• Facebook
  • Twitter

Dreaming Beneath the Spires

Anita Mathias's Blog on Faith and Art

  • Home
  • My Books
  • Essays
  • Contact
  • About Me

Facebook posts from November 2009

By Anita Mathias




This was the first year in 12 that we did not do some trick or treating. I hate it, but the kids love it. Laughed at this true article on the differences between Halloween in the US and the UK. Lovely lunch party today in our conversatory. Just the right number for an interesting diverse conversation. Nice mix of ages and personalities. But now–lots of left-overs, alas!




01 November




Lovely sunny crisp November day. Eagles floating on the wings of the wind. Went for my first run in years, decades actually, using a 10 week beginning running programme. On Day 2. Puffed mightily, but tremendously enjoyed it. Now why did I give it up? I much prefer running to walking. Trying to become strong before our 25 day hiking/exploring trip to New Zealand next month so I don’t exasperate my energetic family!!

02 November 2009


Martin Luther on Romans, “It can never be read or pondered too much, and the more it is dealt with, the more precious it becomes, and the better it tastes.” Also true for Scripture in general. Greatly enjoying Simon Ponsonby’s School of Theology on Romans. Irene, 10, goes to a fab Girls’ cell, which ends an hour before Romans does, so she sweetly joins us and takes detailed notes, wh. she is very proud of!!

02 November 2009


Our family watched a disturbing performance of Kes at the Oxford Playhouse. A bullied boy, picked-on by classmates, teachers & family, finds a passion–the rare art of falconry. You can guess what will happen–the brother kills his beloved kestrel. We are asked at the end to believe that Billy, having found a passion, will be happier and better for it, though he lost the only love of his life. Hmm… Probably!

08 November 2009


The influx of what Roy calls “visiting dignitaries” has led to having our cleaner in twice a week! (P.S. Most of the visiting dignitaries are 10 years old & Irene’s classmates). Enjoyed my run, Week 2 of a 10 wk programme. The Iphone stopwatch I use has a lovely carillon/bell-tower sound, appropriate for Oxford, where one is never far away from the lovely sound of church bells.

09 November 2009
Somewhat extroverted week. When I don’t spend time soaking in Christ’s brilliant, startling, revolutionary perspective in the Gospels, I find I miss him with an almost physical yearning. I have started listening to the Gospels in the car in French. It makes it startlingly new and fresh. And exciting. French is such a lovely language. I love it.


Had a terrible Thai lunch at Oxford Thai on Cowley Road yesterday. Disgusting food, badly cooked and poorly presented. Guess how it it go when we were served eggrolls burnt outside and frozen inside. Serves me right for going out without checking reviews in this most writerly of cities. Came home and read a flood of bad reviews–just as I expected! Oh well, live and learn.

11 November 2009


Oxford never ceases to amuse me. A 90 year old woman at a Writers in Oxford party asks me to publish her umpteenth book, a novel. “I still go into work every day” she says. “WORK? WHERE?” Roy asks. An Oxford college! Where else but in Oxford!!

Hectic Saturday–had our friends Alan and Mary over for lunch (Zoe cooked goose–yummy!), worked a bit on our business, then went to my Uni friend Ruth’s house for a lovely party, while Zoe went to youth group. Zoe’s comment, “I wish I didn’t have cool parents!” I think, with the plethora of interesting and cool things to do at Oxford, it’s almost hard not to be cool!

15 November 2009


Be afraid, mum, be very afraid: Irene now cooks all the time. She made us take Zoe with us yesterday. “I need my peace and quiet,” declared that 10 year old! We returned to the delicious aroma of cupcakes & a kitchen with EVERY surface littered with the evidence of her cooking. It’s still like that now (though I told her to clean it up) waiting for her home-coming! Hey, I’m going to be a cool mum & play on Facebook!

16 November 2009


Watched Zoe in Creation Theatre’s performance of Noel Coward’s Private Lives, and saw Zoe in a dress for the first time since she was 9 and we moved to England from the US. There was also a powerful performance of Murder in the Cathedral, which is so beautifully written!!

16 November 2009


Roy & I will have been married for 20 years tomorrow. A November wedding? Not a shotgun one: just impulsivity & hormones. 20 years & we still love each other & are impressed with each other for doing that! We celebrated our 5th wedding anniv by having Zoe, our 10th by having Irene. Can’t keep doing that: celebrating our 20th with 2.5 weeks in the South Island of New Zealand, just us 4, & a week in the North Island!

17 November


Roy took my car to work & was late. I refuse to drive his, my old American mini-van, with a left-hand drive. So we told the girls to borrow money from the school’s reception OR friends & go out to dinner. They heard AND. Zoe said, “People at Marks & Spencer laughed at the obvious glee with which we bought piles of pringles, chocolate, marzipan & lollipops. It was so obviously going to be our dinner.” Bad girls!

20 November 2009


Lovely run today with my collie Jake bounding beside me, his tail wagging with joy. We have much to learn from dogs: joy, love, forgiveness, living in the present, revelling in movement. I love seeing dogs leap & fly over the fields near our house, just delighted to be alive. C.S. Lewis amusingly declared that while we may not have dogs in heaven (but we will!, we must!) we will at least have “the essence of dogness”

20 November 2009


We are having Zoe’s 15th birthday party tomorrow. I have lost count of how many people she has invited–and I think so has she!! Its a Saturday-Sundae party, lots of icecream and toppings. The tilers finished tiling the conservatory on our anniversary, the 18th, and now it’s all gleaming and lovely for Zoe’s party. And with a conservatory, we don’t particularly care about the weather!

20 November 2009


Decompressing after a hectic Mathias day. Irene played chess for Oxfordshire, on board 1 as the Captain. Zoe had a large number of 15 year olds over to celebrate her birthday. We had sundaes–sugar and chocolate highs, chocolate everywhere…still. We could not face the thought of cooking, but children must be fed, so resorted to our local Indian takeaway for dinner. Ooh, a high-fat day–just fruit tomorrow perhaps!

21 November 2009


Amazing George Verwer preached at our amazing Holy Spirit-filled church, St. Aldate’s. Founder of Operation Mobilization & Mercy Ships, one of the Post World War II generation of American entrepreneurial Christians (think Billy Graham, Bob Pearce etc.) still full of love & fire & passion for God, still full of joy & energy & a dynamic spiritual life. The challege: still loving your first love, both human and Divine!

22 November 2009


Our family is VERY, VERY seriously considering volunteering in HEIDI BAKER’S orphanage etc. in Mozambique this summer. Obviously, this is not a cheap vacation, nor an easy decision, and we’d like to make it before the end of next week. Anyone who has volunteered with Heidi Baker, particularly in Mozambique, PLEASE tell me your ideas, views, experiences, either here or by Facebook message or e-mail. Thank you.

25 November 2009

More from my site

  • Sundays and the ideal work weekSundays and the ideal work week
  • Antaeus and Strength from the Earth and Being Down to EarthAntaeus and Strength from the Earth and Being Down to Earth
  • Childhood Christian ReadingChildhood Christian Reading
  • We are changed as we think with gratitude, giving up unforgiveness and judgmentWe are changed as we think with gratitude, giving up unforgiveness and judgment
  • In which I Succumb to Family GamesIn which I Succumb to Family Games
Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter

Filed Under: random

« Previous Post
Next Post »

Comments

  1. Anita Mathias says

    January 13, 2010 at 3:47 pm

    Thank you, and I apologize for my error!

  2. OM USA says

    January 13, 2010 at 2:17 pm

    Correction: George Verwer is the founder of Operation Mobilization (OM) and OM SHIPS.

    Mercy Ships are a branch of of YWAM started by Loren Cunningham. The Mercy Ships are floating hospitals visiting 2 African ports a year.

    OM Ships – Floating Bookstores, 20 Int'l ports a year. All ministry types except medical. 300+ people from 50 nations living & working on board doing ministry.

    Also you can check out these other short term mission opportunities.

Sign Up and Get a Free eBook!

Sign up to be emailed my blog posts (one a week) and get the ebook of "Holy Ground," my account of working with Mother Teresa.

Join 642 Other Readers

Follow me on Twitter

Follow @anitamathias1

Anita Mathias: About Me

Anita Mathias

Read my blog on Facebook

My Books

Wandering Between Two Worlds: Essays on Faith and Art

Wandering Between Two Worlds - Amazon.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

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

Francesco, Artist of Florence - Amazom.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

The Story of Dirk Willems

The Story of Dirk Willems - Amazon.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk
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

Childhood, Youth, Dependency: The Copenhagen Trilogy
Tove Ditlevsen

  The Copenhagen Trilogy  - Amazon.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Amazing Faith: The Authorized Biography of Bill Bright
Michael Richardson

Amazing Faith -- Bill Bright -- Amazon.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Stephen King

On Writing --  Amazon.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Acedia & me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life
Kathleen Norris

KATHLEEN NORRIS --  Amazon.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk


Andrew Marr


A History of the World
Amazon.com
https://amzn.to/3cC2uSl

Amazon.co.uk

Opened Ground: Poems, 1966-96
Seamus Heaney


Opened Ground: Poems, 1966-96 
Amazon.com
Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

Archive by month

INSTAGRAM

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!
Load More… Follow on Instagram

© 2021 Dreaming Beneath the Spires · All Rights Reserved. · Cookie Policy · Privacy Policy

»
«