Posted on by Angela Jelf · 1 Comment

Our Daily Walk – Like Newborn Babies!

Four weeks ago today, our lives were turned upside down again, when Amber, our four year old Fox Red Lab, gave birth to her second litter of Pups.

This time, there were eight! Five sweet girls and three bouncy boys.

It’s been a wonderfully exhausting four weeks, supervising night feeds, making sure Amber is well-fed and getting sufficient rest, answering the steady flow of enquiries from prospective owners- plus entertaining Honey (Amber’s 14 month old pup from her previous litter.)

The real hero of course has been Amber, who once again has proven herself an incredibly devoted and diligent mummy-dog.

Hungry!

Like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation – 1 Peter 2:2

It’s incredible to witness the intensity with which these eight hungry pups desire milk!

Even at a few hours old, they quickly learn how to become proficient feeders. And after a matter of days they begin to develop some pretty stealthy ways of sneaking underneath their littermates to get to the teats on the underside of Amber’s belly. We’ve even seen puppies almost dangling upside down to feed!

And at four weeks, if Amber comes within an inch of them, they go crazy- squawking like a flock of seagulls and ambushing her from all sides!

In order to thrive and grow in our walk with Jesus, we need to be a bit like these pups!

Just like newborn babies, we need to long for (or crave) pure spiritual milk- the word of God!

God’s word (the bible) is something we can so easily neglect or take for granted.

But actually – we should hunger for it! Why? Because it’s the only true source of nourishment for our world-weary souls.

The world churns out an awful lot of ungodly counsel day after day- through TV, advertising, social media- feeding us a steady diet of junk food!

Gods word, on the other hand, is pure! It’s truth and light, and it’s our life source!

If those puppies didn’t get milk, they would perish!

We need God’s word just as vitally! It’s able to sustain us, even through difficult circumstances. It’s able to fortify our faith and supply us with strength. It’s able to enrich us and make us grow mature in respect to salvation.

I’m so grateful for the reminder these pups have given me, to keep on desiring God’s perfect spiritual food!

I hope you enjoyed this post! I’m sure there will be more updates and spiritual life lessons from Amber and the pups in the coming weeks!

Posted on by Angela Jelf · 3 Comments

Garden Diaries – May, 2025

I’m a happy lass when the month of May finally arrives.

Although temperatures in London can vary from year to year, generally speaking, May tends to bring with it enough sunlight to wake up my dormant plants and convince them that it’s time to get on with the business of growing.

This year, we’ve been fortunate enough to get a warm, dry Spring, with plenty of sunshine- which makes rising early something of a joy. What could be nicer than an early morning gander around the garden with a cup of tea in hand?

There’s always something new to see! And hear. A cheerful, male blackbird has become a regular morning visitor, perched high above me on a particular chimney pot, where he serenades me awake with a particularly impressive range of whistles and trills. The song of the blackbird really is a delightful sound. (You can read a story about a Blackbird here! https://angelajelf.com/2025/05/22/the-art-of-brevity-a-story-in-50-words/)

Occasionally, I get to witness a free aerodynamic display, courtesy of the Swifts, who reappear around the start of May every year. (You can read a poem about them here: https://every-day-encounters.blog/2022/05/17/the-swifts/)

A few times this month, I’ve also been rewarded for having risen early by a flock of Canada Geese, flying in V formation overhead and honking their ‘Good Morning!’

And as for the flowers…well… I’ll just let the photos do the talking.

1st – 5th May

These Iris, which were originally dug up from my mum’s garden, are the first flowers to bloom- and they never cease to amaze me!

They always remind me of the words of Jesus:

And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field and how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (Matt 6:28-29)

8th – 15th May

The yellow rose pictured here is a fairly new edition- it’s got an unusual saucer-shaped flower and bears the name: ‘Tottering By Gently’ which is very apt when you see it fluttering on the breeze! I’m so pleased it’s flowered at the same time as the Iris this year. The colours, being on the opposite side of the colour wheel, look so beautiful together.

15th – 20th May

It’s lovely to see the hardy geraniums starting to fill out and flower – and to count up all the rose-buds, which are on the cusp of opening.

One thing gardening never fails to teach me, is patience. A rose simply won’t be rushed – and that’s all there is to it.

It’s also lovely to have a constant companion, in the form of Honey, our six month Labrador Pup.

I hope you enjoyed this little virtual walk around the garden!