick up that this was a comedy so I'm learning . Katie was nervous about the closing scene when she had to kiss a bloke !!

Grannie's 70th

Last night ( instead of watching the football!) we all celebrated Grannie's 70th birthday . Now I had the choice , football or my mother in law :-) . Now admittedly I was helped in making my choice by my wife standing rather threateningly with the rolling pin !! So I chose wisely for the sake of a happy marriage and enjoyed a very pleasant meal at a local restaurant .

Radio Shropshire broadcast live from the church last night as we screened the game . A number of folk were interviewed live on air ...and I missed it ...but I'm not bitter about it :-(

May the force be with you

The star wars craze is everywhere :-)

Celebration

Anna finished her GCSE's yesterday so we celebrated at mealtime with a bottle of bucks fizz ...well done Anna , only the small matter of the results now :-)

The ABQ course was well attended last night " What's wrong with the world ?" was the big question . We explored the topic by looking how the world was ( ie when it was perfect ..right at the beginning of time). How the world is ( ie how it became corrupted and imperfect) and then finally how it will be ( when God decides that this world is over and he creates a new perfect heaven and earth )

If you want to know more and have questions then drop me an e-mail .

Father's day

Dad or Pops as he is known to the kids

Church was packed Sunday morning for our Father's Day service .Phil in preaching the sermon caused me to reflect on my own inadequacies as a father . Something that I must put right . I must endeavour to mirror my heavenly Father's sacrificial love for me with my own kids .

After the service it was off to the homeland ..Liverpool . To have a meal with Dad and Mum . my sister Jane and her family should have been there but she managed to split her head open in the morning and spent the afternoon in casualty !!!


In the evening we visited the Bridge . Bill Bygroves preached from Romans 14 . "How not to be an ugly Christian" . It was a superb message and when they upload it onto their site I will link to it here so that you can all hear it .

The big question in the ABQ course tonight is " What's gone wrong with the World ? "..so today is about preparation for tonight .

Abandoned

How Am I going to cope without a wife this weekend ...she's leaving me ...off to the "Long Mind" with a load of teenagers for the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme

Will I be able to cope with three marauding daughters on my own ???

The telly is mine ...footy ..footy footy

England Vs Trinidad & Tobago

Another big world come game tonight ...wild horses couldn't stop me from being at the church to watch it ....unless of course God in his providence decided otherwise.

Actually the picture reminds me of the Osmonds hit in the 70's Crazy Horses ...only a few of you will remember that song...go on own up to it in the comments if you do...Mrs Mellish ..I bet you were a Donny fan ...

American & Scouse Friends

Busy yesterday ... In the morning I did act of worship at the local secondary school . "Facing Fear " was the title given . ( More to follow on that in later posts)

Then off to 'mums and tots' promoting our fathers day family service on Sunday morning .

I then took a call from a new found American friend Mark McClean , a Christian (going to this 6000 strong church) who has just decided to start his own eBay business . It was great to talk to him . He thought I sounded like Paul McArtney .

In the afternoon Phil and I along with some of our cake baking church folk welcomed 30 or so "Widow & Widowers" from the Bridge Chapel in Liverpool . It was the scouse invasion of Wem ...brilliant

Holiday Bible Club ..Planning

Most of today will be spent planning for this years Holiday Bible Club with Phil ( Pastor).



This year we are calling it " Walk like an Egyptian" which if you are old enough will remind you of the 80's hit for the Bangles with the same title ..

My mate Paul :-)

He is preaching his first sermon this coming Sunday over in Ashbourne ( Derbyshire) . I know he will be hard at work in the study all week :-)

Football,family & friends

Good day on Saturday ...England got off to a win , not a brilliant performance but a win never the less. We had about 60 folk in from the town and church to watch the game on the big screen and I'm hoping that Thursday nights game will bring in even more .

Saturday evening was spent over at the Cliff residence in Sandbach .Chris the man of the house has reached the grand old age of 60 . It was good to celebrate this monumental event with a number of friends from our old church at Wheelock Heath .

On Sunday we celebrated another birthday , Gramps this time . A barbecue on a very hot June day .

I preached on Sunday Night ( Galatians 1:10-24) . It was very hot ...Not the sermon unfortunately but the temperature :-)

The big Question in the ABQ course tonight is "What is God Like?" ...So that's what I am preparing today .

Psalm 145

Read it and feel it as David did ...Click here

We shared this Psalm at our Sat Morn Prayer meeting this morning.

If you have a chance ...in between the football, then meditate on it today.

" The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. "

Glorious Sunshine

Well ...I think it is four days of sunshine on the run now ...temperatures souring ..hosepipe bans looming ..fantastic

Englands first game today hoping to draw a big crowd down at the church ...Pics to follow later

Billy Bob's on the net

My nephew Rob is now live on the internet . He is a great bloke and I love him to bits . You can read about him on his Myspace site here

Now I have to say Rob ...That photo on his site is very flattering ...Taken by a professional photographer who obviously applied liberal doses of make up and has a good photo editor software :-)

Here is the real deal for all the lovers of truth ..


.

Poster is done ..Come on England

How do we know God exists?

Last night at the ABQ course we attempted to answer the Question " How do we know God exists?" A question that most of us will ask at some point in our lives .

In the time I had I looked at some of the evidence .

1. In the beauty & complexity of our universe.
Is it really the result of a random explosion of atoms ? Or could it have been designed and made by a God whose intellect is beyond our comprehension.

( Check out this web site designed to give you an alternative to evolutionary theory)

2. In the Human race .
Why do we worship? Now we may not worship God but we do have a need to worship something . It might be money , fame ,football. Anthropologists ( those who study human nature) conclude that within humans there is a desire to worship something greater than themselves . That desire to worship I believe is from God .
Why do we have an acute sense of right and wrong ? Surely if we were just a random collection of atoms & molecules then rape, murder, lies wouldn't matter . But they do matter . Why ? Because God has written his law on our hearts and because of that we know the difference between right and wrong.

3. Evidence in changed lives.
Why is it that countless millions of people down the centuries have testified to the fact that they have had an encounter with God . A God who has literally transformed their lives . Men , women , children ,who tell of the transforming power of a living active God .

A supernatural God is very much alive and he moves amongst us calling us . Is he calling you ?

4. The evidence of the Bible .
If you believe that the Bible is God's written word to mankind then you will also believe that God exists . If you don't believe in the Bible as the word of God then I would ask you to do some research . Check out its authenticity , it's historicity with an open mind and be prepared for life changing revelation .

This web site might help you explore some of the facts about the Bible.

Thats the rough guide to the question " Does God exist?" We discussed these issues and many others for an hour and a half last night . If you have questions then e-mail me I will be glad to send you some of the course notes ..

Preparing some advertising for the England world cup games today and then distributing it around the local shops . We are showing all of England's games on the big screen . Come on England :-)

Weekend Report..all about Anger Management.

I forgot to mention that Katie ( middle Cherub) returned home from a triumphant netball tour in Italy ..staying near lake Garda . She was well impressed with Italy , particularly the city of Verona . Nothing to do with the good looking Italian boys of course ;




Anger is an emotion that often transforms us into something we would rather not be.

Saturday for me was all about preparation for Sunday . I preached on "Anger management" using Ephesians 4:17-32 as a basis for God's instruction on an emotion that if uncontrolled can cause much heartache and suffering .

I was grateful to Stuart Olyott for his three R's

REDIRECT your anger ...Pray first , look for a solution to your problem that is glorifying to God. A solution that is motivated by kindness and love and not bitterness and rage .
be RECONCILED to those who anger you or who are angered by you ...Don't let the sun set on your anger ...Don't let is fester ....Sort it out before your head hits the pillow .
REPLACE your anger with forgiveness ...."Just as God forgave you through Christ"...Swallow pride ...Be prepared to say I'm sorry and forgive me .


Today is about about preparing for tonights ABQ session ( Answering the Big Questions)

Tonights Big Question is " How do we know that God exists ? " ..I'll let you ponder that one for a day and I'll give you a couple of pointers in tomorrows posting

Blowing away the Cobwebs

Phil & T ( the Pastor and his wife) have part ownership in a narrowboat called "Cobwebs" and yesterday we went along to spend the afternoon with them .

It was very relaxing , the tranquility of the British canal ways is something that you should experience from time to time ... some pics of the afternoon ..

What a catch :-)

Back from a successful days fishing ...I caught the first rainbow trout and then Paul eventually caught his ( my fish I have to say was a much better specimen ..even though his was slightly bigger!!)

It was a great day ...nice to chill out every now and then