Martha's Marvellous Munchies

"I have never met a soul who has set out to satisfy the Lord and has not been satisfied himself.  It is impossible."   The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee is the first of my four books for spiritual formation that I'm reading this year.  Watchman Nee was a Chinese Christian who was converted in 1920 and was able to spend many years in preaching and evangelism.  However, after the Communist revolution he was imprisoned, and died in jail 20 years later.  The Normal Christian Life is based on talks he gave in Europe in the 1930's. What are the main themes of this book? Nee starts by saying that it's possible that the normal Christian life has never been lived by anyone except Jesus - which is hardly an encouraging beginning!  He then goes on to outline his view of such a life, using the book of Romans as a guide.   He certainly sets a high bar: for Nee, the normal Christian life is based on a knowledge and experience of death to our old self...

 We've reached that stage in life. That stage where you've lived in a house for several years, and now all of it really needs redecorating. And moreover, your children have Opinions about what colour their bedroom walls should be. So, we entered the dread portal of B&Q, came out several cans of paint heavier, summoned up some paintbrushes and a lot of extra energy, and got started. Let loose with a can of red paint... First up was Toby's room.  Previously a light purple, it's now a bold teal with dark blue curtains and lampshade.  It's a really nice colour.  I painted the ceiling a pale grey, too, but I still need to sort out the woodwork, which will eventually also be pale grey. I completed Toby's room in the summer holidays.  Ever since then, Theo has been nagging to get his room done.  A seven-year-old has nagging skills of similar persistence to the unfortunate widow begging for justice in Jesus' parable.  Last weekend, I finally gave in and de...