The Browns

Quote from Abigail (when she was aged 5):

When you come to think of it, the Browns* are actually quite nice.
But I don't usually come to think of it.

[* Name changed to protect the innocent... :)]

On Turning 40

Another quote - from Joanna (aged 8) the day after my wife's 40th birthday:

Well, I'm not used to you being 40 - it's too old. You have to go back to being 39 again.

And another one from a few days before her birthday - conversation between Mum (aged 39), Abigail (aged 6) and Lucia (aged 5):

Abigail: "You'll be 40 - you'll be as old as Dad!"
Mum: "I can't catch up with him you know."
Lucia: "Yeah, you will. He'll just be older than you when you're the same as him."

Getting to Know Jesus Better

In Phil 3:10, Paul says "My aim is to know him...".

One of the targets that I have set for myself for this year (now that I have finished the work on that book!) is to "get to know Jesus better". My plan is:

1. Get a parallel gospel resource (thanks, Google :) )
2. From that, compile a list of events in Jesus life.
3. Go through them all with the objective of trying to understand what they reveal about Him (His character, motivations, aims, methods, etc.)

... Nothing terribly complicated, but hopefully useful in helping me grow in my knowledge, understanding and relationship with Him.

I'll try to keep on top of posting updates on my progress and interesting points or thoughts that occur to me as I go so you can follow along if you are interested.

Lines From My Eyes

Another kid's quote - from Lucia (aged 4):

"Daddy - you're joking - I can tell when you are joking because I can see the lines coming out of your eyes!"

Sin More and Still Get to Heaven?

Well, it's taken a long time, but I have finally got around to getting my book to the point where it is ready for release.

The title is "Would you like to SIN MORE and still GET TO HEAVEN? - How to deal with sinful desires and become a more fruitful Christian". See below for more info on what it's about.

At the moment, there are a few ways of getting it...

• You can buy a paperback copy from LULU. The RRP is £9.68, but there is currently a 20% discount on it there, so the actual cost comes to £7.74.


• You can buy a paperback or Kindle copy from Amazon US or Amazon UK.

Here's a brief description of what the book is about:

Many of us have certain sins in our lives that we just can't seem to "shake off". However hard we try, we don't seem to be able to make any progress in overcoming them. This book is about that problem and the Bible's answer to dealing with it (largely based on Paul's letter to the Ephesians).

In the book I look at how a fundamental change to our approach may be the key we are looking for. Instead of "trying to sin less", we should focus on "rooting ourselves" in God's love and "walking in a manner worthy of the calling". I also talk about a number of practical things that we can do in our daily lives to help in the struggle against sin.

If that sounds like something you may be interested in, go ahead and buy a copy :) - I pray that what I have to say will help you in some small way in your Christian walk.

Getting there with the book...

Many moons ago I said that one of the things that I needed to get round to doing was to finish off my book and make it available online.

Well, the good news is that things are moving forward on that front - I've now all but finished publishing it on Lulu - I've just got to wait to receive a proof copy to make sure all is well at which point I'm planning to make it available to download or to buy as a "proper" book.

Jobs

Here's another quote from the kids...

Kathleen (aged 10) is complaining to Mum who has told her that she has to do her morning jobs (chores):

Kathleen: "Why do I have to do jobs - no-one else I know has to do them!"
Mum: "Yes they do."
Kathleen: "Who?"
Sister Lucia (aged 4 1/2) pipes up from nearby: "Me!"