The soup dragon

Since Ive been home Ive gone a little soup mad.
Its a great way of getting loads of veg in ya and tastes so so good.

So here's a recipe Ive been asked for
(please note Im no chef and cooking isnt a precise science for me!)

looks a bit funky, but tastes seriously good.

Mushroom and Spinach soup
3 punnets of mushrooms
2 finely chopped onions
1/2 a big bag fresh spinach
Thyme (about a table spoon)
butter
pint of vegetable stock

fry off the onions until nice and brown in the butter.
Add the mushrooms and thyme and slow fry till cooked.
add the spinach till nice and soft.
pop in veg stock and whizz till its mushed up.




I always make enough so i can pop a few tupperwares in the freezer too.

Enjoy.

Ask for more - Dangerously Generous

I stayed a couple of weeks with my good friends Sarah and Richard when I first got back to England.
(She blogs www.stayingawakeblog.com)
















They have 3 gorgeous kids.
Sam is 4, Rae is 3 and baby Max is a tiny bundle of scrumminess.
Watching how they work together as a family was inspirational.

There was a day when Max had been up most of the night and the other kids were down with a vomcano bug, Rich had been at work all day and Sarah was up to her eyeballs and beyond in "Mummy, Mummy".
On this day I watched in awe as I observed them taking a deep breath and putting others first. 

Why i mention them is that they are incredibly generous.

Not only did they have an extra house guest (me) when Max is just a few weeks old, but because they respond well to their kids in the middle of feeling extremely tired and stretched.

They are generous because they keep choosing to be gentle and kind.
I often think of being generous as a financial thing, but its more.

How do you become someone who keeps giving?
The only way I know to do this is:
Ask God to love you first,
many times a day,
"fill me so I can give good love away".
I don't have enough with out it, I'm just not that nice.

Generosity is a weapon.

• It destroys loneliness and builds community
• It combats selfishness and helps others realise their dreams
• It fights individualism and builds a culture where everyone matters
• It smashes through self-pity and makes you and others happy
• It confronts self reliance & helps you realise that others genuinely love you
• It feeds the hungry, clothes the stranger and homes the wanderer.

Ask Him, He is generous and has plenty more to give you.

New Music

Ok,
Ive been asked a lot since Ive been back about any new bands or music I am presently loving.

Let me recommend
Drum roll please........

Hudson Taylor - (no not the Missionary to China - its their surname)

They are some brothers from Ireland and frankly are amazing.

You can find their music on itunes.

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/artist/hudson-taylor/id303938015

Chasing Rubies is one heck of a song

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/chasing-rubies-acoustic/id578574971?i=578574975

 If anyone wants to come to gigs, I am wanting to see them live this summer somewhere.
(They have been touring with Jake Bugg this past few months.)

Also you can check them out at

www.hudsontaylormusic.com/

you will thank me.

ZJ

Fluffy Socks

The latest news is I will not be returning to Zambia at this point.
The door seems to have closed firmly shut for now, but as they say as one door closes another opens...
I have no idea what is next.


 Im gonna take some time to rest.

Im taking a trip to Denmark over the summer to collect some belongings that some dear friends will take there from Zambia and going to Toronto
for a missionary/leadership school for 3 weeks of encouragement, good time with the Father and again, rest.

Ive have moved into my friends basement (which is lovely).

Here are somethings I'm appreciating freshly this week,
I like the speed of the internet here, heaters and warm duvets, friends whom I have a long history with, English home cooked food, family, love, endless movies, clothes shops, good mushrooms and sweet cherry tomatoes, coffee shop culture, warm fluffy socks, hair straighteners, good cheese, time to be and digest the past few weeks, emails and encouragements.

Im gonna keep blogging whilst Im here too.

Here's to the omelette!!

Also a little wee thanks to Hannah Moore, also newly returned from Zambia - check out her amazing photography.  www.hannahmoore.org.uk