Mama J's welcome to Looe

We live directly opposite Mama J-s Italian Kitchen and have been more than interested in the development of Julia and Guy's new venture. Of course there is even greater interest for me due to the building having formerly being the Rusty Bucket. 

I have tried to keep a keen interest that is not in any way interfering or even gloating over what has gone. I make no pretenses in saying that my experience with the Rusty Bucket was unfortunately not entirely happy. I have many great friends from  my time there but was  extremely disappointed in the way that some Christians ran a business. That having been said it was the vehicle that God has used to bring us to Cornwall and as such we are delighted more and more to be part of the wonderful community of Looe.

We first met Julia and Guy when my friend and I were able to help them lift their Freezer from the ground floor to the flat. From that time on they have kept us informed of changes and even allowed us to go to the opening night of the restaurant. to them that night was a bit of a disaster but we still enjoyed being a small part of this new venture.

With new signs put up on the wall Mama J-s opened but within a short space of time somebody hit the signs with their van and have left them damaged. I hope that the driver is ashamed of himself for the hit and run.

We have just come back from a meal in the restaurant and am fully satisfied with the meal and the experience. This inspired me to take a few minutes to welcome Mama J's to Looe via my little blog. I am sure that Julia nor Guy will stumble across these musings but I do wish them well and a big thank you for changing the colour scheme from grotty orange and green to red and white which now matches perfectly the colour of the Banjo Pier.

Well done and welcome.

Looe warmer than Barcelona!

What an amazing headline, Looe was warmer than Barcelona yesterday and the media were nowhere to be seen which is in stark contrast to the situation that we found ourselves in at the beginning of February last year. Have a look at my post "My take on the floods" recorded at that time.  Looe is a wonderful place to live but more especially when the sun shines. 

We took the opportunity to walk around the beach and the town, having a very nice long black coffee at the Quayside cafe, in the open air. It was better than being abroad. We walked and talked our way around the town meeting many friends. Easter has been very busy and successful for business I believe and now many of the visitors have gone home. They are I am sure looking forward to return. The season will "kick in" in full in the next few weeks and shopkeepers, cafe's and restaurants are readying themselves for the invasion. The beach has been cleaned better than I have seen before. We are now ready for summer.

Over the Easter period we have had a week long visit from my brother and his wife and 2 sons. The weather started cold but ended fantastically. Their visit came to an end and they were replaced by our best of friends who sadly returned to the midlands yesterday but not before sampling the delights of a warm welcome from Sunny Looe and it's very friendly community.

They were amazed at how long it took to walk the length of the main street due to your friendly greetings and chats. I have to say that this is the friendliest community that I have ever lived in which gives me a bit of a dilemma. Believe it or not I am not old enough to retire and so am currently being considered as Pastor of  church 15 miles away. It is also fair to say that I am on my sell by date and if I were a commodity on the shelves of a supermarket I would be in the bargain section for a quick sale. That having been said I can offer the church 6-7 years and so should we move from this community to another? We love Seaway and our landlord Gareth is a wonderful man who has done so much for us. We have therefore concluded that it is right and proper to stay here certainly for the foreseeable future. Looe has become our friend, I am not so sure that I have any appreciation from our flying neighbours; perhaps they will be the subject of another post.

If any of the Looe community ever read this little blog then thank you for your friendship and welcome to a couple of Midlander's who found their way here via South Wales. We had a very difficult and painful start but now we are perfectly happy. 

I am now ready for our third summer season here, the very slow drives through the crowded town, the noise from happy people on holiday and the people watching opportunities that they afford. I am looking forward to meeting the many south Welsh people that come for short breaks in the Portbyhan Hotel and others of course. I am looking forward to sunshine and happiness. Looe at it's best is really the best of British:

Of course there is always something else, I am a preacher after all and so "and finally's" usually come halfway through the message. I am a Christian who has been saved by God's good grace and He has given a command to Christians to make His gospel message clear. Jesus told His disciples that He would change them from simply being fishermen on the sea but to be alsy fishers of men. They were to be people who lived life to the full but were attractive in their character and life and claims and by such told all that they could that Jesus is Lord. Thai is also my commission and so I love to speak to any who want to know their way to heaven. if you are interested in this why not contact me? You might also find your way to my Pastor's blog:

http://obsec.blogspot.co.uk

where I have recorded some of my sermons from past days. 

Seeking Allah - Finding Jesus.

This is not my title but the title of a book that I recently read by Dr. Nabeel Qureshi.

This is an amazing account of the life of a young man who was devout in his faith. Brought up in a loving family who taught Nabeel the ways of Islam. The Quran and worship were the focal point of life for Nabeel. He was totally convinced that he followed the one true faith and that anything other than Islam was wrong.

Due to his father's career the family moved from country to country, spending some time in the UK and also U.S.A. In both countries the young Nabeel rubbed shoulders with those who professed to be Christians but when he challenged them concerning their beliefs they could not  stand up to his scrutiny. This confirmed his  own piety and gave him reason to believe all that he had been taught of the bible and Christianity. He believed it to be a religion based on a book containing many errors and worshipping a man as God. To Nabeel that was blasphemy which was added to by polygamous worship of three god's who merge into one.

It became nabeel's quest in life to convert Christians from idolatry to Allah. It is a sad reality that all christians that he met did not sufficiently know their bibles, their doctrine or church history to be able to stand up to nabeel's dogma. that is until he went away to university where he shared a room with fellow student David. 

Nabeel was shocked on their first night to see David kneeling in prayer. he had met a young Christian who was equally devout but who also knew what and why he believed. we might think that this would be recipe for disaster but it was the foundation of a firm and lasting friendship. They talked and debated much, studying their respective faiths in order to convert one another to the truth.

nabeel took it to himself to study the Quran and Islamic tradition, doctrine and history  in order to prove to David that Islam is the one true faith. He had to compare all of his findings with the bible and Christian doctrine. over a period of time Nabeel was shocked to find Jesus as Lord.

You must read this amazing testimony in order to fill in the gaps. It is not a simple read, Nabeel is an academic and so his arguments are thorough and require mental and spiritual concentration but it is a vital read for us to understand the Muslim's mindset. It is very well worth the effort to sit and read. At the end of it you will have a much better understanding as to why Muslims act towards Christians as they do.

Another result will be that it will make you want to articulate your faith more fully as these two young men did. Sadly they are unusual amongst modern young people. Young Christians to me seem to be more interested in trifling with the faith rather than understanding what we really believe as Christians and why we believe it!

The church is so focussed on worship and worship style that it has lost sight of the need of clarity. we send young people off to learn the finer points of music but they are largely ignorant of the depth and breadth of the knowledge of Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Thank you Dr. Qureshi if you ever come across this poor attempt at a book review.