After almost a year of very dodgy TV reception, due to what appears to have been a botched DIY attempt with the aerial by the previous occupant of my house, I now have a crystal clear picture.

Alas, I didn’t rectify the botched job, but circumvented the whole thing. Courtesy of Az,  a man from Sky to come round to fit a satellite dish to the side of the house, install some wiring and provide a Sky+ box under the telly, all for the princely sum of nothing because of some promotion.

Despite the huge number of channels available, I’ll probably only watch the usual five channels which are available to analogue terrestrial viewers, with the sole addition of BBC News 24! Ah well, we’ll see how I go.

After a relatively lazy day, I trundled down to Ridley Hall, in Battersea, for a talk on the origins of life. The journey into town was slightly eventful, with a slightly complex jaunt around Earl’s Court!

The speaker was from Creation Ministries International, and he presented a significant amount of evidence, and scientific thought, refuting the Theory of Evolution. It takes an honest atheist to admit that atheism is a faith, and that evolution is merely another step of faith. I don’t claim to know how exactly the world came about, I wasn’t there, but from the evidence and with scientific principles, I can’t say I evolution is true. An interesting presentation!

The evening finished at Ally’s new accommodation, where she provided us with tea and biscuits. It struck me that not all university accommodation is created equal – far from it!

After a rather busy week doing nothing of consequence, it was nice to spend the last day of the week relaxing. I finished the day playing Articulate with some of the usual crowd at Rachael/Susanna’s. The first game was remarkably tight, with all-plays all over the place. If only we could glue Deanna’s hand together or something to stop her making illegal gestures! The second game was played a little more strategically, with the team which studiously avoided the all-plays coming out as convincing victors. Only one query threw me – are you allowed to use the word door to describe a corridor? A fun evening nonetheless!

Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. Pr 11:25 [ESV/NIV]

I went to the retirement service for Arthur Imbrey, of Every Nation Gospel Fellowship, at Cranford Baptist Church this afternoon. One thing that struck me was how greatly God has used Arthur, the great impact he has made for the gospel not only in Southall, but worldwide. From an inauspicious beginning, where Arthur had considered Southall to be the last place on earth he’d ever want to be, to Southall eventually becoming the last place on earth he will be, but not the last place in eternity. Arthur has evangelised and pastored many people, from those living around him, to other pastors not only locally, but worldwide. This is not to say this is the end, for this is only the penultimate chapter, and who knows what God has in store?

A relatively early start this morning in order to get to Grove Chapel, Camberwell, for the Banner South East Conference. The theme for the day was ‘Take my life and let it be’, evidently an allusion to the hymn, which continues, ‘Consecrated Lord for Thee’.

The first address was titled ‘Being a Christian in the world’. This dealt with the point raised by Elijah and Elisha, when Elisha was called to serve, and to words Jesus said in Lk 9:57-62. For in both cases, the follower needed to look to their master and not look back. In Elijah’s case, Elisha asked that he might say his farewells to his friends and family, removed any options to return by burning the equipment and cooking his oxen on the fire to serve as his farewell meal, then Elisha followed his master. In Jesus’ case, the prospective follower wanted to wait until his father had died before he followed Jesus. As Christians in today’s world, we must not be looking back at what we have given up, whether it is things, people or practices, but seek to follow Christ wholeheartedly.

A seminar followed, which focussed on being a godly man/woman. For men, we have the perfect example in Jesus Christ, the ultimate man. We looked at how he was physically well-built, rather than the effeminate portrayals in popular art, but not only that, but he was also spiritually well-built, with a humility, strength and willingness to do his Father’s will. We also looked at how Esau, Samson and Adam had particular qualities of godliness, but because their godliness was incomplete, they succumbed to temptation and failed in their duties as men.

The second address was ‘Being a Christian in the church’. As Christians we are not called to operate as lone rangers against the world, but we are to work within the context of a local church. It is in this context that we are matured, and that we are able to serve God fully. We are to be committed to that church, to love one another and to serve one another, that we might glorify God where we are, here and now.

In between and after the various events were opportunities to eat, catch up with old friends and make new friends. The day ended with a stroll around central London, with a walk across a Southwark bridge decked out for festivities. A very good day!

Four of us bundled down to Bristol to celebrate my mum’s birthday which is soon. Despite adhering to the speed limit, we got there very swiftly as the traffic was very agreeable. We seemed to visit every Tesco supermarket we could, in search of various gifts and cards, and also visited some friends along the way. We finally met up with the rest of the family for a meal at the Chinese buffet place in Hengrove, and then convened at mum’s so she could open all her presents. We then bundled back along the M4 to London, in time to be able to get to the meeting at Feltham.

Jim Downie spoke on the importance of prayer, especially within the church. For God doesn’t expect non-believers to pray, but expects his people to be repentant of their sin, submissive to him, to humble themselves before him, praying persistently and fervently. A church which fails to pray does so at its peril!

Another month, another football game between HWEC and HTC. Not sure what happened, but we won! 4-1! 🙂 Not that I’m complaining!

After a month of holidays and general lethargy, some of my work colleagues and myself were back on the football pitch. After five minutes, my muscles appeared to be telling me I should’ve stayed off the pitch! Ah well, survived the hour, with the odd bruised shin. Hopefully my fitness will improve in due time.

Went to the London Hong Kong Restaurant near Heathrow, just off the Bath Road, as some of the family were visiting. After staring at the varied menu, we settled on the seafood set meal for four. The two starters were well proportioned, the second of which I’m not sure I’d experienced served in lettuce leaves before! The main courses of oysters, (huge) king prawns, scallops and turbot were in a good variation of sauces and were all delicious. A good way to catch up with family. I think we might have confused the waiter slightly, as although he asked his questions in Cantonese, we always replied in English.

Attended the funeral of Jerry this afternoon. Something struck me during the singing of the second hymn, a verse of ‘And Can It Be?’ which is not usually sung:

Still the small inward voice I hear,
That whispers all my sins forgiven;
Still the atoning blood is near,
That quenched the wrath of hostile Heaven.
I feel the life His wounds impart;
I feel the Saviour in my heart.

Took me slightly by surprise, but thinking about it, I think Jerry probably chose it to be like that.

Woke up this morning, picked up a sausage and egg McMuffin and trundled down to the church to help set up the building for the forthcoming Holiday Bible Club. Once we’d decked out the hall in balloons, bunting and all manner of other brightly coloured objects and materials, we had some lunch at the manse and headed down to Richmond Park.

Even though there only a few of us, we enjoyed the sunshine, kicking a football around and playing frisbee.

Afterwards, we met up with some others at Ask, on Kew Green to celebrate Alex and Deanna’s birthdays. The setting was very nice, with nice food and good company.

All in all a good, if slightly tiring, day!

I’ve had a fairly productive day today! I awoke to a warm summer’s day with chores lined up ahead. I did my laundry, including the odd rug and bath mat, tidied the house, polished the furniture, cleaned the toilet and changed the inner tube on my bike all in one afternoon!

Afterwards, I headed down to Dave’s for a barbecue and Monopoly. I must confess to having a mild dislike for Monopoly, but the prospect of lots of meat products drew me in. Whilst we cooked and ate in the cool of the evening, Dave seemed confident he was going to win at Monopoly and so set himself up. The game started as usual, with everyone buying everything and anything, but as it progressed, it became evident that Dave was not going to win. Before we knew it, Susanna owned everything on the board and Dave was eating humble pie.

A good day. 🙂