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Archives for June 2009

Facebook posts from June

By Anita Mathias







It’s a fab sunny June here in Oxford; the light filters golden through the thick green leaves in our paddock. Irene is off at the moment, rehearsing as Lady Capulet in Creation Theatre’s Workshop production of Romeo and Juliet. Building work commences on our new 12 by 18 foot conservatory mid-month, and we are having our last garden party in the “old” garden the day before it. Should be fun!

01 June at 18:50 ·






Anita Mathias “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God’s friend” James 2.23. Cool, how low that bar is. Believe God. And it’s one of life’s cooler experiences when your thoughts naturally turn towards Him, through the day, and in wakeful nights, until you realize that God, incredibly, mysteriously, is your friend.

A promise fulfilled. My father took up yoga at 57. Never health-conscious, he became superbly fit, did a hour of yoga daily, walked for an hour, and died a spry 89 in 2005. I promised myself that when I became older and weaker, I would take up yoga. How old is “older”? IT’S NOW! I took my first (Iyengar) yoga class ever last night, and LOVED it. I plan to take it up seriously, forget tai-chi and street dance for now

03 June at 10:28






We’re celebrating Irene’s 10th birthday this weekend-a sleepover for 8 girls, in tents, in our paddock. Don’t tell me I’m crazy! “Insanity is doing the same thing, but expecting different results.” We had a camping sleepover for 22 people, children & adults for Zoe’s 9th birthday, & it was one of the most memorable experiences of her young life–so I’m hoping for a similarly memorable (note: low bar here!) experience

04 June






It’s raining! Pls pray we have gr8 weather for Irene’s camp-out tomorrow at 5. Roy just pointed out that I’m going to two parties before Irene’s–a Writers in Oxford party at 7.30 tonight and a leaving party tomorrow at 2. “Getting into the party spirit?” he asked with some irony. Luckily Lena, our super-wonderful Brazilian cleaning lady, has offered to do an extra session of cleaning and set-up for “the childrens!”

05 Jun






Sleepover update. I now have five little girls installed in a tent with a midnight feast, telling GHOST STORIES!! I remember doing that myself, a kind of innoculation, chasing out terror with terror. Zoe, Roy, & her friends are struggling to put up a 70ies style tent E. brought, but Roy is of the hardly ever say die school; he’ll figure it out! I did get to both my parties, and we did get everything peacefully done.

06 June at 22:04 ·

Filed Under: random

Facebook posts from May

By Anita Mathias




Zoe is on a Duke of Edinburgh expedition, and it is monsoonishly RAINING. She slept in a tent while we used duvets and heat. I love camping too, (provided Roy and Zoe make camp) but not in the wet. We heard the amazing and energetic Heidi Baker yesterday at Aldates. Her faith and joy are contagious, and she is the best speaker, with the most electric, unself-conscious, self-confident delivery, that I have ever heard

17 May



We laughed so hard when a very wet, very bedraggled, rather lame Zoe, clothes inside-out and hair wild, came back from a 15 mile Duke of Edinburgh expedition (on which she carried 22 pounds, and camped out). It’s rainy, so our main adventures today are literary–I am enjoying reading Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome to Irene.

18 May



Anita Mathias has played a game of tennis with her family. And lifted weights with her personal trainer. Is sore. And sorry. For herself. Am looking forward to our holiday in Wales this weekend–a day in the Brecon Beacons, a day in the National Botanical Garden of Wales in Cardiff, and a day on beaches


Quel est le mot en Francais pour.? After 4 months of Alliance Francaise French conversation classes, I’m no longer saying that quite so much. The instructor solemnly begun by teaching us Merde and Putain on our first class, and, literally and figuratively, it was all uphill after that. I love French, but no longer acquire languages as quickly and easily as I did in my twenties. Those stubborn grey hairs I henna out!

20 May



Anita Mathias just spent 3 lovely days in fabulous Wales. Our family stayed in the Brecon Beacons National Park, instant relaxation–classic woodland views of boulder and pebble-choked steams; fat, long-tailed lambs. Liked the Vaughan steam and canal walk of the beloved metaphysical poet. ++ National Botanical Garden of Wales, which we explored until hobble-footed exhaustion. Zoe & Irene loved Wales and didn’t want to return home.

26 May



Anita Mathias is pleased with herself. I went to a street dance class at Esporta, in a mirror-walled room with a bunch of women mostly half as old, and twice as fit! I (mostly) enjoyed the leaping and sashaying! Mid-life crises are fun things. One tries new things. And stops caring what people think. I then had a facial. AND forced Roy to get his first haircut in 20 years! He usually cuts his hair himself. Or worse, gets me to!

27 May



Anita Mathias visited the sweet Lister family in Faringdon yesterday, had the best BBQ, and walked up to Faringdon Folly Tower–fab views of the White Horse in Uffington. Today I had my Somerville friend Ruth to lunch. Woke late, focused on returning wrongfully scattered kids’ art projects and books to their rightful owners, realizing 10 minutes AFTER Ruth came that I had forgotten to shop! Roy to the rescue!


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Anita Mathias Zoe has just come back tired and happy from five days in Cornwall with her friends Laura and Eleanor. They were supposed to be revising for their end of year exams. In Cornwall? Well, Zoe says she feels well-prepared. As for me, I did a taster session of tai-chi with an instructor at Esporta. It seemed a lot of nonsense, until we came to the dancing part, when we moved from prose to poetry. I think I’ll try it again!

30 May at 22:18

Filed Under: random

Facebook posts from May

By Anita Mathias



Massive but brief hailstorm here! Irene turned 10. 10 years of our little rose and sunbeam. Mixed metaphors, but I couldn’t decide! She’s going to have a camping sleepover as Zoe had for her 9th birthday. I’m praying for good weather, grace, miracles and sleep!

08 May


Chess-y weeks. Irene played for Oxfordshire in the U11 National Finals yesterday, winning all 3 of her games. She was also selected to represent the West of England last Monday in a West vs. East of England U11 chess tournament. Won 5 out of her 6 games in the Oxfordshire mega-final. But it adds busyness to our lives. Now why did we get that girl into chess?

10 May


“Recalled to life”–the theme of the first book of The Tale of Two Cities, which our family is listening to in the car. That’s how I feel– for various reasons! On the culture front, our family watched the Druid Theatre’s wonderful production of The Playboy of the Western World at the Oxford Playhouse–hilarious comedy and/of cruelty. I love Irish accents!!

11 May


I am looking forward to listening to Heidi Baker this weekend–always a mini-watershed experience in my Christian life. I have a spare ticket if someone wants it. Also reading the Don Camillo stories again with the greatest refreshment and delight. They make me laugh. I love Guareschi’s deceptively simple style.

13 May


Anita &  family have signed up for a membership at Esporta, The Oxfordshire Health and Racquets Club. I thought of all the yoga, tai-chi, dance, weights, tennis and badminton I might do, and developed a massive cold. I do have three sessions with a personal trainer booked though. Zoe is now in her school’s tennis team and she and Irene love tennis, badminton and swimming, so they’ll use it, as, teeth gritted, shall I!

14 May


The birds were manically happy this morning. And cuckoos really do sing cuck-ooo which never ceases to amuse me. Am reading a really fab. book about prayer–the greatest power and adventure and joy in the world (okay, one of them!). Worship is another. And many of the things on this blessed earth qualify…

Filed Under: random

Facebook posts from April

By Anita Mathias




Another gorgeous bright April day. I enjoyed a solitary walk in the country. Am gripped by Jon Krakauer’s book “Into Thin Air” about the tragic Everest 1996 expedition, full of fatal flaws, and am also trying to get back into a writing routine. Also reading “A Man’s Reach,” a spiritual autobiography by Glenn Clark with interest and amusement. 


Kids back at school, so long, quiet spring days, which I’m really enjoying.


Another manically bird-loud day. Lovely wildflowers springing up in our paddock and the fields around us. Our apple trees have delicate pink blossom; the cherry trees are covered with profuse white blossoms. Feel talked out after Writers in Oxford’s monthly Drinks and Digressions (aptly named!) and a fun parents’ reception at Zoe’s school. What an interesting, diverse bunch of parents!

23 April at 21:50



Though generally the hearts of both adults and children sink at the words “Family Service,” we had good ones this Easter at St. Aldate’s. Jesus after his resurrection was as pithy, trenchant and incisive as ever, and his questions cut, once again, to the heart of the matter. His first words, practically, “Why are you weeping?” And then, “Be not faithless, but believing.” These two sentences are connected, somehow!

24 April at 22:25 ·



We went on a family walk and picnic to Lovell Minster, a picturesque ruined stately home by the River Windrush. The ruins blend in with the beauty of the natural surroundings better than the pretentious manor probably did. Huge bright yellow marsh marigolds bloomed in the water meadows. A picturesque dovecote! The river Windrush not only has a poetic name, but is so peaceful and tranquil. Another perfect April day!

25 April at 20:47 ·



Zoe, 14, is a gourmet cook. She tackled a 20 lb roast goose, with onion, mushroom and giblet gravy & complex stuffing. I, on the other hand, would like to live in the fairy-tale land of Cockaigne, where roast pigs run down the streets, squealing Roast Me, Roast Me, and there is no swine fever! Even better is heaven where, acc. to Revelation, never shall we hunger or thirst, and God shall wipe every tear from our eyes

28 April



Roy and I walked in Oxford University’s Harcourt Arboretum today. The bluebell woods were magical, spectacular–a sea of blue, waving and dancing in the dappled sunlight. It was like fairyland (whatever that is like!), an out of this world experience. The azaleas, camellias and rhododendron were also in full bloom. Absolutely lovely. I love spring!!

29 April

Filed Under: random

More Facebook posts from April

By Anita Mathias




Anita Mathias Irene’s class is doing Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat at school. Irene’s now crazy about Lloyd Webber musicals, so all of us watched The Phantom of the Opera last night, for the first time. Irene was terrified, and screwed her eyes shut, and now wants to watch the whole thing again while the sun is shining.

13 April at 12:37



I and the the cleaning lady have cleaned out Irene’s room today. It is like the Room of Requirement in Harry Potter, Zoe says. Whatever we needed and missed is to be found there–under her bed!!


Irene has spent the last two days in an adventure camp, learning archery, fencing, kayaking and juggling. The girl sure didn’t get those genes from me!! Zoe has read 3 Twilight books in a row. Will someone PLEASE tell me what’s the deal with teenage girls and VAMPIRES?


Just watched La Cage Aux Folles, and laughed hard at bits: Still in old French comedy mode. Reading Mary Norton’s The Borrowers Afield to Irene, and loving her descriptions of the natural world. Very much like lovely Garsington in bloom around us!

17 April at 23:33



Anita Mathias painted my kitchen and bathroom–first house-painting of my life. It was so satisfying that I could do for a livelihood (if the time could be leveraged). I am insufferably pleased with myself. Roy said, “Well, if THAT’S painting, why do people charge so much for it?” But there’s no one right way to paint–or do anything else!


“It’s as if we’re hiding the evidence of a crime!”– Zoe’s comment as we put the house through a thorough tidy-up before the visit of an old college friend, who is a good housekeeper. Come on, spring–we’re ready!

19 April at 18:01 · Comment · Like

Filed Under: random

Lilies by Mary Oliver

By Anita Mathias

calla-flower-14Lilies

A poem by Mary Oliver

I have been thinking
about living
like the lilies
that blow in the fields.

They rise and fall
in the edge of the wind,
and have no shelter
from the tongues of the cattle,

and have no closets or cupboards,
and have no legs.
Still I would like to be
as wonderful

as the old idea.
But if I were a lily
I think I would wait all day
for the green face

of the hummingbird
to touch me.
What I mean is,
could I forget myself

even in those feathery fields?
When Van Gogh
preached to the poor
of coarse he wanted to save someone–

most of all himself.
He wasn’t a lily,
and wandering through the bright fields
only gave him more ideas

it would take his life to solve.
I think I will always be lonely
in this world, where the cattle
graze like a black and white river–

where the vanishing lilies
melt, without protest, on their tongues–
where the hummingbird, whenever there is a fuss,
just rises and floats away.

 

Filed Under: random

The Real Problem of the Christian Life, according to C. S. Lewis

By Anita Mathias

“The real problem of the Christian life comes where people do not usually look for it.  It comes the very moment you wake up each morning.   All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals.  And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in. And so on, all day.  Standing back from all your natural fussings and frettings; coming in out of the wind”  (C.S.Lewis, Mere Christianity Book IV Chapter 8)
Rose Marie Miller comments on this passage:
“I was really moved by this quote from C.S. Lewis.  It is so true that often that is the way my day starts.
Life is a battle to have a quiet walk in the midst of a busy life
Life is a battle against the will and the flesh that so easily resists God’s will and ways
Life is a battle against the evil one who deduces us from a simple and pure devotion to Christ  (IICorinthians 11:3)
Life is a battle struggling to see Christ formed in the greater community of Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims.
 “Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.  He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant–not of the letter but of the Spirit. for the letter kills, but the Spirit give life.”  (II Corinthians 3:6)

Filed Under: In which I decide to follow Jesus Tagged With: C. S. Lewis. Following Jesus

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Anita Mathias: About Me

Anita Mathias

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My Books

Wandering Between Two Worlds: Essays on Faith and Art

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Francesco, Artist of Florence: The Man Who Gave Too Much

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The Story of Dirk Willems

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Premier Digital Awards 2015 - Finalist - Blogger of the year
Runner Up Christian Media Awards 2014 - Tweeter of the year

Recent Posts

  •  On Not Wasting a Desert Experience
  • A Mind of Life and Peace in the Middle of a Global Pandemic
  • On Yoga and Following Jesus
  • Silver and Gold Linings in the Storm Clouds of Coronavirus
  • Trust: A Message of Christmas
  • Life- Changing Journaling: A Gratitude Journal, and Habit-Tracker, with Food and Exercise Logs, Time Sheets, a Bullet Journal, Goal Sheets and a Planner
  • On Loving That Which Love You Back
  • “An Autobiography in Five Chapters” and Avoiding Habitual Holes  
  • Shining Faith in Action: Dirk Willems on the Ice
  • The Story of Dirk Willems: The Man who Died to Save His Enemy

Categories

What I’m Reading

Apropos of Nothing
Woody Allen

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Amazing Faith: The Authorized Biography of Bill Bright
Michael Richardson

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Wanderlust
Rebecca Solnit

Solnit --  Amazon.com
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Acedia & me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer\'s Life
Kathleen Norris

KATHLEEN NORRIS --  Amazon.com
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Opened Ground: Poems, 1966-96
Seamus Heaney

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anita.mathias

Writer, Blogger, Reader, Mum. Christian. Instaing Oxford, travel, gardens and healthy meals. Oxford English alum. Writing memoir. Lives in Oxford, UK

Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford # Images from walks around Oxford. #beauty #oxford #walking #tranquility #naturephotography #nature
So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And h So we had a lovely holiday in the Southwest. And here we are at one of the world’s most famous and easily recognisable sites.
#stonehenge #travel #england #prehistoric England #family #druids
And I’ve blogged https://anitamathias.com/2020/09/13/on-not-wasting-a-desert-experience/
So, after Paul the Apostle's lightning bolt encounter with the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus, he went into the desert, he tells us...
And there, he received revelation, visions, and had divine encounters. The same Judean desert, where Jesus fasted for forty days before starting his active ministry. Where Moses encountered God. Where David turned from a shepherd to a leader and a King, and more, a man after God’s own heart.  Where Elijah in the throes of a nervous breakdown hears God in a gentle whisper. 
England, where I live, like most of the world is going through a desert experience of continuing partial lockdowns. Covid-19 spreads through human contact and social life, and so we must refrain from those great pleasures. We are invited to the desert, a harsh place where pruning can occur, and spiritual fruitfulness.
A plague like this has not been known for a hundred years... John Piper, after his cancer diagnosis, exhorted people, “Don’t Waste Your Cancer”—since this was the experience God permitted you to have, and He can bring gold from it. Pandemics and plagues are permitted (though not willed or desired) by a Sovereign God, and he can bring life-change out of them. 
Let us not waste this unwanted, unchosen pandemic, this opportunity for silence, solitude and reflection. Let’s not squander on endless Zoom calls—or on the internet, which, if not used wisely, will only raise anxiety levels. Let’s instead accept the invitation to increased silence and reflection
Let's use the extra free time that many of us have long coveted and which has now been given us by Covid-19 restrictions to seek the face of God. To seek revelation. To pray. 
And to work on those projects of our hearts which have been smothered by noise, busyness, and the tumult of people and parties. To nurture the fragile dreams still alive in our hearts. The long-deferred duty or vocation
So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I So, we are about eight weeks into lockdown, and I have totally sunk into the rhythm of it, and have got quiet, very quiet, the quietest spell of time I have had as an adult.
I like it. I will find going back to the sometimes frenetic merry-go-round of my old life rather hard. Well, I doubt I will go back to it. I will prune some activities, and generally live more intentionally and mindfully.
I have started blocking internet of my phone and laptop for longer periods of time, and that has brought a lot of internal quiet and peace.
Some of the things I have enjoyed during lockdown have been my daily long walks, and gardening. Well, and reading and working on a longer piece of work.
Here are some images from my walks.
And if you missed it, a blog about maintaining peace in the middle of the storm of a global pandemic
https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/  #walking #contemplating #beauty #oxford #pandemic
A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine. A few walks in Oxford in the time of quarantine.  We can maintain a mind of life and peace during this period of lockdown by being mindful of our minds, and regulating them through meditation; being mindful of our bodies and keeping them happy by exercise and yoga; and being mindful of our emotions in this uncertain time, and trusting God who remains in charge. A new blog on maintaining a mind of life and peace during lockdown https://anitamathias.com/2020/05/04/a-mind-of-life-and-peace/
In the days when one could still travel, i.e. Janu In the days when one could still travel, i.e. January 2020, which seems like another life, all four of us spent 10 days in Malta. I unplugged, and logged off social media, so here are some belated iphone photos of a day in Valetta.
Today, of course, there’s a lockdown, and the country’s leader is in intensive care.
When the world is too much with us, and the news stresses us, moving one’s body, as in yoga or walking, calms the mind. I am doing some Yoga with Adriene, and again seeing the similarities between the practice of Yoga and the practice of following Christ.
https://anitamathias.com/2020/04/06/on-yoga-and-following-jesus/
#valleta #valletamalta #travel #travelgram #uncagedbird
Images from some recent walks in Oxford. I am copi Images from some recent walks in Oxford.
I am coping with lockdown by really, really enjoying my daily 4 mile walk. By savouring the peace of wild things. By trusting that God will bring good out of this. With a bit of yoga, and weights. And by working a fair amount in my garden. And reading.
How are you doing?
#oxford #oxfordinlockdown #lockdown #walk #lockdownwalks #peace #beauty #happiness #joy #thepeaceofwildthings
Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social d Images of walks in Oxford in this time of social distancing. The first two are my own garden.  And I’ve https://anitamathias.com/2020/03/28/silver-and-gold-linings-in-the-storm-clouds-of-coronavirus/ #corona #socialdistancing #silverlinings #silence #solitude #peace
Trust: A Message of Christmas He came to earth in Trust: A Message of Christmas  He came to earth in a  splash of energy
And gentleness and humility.
That homeless baby in the barn
Would be the lynchpin on which history would ever after turn
Who would have thought it?
But perhaps those attuned to God’s way of surprises would not be surprised.
He was already at the centre of all things, connecting all things. * * *
Augustus Caesar issued a decree which brought him to Bethlehem,
The oppressions of colonialism and conquest brought the Messiah exactly where he was meant to be, the place prophesied eight hundred years before his birth by the Prophet Micah.
And he was already redeeming all things. The shame of unwed motherhood; the powerlessness of poverty.
He was born among animals in a barn, animals enjoying the sweetness of life, animals he created, animals precious to him.
For he created all things, and in him all things hold together
Including stars in the sky, of which a new one heralded his birth
Drawing astronomers to him.
And drawing him to the attention of an angry King
As angelic song drew shepherds to him.
An Emperor, a King, scholars, shepherds, angels, animals, stars, an unwed mother
All things in heaven and earth connected
By a homeless baby
The still point on which the world still turns. The powerful centre. The only true power.
The One who makes connections. * * *
And there is no end to the wisdom, the crystal glints of the Message that birth brings.
To me, today, it says, “Fear not, trust me, I will make a way.” The baby lay gentle in the barn
And God arranges for new stars, angelic song, wise visitors with needed finances for his sustenance in the swiftly-coming exile, shepherds to underline the anointing and reassure his parents. “Trust me in your dilemmas,” the baby still says, “I will make a way. I will show it to you.” Happy Christmas everyone.  https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/24/trust-a-message-of-christmas/ #christmas #gemalderieberlin #trust #godwillmakeaway
Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Look, I’ve designed a journal. It’s an omnibus Gratitude journal, habit tracker, food and exercise journal, bullet journal, with time sheets, goal sheets and a Planner. Everything you’d like to track.  Here’s a post about it with ISBNs https://anitamathias.com/2019/12/23/life-changing-journalling/. Check it out. I hope you and your kids like it!
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