Harry Potter and 3 year old clarity

I am so often amazed by the way my children challenge me. Like so many people I have been looking forward to reading the new Harry Potter book. I like the fact that it is no longer embarassing for adults to read children's books in public (maybe we should read more children's books. I'm particularly fond of "The very hungry caterpillar", but people gave me strange looks when I was reading it to myself on the bus into town the other day...) but that is an aside.

Having bought the new book on the day of its release (not at midnight I hasten to add!) I started reading it. So far I have been hooked and to be honest almost didn't right this in favour of reading another chapter...

I was left to look after Emily, who's 3 1/2 years old, at lunch time the day before yesterday. She wanted to watch Cbeebies while eating her lunch. As a conscientous (and at times a little lazy) father, instead of argueing with her about etiquette, good manners and the fact that eating should be done at the table unless you live in a cave, I told her she could sit on the sofa eating whatever sticky sandwich she had asked me for, in front of the TV. Hey, Mummy wasn't there, she could have a treat ! ; )

Anyhow, I sat down at the table, and as there was no polite company around, I sat there eating my sandwiches and reading Harry Potter. After a short time I realised Emily was watching me. I looked over to her and she said: "Daddy, why are you not reading your Bible at the table?" I replied simply: "Because I'm reading Harry Potter at the moment." "Is Harry Potter your Bible?" she then asked. I had to explain that it wasn't and then explain that the Bible is a much more important book than Harry Potter.

It got me thinking though. In all honesty, I am not very often as excited about reading the Bible as I have been about Harry Potter. There are times when that excitement comes back, lik for example the other week I heard Mike Pilavachi speaking on finding Jesus in the Old Testament and that got me excited about reading the Bible again (Have a look at Psalm 22 as a prophesy of Christ's crucifixion, hundreds of years before crucifixion had even been invented!), but in general I struggle to get excited about reading God's word.

I should read the Bible more often. Afterall, "lumos" is so disappointing when compared to raising the dead!

Personality DNA

Apparently I'm a benevolent creator. Allegedly this means I am very empathic and like to create things of beauty.

I also apparently am very obsessed about the way I look and the way I dress.

Makes me sound a bit like a girl...

Boxall family on ITV news...

We've been on the news (again). Watch and laugh!



I'm still trying to work out which "luxuries" we've got to cut back on!!!

Injustice...

I'm sure we have all heard the stories of slavery and oppression, of political prisoners being tortured and of women and children who are raped or murdered in Africa. If you are anything like me you probably thought those stories were horrible, atrocious and evil. But then again, if you were anything like me, having never ben to Africa, the stories remained simply that: stories. Like a movie that can be turned off and that maybe real life isn't as bad as the stories...

My mind was changed yesterday. I met a lady called Niki. She was from Nigeria and was in her late 40s. She suffers from severe depression and cries a lot of the time. She asked me to speak with her. The conversation turned to family and she told me the following:

"I grew up with my uncle and aunt from the age of 10 as my parents were killed. When I was 13 my uncle raped me. I hadn't even had a period yet so I didn't know I was pregnant until I was 5 months gone. I was about 7 or 8 months pregnant when my aunt woke me in the middle of the night and drove me to a building in the middle of nowhere where they cut my baby out. I heard someone say "It's a boy" and I heard him crying. They took him away to another room and my aunt took me home. A few days later I asked my aunt what had happened to my baby and was told never to speak of it again. I was then beaten so badly I dared not mention it again. I grew up and moved away to England, but when I was old enough I decided to ask my aunt what had happened. I had arranged travel plans to go to visit her but then found out that she had recently been killed in a car crash. I knew it was too late. Now I'll never know what happened to my little boy. I still hear him crying. Everyday I hear him crying and I can't get his voice out of my head. I hope he is alive. I stare at every black man I see hoping that one day one of them will recognise me and then I would know. Everyone tells me to forget him but I can't forget. How can I stop loving my little boy when every day I hear his cries?"

I didn't know what to say.

I still don't.

But the stories are not stories any more.

They're real.

Weight loss...

I have recently been trying to lose weight again. For a week and a half I did very well. I lost 9 lbs in 10 days... (I always lose weight fast when I first start dieting).

Then I had a bad day at work. I got home and ate a big pizza. And garlic bread. And Hanky Panky Pie.

It amazes me how the smallest of things can throw me completely out. The reason I ate badly that day basically comes down to the fact that I forgot to take my eggs to work. Consequently I ended up eating 4 slices of white toast covered in marmelade and butter. Then I missed lunch due to dealing with a prisoner.

I went to work the next day feeling fairly guilty about the bad stuff I'd eaten the day before when on the way I heard Him say: "I don't care how you look. I'm proud of you and I love you."

I felt much better after that!