"Flowers are my music". -Dr Thomas Arnold 1844

We are having fine weather and our garden orchestra is playing.
Come and listen.

Sheeba likes the music too

Last evening I went to a fellowship/prayer meeting at Rev G 's place. There were 16 of us. Mostly Theological professors the President of a Theological College.

We talked about the meaning of fellowship...how to live as members of God 's family no matter what our backgrounds are.

In Adam we are all brothers and sisters created by one God. And in Christ we are members of God 's family.

Many shared how they have communicated the Gospel without preaching. Our lives and attitude speaks.

Rev G shared that 3 non -Christian families attend his Anglican church more regularly than his parishioners. One couple decided to get baptized. Rev G told them to get baptized in an evangelical church as the rules of his church are very stringent but they said they wanted to be baptized by him. Praise be to God.

I was so blessed by the meeting.

Sunday Blessings- Show Us The Father

Sometimes people come to our church campus with a desire to pray and find out more about Christ.
Two B.A. students came by wanting to pray and talk to us. Pooja (L) and Gauri (R) have deep faith in Christ but don' t have much knowledge about him. Gauri told us that she was critically ill and the doctors declared her dead but she came back to life. She believes Jesus healed her.

Mama in conversation with the girls. Please pray for them.

A Muslim businessman expressed his desire to read the Holy Scripture which he reveres. We gave him a scripture portion in the Urdu language ,he accepted it with great respect.

All the senior members of my family were literate in Urdu, a language similar to Arabic.

I can understand it although I can 't read it. Many Urdu words are incorporated into our everyday Hindustani . This Bible belonged to my Aunt.

I found several precious photographs tucked away in the Bible. In the collection above is my father in 1948 as a student in Lucknow. His birthday falls on Feb 13th. Below him is my grandma (his mother) my Dadi. I was very close to her, she cherished and nurtured me .She cooked a special dal for me because I was fussy about eating. When I was little and afraid to go to the bathroom alone, she accompanied me making sure I did not feel insecure. She was a very happy woman. In the bottom photo you can see my Mama and me. I must have been 11 or 12 years old then. We lived in a bungalow which had a large garden.

On the top extreme left (top photo)my Aunt Marjorie, (Dad 's elder sister) she was an educationalist and social worker. Below that is an scratched and rather damaged photo of all of us together having fun in the 80s.

It feels good to share these happy memories at a time when we feel lonely .

Do pray for our church ministry, we are very strategically placed in the heart of the city. We need strong leaders, skilled management, expertise and finances and most of all God leading guidance and protection to develop.

We want our campus to be a place

where the thirsty find water

the hungry find food

and the weary find rest for their souls.

Sunday Blessings - O Come Little Children

The lyrics of this Christmas carol are echoing in my mind awaking childhood memories. The Allahabad Choral Society used to sing this song during its Christmas performance under the directorship of Mrs Erika Harper. She was an American educationalist and music teacher - her husband was a professor in a Christian College. Their children studied in Woodstock School where I later taught. In the 70s they sported cool hippie style clothes and hair which made us children look up to them with great wonder .

O come, little children, O come, one and all,

O come to the manger in Bethlehem's stall;

And see what our Father on this holy night,

Has sent us from Heaven for our pure delight.

O see, in the cradle, this night in the stall,

O see how the light dazzles even us all;

In pure gleaming white lies this Child

heaven's love,More

and holy than angels above.

These pictures are from the Kidz Fest which was held in our church on Oct 16th.

It was a day long program full of music, teaching, group activities and games. Good food and snacks were served.

About 150 children were present.

The story of Barabbas was the focus. The rebel leader Barabbas was set free by the Romans and Jesus was crucified in his place.

The children are watching a video on the life of Barabbas.

The notorious prisoner Barabbas deserved to die but Jesus , the innocent Lamb of God took his place. Read the whole story in Matthew 27:11-26 (New Testament)

(The gladioli and tube roses are from my garden. The tube roses emit a lovely fragrance after night fall which lingers in the air for some time. In Hindi these flowers are called Raat Ki Rani or Queen of the Night)

My blog friend TERRA of TERRA GARDEN gifted me a lovely book she has co-authored called A SCRAPBOOK OF CHRISTMAS FIRSTS. It is full of fresh ideas and practical ways to weave delight into the Christmas holidays. It overflows with tips for creating warm family memories and traditions, gift giving and also how to grow myrrh.

Terra 's delicious Turkey/Greece dessert called Baklava was such a hit at a church dinner that a man took a bite out of it and yelled across the room ,"I want to marry the woman who made this". You can find her recipe on page 58 of the book.

Oh Terra if filo pastry was available in here I would try it too (smile).

Some of the stories in the book made me cry, they reach into the deep parts of my heart.

Please visit her to get information on how you can order this treasure trove . She has info on her side bar.
Question: Which Christmas carol from your childhood do you love the most and why?

Be Warned

These knitting pieces are from BRUTAL KNITTING which features funny crazy sci-fi inspired headgear. Click on the link for more.
If there are any aliens reading my blog - they 'd be surely interested . Space tourists will find it easier to identify with little green men and such like when they have close encounters of the third kind. (Smile)

I wish people came like this - showing their real horror faces. But the bejewelled Venetian masks they wear hides their twisted visage and intentions. They are wolves in sheep 's clothing, the Bible calls them that.

I have has two such people in my life and although I got glimpses of their wolf nature several times I ignored it having a patient, long suffering and magnanimous nature.

I was also trying to avoid conflict, and I find it difficult to assert myself due to my physical limitations. I recently read a book called Conflict by Joyce Hugget.

She says in chapter one, 'Conflict can be horrid hurtful harmful, disruptive of relationships and personal well being.....The Chambers Dictionary similarly claims that conflict means 'a trial of strength between opposed parties or principles, a violent collision, a struggle or contest, a battle to fight, contend, to be in opposition, to clash, to be at odds with...

Such disharmony, such clashes, such violent collisions, such fights for supremacy's often over power us with the suddenness and force of an tornado.They catch us off guard and leave such havoc in their wake the many Christians assume that conflict is innately sinful and something to confess.

But is this assumption correct?

In Team Ministry Justin Dennison challenges it by suggesting that conflict is neutral (neither good or bad),natural (not to be avoided or denied), normal (neither your particular problem nor necessarily your fault); and indeed healthy (part of being a human being) As such conflict should be viewed as being common to all human relationships as people interact closely with each other.

He goes on the insist that our goal "should not be to ensure the absence of conflict,but to be equipped with the ability to handle and resolve conflict in an honest and healthy way. It is unresolved conflict , not conflict as such that can damage relationships.

Surely Justin Dennison 's observation must be correct. After all Jesus was so frequently locked in conflict and indeed often initiated clashes that for him, living with disharmony and disagreements could be said not only to be the morm but even necessary.

Conflict then cannot be innately sinful. Rather it is the way we handle collisions and contests that determine whether or not sin creeps into the equation. Jesus skillful handling of power struggles demonstrated the news that surprise some

-that all conflict, whatever is the source is potentially creative.

It is creative because it faces us with a choice to respond in a way that strengthens and builds up relationships ,promotes the kingdom of God and causes individuals concerned to grow in Christ likeness and maturity or to act and react in a way that disrupted friendships and fellowships inner peace and integrity."

I found this passage from Huggets book very helpful as we are in tte throes of conflict. For a long time I tried to ignore it but now I cannot. The opposite party is scheming against the church- making moves to acquire church property illegally. When I prevented them from doing so they called me insulting , denigrating names - referring to my disabilities in from of the servants. Literally making fun of my disabilities.

In front of me they are all sugar and honey but they are stabbing me behind my back. I cannot take this anymore so firm action has to be taken against them. I have already spoken to their superiors and are in full sympathy with me and Will support me. I have to make a written complaint against them. Then they will be shown the door.I gave them unlimited chances to improve but they did not avail them . I have to save my church and mission.

Some difficult and tough days are in store for me. But I will step forth in the strength of the Lord. The valley of Elah looms large before me- and the hulk Goliath. I have 5 smooth stones and a slingshot as my weapons.

I covet your prayers for Mama and me as we face difficult, threatening , hostile and lonely situations- physically challenging too. I need supernatural power from above.

I ma confident in the lord. He will bring us through. Please pray for Mama all this is intimidating and bewidering for her.

Power From Above.- Pastor Paul Thangiah's Power Conference

On Tuesday I went to the evening meeting of Pastor Paul Thangiah' s Conference held in the auditorium of a Christian school. I took some photos which I want to share. Above is the OM book table. They had some books by Ravi Zacharias which I wanted to purchase, but I wasn 't prepared , so that will have to wait.

People waiting for the meeting to begin. Some had travelled from rural areas.

The entrance of the school auditorium.

It is a large hall fully air conditioned, so its comfortable and they have a generator in case the electricity goes off.

Snapshots of the audience

Worship time

And a little child shall lead them

Children dancing with the lively music

These boys did not want to miss anything

I will celebrate
Sing unto the Lord

I will sing to Him a new song

A group to girls performing a worship dance

Pastor Paul Thangiah (L) with his interpreter. Pastor Paul preached in English and his message was translated into Hindi. This is quite common in India.

At the conclusion of the meeting people gathered up front for prayer. There were 600 - 700 people present.

What if Things Only Get Worse?

by Max Lucado

Christ tells us that they will. He predicts

spiritual bailouts,

ecological turmoil,

and worldwide persecution.

Yet in the midst of it all, he contends bravery is still an option. (Matt. 24:4-14)

Things are going to get bad, really bad, before they get better. And when conditions worsen, “See to it that you are not alarmed” (Matt. 24:6 NIV). Jesus chose a stout term for alarmed that he used on no other occasion. It means “to wail, to cry aloud,” as if Jesus counseled the disciples, “Don’t freak out when bad stuff happens.”

“See to it…” Bosses and teachers are known to use that phrase. “See to it that you fill out the reports.” Or “Your essay is due tomorrow. See to it that you finish your work.” The words call for additional attention, special focus, extra resolve. Isn’t this what Christ is asking of us? In this dangerous day, on this Faberge’-fragile globe, with financial collapse on the news and terrorists on the loose, we have every reason to retreat into bunkers of dread and woe.

But Christ says to us, “See to it that you are not alarmed.” (NIV)“Keep your head and don’t panic” (MSG).“See that you are not troubled” (NKJV).
And remember: “All these [challenging times] are the beginning of birth pains” (Matt. 24:8 NIV), and birth pangs aren’t all bad. (Easy for me to say.) Birth pains signal the onset of the final push. The pediatrician assures the mom-to-be, “It’s going to hurt for a time, but it’s going to get better.” Jesus assures us of the same. Global conflicts indicate our date on the maternity calendar. We are in the final hours, just a few pushes from delivery, a few brief ticks of eternity’s clock from the great crowning of creation.

A whole new world is coming!