7th January 2008

Christmas and the New Year came and went and all very nice it was. We had lots of time with our family even managing a first sleep over in Huddersfield with Dan, Kim and Dominic, who is walking now. Another first was to be entertained to lunch by Owen and Kim on December 30th. We have had a fairly good time during 2007. A wedding, a birth, a visit to Kenya and India; life certainly hasn't been dull. The church has grown slightly over the last twelve months and feels quite healthy at the moment. Our last Sunday morning service was one of the best attended we have ever had - approximately 130 people. We are still waiting for the tipping point to be reached which may happen this year. Family wise I am not sure what is going to happen in 2008. Nobody other than Mary's niece, Katherine, is getting married this year. I am not aware of any births in the near future, but who knows what may be announced in the coming months. I may pay another visit to India in the Autumn and I am trying to sort out a holiday in the French Alps or Jura for Mary and me in the summer.

The weather is not quite as cold as it has been over the last few days but there is the constant threat / promise of snow, so I may try and get to Snowdonia over the next week or so if there is going to be a good covering. I am still enjoying running at the gym and have upped my running time to 40 minutes on a regular basis. I am still managing to cycle to work on a fairly regular basis but strong winds and wet cold weather have been a bit of a discouragement over the last week.
I rarely make New Year Resolutions but I would like to see / do the following in 2008

- Move the church on to a place where we are expereincing some rapid, ongoing growth.
- Maintain and improve my fitness levels
- Take my weight down from 10st 12lbs to about 10st 5lbs
- Take a holiday in the French Alps / Jura this summer
- Complete some long cycle and motorbike rides in the UK and possible in France
- Run a half marathon