Excuse me; have you got 5 minutes to answer a couple of questions...?

Twice in the last week I have agreed to fill out a survey. Once on the phone as I was just happy they weren’t trying to sell me Broadband; and once online. I don’t often fill them in either, usually cos they want to add me to a million mailing lists.

On both occasions at a certain stage of the survey I was told that they had filled their quota of those in my category; thanks but no thanks.

First of all, if It’s a survey how can they decide who they don’t want? Surely the whole idea is to take whatever information they get and work out the results... But my main problem with it is... am I typical? Are there lots of people in my “category”? And what IS my category anyway???

I remember all those categories that came out in the 80s the YUPPYs, the DINKs and the DINKYs. I certainly never fitted into to any of those. In fact I don’t remember EVER fitting in, to any gang or group. I’m not sporty, I’m not what you might call pretty, I was never cool, I always thought I was a social outcast! (OK that was a bit of a dramatic overstatement but you get my drift.) But now it turns out that me and my category are filling out every survey available and there are too many of us! It’s a bit tragic really!

BUT... look at these verses from Psalm 139

1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.

And later…

13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

How many babies have been conceived in the world since it began? And these verses apply to each and every one!

It turns out that there’s only one category after all… Made by God!

You are closer to God in the garden than you are anywhere when you are not in the garden... or something like that

I spent Saturday morning getting rid of the small forest that has been growing in our front garden. It's only a border about 10' x 1' but it had got comepletely out of hand. In fact it was out of a lot of hands. So I decided to tackle it once and for all.

I've attached the after picture and am only sorry that I don't have the before pictures to show you for effect. But it was bad; we couldn't paint that wall cos we couldn't get to it!!!

Since then I've been aching in places that I'd forgotten I had! Even today I still feel as if someone hit me with something only a Horatio or Grissom could work out the shape of...

Why is gardening so hard???? I can think of one reason....

To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and at from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,'

Cursed is the ground becasue of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.

It will produce, thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." Genesis 3:17-19

It seems that before Satan tempted Eve, Eve led Adam astray and Adam wimped out.. tending the Garden of Eden was a pleasant experience.

And my post weeding pains are the least important of the implications of that terrible day...

OK Let's start with this... I GRADUATED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sorry world but I am so proud of myself. After starting a course in theology 15 years ago I finally got my degree this year. I don't think I've ever been so proud of anything in my life. And I don't think that I have ever felt so... so... un-guilty (is that a word?) about feeling proud in my life.

I'm not one of those 'completer/finisher' types. I can be very fickle and can be enthusiastic about something one week and then next week be bored with it. But I was DETERMIND to finish the course.

I don't know why the letters after my name are so important to me. Maybe it's an identity thing. I don't have children. And that is a hard 'lot' to come to terms with. I am a wife and l adore my wonderful husband. I am a daughter, a sister, an aunty, a friend, a hairdresser, a musician and best of all... I am a child of God.

You would think with all that I'd be happy :) But to be a graduate is so exciting and very fulfilling. And I am so happy about it.

And I get to attend 2 graduation ceremonies. What a treat.

OK I've said it! Hopefully I won't harp on too much about it in future.

See you soon, Aunty Amo BTh (Sorry... couldn't resist it!)

Welcome to my new blog

If you read my old blog you'll know that I have decided to ramble on more generally theses days.

This gives me more scope to waffle on about things I see or hear or think about or believe etc etc... My old bleg www.whatchurch.blogspot.com was all about food and diet. And basically I ran out of things to say about being on a diet.

If you stay tuned in to this new blog you'll find all sorts of nonsense, maybe a bit of sense, a little emotion, some faith, some food and lots of me me me :)

Please feel free to comment or ignore. I'll just keep talking regardless.

Aunty Amo xx