Everyone has a worldview. It is a way that we look at the world and rationalise what we see. I have a Christian worldview. So I believe that there is one God, who sent His Son, Jesus to the earth, to live with us. Jesus understands what it means to be fully human, warts and all. He then suffered a horrendous death at the cross in order to remove our sins so that we can have a relationship with God. I believe that the Bible is the word of God written by spirit-filled people, and that all scripture is true, and not a fairy tale. However, some scriptures have been hard to read over the years ..read more

There are a couple of times of the year when as a single person, you might be feeling particularly low. One of these times is coming up. Valentine’s Day. Now you might be dreading this day for the fear of seeing loved-up couples all over the place (and wondering where they disappear to after this date), feeling alone, lost and unloved, or you might just hate the day because you don’t like the person that you are with (that’s a different issue that I won’t be talking about today).  But is swiping right always right? I used to hate Valentine’s Day. That and Christmas both made me feel alone ..read more

On a street in one of the boroughs of Greater Manchester lives our dream home. This house currently has 3 bedrooms with failed windowpanes, a kitchen that has more mould than bricks, a lean-to that is trying to pass as a conservatory, and an electrical wiring system that trips out every half an hour. But we are so excited at what it can be. The possibilities of the house transforming into our home is very tangible and what keeps us going through the long renovation process.   My younger years were spent growing up in a council house on an estate in Nottingham. I have very vivid memo ..read more

I love the school holidays. Some people think it’s weird that I like to spend time with my children, but in all honesty, when the last week of school finally comes, I think I’m probably more excited than they are! I became a solo parent when I was 5 months pregnant with my daughter. The boys were 4 and 17 months old. I was so determined that I would give them every opportunity that two-parent families had, and that included holidays. This both filled me with excitement and terror. Where would we go? How could I cope with three toddlers on my own? How would we afford it? What would happen if th ..read more

A second lockdown....really?! Time to rest, to play, to be family, to start new routines and learn new things? No? Lots of things feel different this time around. The schools are still open; apart from when the bubbles break. All three children have had their bubbles break over the past 7 weeks. The mornings are darker, the nights get dark early. The air is chilly. The sun has disappeared. We have experienced constant rain during the whole of October half term which has the ability to make the days feel even longer. To be honest, I feel drained. Drained of hope, drained of excitement, drained ..read more

Over the past few days there has been lots of discussions and fallouts over the MPs vote to extend the free school meals scheme outside of school time up to Easter 2021. The motion was defeated by 261 votes to 322. The names of the MPs who voted against the motion have been published in every newspaper up and down the country allowing the public to ‘name and shame’ them. Lots of MPs who did vote against have defended themselves saying that enough money has already been allocated to the welfare system. One MP stated that Universal Credit has now been increased by £1000 per year per family; loca ..read more

I read an article last week in the Christianity magazine that both saddened me and frustrated me at the same time. It was an article called “Marriage is good for society”. That of course, I agree with. However, under the headline it read ‘A report says that children whose parents are married are less likely to be excluded from school, become addicted to alcohol or drugs, or end up in jail’! What!!!! Now I know that articles often use click bait in order for us to want to find out more, but that one statement just made me very mad indeed. Below is an open letter that I have written to the auth ..read more

The first church that I remember going to as a child was a small Assemblies of God church in the middle of a big housing estate. It was a multi-cultural church, full of people who spoke in tongues, played tambourines with gusto, and prayed loudly and with passion. I loved the vibrancy and warmth of the church. Our next church was a polar opposite: a small traditional Baptist church where everyone kept themselves to themselves, prayer was quiet and restrained, and there were no tambourines. Everything felt sombre. The churches that we become part of shape our faith and how we see God, particul ..read more

Today was a big day for us all. Transition day for my eldest child. Slowly and with some trepidation he got dressed. I tried to hide my feelings about losing my eldest child to high school. I drove along the short journey that my son would soon walk every day. It seemed like every danger that ever existed on the roads presented itself to me that morning! Traffic lights had stopped working. The busy main road had more fast drivers on it today. Kids were running across the road unaided by any lollipop people or pedestrian lights, as they were broken. As we pulled up outside the local High School ..read more

You might have noticed that we have changed our name! Over the past couple of years, I have really become more and more aware of the shift in our culture. We have become faster and more ‘me-centred’. God, simplicity and family life is being squeezed out of every day life as we rush to earn more, be more, climb the ladder faster (social and corporate). We are all addicted to our phones and binge watching the latest Netflix series. This isn’t a judgment call, I struggle with these things too. So there is no wonder that most of us reach breaking point. We have forgotten what is important in life ..read more