1st Anniversary

We were delighted with the way that the Cofio Padi Fellowship Evening went. Many had given their apologies so we did not know what to expect in terms of turnout but more than 80 gathered in the upper hall to share and enjoy memories. I got everyone's attention by playing the video of 'what Padi did with Appledore crabs', closely followed and sharply contrasted with the interview he gave to promote LATCH just weeks before he passed into glory. LATCH paid for the services of Ben Ewart-Dean (who gave me permission to host the video here) to shoot and produce a promo and we were invited to 'Premiere' at Penarth Pier Pavilion later in 2013.
We needed to start the speeches by 6:30pm in order for Jane to get away but we were running late so I did not quite get to record the first contribution by Ally. All the contributions were deeply impressive. You can listen to the recording from http://tabernaclecardiff.org/sermons/2014/07/19/cofiopadi-fellowship-evening/
Saturday night actually felt more like the first anniversary, since Pads passed away in the early hours of Sunday. Later on we sung 'Sovereign Ruler of the Skies', one of his chosen funeral hymns. If this was at all upsetting, the pastor's superb sermon on 'There is a river' from Padi's psalm (46) brought to us the pure Source of our blessed assurance.
Today's been calm. Kids are on holidays and I've got leave for the conference. Moli's been feeling dizzy and needs to complete her Welsh Baccalaureate work so a trip to the local Forest tea room suited well. We then popped down to the grave: blistering sun reminiscent of the funeral day's weather.
With apologies to everyone else, it's still got the best stone in the park. That verse proclaims the reality of our conquest over death and the grave through our Saviour, whose rising again points all of us to the skies. "Unto you therefore which believe he is precious" 1 Peter 2:7

Ground anchor

Our 19th wedding anniversary has sped by. We had a lovely day. It started with a 'hit and run' visit to our chosen purveyor of memorials, Ash. We were delighted with their service. I wont forget seeing the list of suggestions for things to put on a memorial though - many were sublime. In the end we made the basic decisions so that a stone could be ordered and we could decide on an inscription later. One of the requirements for a grave stone, even one set on top of a thick concrete pathway, is to secure it by means of a 'ground anchor'. The stone has to be secure enough so that it could not be moved by 'two grown men'. Thus a large steel rod is needed to go down into the ground and up inside the stone. This sounds pretty impressive. After all, a memorial should stay put for many centuries, one might expect. Then I got to thinking about it and actually what have we got there...? A stone of a few kilos, certainly not tonnes. It's fixed to a line of concrete upon the surface of the planet. As you know, this thin surface crust is floating on a huge sea of floating magma on a planet spinning around a relatively tiny star. How permanent really is any thing planted on the face of the earth? We need an anchor that lodges somewhere out of reach of 'change and decay'.

We have an anchor that keeps the soul, steadfast and sure while the billows roll. Fastened to the Rock which cannot move, grounded firm and deep in the Saviour's love.  Owens

As Alex pointed out at Friday Fellowship, all cultures have always believed in an afterlife, from the ancient Egyptians to even some modern atheists. One overwhelming message from this observation is that what we can see and feel is less permanent than what we cannot, i.e. the soul. And yet such scant attention is given to preparing the soul for this great transition of death. Interestingly, all cultures have also always believed in a judgement after death, the results of which, usually depending on how good you were, determine how you will spend eternity. With the clear testimony of revelation, we can, we must make sure of the outcome of this judgement before it happens. Make peace with your Maker now, while the offer stands: For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Romans 10:13).
In case you're wondering, we decided on the following inscription:

Er Cof Annwyl Am 

Padrig Luc Johnson 

19th December 1997 – 21st July 2013

But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. Ephesians 2:13

The first line is Welsh for 'In memory of beloved...'
In case you're also wondering, I'd taken the day off for our anniversary and so we went on from Ash memorials to have a great time at the superb Tuesday morning fellowship meeting. It was wonderful to go over some of the points that had come up in the Lord's Day services and enjoy fellowship with God's people. Then we went for a fine lunch with an excellent view at the New House Country hotel.

Anniversary trip

P really enjoyed his IT lesson and has been pretty well all weekend. We were grateful to Ruth for looking after the kids, from hometime Friday to yesterday evening so that we could go away for our 15th Wedding Anniversary trip to the Gower.

We arrived at our B&B, selected for it's amazing location above the cliffs just east of 'Three Cliffs' - Ally loves a sea view and they don't come any better than this. We had a dip and then went out for dinner at the Coffee Denn. Next day we hired a couple of kayaks and paddled around Oxwitch Bay for a couple of hours. All very easy paced and relaxing.