Forget the umbrella....where did I put my snorkel??

Hello again...and what a wet Sunday it has been, in fact, as I write this it has just started to rain heavily again. The forcasters did say that it would be very wet and very windy today...they were half right! Wind wise, it has not been that bad, but the rain has made up for it.

On my train journey today I wasn't surprised to see quite a bit of flooding between Ashford and Canterbury. It did make me reflect though at how lucky we actually are in our part of the world when you consider the floods and other natural disasters that affect other countries. The recent earthquake in Chile was a strong one and sadly many people have lost their lives. It really makes you appreciate what we have.

Today is Lent 2 (the second Sunday in Lent)...no prizes for guessing what next Sunday is!

In church today we were joined by two new faces. It was encouraging to see them, they had a very good 'working knowledge' of the way that we do things. The Bishop knows them I think, as they have some connection with a retired priest that he knows from another church (not ACC). They live in Deal, so not too far in the grand scheme of things. Let's hope that we see them again soon.

The sermon today was very much a continuation from last Sunday's sermon, and was again focused on the Devil and how we must not give anything to him. God will only take what we give him, and not an ounce more. Just for the record I would like to say that in my opinion we should give God our all, this goes back to something the Bishop has previously said about putting God first! However, with the Devil, if you give him the slightest thing then he will want it all and more, and then even more. He will not be satisfied until he has everything and has destroyed you.

God demands nothing, expects nothing, yet is prepared to offer and give all. What does the devil offer? Hassle, grief and misery! With God you can give Him what you want to give, what you are able to give...I know what team I'm playing for, what team do you want to be in?

If you have genuine faith and belief in the Lord then you will receive everything that the Lord has to give and more.

Today was also the second class in our series of confirmation classes. Today we discussed the Holy Spirit, also known as the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit is a very powerful thing indeed! As christians it gives us guidance in many, many ways and certainly forms a very important part of a church. The Holy Spirit often works through the church, through priests, deacons, lay people and indeed through the church members themselves. I kind of see the Holy Spirit as a bit of a 'guiding light' amongst other things, sort of directing me in certain matters. Having discussed the Holy Spirit today I have been able to think about certain events in my life and actually realise now that the Holy Spirit must have been at work. It's a little scary in a way, but in another way, very exciting...more and more is starting to make sense to me in my journey!

It's time to go now. It's still raining so I think I might have a look on eBay for a boat...at least I can guarantee getting to Canterbury on Wednesday then, as there seems to be no sign of a let up in the weather. We'll probably still have a water shortage and a hosepipe ban this year though!

Now where did I put my snorkel, mask and fins.......................