Since the 16^th of October I have been thinking about evolution a la Philip Johnson. We were priveledged to go up to Westminster Chapel and hear Johnson and Dr Snelling on a Saturday at the end of October.

The strength of Johnson’s position is that he equips the Christian to ask pertinent questions and rather than being on the ‘back foot’ feeling it necessary to defend ‘religion’ we are enabled to point out how ludicrous it is that all the stuff around us ‘appeared by chance’ with all its evidences of design.

We know, of course that science is a religion (we believe in IT and therefore interpret everything in the light of it – we interpret the facts to suit the model we have assumed to be true) and Johnson shows how intolerant this religion is. Just ask yourself how likely it is that a Christian teacher would gain the commendation of his peers and head if he were to teach that God is the origin of language, that Evolution is still an unproved theory which doesn’t stand up to logical, reasoned criticism. Then consider the power of ‘political correctness’ at University level – all questions can be asked – except for those which assume the reality of God and seek to understand life on the basis of that.

Interesting that all universities originally taught Scriptures and sought to teach young men to understand the world on the basis of the absolute trustworthiness of the Word of God. What do we have now? A foundation of ‘science’ (nothing ‘supernatural’ can be considered seriously) and ‘political correctness’ – we ought to be very worried about the future of our nation.

Johnson, in spite of being an old man, is as enthusiastic and full of ‘fight’ as any 20-year-old about the future if minds can be opened to the truth of what is going on and diligently question all the reigning high-priests. What encourages me is that I see many people within the home-school fraternity who have not yet been programmed out of asking questions – they still have a twinkle in their eye by the time they get to 18 – unlike most of their peers.

Last week I wrote a contribution to my blog which was much more extensive and well thought out but (is there a conspiracy?) it all disappeared into cyberspace between writing and posting so this time I have written in ‘Word’ first…..

So what have I been doing since the 16th of October? Apart from the annual tests for the children (in which they did exceeding well - esp. on the map-reading section...!) and seeing my eldest boy go off to the world of paid employment for the 'first time' I have been undergoing a paradigm shift (I think!) in regard to evolution.
First of all I listened (to everything I could possibly download actually.. but especially) an audio magazine from www.stannespub.com on the subject of intelligent design. Philip Johnson's book 'Darwin on Trial' has been gathering dust on my bookshelves for some time but since he was one of the speakers at St Annes pub I became more aware of his name. Hearing, then, that he was to be speaking at Westminster Chapel on the 30th of October I was very excited that I was able to go. I took 3 of the children (must get out of the habit of reporting on my children's actions as though they have no right to privacy....). The route was tortuous but the subject matter was VERY thought provoking. It was not only Philip Johnson speaking - Dr Andrew Snelling spoke (very fast I think...) on many aspects of geology - but the things which Johnson said worked themselves in in a special way. What mortal could resist buying a book (well, not me)? The book I bought has been useful (no dust for this one, before it is read) in reminding me of the key purpose of the 'intelligent design theory' and its special usefulness in exposing Darwinism for the load of humbug and outworking of preconcieved ideas (not to say just plain illogicality) that it is.
Mention of Evolution automatically has us on the back foot doesn't it. I mean, THAT is science and what WE believe is RELIGION.
Now, I know, of course, that what I believe is not just "religion" - it is the truth of God - but how to root this at the centre of my mind when confronted with 'science' was the difficulty. I think I am beginning to get it though and it might be that my friends and reletives will be asked some questions exposing either a) their totally false dependence on evolution to protect them from the necessity of taking God seriously or b) their inconsistency in living as though events which happen to us are random and can be responded to without reference to an Almighty God who requires us to refer back to him on EVERYTHING and give Him the Praise.
I guess this book follows on nicely from the Cosmic War (my Father has a way of tying things in for me like this..) in that science as 'objective reality' is shown (by means of exposure to the questioning of the 'intelligent design' theorists) to be, in fact, a belief system - a RELIGION no less. Now the question is, who needs more faith - the scientist - who believes in impersonal particles developing into conscious matter able to invent God - or Christians who read 'in the beginning was the Word' and believe it to be a statement of TRUTH?

I have not been so annoyed since, about 18 months ago, I wanted to track down some Epsom Salts. I tried local chemists and even found myself in Epsom on one occasion and the answer was the same everywhere 'we can't get that any more'. In the even Ron looked up in the horticultural supply catalogue and bought a bag with his next order for the nursery - it was only £8 and weighs about 20kgs.
This week it came to my attention that Gentian Violet was a safe and effective method (if somewhat messy) of treating thrush during breastfeeding. It seems that 2-3 days of treatment sorts out the problem. I called in at Boots in Weybridge yesterday. I asked at the pharmacy counter for gentian violet. The girl behind the c0unter treated me like I was not speaking the same language - I had to repeat myself 4 times (interspersed with definitions...) and the girl next to her asked did I mean 'ginseng' (funny, my mother never told me about that.....). I wonder whether either of these poor girls even knew what a violet WAS! Enquiry was made of the pharmacist who was too distant for me to hear word-for-word but the gist was 'cancer risk.... can't get it anymore'. Does anyone KNOW who controls the supplies for pharmacies? Do you think there might be MONEY influencing the decision not to stock such tried and tested (and without long-term side-effects) remedies as were used in the pre-NHS days by ordinary folk?
My children just see it as another opportunity for me to mount my soapbox - I feel I am expressing concerns which, sooner or later, they will come to appreciate. We are being treated like children and while on the one hand we can not exercise the right to buy gentian violet we could go next door into the newsagent and purchase cigarettes (with a warning, yes, but STILL we can purchase them...) from which we see people dying all around us. Of course we are 'allowed' to buy cigarettes because someone makes (a lot of) money from their sale. Gentian violet and epsom salts on the other hand are very cheap and there is no money to be made on them.
CS Lewis pointed out that during the Middle Ages people were at liberty to do anything which was not forbidden. Now we are in a situation where most people will think ' are we allowed to do that' or 'is it safe to use that' (which is another way of asking 'is it approved by the gods of science').
If my pharmacist has been told that there is research regarding cancer did a lab buy a load of G.V. and then feed it to rats in whom, subsequently, cancerous cells were detected? What about all those drugs tested on a wide range of animals before being launched on humanity which are pronounced 'safe' in the lab (I don't know about you but I don't have the same constition as a bunny rabbit, or a rat....) and which are silently withdrawn once the side-effects are discovered in use on the living guinea pigs....
Do you know that Thalidamide was tested on lab animals and out of hundreds of tests the only case of birth-defect was in one rabbit - that was not 'statistically significant' of course - so the product went on the market - the result? Well, I was in school with some of the luckier victims - one was an excellent trumpet player, I remember....
If we don't wake up to what is going on before it is too late, we will all be victims of science, as will our children.

So, Ken Bigley has been despatched into eternity. I didn't hear mention that it was a moslem (who thought he was doing the will of Allah) who did the deed. Aparantly we will read on the newstands that Tony Blair has blood on his hands. It is appalling to 21st century westerners that an innocent man should have his life taken in this way.
I wonder how the headlines would read if what took place in Bethlehem shortly after Jesus was born had occurred in the days of newspapers - quite likely God would have been to blame for that - it had been prophecied after all....
At such times it is a tremendous comfort to remember what happened to Herod as a consequence - I have no doubt at all that Jesus IS King and is working all things everywhere to bring praise to God. I don't pretend to begin to understand it, after all, who am I? A mere speck of dust... But a speck of dust who is eternally thankful for the kindness of a God whom I have offended (and do offend) in offering His own lovely Son to bear the punishment due to my sins and by whose stripes I am healed.

sitting outside the tent with Iona in the background, May 2004 

After 5 weeks away in the south-west of England and very many conversations some of the current topics for thoughts are 1) liturgy and 2)Genesis
1) Are there are any people who have been actively engaged in liturgy who (other than by means of short-term rebellion) reject it? The free-church argument against liturgy (which I fell into by default when I was converted at - or into - an Evangelical church) assumes that if you are repeating something regularly it must necessary be, to some extent, mindless. However, rejecting the chaos in many services which believe children should be present in the public worship and the opposite extreme where children are sent away, set me to thinking more seriously about the value of liturgy especially for families. Of course I don't think that we should do things in church merely with a view to 'people' - our worship service is not truly God-centred if we are giving primary consideration to the people and not to HIM. That being said, my children know the liturgy of the book of Common Prayer morning worship and wherever we are in a service where any of the scriptures we are familiar with repeating, even the smallest children can feel they are included and lift their voices to the Praise of their creator and Saviour.

2) On the subject of Genesis - I am reading Roy Mohon's book 'Cosmic War Survival'. I started it while on the beach at Lyme Regis but 10 pages in I realised I could not do this book justice with all the distractions of the beach. Mohon expands on the story of the creation and fall. He takes the Bible at face value and doesn't try to make allowances for 'science'. In fact he shows, very lucidly, that much which calls itself science in the 21st is more like a religion. We certainly have seen in the area of Evolution that the scientist begins with that presupposition and interprets the 'facts' to fit - however illogical or contorted it might appear. I begin to suspect that we need to know who is paying for any particular bit of research before we listen to the conclusions arrived at... How much easier it would be to NOT challenge everything (or am I just plain 'contrary'?) but how can I change the habit of a lifetime- even before I knew I had entered the Kingdom, I was always an individual to ask 'why' - and have always been amazed that there are so many who don't. Any way, when I get to the end of the Cosmic War Survival I will be writing a book review although it is going to be a challenge to summarise, in a few words, a book which is so jam-packed with information and food for thought. Is there a millionaire out there who will invest in publication of Mohon's book and bind it along with Steve Chalke's (boy, he's lost it alright...) or must we sit on our hands and see the gullible 21st Century church - most of whom think and live like the secular humanists they have been trained as - slide ever further down....

Something seems to have gone amiss with the wonderful plans for updating a travel log for this trip. I am now sitting in a 'learning centre' in Lerwick library (thanks tax-payers...) and able to give some information. I have dictated, on the phone, some details of the trip so far as well as having had some emails sent to Roly (are you reading this!!!!) which seem not to have appeared. Philip has taken loads of pictures on his digital camera and we hoped to have some uploaded to the website but in tranmission from Wick something went wrong so Lucy deleted the message to remove the bottle-neck.
Philosophical thoughts - well there have been no end of them.....
Mostly I would like to say that the Lord has been unspeakably kind to us - especially in 'sea' crossings of various sorts. The one most to be dreaded turned out to be very calm - I am aware that it is far from usual. We have one remaining sea crossing to make which will be a 14-hour stint starting on Thursday evening - thanks for your continued prayers!!!
This morning the boys at long last had a chance to go swimming - they have been asking for an opportunity to swim since we left home... It wasn't in the sea though - that is FAR too cold.
Yesterday I left the boys down at the beach at Sandness and I drove to the end of the point of land so that I could look out at Papa Stour (an island) at the end of which there are quite a few rocks on small-ish islands (little more than small fields on top of 100ft cliffs really) and indulged my passion for gazing at waves breaking spectacularly. I am beginning to get my bearings - which way is 'North' and would very much like to visit other parts of Shetland but am deterred by the distances involved. The church we went to on Sunday was about 10 miles away - may try the Church of Scotland tommorow. There are spectacular cliff on the North side a bit further round the island but it seems like it might be a 1 hour trip to get there. If the weather is good I might try to do that on Tuesday. Ron has been in his element fixing up various bits of machinery - quad-bikes (four of them) took priority. Next the van breaks needed doing before the MOT which is booked for Wednesday. Philip got a Massey Fergusson tractor started up this morning for the first time in 15 years and got the breaks un-ceased. he hopes that by the end of the day that will be running.
This morning, directly breakfast was over Richard and Simon went out with Robert to check on his crab/lobster creols (sp?) and retrieved a selection of crabs and other crustacea. The most un-appetising (to me) item is a kind of snail - so glad there are not enough to go around!!! They were all boiled before we came out.
The fish which have been caught while we have been here have been amazing. They don't have the 'nasty, fishy' element to them - they are brought back in salt water and killed as soon as they enter the kitchen - shortly to be eaten. Anyone thinking of coming this way should be encouraged to call in at Sandness for top-quality fish and chips (and fellowship of course!).
Ron was not feeling too well yesterday and has stayed back at the house today in an effort to recover - he had a temperature and felt a bit flu-ey. Your prayers for a speedy return to strength would be appreciated (especially because there are three vehicles which are in parts awaiting his attention....).
The boys have been fairly faithfully keeping up with their diaries so on our return we will type in more details and next time (!!!) I think I should bring along a lap-top!
Sorry about the lack of pictures - any descriptions of Scotland I have read just plain don't do it justice.
Shetland is like another place altogether. The climate is much colder that we have been accustomed to (though the rain wouldn't bother me so much - coming from Manchester - if it were not for the wind which drives it right into one's ears!!!) and I find myself, on the 5th of June, wearing two jumpers.....
I shall now go and retrieve the rest of my family from the museum and head back over the 40 mile treck to Sandness to put the little ones to bed.
Trust all those who read this are encouraged and blessed in their walk, as I am.

Tracy

Written by Lucy on 030604
From Scrabster (Wick) to Stromness (Orkney); they had a calm crossing. They went to Skrabrae, where they visited a pre-historic housing estate; by pre-historic, my mum meant that it is older than the Egyptian pyramids. After that they went to Kirkwall, and had a nice time at St Magnus Cathedral. They wanted some Orkney ice cream, but it was available in the morning when there were better things to be done, and then there was none to be found in the afternoon. At some point they drove across the Churchill barriers; Churchill had them built as roads between about 6 islands, and the Italians were involved somewhere along the line (you'll have to ask my mum about it for the exact details). Thursday night they got the ferry at 23:45, from Kirkwall to Lewick. The ferry crossing was 8 hours, so they arrived at 07:45. They had a calm crossing, and my mum says, ''The Lord is very good to me; he knows that I am a scaredy cat'' and therefore made it a calm crossing. Mr Simmons met them at the ferry port.
They visited Clickimin Broch which is a kind of fortified house. Then they took their cornflakes and their orange juice to the beach (I think). They forgot the milk, so they tried orange juice on cornflakes or wheatabix - they weren't impressed. Then they went to Lewick museum. Then 30 miles to the Simmons house. Shetland isn't very small - apparently they manage to fit 20 000 people on that minute piece of land.
Since they have been at the Simmons, they have been feasting like kings, because Helen Simmons is an excellent cook. Apparently she makes very nice oatcakes! On Saturday evening a lamb was killed, and they had that for lunch on Saturday and Tuesday. They have been eating freshly caught fish, too, caught by Philip and Thomas. Yesterday they went out in a boat with Mr. Simmons, and they drove through some caves - sounds fun. They saw puffins, seals, and saw gannets nesting on the cliffs.They collected a sea urchin, and were amazed at the forests of seaweed. The sea is incredibly clear; you can see how far you'd fall out of the boat if you did so! A tour around a woollen mill was had at some point. A Roman Catholic homeschooler came around to visit; she was a philosophy student, and intimated that the experience scrambled her brains. She started reading her Bible again, and no longer has scrambled brains. Her advice is not to do a philosophy course because it undermines your faith. Fish and chips again tonight; the fish is cod and whiting caught the day before. My dad has been fixing vehicles up there. Philip has taken a Landover apart, and is filling the van up with the bits; the latest arrival in the van was a gear box, which my mum says 'smelt horrible'. She told him that he had to put it on the roof rack, and his eyes nearly came out on stalks - a gear box, we must understand, weighs quite a bit.
So that is their news up to date. There is a whole block which has gone missing, and I hope that I will be able to retrieve it and get it posted at some point in time. (Written by Lucy H. van den Broek)

We had a wonderful 4 days near Iona and joined the Iona community for worship on Sunday and then again for a walk on the Tuesday when they take people over the island and show them the historical places. Towards the end of that the weather deteriorated and we cut the walk short. It was interesting to meet ladies from Shepperton and Ripley and we collected some telephone numbers and addressess to make contact when we get home. The early start from Mull was the beginning of the most gruelling day of driving so far. WE took a single-track road for around 4 miles - it was very windy and crossed over wild moors and beside sea-lochs. We eventually arrived at Tobermory where we did battle with the extra traffic caused by the BBC film team. By the time we had finished our shopping we found we had missed the ferry by 9 minutes. My timetable (the winter version) led me to believe we had a tedious 4 hour wait before us but thankfully Philip had a more up-to-date copy which told us the next one was in two hours. So we enjoyed the sunshine and the sailing boats and ate bread and cheese. ONce over to Ardamurchan we headed West to go to the most westerly point of the British mainland. We followed the single track road (even narrower than the morning one and much more windy and up and down) for about 7 miles to arrive at the visitor centre where we had a look round the lighthouse. It was thrilling to discover that this was an Alan Stevenson lighthouse (we are reading the 'Lighthouse Stevensons') and the last major one to be built in Britain. Next we had the grim prospect of not only the 7 miles of single track but a further 20 of just the same and then it improved a bit (not so narrow but still single track) until we were almost at Fort William. We decided to stop there for the night and within 1 hour of arriving at reception we had the 8-man tent up, dinner cooked and eaten and 2 of the children already in bed! The midges were a trial at that site and we were glad enough to get out at 7am in the morning. The man who was camped nearest to us commended me on how quite the children were whilst a miserable (Scotsman as it happened) character who had the misfortune of having his caravan pitch opposite the toilet block breathed fire in the passenger window and told me he hadn't come across such a noisy lot - I could have suggested a few families he might like to meet to offer him a bit of perspective but instead told him that if he would let go of the van we would be gone and it would be quiet - he insisted on telling me a few more things (as well as insisting on seeing my reciept!!!!) before eventually letting go and I wished him, in parting, a 'nice day'. I guess he must enjoy keeping company with midges - I don't and was never more glad to leave a site.

Now it was Thursday - the day we were to meet up with other home-schooling families from the Highlands. We visited, first, 'Neptune's Staircase' - an impressive collection of over-sized lochs - part of the Caledonian Canal which Telford had a hand in. When it was first built it saved the hazards involved in shipping travelling via the west-coast of Scotland but now it is used by pleasure craft. We next stopped off at a cantilever bridge which was over 100 years old and the Lord so arranged things that the swing-bridge at that point opened to let through a couple of 'floating caravans' - it was fun watching how it worked. Our next stop was Fort Augustus but we didn't get out there - we were heading for Urquhart Castle. Arriving just before Lunch we especially enjoyed the film presentation which gives a dramatised history of the castle and ends with the screen rolling up and the curtains drawing back to reveal the remains of this once grand and mighty stronghold of Highland cheiftans. Our next port of call was the tourist information in Drumnadrochit where we found a picnic bench to enjoy our cold sausages and bread (and make a cup of Rooibosch!). Still having time before the appointed hour for meeting the home-schoolers we 'did' the Loch Ness museum. I consider it was a waste of £14.95 - one was really having information forced into ones face as one flocked, on cue, with the other tourists, through a labyrinth of rooms. Some of the information was useful but much of it was mere speculation and the whole idea of the 'loch ness monster' and its real appearance is left up to each of us to judge . It seemed like if we wanted to beleive it was real that was fine and if we didn't that was also fine. Those who know me will understand how intensely aggravating this was.
We arrived at Rebecca's at about 10 to 2 and put some washing on before heading of to the hall where we met with Liz and Tim Nixon and a dear lady by the name of Myra who had brought along her 87-year-old mother (as well as the daughter she means to home-school). Meeting Mrs McQueen will go down as one of the highlights of my visit to Scotland. She expressed heartfelt gratitude for her Godly parents and for her wonderful husband, now gone before her into Glory and was a wonderful role-model for contentedness and joy.
Scotland is, as everyone knows, a tremendously beautiful place - it defies description. WE have loads of pictures and hope to be able to send a few with this message.
We have just enjoyed a (welcome) taste of Christian hospitality at the home of the De-la-Hayes' in Wick. Also we luxuriated in the first WARM night for 3 weeks. Since we arrived here we have had the washing machine running almost constantly (and the dryer) and we hope to leave in about an hour to visit John O'groats and other northerly points 'on the way' to the ferry at Scrabster.

Everything going very well so far. We had glorious weather as we drove through the Kirkstone pass (how thankful I was that I didn't have the caravan on the back!). With the sun shining on all the blossom and gorse it really was quite heavenly. In Carlisle we pitched camp on a nice level site which had very few visitors. My Dad and Olive pitched the other side of the hedge from us. 6 of us managed to sleep in the four-man tent and it rained overnight but we stayed mostly dry. On Wednesday we visited Carlisle Castle and then the Cathedral. We ate army rations for dinner - out in the field. Overnight we got more rain. Next day we went into Carlisle again to the museum which was very interesting - especially the Roman parts. One bizarre feature of this museum was the opportunity visitors had to list things they would 'take with them' when they died - on just about everyone's list was written 'mobile phone'.
We arrived at Ardrossan in plenty of time to catch the ferry and the prayers offered in the morning for a calm crossing were heeded and we found the camp-site and pitched camp faced by a wonderful view. We could see seals from our tent as well as a lot of lighthouses after dark.
Next morning Neil May came down to the campsite and arranged to meet us in Whiting Bay in the afternoon from where we had a lovely walk up to Glenashdale falls. Neil May is a frequent contributor to the Deuteronomy list and is the first person I ever met whose company car is large enough to comfortably accommodate ALL of the van den Broeks - and it is a MERCEDES!!! I must add that Neil drives the local school bus!!!
Arran is certainly a very beautiful island - at least at this time of the year. While returning from the walk we noticed a poster informing passers-by of a concert to be given in the Village Hall on Saturday evening so I decided to take 5 of the boys along. I left Philip to babysit the younger two and we all very much enjoyed the live music and friendly atmosphere of the Arran Brass concert. We also enjoyed the 'supper' afterwards!
Sunday found us in the Church of Scotland where the service was led by a lady : - ( . When we were on our way to Ardrossan there was a discussion in the van about where we should go to church - the boys were adamant that the Free Church was out of the question because of the 'lack of music' - on the way back to the camp from church today it was decided that on Mull we will be looking for a Free Church however!
After dinner we packed up the big tent and are all loaded up again ready for the off straight after our banana pancakes. The bananas we brought along with us are not bearing the travelling well and when we have mashed the remains and mixed them in with the pancake mix we will avoid bananas for the rest of the trip!
While writing this message my ears are assailed by the sound of Neil May playing the bagpipes - we insisted that he must get them out so that we could learn more about them - my conclusion is that they are better enjoyed out in the glens than in the living room.

We had hoped to bring you some pictures along with this update but the technology has let us down - the pictures are there in the camera but the computer isn't able to find them. We hope to try again at the next civilised stop (that will be Wick).

The sun continues to shine - Praise the Lord.

This week we managed to get the tents up to check out that everything is there - and the sun was shining! I have also been seeing how many boxes I could fit on the newly-painted roof-rack, which was a little disappointing. It is hard to imagine how we will be able to take along a 'library' box and a 'schoolwork' box as well as all that other necessary stuff.... Still, today I have a nice quiet day with Ron and three of the children out at a sale and the rest busy out on the nursery so I shall sew the water-proof cover for the roof-rack next.
The meeting of highlands home-schoolers on the 20th is sorted out and it is possible that there will be an evening meeting in Dundee. apart from that I will hope to be able to arrange to visit Scone Palace with a home-schooling lady who has met one of my sons (possibly Philip).
The prospect of the trip is scary but an opportunity to trust my Heavenly Father and for that reason I am very much looking forward to it.
Ron fixed the van this week (new bearings somewhere) so that it has stopped making horrid growling noises while running, which I am truly thankful for!

Royal Mail
5 weeks ago I posted a curriculum package to a lady not 30 miles away, in London. Two weeks later she phoned me to enquire as to whether I had posted it - I assured I had. Again a week or so later she phoned again and I gave her the 'parcel number' and exact posting information urging her to enquire at her local p.o. with this information. A week or two later she phoned again and I photocopied all the relevant information (order form, certificate of posting etc etc) and sent it first class to her. Two days ago a Royal Mail van pulled up outside my house and the driver handed to me this very package..... I phoned my customer telling her that at least we knew now where it WAS but having spent £7.54 to have it do a round trip was unsatisfactory and a more secure method of posting would have to be investigated. The small local p.o. I normally use were unable to help me so I went to the large p.o. in Addlestone. The account I offered included the amusing thought that my customer enquired at her local post office on two occasions while they had the parcel in their very office, telling her that it wasn't to be considered 'lost' until after a certain amount of time, which had not yet elapsed, and therefore investigations could not be entered into.... To say that the Addlestone staff 'split their sides' at the story might be a little bit of an overstatement - and they DID apologised for laughing..... The staff there were more than helpful and recommended that I send it parcelforce 48 (which, having posted it on Thurs afternoon will likely mean it won't arrive until MONDAY morning, but, however......) at a cost of £13. On studying the booklet the post-office lady gave me yesterday I see that this would be a good option for posting any of my curriculum packages in future - one lives and learns! I am claiming against the post office for the cost of re-sending the parcel and only hope that, 6 weeks after originally posting it, the child for whom the books were destined will begin to enjoy them.

Sanctification
I have just finished reading 'the heavenly man' - it was a sharp jab in the ribs regarding my feebleness of faith and prayer and my constant and ready resentfulness. These people in China who were imprisoned and sent to labour camps on trumped-up charges actually lived out what Jesus tells us. They loved their enemies and rejoiced in the spoiling of their goods. They put their lives and service at the disposal of others (who I would not consider worthy!!!) and by that powerful and irresistable means they not only testified to the power of the blood of Jesus but also won people to Christ.
This last week, while going to swimming lessons in Reading, for the children, I was reading most of the time (The Heavenly Man and then 'Gold Fears No fire' - just finished that one last night). I was very put out at the unpleasantness of the man in charge of the pool. He has been trouble before - he seems to dislike the fact that there are 'so many' children from one family and sees it as, in some way, 'unfair'! (I felt like asking him which of my children ought to be left ignorant of swimming skills so that they would have an opportunity to drown.....). Because of his deliberate filibustering we were not able to book swimming lessons the last time they ran. It is not as though my children misbehave when they are there.... Anyway, he needled me by stopping me and asking 'do you have a little girl in the first group (and described her swimsuit)' to which I said yes. Then he asked 'how old is she' - there would be no reason to ask this if it were not for the fact that she is small for her age and lessons are for 5 to 15-y-olds (not to mention that there are other children who are under 5 there anyway....). I assumed he was asking me so that he could rebuke me for booking her in under five (she was 5 in December) but he was not able to do that and he said no more but went back to straightening out his floats. The point is, my reaction to his impertinent question was not good. I don't know whether this counted as 'suffering for the Name' - I doubt it, but the point is that it really brought out the worst in me. I have RIGHTS - this is ENGLAND - people should not behave like that towards 'perfectly innocent and responsible' parents - there are plenty of irresponsible and unpleasant parents far more worthy of his disapprobation.... (thus reasons the one who has walked with Christ for so many years and yet seems to have gone such a very short distance.......). I shall try to do better but by now I know that 'trying' just isn't good enough!!!!! There is a great deal more about this 'dying to self' business than I have yet apprehended (although I thoguht I was doing so well in serving my children and the home-school community over many years!!!) but will pray for the needful!

New Zealand Lamb
Just this morning I heard a further twist in the tale of religious freedom in the UK. A debate has been running as to whether England should follow the EU in banning Halal and Kosher slaughter without prior stunning (rendering unconscious by electrical means) the animal first.
Now, as a Christian this has to set alarm bells ringing. A number of listeners to this early-morning BBC radio 4 program have written in along the lines of 'who cares about your religious rights, I want the right to know where the meat that I eat has been produced and how it has been slaughtered'. I thought that was a bit extremist and then the coup-de-grace came... A man from the New Zealand meat company informed us that most of the lamb produced there is for the Halal market - fair enough - then he went on to say that most of the slaughter-men are Moslems - right..... - WHO FACE EAST WHEN THEY ARE CUTTING THE THROATS OF THE ANIMALS. Now, I can't eat New Zealand lamb ever again, it appears to fall into the category of 'meat sacrificed to idols'. Of course the representative of the meat company dismisses this as merely 'spiritual' - what matters it to him if a long line of Moslems in his factories are making sacrifices as they are 'working'!!!! This is unbelievable. Just when spring has sprung and it seems to be a 'beautiful world' I am reminded to look upwards and forwards......

Now the weather has improved the trip to Scotland seems even more imminent. The idea of living out of plastic boxes stored on the roof of the van for 8 weeks is a little scary but I look to the Lord to care for us.
I have started reading 'The Heavenly Man' which was given to me about a year ago. It really puts all my 'worries' into perspective. One of the good things about going away on the field trip will be to realise how little 'stuff' we really need to survive. Even then we will be far better provided for than very many believers around the world. I have, half jokingly, told the children that (following the maxim 'when in Rome do as the Romans') while in Scotland we must eat porridge (made with water) for breakfast. Personally I can't stand the stuff but if I were HUNGRY I daresay I would learn to appreciate it. Isn't that the problem? We have so much luxury to choose from that good, nutritious food, can be unattractive to us. It is humbling to read of the way in which 'The Heavenly Man' was treated and the sort of food he got - even when things were going well for him. How come we think WE deserve better than SUCH a man of God? Pastor Yun was called at the age of 16 to follow the Lord. He fasted for 100 days (eating only in the evening) and prayed that the Lord would provide for him a Bible. He dreamt one night of a couple of men coming to visit him and giving him a loaf of bread which turned out to be a Bible. Early on the morning after his dream there was a knock at the door and there were the two men - with the Bible. There was an old man who lived nearby and the Lord had told him that there was a young man praying for a Bible. The old man dug up from its hiding place his old Bible and found a couple of men to go and find Yun.
There are very many other remarkable incidences in the life of this man who desired, above all else, to be faithful to the Lord. It is unimaginable to me that just for owning a Bible you could be beaten up and imprisoned - but that is how things were in China not many years ago. I have read about situations in other asian countries where families are taken away and beaten because they were reading the Bible and praying in their own homes. Will we wake up before it is too late? Do we value the Bible as we ought to? It is worse to suffer hardship for Christ or to be comfortable? And, most scary of all, what would I do if I were in danger of being imprisoned for seeking to serve God......?

Fatherly words
I was part of a Bible Study Fellowship group - doing Phillipians - (did the last one this week) which in some ways was irritating (lots of rules and more concern about teaching you WHAT to think and not HOW!) but which has helped me to meditate in area of trusting God in the face of the messy reality.

We were asked to consider what we would choose: to be in Heaven with the Lord or to remain. The only good reason I could come up for remaining on earth was this: when we are in Heaven we will have no choices between good and evil and therefore we wont' be able to bring honour to Him by triumphing in adversity (or, since that sounds so very grand!, rather to stick at doing what is right and Trusting when it all seems so messy....).

I was finding it a bit difficult to listen to the lecture (it was late!!) and it struck me that there are several things the Lord says to me (now you know I am not a Charismatic, and don't go in for 'words from the Lord', but I am confident that I am chosen by Him and he loves me..) I imagine these coming from that 'pleasant countenance' with which my Father beholds the upright (Psalm 11) - amazing that that includes ME !!!!!

viz. "I love you."
"I understand."
"You're so funny, won't you ever 'get it'!" "Hell-o-o-o-o-o-!!"
"Delight yourself in ME"
"I'm listening."
"I'm unbelievably rich, believe me."
"Weren't you listening?"
"Trust me"
"I still love you!"
"Follow me."
"Yes."
"No."
"Listen!"
"Look!"
"Here, let me help."
"Be strong and very courageous" (he only says that to the scardey-cats!!!)
"Hey, did you SEE that?"
(one of my very favourites!!!....) "Meet my good friend so and so you'll LOVE her/him."
"I'm waiting....."
"Seriously!!"
"I still love you..."
"I CAN do it."

(and, in the end, the one which has to be the supreme blessing to anyone's ears) "WELCOME HOME!!!!"
Now of course I know that we have the WHOLE Bible to find out what God says but I struggle to maintain a confidence in the good-fatherly kindness towards me. Those of us who haven't experienced an unselfish loving Father who deals tenderly and compassionately with us - rather than on the basis of 'I love you because you have been 'good' ' (and conversely don't feel kind towards you because you haven' t matched up to my idea of what is right) will have difficulty living our lives in a framework of GRACE - which is so important esp. when dealing with our own children. I often wonder what kind of picture of the character of God I am modelling to those precious little ones I spend my days with.....

PRAISE THE LORD - He is SO patient and kind towards such frail and feeble children of flesh as me!!!

Events
Yesterday the postman arrived with a flat tyre. I took a pic of the boys sorted it out for him - I took a pic. too for the benefit of the LEA adivisor. Here is another good reason for home-educating, when the postman needs his bike fixing you can help out.
Timothy shot a pigeon in the garden this mng - we hope to have it for dinner (OK, we won't get much each but it will be an experience we will all remember).
It is Ron's birthday today - he is 48. I found an old black-and-white photo of him with his Dad about 40 years ago. Using the technology available to me I scanned in, expanded and printed off this pic and mounted it in a frame for Ron's birthday.
Most of the children drew pictures of Ron on a tractor in the annual birthday-book event. It has been fun over the years to have the children draw a picture for Daddy in a blank exercise book and see how their drawing develops. In between years it sits in a drawer. If they each made 'cards' they would only be lost. This idea is not my original idea - it was one of a couple which I picked up from a book about a lady who home-schooled.
do you know that 'slogan' means war-cry? Timothy just visited the cloakroom (I know because he always comes out of there with some useful information from Scotts miscelleny) and told us all that before we visit Scotland we ought to study war-crys. Lucy suggested we might have our own and suggested 'Ay, the trousers, the trousers' --- Does that sound fierce? Perhaps we should practice it, like Winnie-the-Pooh and 'Aha!'!!!

Dover
Last week we set off early on Monday mng. for Canterbury. Having just joined the camping and caravanning club who have a site there. I phoned to check they weren't over-run and that it would be ok to arrive at 8am. All went according to plan until the woman in charge of the site told us they 'didn't have room' for us.
After we met our commitments at the Chaucer exhibition (which was quite good except for the 'goodwife of Bath' section!!!) and a brief tour round Canterbury Cathedral (at schools rates - £2 per child and I was free) and its exciting encounters with Edward the Black Prince's gauntlets, helmet etc and other surprises. Back at the site - where we had been permitted at least to leave our caravan while we went for our booked visit - I phoned Keats Farm in Dover (actually 4 miles north) and headed for there shaking off the worm-casts (well, it wasn't exactly DUST) from our feet.
We thoroughly enjoyed Dover castle which we visited Monday afternoon and then again on Tuesday - all day. Last year I joined Cadw and that means I can get in half-price at Eng. Heritage places. Of course if you have foresight you can book visits to Eng. Heritage entirely free of charge but I do like to be spontaneous and keep my options open depending on the weather and other things which might crop up.
The visits we made later in the week to Deal and Walmer castles didn't cost anything. On Wednesday we headed north to RAF Manson near Ramsgate and visited the Hurricane and Spitfire museum which was nicely laid out and very informative. Next we took a turn off the main route leading us to Richborough Castle. You may imagine my excitement when I discovered that this was the Rutupiae familiar to us through Rosemary Sutcliffe books! What the Romans must have thought when they rolled in from sunny Italy I can only imagine. A 15 min. run over the site gave us a feel for it and was brief enough to entirely prevent us from losing all sense of feeling in our noses and ears due to the bitingly cold wind.... The indoor museum was a welcome (warm!) shelter from the wind. So there, within sight of Sandwich we ate our sandwiches. Next we headed for Deal Castle where we took the audio tour which was very well done (except the headphones kept falling off Joanna's head!) and running round in the basement Joanna ran into a brick which had been hollowed out by the wind and still has the remains of the bruise.
Walmer Castle was the final call in the day (by now I was beginning to feel like an AMERICAN tourist - how they ever manage to cram so much into a day of touring in England I cannot fathom). Here we were greeted by the friendliest steward ever - I recommended he ought to be in period costume. he was someone who obviously was doing the job because he loved castles! In this one there was a house built into one side of the castle - not too big to become too tired (even at the end of SUCH a day!). We took the audio tour again which, this time was electronic. The best thing about this one was that you could get more information on aspects of the room visited if you so desired. The information on the Duke of Wellington (including his world-famous invention - remember? - and his bronze death-mask) were
a reminder of the goodness of God to this nation in providing key men of integrity who would faithfully do the right thing. I coveted (am I allowed to say that?) a delightful piece of furniture which was an 'arm' chair designed to be sat on 'back to front' with a lectern on the 'back' of it - ideal for hours of uninterupted reading - perhaps another shelf for the coffee cup would just complete the enjoyment! Hope one of my boys becomes a cabinet maker or something similar !!!

We were thankful for the electric hook-up, we left the fan heater on in the caravan all day while we were out which chased out the damp. If I had KNOWN it was going to snow/hail etc I would never have planned to go of course but we all enjoyed it very much (except the first night which was the coldest...)

On my return on Friday evening I found that Timothy had got 93% on his Business studies AS paper and 100% on two of his accounts (and 90-something on the other). Very praiseworthy - the Lord has honoured all Timothy's hard work and confirmed that this is the area in which Timothy is most definately gifted.

Saturday I headed off for Tring with David where he took part in the taxidermist's guild day conf. He enjoyed it and I took a stack of things to do - including my 'BSF' work (which I didn't touch!), Cancer Ward by Solzhenitzyn (brilliant book), patchwork and lastly drawing. I did some drawing in the van first - copying a sketch from a brochure bought at the museum last time I went - which I did using the 'Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain' technique (ie - turn the picture upside down and copy it upside down concentrating on the lines and their relationship to one another) and had a presentable polar-bear before I went in to to try something (the right way up!!!) in the museum. I went in boldy and selected a Grevys zebra beside which was a chair. I spent a lot of time praising God for the amazing 'ricky-ticky' stripes of the zebra and drew the head. I was embarassed when people sidled up to 'have a look' at what I was drawing (even though it was the right way up!!) but was very gratified when after (how long? I didn't look at my watch!!!) I had a fairly presentable representation of a zebra. I recommend to you Edward's book 'Drawing on the Right side of the Brain' - you are sure to be able to borrow it from the library although it is well worth the investment.
It was very strange being on my own (apart from lunch time when David joined me in the van while the rest of the taxidermists headed to the pub!!!) for a whole day but quite a cause for praise and refreshment of soul - the sun even shone - Praise the Lord.
Plans move forward for the 8-week trip to Scotland and as it draws nearer I find the need to pray more. We would still like the Lord to provide us with a roof-rack and a cheap mobile phone before we set off. Yesterday we made some 'ship's biscuit' and tested it out in the garden - ask for more details!!!

Commuting
How happy I am that I am not amongst those nameless hoardes who daily ride the train to London clutching their little mobile phones. The only talking which goes on during the journey seems to be into phones - never with the real live people one is squashed up with. Very bizzare.
Anyway, this week's reason for joining the throng was to visit the Science museum. We had got all inspired about the world and the universe as a result of David's work in his Dr Wile science text. That and a Moody film about the vastness of the universe. Lucy had planned to stay home with the littlest three but was so keen to find out more about creation that she came along too (as did the small people).
We love the hands-on science stuff - we always learn such a lot. That and the flight section , which we passed through too speedily.
And then on the journey home we played sardines again (but at least this time our cramming ourselves ever nearer the front of the crowd - wherever that might have been - paid off and we got to sit down on the way home) and I had a scientific interaction with the small point of some woman's shoe (upon which she evidently found it difficult to remain balanced) and thought that 'next time' I shall wear steel toe-caps, it will be less painful - for me.

WAR
A visit to the Imperial war museum last week, with four of the boys, was a very sobering experience. It was good to be able to compare the 'real' one with the new Imperial War Museum North (which we visited last year while staying in Manchester, at my Dad's). The one in Manchester is offering an atmosphere of complete futility and meaninlessness which was thoroughly depressing. It was, to my eyes, disordered and very subjective - they were trying to offer 'impressions' rather than information - I am just glad I didn't have to pay to go in, and also glad that the whole party (my mother included) were only to glad to leave when I thought I could stand it no more.

On the other hand the London museum was informative and interesting - lots of history presented in various ways. My favourite is the hand-sets which you can pick up and hear the voices of people who were eye-witnesses. We only covered a small part of it and the boys are keen on going back. I determined that I wouldn't like to go in the Holocaust exhibition but of course concentration camps were covered a little in the WWII section in any case. The large exhibition hall has a small rowing boat which had been used in the evacuation from Dunkirk - having read 'The Miracle of Dunkirk' (out loud) last summer this was really bringing history to life for me. There was a special children's exhibition on submarines in which the boys were able to try out a bed - how a grown man finds it adequate I don't know! They also could find out about periscopes and radar.

Being me, I always wonder what is God's perspective on all this stuff. One picture had a quote from George Eliot (I think!) 'in every parting there is an image of death' - that had me thinking. When we kiss our little ones goodnight that is a picture of death (and when they bounce in joyfully in the morning there is the picture of ressurection) and of course parting with loved ones on earth must be a picture of death since we don't know if we will see them again. That, at least, accounts for the pain.

But what can we LEARN from all of this? Well, if war means anything it must be a very small glimpse of the effects of that terrible deed in the garden of Eden. Strange that the home of so much beauty should be the seed-bed of such horror. And of course, before all that there was the aweful rebellion of Satan and it is him we have to thank for the terror and destruction of war. What should we do then? We cannot prevent our boys from joining the military if we wish to be defended from agressors - it would be wrong to leave it to 'someone else'.

How glad I am that the past, present and even the future are in the hands of an Almighty, wise and loving Father.

Evangelicals
I have been reading Sir Walter Scott's "Tales of a Grandfather" onto cassettes for my children. It is a history of Scotland from about 1000 AD to Scott's day. I appreciate his perspective on the deeds of the men he tells us of. Any good deed, even if it were done by an Englishman, is reported as praiseworthy and any bad deed done by a Scot (despite the fact that it furthered the Scottish cause) was condemned. Scott looks at the gory and treacherous history of Scotland from God's point of view - one of the aspects of this book which I appreciate most is that he shows that the deeds of individual men are merely a small part of the big picture which is God's plan for history. Yesterday I got to the part of book which tells of the effects of the reformation in Scotland and an outline of the fundamental church differences between the Scottish and English churches. The Scots have always been, it seems to me, a socialistic type of people - they were happy to tick along ignoring the fact that they had a king and answer only to their clan chiefs. (I finally discovered 'who' Mary queen of Scots was and WHY she was such a key figure in history - did you know she was queen of France, married to Francis I? After his death she returned to Scotland.)
When Henry the VIII declared himself head of the church in despite of the pope, he hoped to have Scotland on his side in the Protestant cause. The Scots developed a protestant church system which held that all the ministers were equal to one another - none being appointed bishop over any other.

One fascinating thing to consider is that before this everyone was Roman Catholic (and were used to the hierarchy of that church system). Scott explains how that Christianity which was pure and spread through europe from Rome (with a pope at its head) gradually deteriorated, over the centuries, resulting in a caricature of true Christianity. He tells us that not everyone who was within the church was corrupt but that the church system was corrupt (he mentions the selling of indulgences and such like). I never got this impression in my Evangelical infancy. I used to ask 'so what happened to real followers of Christ between the early church fathers and Martin Luther' - I didn't get a satisfactory answer. The real, although slightly embarrassing truth is that the follower of Christ were in the Catholic church - they were, in fact CATHOLICS!!!
I have a little theory which helps me to understand all this now - if you are an evangelical you convince your minister that you are saved and you get a public baptism at which you tell as many of your non-Christian friends as you managed to invite along, that you got converted. Next you are interviewed for Church membership and maybe offer a private 'testimony' to existing church members. They decide whether they want you in their number (by voting) and then you are 'in'. Now all evangelicals are, I think, Calvinists - that means that they believe 'once saved always saved' - fine as far as it goes but that is assuming that the minister and members are not deceived and that their evaluation of your spiritual condition is in accord with God's (a tall order, I think!). So if THIS is how you gain your 'eternal insurance policy' it leaves no scope for anyone OUTSIDE the Evangelical church to be true believers - or followers of the Way. THAT is why Evangelicals find it hard to accept that their might be a true 'Christian' in the Catholic church (or the Anglican, Methodist,Congregational etc).

Now having developed my little hypothesis I will practice looking at the world in this way in the coming days and test out how credible this is - I might report back!

ps - I already had problems with making over-long sentences (my grammar-checker rebukes me constantly!) and reading Sir Walter Scott looks set to exacerbate the fault in me.....

Work
I heard this morning that there is a prominent medical Doctor who has thrown in his important research to train to become a gas fitter - at which job he can be expected to earn £50,000 per year. I hope it won't be too long before more parents who are home-schooling recognise that 'exams' are not so important after all. We don't want all children to go to university if we have a growing need for men doing real jobs like plumbing / gas fitting / decorating etc.
We don't want to fall into the trap of encouraging our sons to work at whatever will make the most money, for the sake of having lots of money, but we DO want them to be able to work at a job by means of which they will earn enough to provide a home and not have to put their wife out to work in order to survive.
So if you are home-schooling sons, keep a portfolio with photos and any kind letters that people send you confirming how helpful and pleasant your sons are (!!!) and when they come to 16 or 17 go along to the local 6th-form college to enrol them on a GNVQ course. Better still, find a tradesman of integrity and apprentice your son to him so that he can learn not only how to do the job safely and intelligently but diligently and faithfully too.