I am learning to play the violin. When I was younger, I started to learn it at school. The main things I remember about this are: *Being really excited to play ‘Greensleeves’ because I was a geeky little thing and obsessed with the Tudors. *Having to play the song from the Hovis advert with the…

Last month I posted a series of pieces on ‘Home’ by various people around the UK. Everyone had different views but one thing was abundantly clear – it is important to have a place to call home among people you can be at home with. Today, there are thousands of people who have had their…

War. And the fact that in our country, it won’t be long before those who can tell us about the World Wars first-hand are gone. Tomorrow I am interviewing someone for a video we are making to use on Sunday, and in our preparation chat today I was so struck by the fact that it…

Hello, my name is Amy. I am not a Superwoman. My house is a mess most of the time, except for when I have visitors in which case piles are hastily shut in cupboards and plates are shoved in the dishwasher. I am not fat, but I am on the wobblier end of a Size…

For the final post in my series on *home*, I have two pieces that are incredibly similar, from two people who don’t know each other… First, Steve Painting (who happens to be my Dad!) writes on the importance of relationships and faith in a life of fairly temporary physical homes. 12 years ago a friend…

As you’ve probably read, I’ve been collecting views on *home* lately (look out for the final post later this week!) It’s been so thought-provoking hearing what people think. Today, I discovered a beautiful blog called Searching for Tomorrow, and on it, a lovely post about a holiday in France. It caught my attention for obvious…

I’ve read two articles this week that really inspired me – but they weren’t what you might expect. In both, the writers were honest about their struggles, and it was their authenticity, rather than any pleasantries, that brought me encouragement. The first was this post at http://lifeofasinglechristianwoman.wordpress.com/2013/10/17/it-is-not-good-for-man-or-woman-to-be-alone-part-2/ which follows on from earlier posts about being single,…

I’ve always thought myself a bit of a collector, and this week I have been collecting people’s views on *home*. You may have seen my earlier post in which Andrew Painting and Susie Waru John wrote about what home meant to them. It’s well worth a look, for the contrast and the similarities, and to…

Having recently travelled in a very short space of time to four places I have previously called home, I have been thinking a lot about what that word really means. I wondered what others’ perspectives might be, so I have called in a few friends to provide you with pictures and words to sum up…