Text me

Commenting, or more specifically, complaining about the weather is a full time occupation for most people in the UK. One day it can be cold and wet, the next it can be cold and dry, the next it can be colder. But for most people the variable weather is an inconvenience although for those in professions such as farming or gardening or tourism it can be a lot more serious than that.

Weather patterns are changing in many parts of the world - and the un-predictable nature of the weather brings many problems. For small scale farmers in countries such as Kenya, who depend on the harvest from their crops for food and the money to send their children to school or hospital, the wrong sort of weather can sometimes literally be the difference between life and death.

One way in which Christian Aid is helping is through setting up a text messaging service that sends out localised weather forecasts to farmers - which helps them to make better choices as they farm their crops. This video explains more.




On the 21 April I will be running the London Marathon and raising money to enable Christian Aid to be involved in many more projects like this one. You can support me by visiting www.virginmoneygiving.com/keithtarring

Want chocolate?

It didn't take long to sell 14 of the Real Easter Eggs on Sunday - I should have ordered more. These are the only eggs on the market that contain anything that relates to the story of Easter and explains the relevance of chocolate Easter eggs to the Easter story that we find in the Bible. They are also Fairtrade and a donation is made from all sales to charity. In 2011 £21,000 was donated to the work of Traidcraft as a result of sales.

It has recently been announced that Tesco and Sainsbury have agreed to stock a trial amount of these eggs in a limited number of shops - they have refused over the past three years. Morrisons, Co-op and Waitrose also stock the eggs in some shops. (Click here to read an article by the EA.)

But if you want to get hold of one or two of these eggs you may not find them in your local store. If not, why not go and ask the manager why she or he doesn't stock Easter eggs that actually say something about Easter. But don't then go and buy one of their alternatives - these eggs are still available to purchase on-line.

Here is a map of stores that are stocking the eggs.

Marathon Update - 7 weeks to go

Less than 50 days to go now until the London Marathon.

This chart shows weekly mileage - weeks 1-17 are actual miles run and weeks 18-24 are planned miles. This past week was week 17 which you'll see was one of the three highest mileage weeks in the plan. Each of these weeks is followed by an easier week. Last week was made up of 5 runs totalling 46.6 miles. Thanks to oversleeping on Wednesday and then a serious case of 'can't be bothered' later the same day I was left with having to run a fast 6 miles on Thursday, 20 miles on Friday and 10 slow miles on Saturday. My legs were ready for a rest by the end of the 10 miles - to be honest they were ready for a rest before the start of the 10 miles. This week's 20 miles felt a lot harder than last week's 19.2 miles - but a look at the chart above gives one possible reason as to why that might be.

20 miles is the furthest I will run before race day (in weeks 17, 19 and 21). So only two more 'long' runs to go before the big day.

This week has a couple of quicker runs and a long run of 'only' 12 miles.

Sponsorship is going well too. You'll know that I'm running for Christian Aid and committed to raising £2000. So far I have reached £1331. A big thank you to everyone who has sponsored me so far. If you want to sponsor me visit www.virginmoneygiving.com/keithtarring

78 and counting

Today we celebrated the church's 78th anniversary. Very little is the same as it was in 1935 - not even the building or the organ! The church met in a hut and the building we now meet in wasn't built until the following year.

Edgware is a very different place to what it was 78 years ago. This photo shows Edgware railway station - which no longer exists. If you know Edgware you'll see St. Margaret's parish church in the bottom right of the picture - you can work out the rest for yourself.

The following photo comes from the 1940s when an additional hall was opened alongside the church. Photos from today reflect the much more multi-cultural nature of the community and the church. Now the congregation on a typical Sunday is made up of people from 25-30 different countries.

So, lots has changed in 78 years. But one thing has not changed. Hebrews 13:8 tells us that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and for ever. God has proved himself faithful over the last 78 years and therefore we can face the next 78 years with confidence - not because we know what is going to happen but because we know that God has promised to be with us whatever happens.

But although God does not change, we live in a rapidly ever changing world and therefore we need to be constantly looking at what we do and why we do it. We need to meet the needs of the community where God has placed us and we need to communicate the love of God in a way that is relevant and meaningful in 2013.