Guess who came to stay ??

A little camera shy this time ...click here for her identity ..oops sorry wrong link click here

More Publicity ...BOND2theBIBLE

Thanks to Mike Atkin for this superb poster ...Got to give a copy to me mum :-)

Bond 2 The Bible

Had the Photo shoot for Holiday Bible Club this week ...have you ever seen a better looking pair of James Bond's ... 007 and a half , along side 006 and a half !!!

Watch out for more publicity coming your way :-)

Old friends !!

Had a visit from a part time Welshman today ...Mike my old mate from our days down in Bridgend .. It was great to see him and his Dog Dillon ...Anna his wife will be looking at this photo thinking what a hunk I married :-)

The Griff was unleashed

Ben "the Griff" a la Postman Pat Griffin came over last night to speak to the poor unsuspecting folk of Wem . Ben is a star, filled with a passion for the people in the Ivory Coast . He made a great impression on those who heard him . Lets pray that they make it to the language school in Bordeux and then eventually on to the Ivory coast . Thanks Ben if your reading this .

Lots of opportunities

One of the many blessing about being part of Wem Baptist Church is the abundance of opportunities we have to share the Gospel with the community at large ... For instance this week I have spoken at various gatherings :-

Sunday ... In the evening we baptised five believers , the church was packed and the Gospel was preached .

Monday ... Spoke at the Act of Worship at Adams Senior school at 9am . Then later on that day we had some young people from a secondary school in Whitchurh over to the church for an RE lesson . In the evening we had the ABQ ( Answering the Big Questions ) course . This weeks topic "Can we trust the Bible". Also I was interviewed during the day by Premier Radio about the work we do amongst the elderly folk in our community .

Tuesday ... Did an assembly at Hadnell primary school

Wednesday ..Assembly at Lower Heath primary school

Thursday .. One to one opportunities for the Gospel at coffee morning and then whilst Phil & I were planning for Holiday Bible Club we were given the opportunity to talk to the manageress of the place were we were meeting . This presented another opportunity for work based chaplaincy starting July .

Friday .. Youth meeting ... drugs and alchohol was the subject . Lots of good dicussion on this .

Saturday ...this morning led the prayer meeting . Wonderful time of prayer for the lost .

Tomorrow ...Fathers day family service .

This really is a typical week . The schools work in particular is blossoming , in addition to the assemblies that I did, the rest of the team were covering two other engagements .

Opportunities are growing ....we need the workers to keep up . Anyone interested ?

Gramps is getting Older

The Happy Gathering
Calorie boosting Chocky cake !
Gill & Laura ..
Katie is going to murder me for uploading this one ..He He
Which one is Gramps ?

Went out for a meal tonight celebrating Gramp's birthday ...Italiano ..my favourite

Magic Eye

Whats hidden in this picture ? I have no idea & don't have the patience to keep staring at it :-(

On Sunday night I will be preaching at a baptism service at Wem . Five folk willing to publically declare their love for Jesus Christ by going through the waters of baptism ..



Anyway I have been pondering the sermon this afternoon and will be using the magic eye as an illustration ...Do you remember them . they used to drive me crazy in the 90's ..



Here is a link to the online versions ..so you can go crazy too. The sad thing is Gill ( my wife) see's the picture in a matter of seconds!

Rural pastoring & potatoes

Being a city lad I don't have much of a clue when it comes to vegetable patches etc .. However I'm learning . I went on a visit this morning to see an elderley chap who is recouperating at home from knee surgery . He had me digging up some new potatoes from his beautifully kept garden . This is a first for me ( to my shame ) . I have never dug up potatoes before . I was shocked that they didn't come out of the soil ready washed in plastic bags :-)

Perspective ...and ABQ

What's your take on life ? How do you see it ? What's it all about ? Some of the questions that will be answered over the next eight weeks at the ABQ course ( Answering the Big Questions). If you are within commutable distance to Wem and you would like to have your questions answered, then why not come along 7:30pm every Monday until 23rd July .

Jesus once said to the Apostle Peter , just after Peter had got it all wrong: Peter "You don't have in mind the things of God but the things of man."

ABQ aims to make you more mindful of the things of God . It will give you a right perspective on life ...

Has it been a month ..oops

Sorry folks ...just had lots of other priorities ..anyway will endeavour to be a wee bit more blogger friendly in June ...

This last week we have had Dorothia staying ...or Doro as we call her . Doro is a German boarder at Thomas Adams college . She is a great young lady who cooked us a traditional German meal on Sat night . Schnitzel ( thats pork in breadcrumbs to the uninitiated :-) . It was superb , thanks Doro

Me & My Nephew Rob at The Big Match

I'm the good lookin one ....this was taken after the match ...we didn't want to leave :-)

I was there last night ..Wonderful night

Yesterday I had a surprise phone call from a friend who offered me a ticket to the match ... I have been to many great Anfield games and experienced many brilliant atmospheres but last night was something special ...photos to follow Ihope ( Rob don't forget to email me them :-) )

Melted into the background ..

Just lately time constraints and a lack of blogging zeal have meant that posts are a little less frequent ...It would appear that I have disappeared . But I am still very much alive and kicking just not on the computer as often ...

Smelly feet ...Do you suffer from this condition

Contrasting Attitudes

Been in to two schools this morning to do assemblies . One primary and one secondary . It's interesting to note the contrasting attitudes of those who are listening .

There were the yr 11 students ( 15/16 yr olds ). Some of them had that look on their faces ,the one that says "This is the last place I would like to be , listening to you rabbitin on about God stuff!"

And then by contrast, the primary school kids, all with eager faces wanting to learn more about Jesus ...they still have an innocent childlike faith ..

The sad thing is that between primary and secondary school that childlike faith ebbs away ...Jesus knew that, thats why he wrote these words .. Matthew 18 :2-4

2He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Have you lost your childlike faith ??? then you better go and find it again says Jesus .

Feeling tired today

I empathise with the polar bear ...Chester our dog decided to start barking in the middle of the night last night and muggins here was the one who had to go and sort it out :-)

A day in London ..tonic in the turmoil

Coffee Harrod's Style
The ice cream was tasty too..
Outside the Queens crib ...
handsome bloke !!

Last Thursday we as a family managed to free up some time to spend a day in London together . It was great .Walked for miles , watched a show , whirled around on the London Eye and caught a very efficient Virgin train home ... A real tonic for us all .

Difficult Times

The last three to four weeks and particularly this last week have been some of the most difficult weeks that I have lived through in my 43 years on the planet . A very close friend( Paul) and my dad have both been very ill .

In those times both these men have been sustained by the prayers prayed by folk who often don't even know them . I would like to thank you if you read this blog and have been praying ,your prayers are being answered daily ...Keep praying ...pray for my dad that he will come to know the Lord through this and pray for Paul that he will continue to make progress and gain strength and return home to his family as soon as he is able ..

One hymn that has been a tremendous comfort to me through all of this is

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.

Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.

Leave to thy God to order and provide;

In every change, He faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend

Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake

To guide the future, as He has the past.

Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;

All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know

His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,

And all is darkened in the vale of tears,

Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,

Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.

Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay

From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on

When we shall be forever with the Lord.

When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,

Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.

Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past

All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

Be still, my soul: begin the song of praise

On earth, believing, to Thy Lord on high;

Acknowledge Him in all thy words and ways,

So shall He view thee with a well pleased eye.

Be still, my soul: the Sun of life divine

Through passing clouds shall but more brightly shine

It's been a while ..

Sorry for the lack of postings recently . I have been very busy with preaching and visiting folk who are quite ill . Anyway I hope to resume normal service as soon as possible ..

Last night Liverpool FC managed to do it in Europe again ..Look out Athens here we come ...

A blonde antelope !!

Click here .... if it doesn't open then click into it from this post from a blog my wife reads from time to time ..here .

Storyteller extraordinaire!

Our Katie was entered for the Young Storyteller Of The Year competition , held in Birmingham last Saturday ...and she came in 2nd ...fantastic ...this is a proud dad writing this post . Havn't got any pictures yet though

Back to the 80's with YPF

Eh Eh ..calm down
They looked a lot younger back in the 80's :-)
80's Chicks
Party Girls
Mike was born in the 80's ..hence the baby gear :-)

On Friday the theme for YPF was the 80's ..a decade of good music , good times and Margaret Thatcher ! . I became a Christian and was married in that decade ...fond memories

Blokes don't know when to keep their mouths shut :-)

I thought this was funny ...my usual warped sense of humour

Another Birthday Girl ...Laura this time

12 years old .... and don't we know it :-) Her birthday was last week , only just got round to uploading ...sorry Laura .

Isaiah 51:6

Pipers tribute to his Dad

John Piper ,a well known American pastor of a large growing church , a man who I respect and admire for his faith, lost his dad this week .

Click here to read his very moving tribute to "his daddy "

Talented lad my Nephew...

Our Rob ...my ugly looking nephew rendered this design on his computer :-) ...He is doing this kind of stuff at Uni ...not bad eh

More pics from Sat

Thanks to Dave Ainscough for these pics

Special day for The Rev Rob !!

Saturday was very special . I was ordained into the ministry and inducted into the role as full time assistant pastor at Wem Baptist Church .

Over 300 folk gathered for the occasion , lots of old friends and family along with folk from the town and members of Wem's congregation . I was humbled to be a part of the whole occasion, an occasion where the name of the Lord Jesus Christ was truly worshiped in spirit and truth .

Thank you to all who came and keep praying for all us Whiteways .

Danny on his pastor's blog has kindly posted about the service ...click here for more pictures ..