This Saturday, my mom and I took up the challenge of a 7 mile hike across an area of the Peak District.  It was one of those last minute, spontaneous ideas. Armed with a backpack full of picnic food and water and a printed out set of directions, we left the house and headed off for the one hour drive to the Peak District.  This was the first ever hike that we had done, and 7 miles was rather ambitious of us. But we parked up the car and headed off into the woods, following the instructions as closely as we could. Through the forest, we past three cows, some rock climbers and a squawking pheasant which scared us half to death. We then made our way through a very wet and muddy moorlands and made our way over the road and up the hill. From there, and following a lot of encouragement from me for my mom, we walked through a field full of cows, bulls and calf's. Half way through I managed to fall over, scratch up my leg and totally embarrass myself in front of all those cows! From there we followed ancient walls, went up hills and made our way past monuments and gigantic stones.


We were so high up - the views were breath taking!  We followed the hills round and made our way down a major decline and through a small village.  There we stopped for tea and our picnic and then we headed along the river to Chatsworth House.  These grounds were beautiful and the buildings are gorgeous.  From there we crossed a few more rivers, climbed more than 148 stairs and continued walking through more fields, woods and finally made our way to the car.


Three and bit hours later and two very exhausted ladies, we climbed into the car to rest. We hiked seven miles, through all of that and survived.  I am so proud of the both of us and can't wait to see what my weight loss is this week.

Do you do anything challenging this weekend?

Wow, I cant believe that another week has come and gone. Last week was my first linked up post for She Reads Truth. Last week I knew that I wanted to have an open mind and heart to what God was doing in my life, what He was showing me and what I was learning during the week ahead....and I was not disappointed!  This week has been a very filled week, with lots of decisions being made and lots of things coming into play....that is why I have called this post God at work. This week I have seen the fruit of my heavenly Daddy being at work in my life, to fulfil his promise to me that all things work together for my good and that He has a plan for my life. 

The outcomes that I have had this week have not happened over night. God has been at work, behind the scenes, for months now. Isn't it funny how you can only see God at work after the event?  Sometimes I just wonder if I am not paying enough attention but I guess that is a post for another time.

Here are the life changing things that have happened or come to pass this week.

• Four months ago, the company that I work for announced that by the end of the year, they would be making 300 jobs redundant.  My job was one of those.  Its been a tough few months, especially having to look after a team and manage performance when inside this is playing on your mind.  A few weeks ago I decided that I needed to be proactive about this job situation and so I applied for three different jobs within other areas of the company.  If I am honest, I only applied for them because I need to be able to pay my bills....and again, looking back I think that I made those decisions for the wrong reasons.  Anyway, on Tuesday morning I found out that I had been successful in my application and invited to an interview.  Two hours later, we were called into a meeting and told that our jobs are no longer at risk! (Thank you God)
• During this time my manager asked me to move to another team and manage a new system that was coming out in September. I was hesitant and while I prayed about it and continued to feel uncomfortable about it, I still made the decision to say yes to their request. Perhaps in part because of the feared ramifications of saying no at a time when my job was on the line or perhaps I just didn't want to disappoint my managers.  But I said yes when really I should have said No.  The past few weeks I have been feeling more and more uneasy about this whole thing and finally, I found enough courage to speak to my manager and tell her I didn't want to do this.  It went so much better than I expected and she completely supported my decision. (Thank you once again God)
• I then had to speak to the manager who had invited me to the interview for the other job. Again, another difficult conversation. But I dug down deep and was completely honest with her. I thanked her for the opportunity and apologised for wasting her time.  Again, she understood and didn't have any problems with it. (Thank you God)
• I have also been trying to decide if I should study my last two courses next year so that I can get my degree. Both are level 3 courses and i need to get distinctions in them in order to have a chance at finding a placement upon completion. Along with the time constraints that was going to put on my life, I was worried about how I would afford it.  So I have been going backwards and forwards with the choice to do one subject or two. This week God showed me through a conversation with two different people that I should study both.  My mom made me realise that through my car payments and a loan payment coming to an end I would be in a position to pay for both courses each month and my friend made me realise that sometimes we need to fight for what we want. That at times you need to sacrifice in order to move forward. That the choices you make today don't affect your tomorrow....they affect you twelve to eighteen months down the line.  So, I have gone ahead and registered for both courses. (Thank you God for good counsel in my life)

Thank you Lord for what you have done for me this week. Thank you that you are working in the background of my life to bring things to pass for me. Lord I thank you for not only what you are doing at the moment, but for what you are going to do.  Lord please help me to make better decisions in the future, it appears that I haven't done a very good job at listening to you or making decision's. Thank you Lord for giving me the courage to say what I need to say.

The most beautiful thing I saw today was the early morning glow of the sun rising. A new day is such a gift but sometimes we lose sight of it in our huge to do lists, worries or routine.  What are you going to do today to ensure that you capture the beauty in your life?

This is the third bible study that I have done with the SheReadsTruth community and I am really enjoying them.  The aim is to spend time in God's Word each day, to share what you are learning and to provide support and community to each other.  So far, I haven't really been sharing much. I have been trying to get into the daily habit of spending time with God and I have been trying to keep my head above the water.  I am sure that God is working on many areas of my life at the moment, but there is definitely one which I know He is molding and that I am trying my hardest to change: Letting go of my comfort. 



A few years ago I found myself in a long term bad relationship. During that time, I made many decisions just trying to survive, decisions that I know where not based on prayer or wisdom or anything else that I so desperately needed at the time.  Instead, I found myself trying to cope with the situation the only way I knew how.

No one every really teaches you how to deal with your emotions.  How to process things correctly or how to move forward from those circumstances. It's a skill that you are required to use in order to be a healthy person, but its not something that is taught at school or at church (at least not in my church).  So how did I cope with my fears, emotions and broken dreams? ....... I ate.

I ate my way through that entire period of my life and by the time i had managed to end things, begin to create my life over from the ground up and finally take some steps forward, eating to comfort myself had become my habit. My first choice in time of stress, discomfort or depression.  My go to.

I have been battling with this for years now and I know that in order for me to take that next step towards healing and the life God has for me, I need to deal with my food and comfort issues.  During these past bible studies God has been gently talking to me about seeking my comfort in Him rather than the chocolate bars. That by turning to food to fulfil my need for comfort, I am really telling God that I don't trust him - Ouch!

So here I am, taking it one day at a time, trying to pause when my instinct kicks in to reach for the sweet stuff and instead reach for God and the comfort He has promised me.  Some days I feel like I am finally getting it, while other days (like today) I feel like I have taken ten steps back again. 

I can't believe that we have already reached the half way mark for this year. Time sure is moving on quickly.  I am one of those people who likes setting goals, who enjoys making lists, ticking them off once completed and who tends to try to tackle too many goals/projects/ideas at once.  Reaching the end of the six month mark, I decided it was time to have a look at the goals I set in January. Which ones did I reach?  Which ones do I need to carry over and which ones are no longer right for me?

So I sat down and spent some time reflecting and brainstorming. I always love having projects on the go - probably too many at one time if I am being completely honest. And as expected, once I had completed my brainstorming, I had so many awesome, exciting goals that I would love to complete by December, however it quickly became clear that this may not be the best option.

I looked at my list and I asked myself one question - "Achieving which one of these goals will make the biggest difference to my life?" I realised that perhaps picking one main goal and two or three smaller goals would be more productive for me. 

Today I received a German Friendship Cake. "A what?" I asked. "His name is Herman and he is a German Friendship cake", I was told.

Herman arrived in a little Tupperware container along with instructions on how to look after him. Ten days of tender loving care and I have been assured I will be rewarded with a delicious cake and the ability to share Herman with my friends.  He smelt a little strong, but I went ahead and put him into a larger mixing bowl and covered it with a dish cloth.

For the first few days, all you need to do is give him a stir. Halfway through you add milk, sugar and flour followed by more days of just stirring.  On day nine you add more ingredients and then divide it into four servings. Three of them you give away to friends and the fourth you use to bake yourself a Herman.

Instructions for Herman

 You cannot put me in the fridge or I will die. If I stop bubbling, I am dead.
 Days:

• 1 - You get Herman and put him in a large mixing bowl and cover loosely with a tea towel.
• 2 - Stir well
• 3 - Stir well
• 4 - Herman is hungry. Add 1 cup each of plain flour, sugar and milk. Stir well.
• 5 - Stir well
• 6 - Stir well
• 7 - Stir well
• 8 - Stir well
• 9 - Hungry again! Add the same as day 4 and stir well. Divide into 4 equal portions and give away to friends with a copy of the instructions. Keep the 4th one.
• 10 - Herman is ready to be baked.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups plain flour
• 2/3 cups cooking oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 cooking apples cut into chunks
• 2 heaped tsp cinnamon
• 2 heaped tsp baking powder

Instructions:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 170 - 180C
2. Mix everything together.
3. Put into a large greased baking tin.
4. Sprinkle with a quarter of a cup of brown sugar and a quarter cup of melted butter.
5. Bake for 45 minutes or until cooked.
6. When cold, cut into fingers.
7. Cake freezes well and is delicious with cream or ice-cream.

When Herman was brought round to me - he came with a piece of his brother, Herman the first. He was delicious!

The Herman Starter Mix

Instructions:

1. Dissolve the yeast in warm water for 10 minutes then stir.
2. Add the flour and sugar then mix thoroughly.
3. Slowly stir in the warm milk.
4. Cover the bowl with a clean cloth.
5. Leave in a cool, dry place for 24 hours.
6. Now begin at day one of the 10 day cycle, as per the instructions above.

If you decide to have a go or have had a Herman in the past, let me know how it went and if you added anything different to the recipe above.