Mountain climbed!

A great two weeks in the Lake District. Except for the weather. Any ‘sun tan’ is actually rust!

Appropriate to my blog, Roh and I actually climbed a few mountains. The photo is me at the top of Ullock Pike, having just got through a hail storm to get there!

We followed the Alfred Wainwright guides for the most part. A remarkable man, he walked, wrote about and drew every mountain, hill and fell in the Lakes. His books continue to sell, even though they were written over 50 years ago now.

He has a nice line in book dedications and his book on the North Western Fells is dedicated to ‘those unlovely twins, my right leg and my left leg, staunch supporters that have carried me about for over half a century, endured much without complaint and never once let me down’.

I trust that as I continue to climb mountains, both metaphorical and literal, my legs, heart, mind and spirit will continue to be my staunch supporters!

Gold medals

I’m not sure how many medals Great Britain has accumulated so far in the Beijing Olympics, but I do know it’s more than we had ever hoped for! At the time of writing, we are still third in the medals table, behind the ‘superpowers’ of China and the USA. Gold, gold and more gold!

I love sport. Any sport really. I love the competitiveness, the passion to win. You see the raw emotion on the faces of the rowers as they cross the line. You hear the incoherent interview with a sailing winner as she cries her heart out. You watch the incredulity on the face of a track winner as they look up at the big screen and see they have won.

I’m in a race too. The Bible tells me to 'throw off every weight that slows' me down and 'run with endurance the race marked out' for me. This race lasts a lifetime. It’s completed as I cross the finishing line into the forever-life God offers freely if you believe. I believe.

I don’t deserve this forever-life from God. But He gives it freely. I accept.

And one day, as I cross the finishing line, I will take my medal and lay it at the feet of the One who ran His race and gave His life for me.

Hello, I'm from Mars

Not many people can say that.

The paperwork was completed this week. From September I will be working for Mars as their Pensions and Benefits Director. I'm looking forward to it. So are the kids.... free chocolate rates better than discounted paint from my last job at ICI!