Author: Carol Purves

I’ve discovered it can be exciting to go on holiday and not know where you are going. I have had just such a holiday, three days and two nights away.

Although two of the days were good weather, on the first day it rained very hard. This meant with the rain streaming down the coach windows and misting up the panes, it was impossibility to read the road signs. I suppose it all added to the mystery.

The puzzle was partly solved as we drove into Lincoln. There was just time to climb up the very steep hill to the cathedral. (The road was called Steep Hill, which gives you a clue.) It is a lovely city with a lovely cathedral.

The two nights were spent in Grantham, not so exciting, but then the quaint towns of Melton Mobray (think pork pies) and Stamford were visited.

The final day was spent at York, great cathedral, the Shambles, walls and fascinating small streets.

Carol, the mystery solver

I wish I could find the words to convey the enjoyment we received from our meeting of Christian writers. Not all our work is of a specific Christian content, as was seen in story where a man who always replied to any question with the answer ‘Just a trifle’. When he arrived in heaven among other things he was asked did he think God would know him. He replied ‘Just a trifle’.

Our meeting included laughter, as you can see from the above, and tears, because some of the work was so moving. The subject matter ‘Just a Trifle’ gave us poems, reminiscences, stories and scriptural quotations.

Watch out for next time when the subject matter is ‘The Black Dog’.

Carol, the writer

Last weekend we had the Carlisle Literary Festival and I had the privilege of hearing Terry Waite. It was a fascinating lecture as among other things he spoke about his years in captivity. The main reason for his talk was to promote his new humorous book Voyage of the Golden Handshake. The extracts that were read to us made it sound great fun.

Carol, the literary seeker.

I’ve found a cure for sleeplessness. If like me you sometimes can’t sleep, don’t count sheep. It doesn’t work for me. Instead talk to the shepherd. It is the one time when one can find time to speak to God without the clamours  and demands of the world.

The only trouble is, I then fall asleep. I expect God understands. But it helps me to talk to Him more during the day.

Carol

Forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14

The other day I was reading about a man who visited prisoners in jail. Many of these men looked back on their crimes with regret, anger, shame and sadness.

The Bible is full of such people – Moses was a murderer, David committed adultery, Peter abandoned Jesus in His hour of need and Paul persecuted Christians.

This passage tells us there is a way back through Christ.

Carol

As you can see I survived the Holiday Club and was fortunate to go away on holiday straight afterwards.

With my friend we went to Arran. After two days we ferried to Mull of Kintyre and then ferried to Gigha and back to Mull of Kintyre all on the same day. The weather was good which enhanced the beautiful scenery. I thought Blackwaterfoot was one of the prettiest places I have ever visited.

We then stayed at Arrachar on Loch Long near Loch Lomond. One of our objects was to visit gardens in the area. As can be imagined with the plentiful rain they were lovely places.

There are so many beautiful island in western Scotland, I shall never be able to visit them all but have ticked off a few more.

Carol, the western traveller

What fun! A week of holiday club at church. The theme is polar exploration. The age range reception to Year 6. With the help of many teenagers the hall has been transformed into polar-land.  White, silver, sparklely and cold. Not really cold, but what a year to have this theme, with us having such a cold summer. I thought I’d better write to you now as no doubt latter in the week I’ll be exhausted.

Carol, cold and shivery.

I have been silent for a few days because I have been at the Keswick Convention. I mean the Keswick Convention as in Cumbria, England. I know many of you attend Keswicks all round the world, so you will be interested in the mother convention. We were celebrating 140 years of continuous worship this year with the theme The Whole of Life for Christ.

It was my privilege to have the job of praying with people who came out asking for prayer. This was such a blessing to me and I trust to others as we sought God’s face together.

Coming down to earth we had typical convention weather – rain and more rain. I slept in a building each night but many of my friends were camping. Therefore I mustn’t moan. The weather didn’t deter the 15,000 people who visited during the three weeks.

Carol,  the conventioner

It is great to have so many hits from Europe and to hear from some of you. So today I will give Christian greetings to you in Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Turkey.

I shall be silent for a little while as I shall be spending next week working at the Keswick Convention in Cumbria, England.

Carol, from England

2,500 pink ladies ran, jogged or walked 5 or 10 km in memory of loved ones who had died of cancer.  The same scene has taken place this summer in many towns throughout Great Britain. This year I joined our local race in memory of many friends and to give thanks to being a cancer survivor and having a leg by-pass operation.

Dog walkers and pram pushers also joined the group. It was an emotional morning just seeing the people there.  Many teenagers were remembering grand parents which was not surprising. Others were running in memory of a father or mother. That was upsetting.

The most emotional sight was a young man clutching the hand of a young child as they jogged. I imagined they were there in memory of a wife and mother. I can only trust that large amounts of money have been raised to help wipe out this dreadful disease.

Carol, a survivor