"Good Evening Mr Bond"

I watched all of the opening Ceremony of London 2012.  Apart, from a small part around midnight where I slipped into semi-unconsciousness. The whole evening was amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

My husband was ecstatic that his musical hero had nearly a 15 minute slot.  Mike Oldfield shot across from the Caribbean to play a short set.

As a family we oohed and aahed at the magnificence of the whole occasion.  The celebration of Britain and her achievements.  But the highlight for me was the James Bond sequence and the brief appearance of the Queen.  How on earth did Danny Boyle manage to swing that one?  I also loved  Mr Bean's take on the 'Chariots of Fire' film.

The final 'cauldron' was a piece of art both in structure and the lighting of it.  That sequence made us all look to the future.

So all the best Team GB in the next few weeks.  I look forward to seeing you at the closing Ceremony.  And then at the Para-olympics after that.  After all, it is what I got a TV licence back for.

The Colour Maroon

I am in the middle of a crazy period of my life as I wait for invasive tests and heart surgery.  I have had 'white coat hypertension' for years.  I have no choice but to learn to deal with it.

Not long into this journey someone sent me a small Maroon Journal with the names of Jesus inscribed on the front and Bible verses at the bottom of each page.  I already have a Diary which I write in on a regular basis; I started during Lent this year and have carried on.  That one will not be filled for ages and I wanted to use the new Journal so decided to write down things that encouraged, cheered or helped me.  I actively look for things which are positive and it is amazing how much is out there.  A lot of what I have written is from the Bible or hymns which speak to me but not all.  I look back through the book and see how much I have collected in a short time of writing.  Just having the Journal is a reminder that God is providing things which encourage me on a regular basis; it is a great way to help the memory loss of good things I so frequently suffer from!  It also means I get to write in my special ink pen which is way over 20 years old and was given to me by my Grandad (as far as I can remember.)  My childhood tin pencil case has also made a re-entry into everyday use.

So most days you will see my pile of books: Bible: 'Sketches by Boz' and my Journal placed somewhere around the house, all a beautiful shade of Maroon.  A colour which is increasingly coming to mean something positive, good and helpful.

This post was written as part of this syncroblog:

One more step along the world we go.

My eldest daughter had her Leavers' Assembly from Primary School the other day.  I cried real tears that rolled down my cheeks when all of the Year 6 pupils sang 'Sing'.  (I have officially become someone who can cry at the drop of a hat.)  My heart was full of many emotions during that asembly and my eyes did not leave my girl.  She looked  like a very big version of the girl I first saw just over 9 years ago: a delicate-framed, red-haired cutie only this time her eyes were confident.  I was full of pride for her and because of her achievements.  She is leaving her Primary Education with a good report, a friendly personality, good results, and a marvellous smile.

This time last year her class was mixed around and she lost some of her friends.  I was not pleased but in retrospect no harm was done.  Change and loss can be difficult for her, but she worked through it and coped.  Again.  She went away on her first camp in May and thoroughly enjoyed herself.  She tackled activities that would have been hard for her but she was up for it and achieved them.

This past school year she has realised her dream of having horse riding lessons, told us of her decision to become a Christian, worked hard at dealing with her negative emotions and actions that come out of them, progressed academically, made some new friends, become more demonstrative in her affection towards us, read loads of books, coped with the disappointment of ALL her birthday and Christmas presents failing to do what they should and needing replacing, shown independence and that is naming but a few.

She is looking forward to her transition to Senior Education.  She is going forward with a positive attitude towards it, true belief in her abilities, excitement at what this next stage of her life will bring, a small faith in Jesus, discovering new friends in school and out.  We have given her a little dictionary that we hope she will treasure as much in the future as she did when we gave it to her on Friday.

Our road to this point has been long and sometimes incredibly hard but it was good to see the fledgling that is emerging.  My prayer for you is that you keep going in your faith in Jesus, in what you can achieve through Him and the abilities He has given you.