I’m afraid I am off for a week in sunny Lancaster tommorrow. I will be back on the 1st September when some of you go to school.

CONGRATULATIONS to all those who worked really hard and got all the exam results that they needed for college or University.

Ok try your hand at this harder one!! It is guessable

I can not believe how well team GB are doing at this years olympics:

16 gold, 9 silver and eight bronze medals so far! The kids and I have been glued to the television cheering and shouting our team on. I must admit one of my favourite points so far was the badminton doubles in which we beat China in a nail biting game. You should have heard the shouting and cheering coming from Bedford (we were staying in Doris’s house). It is a pity we then lost the next game against the Olympic champions.

It is so exciting when those people who have been sent to represent you win and do well.  Everytime team GB win a medal for our country they win a medal for us. We are part of every gold medal won for GB.

We may be part of the United Kingdom - but there is a greater kingdom that we are part of - a heavenly kingdom that will unite all things together under Christ. It is good for us to remember this as we build churches in different countries and cities. You are advancing the same heavenly kingdom that we are. When you do well, we are all doing well.

Let us cheer each other on in the things of God and not compare ourselves to each other. It is time to encourage and cheer on and not let jealousy in. When you advance the things of the heavenly places on earth we are all advancing with you. When you win - I win, when I win you win.

Just an update on the friend of mine who was blind  (testimony posted on the 4th August)- she is now on her forth book!!!! Not bad for someone who hasn’t been able to read in 5 years.

Here is the second jingle - courtesy of Mr Dave Perkins. It is the my favourite out of the two. Which one do you like best?

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

At Now Faith camping week the youth enjoyed some humugous jingles written and performed by Dave Perkins. The jingles got the speakers dancing, the youth humming and the leaders bopping. In fact they were so good many of you even now can not get them out of your head. I am pleased to announce that you can download the jingle onto your ipod, ring tone for your phone or laptops.

CLICK HERE FOR DOWNLOAD

In June a Swedish couple won the right to name their son Lego. Swedish law bans names that are deemed unsuitable , offensive or potentially embarrassing to the person given them. The rule is strictly enforced (in the same month a couple were banned from calling their daughter Elvis), and it is not always popular. In 1996, a boy was named Brfxxccxxmnpccclllmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 (pronounced Albin) in protest of the law!!

(taken from The Week June 14th)

God’s plan was not finished in saving mankind. Jesus was Immanuel - God with us. God wanted to live among us for ever, to have an ongoing relationship with us forever. To spend time with, to talk with to hear from those he loved.

He made us his place of dwelling. Each of us a little human temple. 1 Corinthians 6:19 says that our bodies are the temple for the Holy Spirit. God wants to be with us, to know us intimately, to love us completely. God wants us to work through us, to make us part of his plan, to give all that he has to us, in order to enable us to reach maturity and reach our potential in fulfilling his purpose.

When I think about all that God has done in order to be with me I wonder if all I do to be with him is enough. When I think about God’s desire to be with me and spend time with me it makes me want to delight his heart and spend my time with him.

Let us all re-think how we spend our time this holiday - God is waiting for us to talk, walk, play and dance with him.

Imagine now how vast the town you are living in is. Now put that in the district you live in. Think about the country you live in and how small that is on the earth. Think about the earth in the galaxy - we are not a large planet at all. Now think about the galaxies filling the heavens. There are so more galaxies than we can even discover. Now think about a God who not only fills all this but created it all. A God whom all the angels worship and serve. All power, authority, splendour, majesty and wisdom is found in Him - and this is only the start!!! WOW some God eh?

This God was compelled with his love for mankind to send his only Son. Jesus, this humugous magnificent God, laid down all he had in the heavens and came to earth to be born as a baby. He was born among us - Immanuel - God with us. God among man. God limited to a human form. He slept among us, was tempted among us, walked among us, partied among us and ate among us. Why?

Because he loved you enough to give it all up to lay his life down for us, to save us.

I have been looking at the name Immanuel over the last few weeks. It means God is with us. Matthew recognise Jesus as Immanuel in his book 1:23. What he is actually doing is seeing the prophecy that Isaiah, that mighty prophet, spoke about in his book 7:14. He said there would be a virgin, that she would have a baby boy and that he would be a sign to everyone.

Now I don’t know to what extent Isaiah saw Jesus being born. My gut feeling is he didn’t know it all fully he only saw part of what was to come - but God knew every detail. God had planned this day since before the earth was created. Before there was even a man on the earth he knew that mankind would mess up and need rescuing and planned to send the one to save them.

I received a new bible at the ‘Now Faith’ week. Not only is it pretty and lush it has these stars down the side of the margins. If there is a prophecy that need to be fulfilled the stars are empty. When the prophecy is fulfilled the star appears full and the verse of the prophecy is written down the margin.

As Jesus’ life is unravelled the margin is peppered with full stars. He was the fulfillment of God fantastic plan. I can’t imagine how excited God would have been. As I watch the Olympics I see all the excited athletes competing after months and years of training. This is the week all their plans, dreams and efforts coming into being. God had been planning and dreaming for thousands of years. Now Jesus birth was putting that plan into action - his rescue mission had begun. No wonder all the angels burst out the skies in their singing - heaven just couldn’t contain the excitement. God was born to earth - God in human form. The saviour (saver) had come to earth.

Thanx Tony Cambell for this video. Sit back and let the words wash over you and feel your spirit soar!!!!

I had a txt from one of the youth who is part of the Huddersfield congregation. This is his story…

“Everyday at home and school - ALL the time my wrist killed me. At bible week Esther prayed for my wrist and all the pain went. I thank God for all he has done.”

Shazza

Anybody else got a testimony? - please e-mail me to me.

I have been so amused with the bad names I have been finding I thought I would share some more with you…….

Grasshopper, Tin, Cashmere, Synergy, Apple, Peaches, Sunshine, Buzz, Chilli, Moxie Crimefighter, Heavenly Haraani Tiger Lilly, Wadine and Sharmonica!

Aparently unusual names have been around forever. In 1600s England, a boy christened ‘If-Jesus-Had-Not-Died-For-Thee-Thou-Hadst-Been-Damned’ grew up to be an economist who invented fire insurance. And preferred to be called Nicholas Barbon.”

In a recent competition to find the “worst bad name” in America there were more than 1,000 entries. Besides Charman Toilette, an early favorite of the judges, there was Chastity Beltz, Wrigley Fields, Justin Credible, Tiny Bimbo, and a girl whose father was an auto mechanic but somehow didn’t realize he was effectively giving her the name of a tire: Michele Lynn.

The winner of the competition went to a woman called Iona. On its own it is a very normal name but her surname is Knipl.  Yes Iona Knipl has officially the funniest name in America. To read more click here.

I am sure you must have seen this before - but hear it is again.