Our beautiful, crazy little boy turns 9 today!Nine years ago our Christmas was totally turned upside down by his unexpected arrival and today our little world-changer is still having that effect!
Happy birthday Eli
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Dean and Paula in Blighty, autumn 2025 -
Dean and Paula pastor The Gathering -
Our beloved Palace - FA Cup winners 2025 -
The Gathering -
Baptising in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit -
Leaders preparing to serve at The Gathering's Soup Kitchen -
Soup Kitchen Xmas lunch
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Serving hands - the heart of The Gatheirng -
Thankful Thursdays -
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HOPE Home Based Care Team -
Gathering Ground -
The Helderberg - The prettiest of the mountains we face
Recently our blog was criticised by some So here's a snippet from our local rag about Joel and his school appeal in which he encouraged his fellow learners to bring in deodorants for the homeless which he's planning to give out over Christmas.
So proud of you Joel!
So last night we gathered for an amazing time of praise and worship and then we launched our Thankful Thursdays Challenge.
Ask for nothing,
Give thanks for everything!
Give thanks for everything!
I miss my dad!My dad died 30 years ago today when I was all of 18. He was only 55 but looked much older as he'd been battling MS for twelve years.
They say it gets easier over time but it doesn't. All you do is put your loved ones out of your mind as much as possible. The hole left in your heart after they depart is never really filled!
How many conversations do I wish I could have had with him. How much advice would I like to have asked of him. But more than anything, I wish he'd met Paula and my boys.
I don't have any decent pics of my dad but this is one of my favourites amongst the few that I do have. This was taken in 1952 whilst he was doing his National Service with the RAF at Biggin Hill.
I wasn't going to share this testimony but then I felt God speak to me on Sunday about not denying him, so here goes...
Almost two weeks ago we gave away one of our couches to some friends who were experiencing some difficulties. We had two couches and could survive on one so we were very happy to bless our friends. It was amusing when the boys got home from school and noticed the gap where the couch had been. Eli said in a sullen tone: "I suppose you gave it away.", we could see his little brain thinking about how much we could have sold it for.
Almost two weeks ago we gave away one of our couches to some friends who were experiencing some difficulties. We had two couches and could survive on one so we were very happy to bless our friends. It was amusing when the boys got home from school and noticed the gap where the couch had been. Eli said in a sullen tone: "I suppose you gave it away.", we could see his little brain thinking about how much we could have sold it for.
I had the joy and privilege of going to Belville to pick Ziggy & Mercy up this morning after their eipc bus ride home from Harare. They set off on Tuesday!It's great to have them back and we're grateful to our awesome God for making straight paths for them. They belong to us (Tree of Life) and we're delighted to have them home!
Despite having been gone for just a few weeks I had forgotten what it's like chatting to good friends who are grounded in scripture, they truly are a breath of fresh air.
We're not sure how but somehow we missed the 10th birthday of our blog, though according to blogoversary.com the anniversary isn't for another 37 days!We've been a bit lax with the blog over the last few years and we'll make no promise to be better at it because that would most likely be a lie. We do love the blog and enjoy it but sadly facebook has largely taken over.
We are so proud of Joel who participated in the Helderberg Eisteddfod yesterday afternoon. He was awarded Gold for his poetry recital and Gold Plus for his prepared reading.Truth be told Joel's a little disappointed in himself because it's the first year he's not got a Cum Laude, but the judge was very clear that the bar was set a lot higher this year and she was marking them accordingly.
Regardless, we're very very proud of Joel!
Next stop the Music Eisteddfod on Friday in which he'll be playing his own interpretation of Stairway To Heaven by Led Zep. He's going to be amazing!
The non-return valve has been fitted. Hooray!In fairness, once the municipality had been convinced that our sewage problem was of their making they acted well and reasonably swiftly to install the valve.
Hopefully this will be the end of sanitary products etc. winding up in our garden when the storm drains burst and flood the sewers.
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