The Garden Video

The rest of our time

We didn't venture too far in the waning days of Karisa's visit, in fact the furthest we drove to was Oxford on the Saturday. We always enjoy heading back up to Oxford, although I don't miss the gnarled traffic in that compact city. We hung out with Stef at the Fishes, it was great to catch up with her, find out about her travels to England, and hear what God was up to in her life. KBC is a wonderful place to be yourself, and to learn more of who you are. After dropping her off at home, we drove back into the city centre to be-bop around and visit some old haunts. Actually we struggled to find a parking spot, and after getting routed the wrong way into an already full parking lot, i declared something to the effect of "how does one drive in this city" to be honest it was probably much more dramatical (word?) than that but that's what I can muster up at this point. Anyway we eventually made our way to the Eastgate parking lot, which was also full up, except for the front row, bottom level handicapped spots that the attendant instructed us to use, so we did and off we were to the dodge the innumerable crowds of Cornmarket St and so-on. One old haunt we visited was the Noodle Bar, when in Oxford do check it out reasonable cost and enough quantity. Then the next haunt was the covered market, again a great spot to wander into if you're in the city, we looked at a bunch of places, but ultimately bought next to nothing. After strolling around we made it back to the car-park payment machines, where for the third time in the last month we paid for our parking within 5 minutes of when the cost would go to the next hour, it is the small things in life that sometimes grasp your attention. We ended at Dave and Velma's house for coffee and watched an episode of Corner Gas which is a great Canadian show about not too much, but certainly kept mine and Dave's attention. They are wonderful hosts, we do enjoy hanging out at their place, and our time with them Rachel and Karisa was really nice. I did forget to mention that McDonald's in Botley served up a rockin mint McFlurry that Karisa and I each enjoyed one. just thought you might like to know, happy Christmas all, and to all a good day
e

A Home and Garden Tour

While Karisa was here we made a couple of videos of the house and garden for you to enjoy! RR

A bit more of our time

The pics are me putting up a bauble, Tiffany our friend with Karisa and Rebecca in a frosty air, the Christmas tree in Overton (hopefully they don't break the bank with the electric bill) and the carolers on the 27th of November. Enjoy reading now!


In my never ending quest to chronicle our time with lovely Karisa I will delve into the next few days, as unfortunately for the reading public we did not make any more in roads to mainland Europe, but we did go to a movie and out to eat at Pizza Express. After returning late on Wednesday night Rebecca and i were up and it into the Kings School for our Thursday morning teaching sessions. We both have three small reading groups we are responsible for, it's sort of way to scratch the teaching itch. Shocker that Karisa didn't want to join us for that time, getting up early, going in to town to watch us sort of teach, when she could have a lie-in (spelling?) and then enjoy her morning peacefully. Anyway she chose the latter, as would most breathing humans. That night we did take her along to the Alpha meeting, it was our next to last one, this one about What is the Church? That is a compelling question and one that cannot easily be answered, even after reading Ephesians and Colossians you'll still have questions. We did make some head-way that night and all are excited about another group forming after this Alpha is completed.
Friday brought about some even colder temperatures, my it was chilly whilst she was here, not so much now in fact it has been down-right balmy while Indiana is suffering through below 0 temperatures. After a delightful English lunch at Jeff and Rosie's that night we were present at the Overton Carol Singing and Turning the Lights on in the Square Extravaganza. I say extravaganza because with the turnout of people you would have thought that a Formula 1 driver was there or maybe even Santa, or maybe even both. That's right former Formuala 1 driver Jody Schecter who lives in Overton was there to ceremoniously turn on the lights, not that are that many on that poor meager tree, but he pressed the button on the count of three and roar could be heard for about a second, and maybe up to the Co-op on Winchester St. Then just after our 50 person, arctic air daring choir rung up another rendition of Silent Night the horns started hooting on the fire engine as jolly Old St. Nick appeared, it would have been even more cool if Dasher, and Dancer and Vixen etc... had led the way but it was the Overton Fire Squad doing the duties. Realizing we were freezing we all made our way back to 47 to attempt to start a fire which didn't light and then everyone turned in early on that cold frosty night.

On to Flanders

The ride across the English Channel is not exactly difficult, in fact we didn't even show i.d. or a passport in order to get on the ferry. After arriving in Calais we simply drove off the ship onto the highway and off we went, again no proof of who we were or where we were from, getting around in the EU is not that painstaking of a process. Our first stop of the day in France/Belgium was to find a little French village and walk around, get a bite to eat and see what we could find. We drove to Montreuil which is one of many of the same name, this one happened to be a walled town, that felt like stepping back into time or into a storybook, actually most places I’ve been in Europe feel that way. We strolled around, ducked in and out of shops, mostly out cuz everything seems to be closed, maybe since it was Wednesday, dunno really. I saw a small opening in between buildings that I darted into, this led to the outer wall of the city, where we walked along the wall, talked or tried to talk to some French tourists, took some pics and then we found a small café for a meal. We had already determined that we’d like to go to Belgium next, of course it’s not like it was right in the next town, in fact to get our destination we would be driving another couple of hours, but hey why not how often are you trolling around a new continent, so off we went.

The drive through Flanders was very pretty, and we when we crossed into Belgium there was just a small sign no passport stamp or check or anything, it feels like the States really, just going from one country to another. We did the TomTom working properly which proved to be a God send as we approached Brugge or Bruges depending how you want to write it. Brugge as I’ll call it is the “Venice of the North” as the old town was built using many canals. I didn’t realize how famous Brugge was until I read up a bit and found out it was one of very few Belgian/Northern French cities that wasn’t destroyed or partially destroyed by WW’s. The city centre of Brugge is like walking back in time, cobblestone streets, small gabled buildings, some baroque looking buildings, massively tall towers, and of course the canals running here and there. People were running here and there as well since it was Christmas season, unfortunately the Christmas markets were not up and running yet, they were being set up, including the outdoor skating rinks in the square. Brugge has amazing squares as do most European cities, except for here it seemed like we walked through 3 of them in about 10 minutes. Brugge is famous for many things including lace, beer and Belgian chocolate, and there are loads of chocolate shops, but no free samples that I saw.

To say that we did Brugge in about 2 hours is a joke, but we did get a feel for the city, albeit a small feel. Of course it gets dark very early around these parts and in the back of my mind was the ferry, it was going to sail and we needed to be on it. I thought that if we left Brugge at 5:15 it would give us just enough time to get to Calais find the ferry, make one stop if we needed to and then we’d be off. We left at 5:20 found the ferry, showed our ticket and literally drove onto the vessel. To say the least I was bushed, I had driven all over the south of England on Tuesday, and then around Northern France and Belgium on Wednesday, all this for a guy who doesn’t really like to drive. Rebecca took the wheel after we were back in Dover and she drove the couple hours to Overton where we fell into bed.

Calais, France from the ferry


A street in Montreiul


Looking out over the wall in Montreiul


One of the canals of Brugge



A street in city centre of Brugge, Belgium

Life in backwards and forwards

There is a song by David called Life in Slow Motion, I don't feel that's us at the moment, for that matter that is ever has been. We don't live life in slow motion, I think that our pace is designed just for us, but I often find myself looking backwards and forwards, while looking at the present as well. I've had the thought that it would be helpful if we humans had 3 eyes, one to look at our past, one to look at our present and one to look at our future, but we only have two so you can't look at all, all at the same time. Enough waffling as they say here and on with the show of looking back. When last I blogged I left off with our upcoming venture to the south coast and across the English Channel, so that is where we will transport ourselves now.
Early on the Tuesday we arose, packed our small amount of stuff for the overnight stay and we're off to the south coast of England, where the channel waters coolly (I guess that's a word?) brush up against the white cliffs and the rocky beaches. We surfaced in Seaford a quaint little seaside village that is probably quite bustling during the warm time of the summer, but not exactly on a freezing cold November morning, but that is joy of the open space as we had the ocean to ourselves basically. It was beautiful to look out at the horizon and see numerous ships and other sea going vessels all making their way through this historically and economically important shaft of water that separates the UK from the rest of Europe. After being blown around and chilled to the core we snuggled back into the Rover for a wonderful jaunt down the a seaside road that eventually spilled us into the larger towns of Eastbourne and Hastings. Both of these towns were quite ravaged during repeated WW attacks so they are quite old but look relatively modern. Many towns and cities especially in the south are the same situation as the bombing attacks took their tole on the country. Btw we did find an old and I mean old castle, fortification near the coast it was originally built near 1000, so ya that was cool.
We found a diner kind of place for fish n chips in Hastings, this is a town that used to be hot stuff for visitors but I think it's time is past, it seems over touristized (word?) but anyway we did eat there. After that I decided to make a run for a castle that i knew was in the forest area north of town, I was not able to figure out the TomTom (GPS) well so I winged it and followed my insticts. I knew the castle was near Bodiam so I drove north on a small road which eventually led to a very small farm like single lane road. This led to a sign with 2 villages one way, 2 villages another way but no Bodiam. At that point Karisa piped up with the comment that a wooden signpost had broken and where that signpost would have been would have said Bodiam. So we quickly and quite adrenaline rushed zipped down the hill, where and I quote said "I'll bet there will be a castle once we round this corner" of course there it was as we rounded the corner. it was movie like, I'm sure this castle has been the set for many a film in it's long existence. From there we drove on attempting to find our friends Tim and Vanessa's house near Dover. You probably have heard of Dover because of it's white cliffs, it is known also as a seaport city. We actually almost drove into the port by accident, luckily we went around a roundabout and back out of town to where we eventually found Tim's place, he lives only one block from the seaside, not bad digs eh? To be honest I starting to run out of gas and I haven't even gotten to the mainland part of our trip, but do enjoy the pics from this portion of the trip.


Wall of Pevensey Castle




Bodiam Castle at twilight



Our cast of three with the castle in the back


check out that moat, can't get across that

also check out the video we shot whilst at the castle

sitting by the fire, a bit of a catch-up

Well here I am, with a promised blog entry, it's one of those precious nights where you sit in your house, in this case with a fire going to my right, and Christmas decorations all around. I do miss putting up my Christmas village, but now I live in one instead of creating one on the table. There has been so much going on lately, let me give you a whistlestop tour of our last couple of weeks:

Went to Salt and Light prayer days up in Derby back in middle November was great to see friends, and to pray with a vast number of different people. There are many church planting initiatives being planned, and other projects that are starting all across the UK, very exciting times. Our church body is in process embarking on the start up of a youth drop in centre right here in the centre of our village of Overton, this is very exciting, and it is picking up steam during this Christmas season.

After returning from Derby where we stayed with Jazzy, we drove to Heathrow the next day to pick up Karisa. If you are ever flying into London, try to make it terminal 5 it is the best airport I've ever stepped foot in. The upgrade it is over the other terminals in Heathrow is breathtaking as is the terminal itself. Anyway after a short 45 minute drive to the airport we were back home enjoying the cottage and chatting with Karisa. She worked on Rebecca's hair for quite some time while I caught up from the previous days of being gone, and then we got on with Alpha that evening. Alpha has been really good, a great time for it, we have been in the right place for it as well.

The weekend hit soon enough and the three of us went for a walk at Watership Down, a gorgeous valley like area not too far from our house. We jaunted for some 3 hours and then finally made it back to the car, let's just say we were cold, tired and ready to sit down, oh the lovely English weather, actually the weather that day wasn't bad, but quite windy up on top of the hill before desecending down into the valley, of course then you have to traverse back up the hill to get to the car so ya. Hung out at night with friends from the village, a chilled out time, it's good to have friends close by we can walk to their new pad in about 2 minutes or so.

On Sunday our church meeting was one of Thanksgiving, it was a great time, so many people shared. Karisa joined our worship team for the morning, that was like old times with us two belting out the tunes. God is doing a great deal in the life of our body here, and so many were involved with sharing it was encouraging. just back from nursing the fire a bit, have we mentioned that we really enjoy having it, last night we argued over who would jostle the wood around to get the biggest flame, oh the joys of our life here. Anyway the body is moving forward, God is taking us into a new season that is clear from what visiting speakers have been saying and there is momentum.

Monday we were around, but nothing amazing to share out of that day, but then Tuesday and Wednesday hit, but I'll put out a post just for that, but probably later tonight or maybe tomorrow.
e

fallen behind

This blog has fallen behind, actually it is more the bloggers than the blog itself but anyhow. I have another night planned tomorrow to be on my own, with the computer, fire, and Christmas decorations, so I hope to catch up on a bunch of writing. I'd like to say that I was able to keep up with our time whilst Karisa was here, but as you can see no updates during that stretch except for a few pics. We'll add more as we had some wonderful short trips, England is very conducive to short city breaks and seeing vast differences of buildings and sites. So ya that's the plan for tomorrow evening, emails, facebooking and blogging, should be a great evening, hoping that I can get the fire going well. later
earl

Part 1 of our European Adventures

Freezing our tails off on the beach!
The White Cliffs
Earl climbs a mountain?
Looking beautiful by the sea!
A CD cover? What do you think?
All of us on the beach in Seaford, along the very cold English coast!

my night

Life is always interesting, that much we know. For me tonight is a bit different, as we looked back at our diary we realized that tonight is the first night I'm home by myself since we moved to England for a second time. Don't be sorry it's not that we are overworked or out every night, it's more that we are often home together in the evenings or we are with people. I had thought about trying to set something up for tonight, catch a friend, go out for a drink etc... then i thought about the idea of having no plan, nothing I really had to do (I do have to write a short magazine article) I could turn the music up loud, play some music, read a book, surf the net etc... So ya that's the plan tonight to not have one, I'm glad these nights don't come all that often cuz that would get old, but for a once in a while deal, I'll take that.
e

Sideways Down - a local Overton band

Bob

You never quite know they way life is going to go. We have our plans for days and even weeks ahead of time but yet you really never know what life may throw at you. Since moving to the village of Overton we have had the privilege of meeting all kinds of people. One of the first people we met was Tiffany, an American from Virginia who married a British man named Simon. We have very much enjoyed our friendship with this couple. It is great to have an American right here in the village to relate to. Simon and Tiffany have introduced us to numerous people at the pub and one of those amazing people is a man named Bob. You can see Bob in the picture above playing his bass. Simon is the drummer in the group Sideways Down and they performed at the Greyhound pub Saturday night. Now you may wonder where I am going with all of this but you see Bob died suddenly Monday morning. No one expected it, it came as an incredible shock. I really only knew Bob a bit, I think I counted that I had had 3 conversations with him. Yet it's amazing that I am still impacted. In the small interaction I had I knew he was a man who loved people and made those comfortable around him. Many are saddened in the village about his death and it is never an easy thing to cope with. One thing has struck me in a profound way: Ever conversation and interaction we have is important. We don't know the impact it will have on someone and we cannot guarantee what is going to happen next. So my prayer is that God will use me in everything I do for His glory! Rebecca

waiting for a shower

I'm not waiting to take a shower, I'm not waiting for a rain shower in this country you usually don't have to wait long:) No I'm waiting on the Triton shower unit that I bought yesterday, but Screw-Fix hasn't delivered yet, supposed I'm getting screwed:( Anyway our shower is a poor man's hose with little water pressure and an amazingly quick temperature variance, which somehow is almost always a drop in temperature. If you do get it run with the force, that of an almost dried up waterfall that limps over the top it then goes and cuts out and your left soapy, shampoo dripping in your eyes, not to mention freezing cold as well. So then you press the button for it run again, it goes through it's annoying little cycle of very cold then a bit more water but luke warm at best, then about 10 seconds later you think you've fooled the little cubed machine, as the water turns pleasantly warm, your mind goes to thinking about the days activities, what you might wear etc... until the low pressure light beams and the water turns cold, and eventually stops, once again leaving you soapy, shampoo etc... I think you get the point. So you can see why we're buying a new shower unit, unfortunately I don' t have the foggiest as to how to install it, my friend Merv is an amazing plumber who leaves for Bournemouth in about an hour, this leaves me with a cushion of a half hour at the most for the shower unit to be delivered. It's not huge, in fact it is a little plastic box type thing that sits on the wall, but evidently it is tricky to hook up, doesn't sound like a treat to me.

so while waiting I'm thinking about waiting, it is almost never a fun time but it is almost always a time that we go through, or need to go through. You know what it's like when you've really wanted something, like for me to watch a college football game, the anticipation of the telecast coming on is excruciating, but usually it is well worth the wait. My mom often says that she enjoys the time before a vacation more than the vacation (I don't know what that says about Rebecca and I) but she really likes the anticipation of the event. I think that we learn while waiting, realizing that we can't have it all, and amazingly the world does not revolve around us, there are others out there who are waiting as well. Sometimes waiting is the best option, sometimes it is the only option, I thought I just heard the delivery truck, my heart raced, I raced to the door to notice that it's not there, I guess I'll go back to waiting, and hopefully take a shower later.

About 3 minutes after finishing my blog Rebecca called and what does she utter into the phone and I quote "I'm waiting, waiting for the bus" See I had to race home from the town centre, so I could do this shower thing and she then had to catch a bus. She waited, # 5, # 8, the South Ham bus, they all came by but not # 86. Anyway we talked about waiting for a while, as she was simply standing there looking anxiously up Sarum Hill for a bus that wasn't coming any time soon. btw it is now outside of my potential shower hook up window, Screw Fix hasn't shown up, I'm still downstairs staring out the front window, Rebecca is on her way to Overton, Merv has probably left for Bournemouth, but just a bit of solace in that it has rained since i wrote that opening sentence.
er

Being an American

I don't think anyone realizes how they live and what is important to them until they move to a new culture. When I am home in Indiana I never think about how I do things or why I do things, it is just the way it is, no reason to question. Living in a village in England brings all of those things to light. I can honestly say without exaggeration that every day I talk with someone about something that is different about my culture and the British culture. The common phrase used is 2 nations separated by a common language, wow is it ever true! It is fascinating in lots of ways and frustrating in others. Tuesday night, November 4th Earl and I traveled to Chineham, a village about 20 minutes away to our good friend Hazel's house for dinner, playing the game Settler's, and staying up late to watch the election. It was a great evening! Watching the election from the BBC's point of view was so interesting. When you see your own country through other's eyes you realize things you never did before! For example when the British announcer tried to use the American slang, "shooting hoops" it was so humorous to hear it in a posh British accent! We stayed up until 4 a.m. watching until Barack Obama was elected president of the United States. It was definitely worth watching no matter who you wanted the winner to be in the end. Hazel stayed up with us the entire time watching and enjoying the experience with us. I must say that blessed me immensely to have someone care along with me about something that is so important to us! I am proud to be an American but also delighted to be living in England, what an incredible experience!

half term

Before I write much we do have plans for some pics to go up, forgive us the pic part of this program is not the easiest to navigate:( Let me tell you a bit of what life has been like for us in the last week or so. First of all it has been half-term which means that all kids are off school, and life in general has less of a rush to it, less meetings, less traffic (sort of, we'll come onto that) less of the normalcy that a week is, if there is a normal. You would think all of that would translate into a load of free time and non-business and to some extent it wasn't as busy but where does the time go, I'm sure we all ask that sometimes. I had about 9-10 smaller projects going on, none that pressed to much, all that took a bit of thinking and some creativity, all of which were quite enjoyable to do. You know what it's like when there is something huge to accomplish you get right to it and go for it, when there are smaller less imposing projects they tend to get pushed off and not addressed as quickly. But throughout the week the numerous projects were completed, we had another very successful panto practice (will blog about sometime) a very interesting Alpha Saturday and today we played Killer Bunnies so ya it's been good around here.
There is a saying that the English always talk about the weather, that's because the weather is often worth talking about. This week on Wednesday we woke up to a layer of ice on the car, as we drove toward Oakley all the cars had measurable snow caked on them, as we reached Oakley it was a white-winter-wonderland, what a surprise snow in October, snow at all! I picked up Chris to go for a coffee in the town centre of Basingstoke and a trip that usually takes 15 minutes from his house took an hour or so. The roads were jammed and packed, they were like slow moving parking lots. Not because of cautious driving only, there had been loads of accidents that closed roads, and ice/snow that closed roads as well. It was a traffic headache except we weren't in a huge hurry, it was half-term you know, sometimes life is lived best in less, in half-term, slow moving speed, I'm sure it will crank up as soon as tomorrow as we stare meetings from morning to late evening, but hey that's life, we'll enjoy it all anyhow!
e

Our New Home - The Village of Overton

I've been getting a little grief about putting some pictures on here so I figured it was high time I did something about it. :) We get easily caught up in our daily life and forget sometimes to take enough pictures but recently I did take several shots of our village so here they are. Enjoy! RR

Big Things

I was talking to mom on the phone and she asked what about big things? I didn't know what she meant, big as in the size of the sun compared to the earth, big as in "i have big test on Monday I'd better study" big as in "a big part of our sales are hamburgers and hot dogs" big can be taken in many different ways. I'm looking at big from the standpoint of too much for me to handle or enact only God can do the "big" and I can be there to help. Much of the way of following Christ is looking, seeking and finding where He is already at work and then joining Him. It's not about coming up with a big idea that is near impossible to start or complete, rather it's about joining what is already brewing, or getting a team around to take on a new initiative. Maybe in our lives things look too big because they are not what we are to focus upon, they are too big for us to handle on our own. They aren't too big for us to handle with Jesus at the helm, the ship ain't too big that it can't be steered down the canal, I learned that first hand, even though it was a relatively small boat, you see the analogy hopefully:) When God has asked us to do "big" things at first they do seem improbable and impossible, over time and understanding they don't usually seem so big, in fact they seem attainable and possible. Of course over time we usually see what God is already doing, it's not just us on an island trying to reinvent the wheel again, it's already been invented, we just have to be willing to use the wheel that exists.
In Bible college one of the most important challenges that was laid out to the students was to think big, not settle for the small. This changed our thinking, instead of thinking what can we do, our thinking shifted to what can we do only if God is behind it and through His power. Though that thinking may not seem like a monumental shift try it yourself, you'll realize that when He asks "big" things that they can only be done in His power. This is something we learn all the time, hopefully it is an everyday occurrence, because if so then we are going for it, and doing the big, the improbable and impossible which turns to attainable and possible. thanks for listening, love ya mom
deeder

little things

Ya it's the little things that are usually the roughest aren't they? Small thing in my mind, the leaves changing in Goshen were cool, they were amazing in Elmira, but here not so much. It's not that they are unpretty (word?) but it's more that they are not spectacular. Maybe that's not the worst thing, getting used to spectacular is not the best way to live, in fact it probably sets one up for frustration more often than not. It seems to us if we let the little things get to us, then they get to us. I know that sounds simple or maybe even corny but it is true. If we don't let them get to us, then we're not bothered, sort of like me and brownies. If they're there, I eat them, if they're not I don't remember them and don't eat them. If I'm not bothered then life is easier on the whole. If you have found this confusing count yourself normal, cuz as I write this I'm getting more confused by the sentence. Switching gears a bit, Rebecca and I are involved in a village pantomime this Christmas. For those of you who don't have a clue what I'm on about, it is a like a comical play that local villagers come together to learn and perform, the crowd interacts with the actors/actressess and it pretty much a farce much of the time. sounds fun doesn't it, we're playing ourselves in the story of Alice in Wonderland, that doesn't exactly fit, but ok, it is a panto as they say. Gotta run now, the clock is striking 6:44
e

helping out

One of the areas of life that gives both Rebecca and I much joy is the classroom. We thought that we might have some opportunity this year, but didn't know how that might work out. It has, we are going into the Kings School (the school run by Basingstoke Community Churches) to work with small literacy groups from y3 to y5. This happens to be the ages that I taught at Ox Bow so wonderful memories are being conjured consistently whilst working with these lads and lassess. Today some of what Rebecca did with a group was rhyming, again straight out of her book of past experience:) We each have 3 groups in the morning, I have one of 3, then a group of 8 then another of 6. The 8 is like my own little classroom for a 1/2 hour, oh what fun, today we continued on writing a story based on the story starters from last week. To those of you who are educators you will probably understand that, if you're not you may not care much, but I do get a charge out of it. Rebecca has a group of 2, 3 and 4, it is much like when she used to send small groups out to the para, now we are the people who the small group goes and finds. No it's not heavy duty, but it's like a large Slurpee on a sweltering day. It doesn't last that long, but it is very refreshing and you look forward to the next one. So next Thursday should be a blast, as we continue writing stories, working with rhyming words, a short drama about 4 guys on a ship and creating different types of sentences, the more life changes the more it stays the same.
Mr. and Mrs. Robinson

Life in Slow Motion

Hey, it's Rebecca here, reflecting a bit on our new life in England. I'm going to try and describe how I am feeling but not sure I will be able to articulate it exactly. God has been up to some incredible things and I feel like I am just sitting back and watching Him do such cool stuff and He is allowing me to be a part of it. One thing that has been incredible is our neighbors. Since we arrived we have been warmly received by the people around us. We had 22 neighbors at our open house a month ago and the friendliness has continued. God has blessed me with an American friend right here in the village that simply knocked on my door one day out of the blue right after I had had a bout of homesickness. This friend has introduced Earl and I to numerous people down at the pub and it just makes everything more familiar. Two weeks ago we had the privilege of being asked to lead an Alpha course. Alpha is an 11 week course where people come to learn and discuss the Christian faith to see if they want to be followers of Jesus. It is an informal and engaging time. We are leading this course at the home of some of our fellow church members and it is great fun! It seems wherever we turn God is allowing us to experience Him in some way or another. One day out of the blue at the pub someone started asking me questions about my faith, it was cool to be able to share what God is doing in my life. I can't wait to see what will happen next! RJR

a rainy day

This is not all that uncommon in England to have "a rainy day". There is a saying "into one's life some rain must fall" how true is that, without it there is no growth. I have been working on a teaching series from stories of Elijah and one of Sunday's points was how important rain was in the culture of the Israelite people. Of course it is important now as well, but maybe we take it for granted though. Ya it is a bit grey, maybe unpleasant to walk in, and can make things sloppy but the alternative of hard-baked ground, brown grass and dust is not that great either. My mind has floated to thinking about what the rain in our life that falls is. I think in the saying it means rain is a bad, unfortunate, untimely happening that takes place, I would rather flip it the other way and say the rain is a wonderful, God-given provision that elicits life and growth. I have been known to enjoy an overcast day, somewhere in the 50's with a bit of wind, so maybe that's weird, maybe that's why a rainy day in my book is a good one, just so long there aren't too many in a row:)
your weatherman

Keeping Up

I know I know keeping up with a blog should not be very difficult, but go ahead and try it, you'll find that it's not that easy. Rebecca and I were talking the other day, we do much of that these days:) and realized that our day to day life was not very normal, it changes, shifts and looks different all the time. As a result routine which is something teachers get very used to has been somewhat tossed out the window. A typical week for example will have us in the town centre on Monday morning for prayer, then coffee with a friend. Often then we'll be home for the afternoon with either a men's discipleship group meeting or a leaders meeting at night. Tuesday's usually don't have too much although yesterday I was visiting a friend, we had lunch guests followed by a planning meeting, then we're going to see a Abi from KBC (that was pushed off until today) then we fit in a walk between the raindrops, a leftover based supper and a leaders meeting at night. Today now for example I am not leaving the house hardly at all, but know of 3 people stopping in at some point. All of this to show that routine is all but impossible for us to fall into, so things like writing consistently, playing guitar consistently, keeping up with friends all over the globe consistently fall away a bit, hopefully not too much though. One aspect of life that we are desperatetly trying to maintain is the idea of not being busy, but rather being intentional with our time and sometimes that means being busy but not running on a hamster wheel to accomplish it all. I realize there are only so many hours in a week, and Rome wasn't built in a day. With all that being said, i ought to get a move on with the day, working on a message for Sunday from I Kings 17:1 where Elijah confronts Ahab, oh it is soooo juicy, what a great kickoff to amazing stories from the Old Testament. So have a wonderful and find some time to step out of your routine and do something different!
edr

long time

It has been a long time in my book since last I wrote on this blog, do forgive me, my creative juices have flowing elsewhere in the last while. i am just finishing up a 6 session teaching on the life of Elijah oh what a guy he was. If i could obey, listen and have half the faith he did consistently that would be amazing, he walked into crazy situations and trusted completely. I don't want to make excuses, nor should I have to but i do have a twinge of feeling bad for not writing more often. people ask where our days go, it can be hard to recount but alas they do, there are people to see, meetings to attend (many prayer meetings lately which have been really good) things to shop for, books to read, songs to be sung, etc... As you see we are busy, not in the sense of running around like chickens with our heads cut off, but in the sense of busy doing what God has asked us to do. In that vein it is a great busyness, we are all about His kingdom and being His warriors here on earth. i'm not going to promise an amazing amount of posts, although who knows maybe the creative juices will start to flow the blogger way more often... off to finish up the work on Elijah it has been a long time coming. later
etp

The Shack

Rebecca here again, well, I don't know if any of our blogs have ever been a book report and I don't necessarily think this one will be exactly that either. I just finished reading The Shack, by Wm Paul Young. This has been a highly debated book, seems people either love it or hate it. It doesn't fit within your normal religious boxes, that is for sure. Since KBC, I have felt I can read books more critically than ever before. This book captured me, read it within about a 24 hour period, simply couldn't put it down, I love books like that. Anyway, whether I agree with every line this man penned or not, there were some significant truths in this book and it really shows how God wants to meet us in the midst of our pain and how much He truly cares about us. Here are some of my favorite quotes:

"...just because I work incredible good out of unspeakable strategies, doesn't mean I orchestrate the tragedies. Don't ever assume that my using something means that I caused it or I need it to accomplish my purposes. That will only lead you to false notions about me. Grace doesn't depend on suffering to exist, but where there is suffering you will find grace in many facets and colors. "

"Guilt'll never help you find freedom in me. The best it can do is make you try harder to conform to some ethic on the outside. I'm about the inside."

"...humans are not defined by their limitations, but by the intentions that I have for them; not by what they seem to be, but by everything it means to be created in my image."

"I am not merely the best version of you that you can think of. I am far more than that, above and beyond all that you can ask or think."

My favorite:

"Living unloved is like clipping a bird's wings and removing it's ability to fly. ...pain has a way of clipping our wings and keeping us from being able to fly. And if left unresolved for very long, you can almost forget that you were created to fly in the first place."

My prayer is that I will always remember that I was created to fly! Because knowing who we are in God makes us an incredible threat to the enemy! Praise God!

The Shift

Hey, it's Rebecca writing! It has been awhile since I have given my 2 cents worth so decided it was high time! :) As some of you know approximately 2 weeks ago on August 30th we had an open house. We invited our church family to come as a way to thank them for their immense generosity as well as see our house in it's "final" state (well, not perfectly final, since we just got our new couch today!) . Anyway, we also decided we would put some flyers in our neighbors' doors, just the ones who live close by, as a way we could meet the people in our village. Well, it was a glorious day, we feel like God ordained it, pretty much the only warm day for weeks, the next day it was absolutely chucking it with rain. We had 55 people come to our little cottage, 33 church family, and 22 neighborhood family. It was wonderful, we feel so blessed to have so many people around us. As I met new people that day, as I had only met 1 or 2 of the neighbors, something happened that was really cool. In the midst of meeting new people, the friends from church suddenly became familiar. I had been struggling with so much unfamiliarity around me and it seemed within a moment God changed things for me. The unfamiliar became familiar and I realized I could relax around people I didn't really know that well. Actually, since that day homesickness has not been an issue. I am content and know God has us here. No, I do not have as many close friends as I do in Indiana, those kinds of relationships take time, but I am not lonely, the Lord has given me contentment. Now, for those of you reading in Indiana, don't think that I don't miss my friends, I most certainly do! but I am glad that I am where I am supposed to be for this season.

time flies

I was picking blackberries today (as you do) and realized that I hadn't written in almost a week. It's not that i don't have anything to write or that I don't want to, sometimes it just doesn't happen. There is so much I could write about concerning our time in Overton, but that seems like a daunting task to undertake. We are very encouraged to say the least, maybe it is the honeymoon element of not being long yet, but i'd like to think that it is God at work. I do think the latter, He is amazing and is working in our lives, people that we are meeting both in and out of the church, and there is a buzz around. you know that kind of buzz when people are sick of being complacent, almost an itch to get going, try new things, meet new people. That's the buzz we are sensing, and that is encouraging. We realize that it will not always be hunky-dory (spelling?) cuz that's life, but we don't have to live under the circumstances, instead we can deal with them and use them to our advantage. I think that is some of what we're up to, listening to people, their circumstances and seeing where God is at work in their lives. He is constantly working and speaking, are we, am I listening and acting on what He says. I've been studying Elijah to prepare some talks on him as a person and his actions and Elijah obeyed, trusted and acted, he then left the rest to God. That is where we are at the moment, a great place to be, hearing, obeying (or attempting to) trusting, acting and then seeing what God is doing with our humble offering of obedience. That's sort of our life this week in a nutshell, at least a theological nutshell, have a good one
edr

one

We've been in 47 for one month, it seems more like 4 months but alas only one. I can't say the old adage that time has flown, it doesn't feel like it has, rather we have been blessed with some slow and some very fast moving days. May I take some time to list a number of facets I enjoy about living in Overton or our little cottage? I'm going to anyway since I'm the one writing this entry, so here goes...
Blackberries - I know I've been on about them before but how amazing is the fact I can stroll through the garden arrive at a patch, pick till my hearts content and it costs me nothing except the random scratch or sting from a nettle
Duck Races - I saw one once in Watkins Glen, the little rubber duckies were pummeled by rushing water, some actually made it across the finish line. The Overton duck race was not as quickly paced. A meandering, gorgeous plot of the Test River (how it's a river I'm not sure, there is more water in ditch behind Burt Hall's house) is used as the "race" course. Hundreds of little duckies each numbered are placed and then coaxed through human wave making to make it about 400 yards down stream. All the while the wooded/muddy path that goes along the river teams with people, stalls selling jewelry and cakes, with a man on a portable pa system shouting play-by-play of each race. I wish that words could explain the afternoon spent at Flashetts watching the ducks, rooting for numbers 45, 73 and 145 but in the end we didn't win any race, maybe next time we'll mentally prepare our duck better for the race
Doorknocker - These don't exist in America except maybe in New England or somewhere older, but remember I'm in England not new England and our door is 250 years young at this point. It has an impressive handle which is a huge and I mean huge knob, one can't wrap their hand around it if attempting to hold on to a grocery bag or anything else for that matter. What I really enjoy is the doorknocker, it is sort of like our 18th century version of a door bell. It doesn't work well, it's meant to forcefully strike against a metal ball that emits a loud "knock", ours doesn't forcefully move hence it doesn't emit a loud knock more of a sound when you slap a feather (as you do), needless we don't realize people at our house until they peer into the windows
mourning doves - their voice is often heard, they are ever present, much like God in a way, much like God to deposit us into this village to experience such life altering facets such as blackberries, duck races and a poorly working doorknocker.
edr of overton

more pics from our new pad

some pics as requested

There have been a number of requests on our blog, but none more loudly and widely heard than "what does your house look like" Anyway we are ready to share some pics with you all since we are somewhat finished with accessorizing the place, it has been an effort and worth the effort. So here goes, do enjoy:)

ibuyeco

I know I promised a blog about blackberries and a various sundry of other topics but presently I can't get to that. Instead I'm going to briefly put down my thoughts about "settling into" another country. There is not only obvious tasks such as, purchasing kitchen goods, furniture, storage containers etc... there is also "difficult" buys like curtains (are they the right size, color etc...) lightbulbs which come in 328 varieties, scotch tape - can't find it, Crisco or something like it, knowing the right freezer to buy when your's dies (you guessed it, we didn't lose our food, Rebecca and Anne were able to wheel it to safety) and car insurance.
The last one really is interesting, there is none of this going to an agent and discussing what is best, instead you simply scour the internet at such sites as moneysupermarket, confused and elephant .coms. I found this a tad unnerving, I had to drop a pretty penny on insurance that I basically made up, not understanding all of the questions, and then hundreds (literally) of companies from financial to department stores to gas stations all send their quotes. We found one (ibuyeco) that seemed to be a good price, and after a bit of box ticking we were off in our 45 Rover fully insured, I assume. How much can you trust the screen to back you in an accident, I hope to don't have to find out! This was just a small taste of setting up home, really I wanted a break from cleaning, but now I must get back to it. till another time
er

Now I feel I can blog

Why is that you ask? On Tuesday a number of large packages from Argos arrived at our doorstep, this was great except for some of what we purchased (dresser and desk) had the label "some assembly required." I knew I was in trouble when the dresser had a picture of two stick people, so being the diy wimp I am, I decided to deal with the desk first. This actually went quite well, my confidence soared as it all came together and even as I write the desk is placed in the corner of the office/2nd bedroom. Alas the bigger rectangular box stared me in the face, almost daring me to conquer it. for someone who is skilled at assembly this dresser would be a piece of cake, for someone who shy's away from that type of activity this dresser wouldn't be a piece of cake, more like a truckload of it. Anywhoo (spelling of a made up word, doesn't really matter does it?) I boldly took the pieces out of the large box on Friday with aspirations to tackle the project, unfortunately or fortunately I didn't get to it:), maybe this was my uninterest or simply the way the week worked out. Friday night we had Richard and Heather over, and when we toured them around the place the numerous panels, drawers, screws, bolts, etc... were all laid out neatly, just waiting to be manipulated. The angel known as Richard asked if I would like some help. This wasn't a rhetorical question he was offering his expertise to combine with my unexpertise (word?) and that seemed like a fabulous formula for success. Fast forward to this afternoon when Richard turned up at 4:00 and we went upstairs straightaway to dig into putting together the dresser.
As I am writing now you are probably assuming that we are finished, and we are. Part way through the arduous assembly he looked at the instructions which stated this was a 1 hour deal, ya right, if you designed it and put them together for a living I can see that, but we were still proud after the almost 3 hours of toil, mind you we chatted and listened to some great tunes. We are now the proud owners of a beautiful, new, white 5 drawer dressing table, that fits nicely into our smallish bedroom, and he even hung a mirror above it so that's tko. So to explain the title, now that it's sorted I kinda feel like I can let my proverbial hair down and blog again, so be on the lookout for such interesting topics as... blackberries, horticulture, duck races, and maybe something on the color brown, later yall
earl "not the tool man" robinson

Team Robinson

This is the Mrs. part of the team writing this time. I do like to write, I am just not the literary expert like my other half! :) Anyway, one thing has become very apparent since we have moved to England, the village of Overton to be exact. Earl and I are definitely in this together. I figured it out that last week we spent a whopping 4 hours not in each other's presence. Now some may see this as a good thing and others not but I must say we are simply loving every minute of it. We were always teased back in Indiana because we carpooled, one of the few couples to only have one car for awhile and because we made our haircuts together. Have we squabbled in this intense time, well of course, we are human! I must say though the great discussions and learning to work together on just about everything has been wonderful. We feel so embraced as a team in this church, most just know us as Earl and Rebecca, didn't even know our surname for awhile. We do have more room in our new cottage, one of us can be upstairs while the other down which is a huge change from our small apartment in Indiana so that gives us space when we need it. I guess I just want to say I am so very thankful for this time because I do consider it a privilege!

a past reflection

While in Indiana at some point I lost my Morocco/Ending KBC Well Journal. This was horrifying as it had the Morocco trip chronicled day by day and my numerous thoughts from the last month of our time in Oxford. I was highly frustrated, then when we prepared to move I found it!!! Anyway today i pulled the little plain brown notebook and read through it, my were there many stories and interesting thoughts, beginnings to songs, one-liners etc... One of the consistent questions I've heard people ask lately is how big is God, or how can I see him bigger. That is probably the question that I grappled with the most whilst in KBC, and I wrote down my thoughts soon before we left Oxford. HUGE apologies to earlinoxford.blogspot.com readers as you will have already read this before, but maybe something new will strike you this time. Do enjoy and reflect, put in your own descriptors or adjectives, read on...
What is God Like
A mystery that can partially be solved, a father who generously pours out his love and wrath on his children, a king who chooses us peasants as heirs in his kingdom, a being who is somehow everywhere all at the same time, a judge who does not show partiality who exhibits righteous justice, a potter who models us his clay into his image, an artist who paints the horizon daily and has since the foundation of the world.
The word indescribable comes to mind, adjectives don't do the trick, neither do adverbs. To attempt to explain eternity, omniscience, love, justice, omnipresence, in words is a tas too difficult for mere humans. This can only be expressed in awe and wonder. The kind you sense when standing next to Niagara Falls, watching a fire burn, listening to waves crash over the rocks, counting seconds between the claps of thunder and crashes of lightning, gazing into the deep night sky, the aroma of freshly baked bread, attempting to imagine what forever really is... indescribable, full of mystery, robes of glory and bringing me to my knees.
e.d.r.

Moving Day Pictures!