Ladies Breakfast

“There are moments in life its best if a man lead and they are also moment in life its best a woman leads. Develop your character, discern your calling and reach out to the lost”

This morning’s ladies breakfast offered so much more that I could ask for. I am sure I would be permitted to speak for the ladies who were present that it was the best value for money.

Not only did I leave the meeting with added knowledge but I also left with a bunch of daffodils. Not what you are thinking….I didn’t make off with them. It was offered and I took them and said “thank you” because I love flowers.

As the food digested, we looked at the culture and role of women in the Old and New Testament and the culture of young women today.

God created men and women to be different but equal. In the days of Jesus He healed God’s broken plan as He sort to reunite women with the society they lived. Only followers of the Rabbi could sit at his feet and that didn’t include women. Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet in Luke 10:39 was an example of Him challenging the culture of the time.

In the old and new testament women were behind the screen. They didn’t have a voice as they were not allowed to talk. This conversation brought us to the hotly debated scripture of 1 Corinthians 14:34.

Was Paul a man of contradiction or a servant of the cause?

Pastor Helen helped us to understand that when this scripture is not taken out of context it becomes clear that Paul was writing to the early church and admonition them to celebrate their differences. That is; men should behave as men and women should be quiet, listen and receive wisdom. Paul was urging women to listen in submission to those who know more than them. 2 Timothy 12:11.

In Acts 18:2, Aquila was first introduced by Paul but by Romans 16:3, we see a role reversal as Priscilla is introduced before Aquila. This is Paul raising the profile of women in society.

He wasn’t silencing women but rather encouraging them to gain knowledge to take their place as godly women in society. God ultimately seeks to connect our culture and community to himself 

This takes us to Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (NKJV)

And, Acts 2:17 “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.” (NIV)

Paul doesn’t contradict himself but rather he was standing up for women as God seeks to connect them to their culture and the community as a whole.

“It’s not about gender, it’s about our gifting.” Pastor Helen summed up.

That brought the breakfast to a close and the table was cleared.

Remain blessed.

Our Marriage

This message was sent to me and I decided to share it with you all.

A touching story on marriage….

When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I’ve got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. I observed the hurt in her eyes.

Suddenly I didn’t know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic calmly. She didn’t seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why?
I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn’t talk to each other.

She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Jane. I didn’t love her anymore. I just pitied her!

With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated
that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company.

She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Jane so dearly.

Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.

The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn’t have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Jane.

When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.

In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn’t want anything from me, but needed a month’s notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible.

Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month’s time and she didn’t want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.

This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day.

She requested that every day for the month’s duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.

I told Jane about my wife’s divorce conditions. She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully.

My wife and I hadn’t had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mommy in his arms.

His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don’t tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.

On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn’t looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more.

There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her.

On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me.

On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn’t tell Jane about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.

She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily.

Suddenly it hit me… she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.

Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it’s time to carry mom out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly.

I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day.

But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn’t noticed that our life lacked intimacy.

I drove to office…. jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind…I walked upstairs. Jane opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Jane, I do not want the divorce anymore.

She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Jane, I said, I won’t divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn’t value the details of our lives, not because we didn’t love each other anymore.

Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart.

Jane seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away.

At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote I’ll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.

That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I run up stairs, only to find my wife in the bed – dead.

My wife had been fighting CANCER for months and I was so busy with Jane to even
notice. She knew that she would die soon and she wanted to save me from a negative reaction from our son, in case we push through with the divorce.

At least, in the eyes of our son— I’m a loving husband….

The small details of your lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves.

So find time to be your spouse’s friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage!

“So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no man put asunder.”

Remain blessed.

The Vintage Fair

 Fashionistas and vintage lovers of Coventry crowded the St. Mary’s Guildhall this afternoon sampling over thirty stall with an eclectic mix of vintage clothing, home ware, shoes, handmade jewellery, scarf’s, retro sweets and many more.

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vintage has become increasing popular because of its affordability and unique style. It is popular with both genders but especially women.

When not manning her ‘Prettiest Things’ stall at vintage fairs or running her website, Jenny Simpson, designs handmade kitsch and vintage jewellery. A lot of her ideas are based on childhood memories, tea party themes, cartoon characters and Pin-up girls.

“I never grew out of playing with plasticine.” she shares.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harriet Mohaze of ‘Day Tripper Vintage’ has also just started running her own vintage line, an interest she always wanted to pursue.

“I have been working in vintage for six years but the guy I worked for does a lot of men’s style. So I branched out and did a lot of 60’s to 80’s style clothing. I keep it cheap and affordable as that is what I look for when I go vintage shopping”

Laura Keogh who has just launched “LauraLovesboutique” travel’s around the country doing vintage fairs with her sister. She also makes jewellery from new and recycled materials.

“I have been doing this for years and I really enjoy it. Well I work part-time too but vintage is something I very much consider doing full time in the future” she said

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The vintage collection are mostly pre 1980’s or before. Items are sourced from charity shops, eBay and also from suppliers all over the country.

Becki Lynch of ‘lovemevintage.com’, who also designs vinyl clocks, gave up her teaching job to run her vintage line.  Becky Vaughan owner of ‘Get retro’ also design jewellery and run vintage fairs all over the country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Vintage Fair which first started in Sheffield holds vintage fashion events in over 20 majors cities in the UK. Astounded by the success when it started in Sheffield, they subsequently hosted fairs in Birmingham and Manchester in 2009.

The national demand for vintage fairs has rocketed and as of 2010 they have become UK’s largest vintage fair with Vintage Hair salon as their newest addition.

Check them out;

Jenny Simpsons: http://www.ekmpowershop21.com/ekmps/shops/prettiestthings/index.asp

Harriet Mohaze: http://daytrippervintage.tumblr.com/

Laura Keogh: http://lauralovesboutique.com/index.htm

Becki Lynch: http://lovemedovintage.com/

Marney’s: http://www.marneysvintage.co.uk/

http://www.madeincoventryshop.co.uk/

Nadia

It’s been a year now since Nadia sadly left us. Her pictures on the wall of the Ellen Terry building in Coventry still show how much she is greatly missed.

It brings to mind the day I slipped down the icy stairs by the Bugatti building, I lifted my head to a concerned voice asking “are you ok”. That was Nadia’s.

You were a gift not just to your family but to all who knew you. Our friendship was for a short while, but we can all say you were truly an amazing person.

 

Be safe in the Arms of the Angels.

We still remember you.

Rest in peace (R.I.P)

Tributes to her:

https://nanaamaakpoblu.wordpress.com/?s=suddenly

http://cutoday.net/2011/02/09/nadia-baird-gone-too-soon/

February

I would like to believe you had a fantastic January and a loveable February has just began for you.

Let’s take a look at a few things about February:

February comes from the word ‘februa’ which means cleasing and this represents rituals undertaken before spring. It is the second month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendar. This is the shortest month and the only month with days fewer than 30. It has 28 days in a common year and 29 days in a leap year. This year is a leap year.

February’s Birthstone is Amethyst.

Amethyst is associated with stability, peace, balance, courage, inner strength and sincerity. Amethyst is found in Brazil, Uruguay and Zambia.

February flowers are Primrose and Violet. Primrose is symbolic of first love and Violet is symbolic of faithfulness and modesty.

Major events in February are international Mother Language Day, Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday, Independence Day in Saint Lucia and many more. Not forgetting the all important Valentine’s Day: February 14.

Nonetheless, why wait for a particular day to express your love and appreciation to someone when you can tell them each day how much they mean to you.

Enjoy February.