Sunday, October 30, 2011

Time for TinTin

This animated clip is an absolute stunner and has a wonderful story attached to it.

I wish I had this sort of level of creativity and forcefulness (you'll have to read the whole article to get that!).

I will buy this movie when it comes out. I'm over 3D and back into musicals again.

In other news, buying a flat progresses, though it still needs your prayers, and hoping that I can move out soon after Christmas, but we will see how we go. speaking to estate agents and the like is teaching me a lot. Some people have very cautious stories, others are full of hope for me.

Happy to say that the bible reading continues - we've made our way through genesis, exodus and job, with Matthew. We're only 60 days in, but the reading is relatively easy for me. I have read the law books before, so I know what is coming, but it does mean I skim read when I know it gets repetitive, especially in Leviticus. I know I shouldn't do it and I need to take slowly. Still, the psalms and proverbs are delightful at the moment and we're half way through Mark. Keep going if you've started. It will be a fruitful end to the year!

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Something amazing!

You know how I like Disney, right? You know how I like Disney re-imagined, right?

Have a look! This is simply awesome. A good opportunity to find the real life versions of these characters, surely there must be women that look like this?

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Time to get all legal!

So I am continuing the journey towards house owning... well flat owning. There is so much to think about, legally and just being in a place on my own. How do I work out so many different things to make this work? I have wanted to do this so desperately and now as it draws into my reality, it becomes so scary and so unreal, all at once.

So please pray for me. So far I have come across some wonderful people who have been very helpful and I know the right people will cross my path if this is what God wants. That is the important thing... what does God want for me?

Work is going well at the moment. We had an interesting Friday night, praying for the people that I came across, well that came across us, I don't go anywhere on a Friday night, once I am in church. And this has also been the week that the churches in Billericay have attempted to read the Bible, in it's entirety. I think we have done well. It is always difficult to figure out how long it would take, but as far as I know, we did it and hopefully made a difference to some of the people who listened to it.

The scarecrows are still in place, in church, though I think many may have been dismantled and certainly the winner's scarecrow - a boy on a scooter called Bob - has been taken away. I have had a chance to scare myself witless. if you've ever stood in a room with 30 scarecrows in the dark, you'll know that they can look quite human, when they are just shadows!

A lot of my twitter friends have spend this weekend at the youth work summit - I have been catching up with what went on, it seems that it has been monumental for some. So I will be looking forward to catching up with some of you, to find out out thoughts and if it is worth going in May! I missed out, but I did get to spend time with friends and family who I have missed a lot. I hope all of them are well, some of them have been really stressed out recently, so it was good to have a chance to let our hair down!

I am now on holiday for a week and I will be doing various things like my third ever tweetup and a chance to see Kay for a bit in Bristol, and meet her boyfriend! :)

Sunday, October 16, 2011

All New to me!

MYSTERY MAZE! (interactive YouTube game) - YouTube

Have you ever read a book where you have to make the decisions? This is the youtube version of that, and well worth a go! :)

Harvest Festival

This weekend was the Scarecrow festival and Harvest celebration for Christ Church Billericay.

I had the privilege of being involved from the very start, and the only thing that stopped me from attending absolutely everything was a stupid cold that has found it's way to beating my immune system for the first time in ages!

So we had a lot of people at the Scarecrow making workshop on Saturday and have already learnt so much more about how to build a scarecrow, what to stuff it with and how to stand it up. My young people created a scarecrow of me and did a very good job in such a short time to make it look like me. It's pink and grey - with jeans, which is a little bit of a signature look for me!

About 30 scarecrows appeared during the day, most made at the workshop, but some had been dreamt up at home and constructed in the hall. I am told (via Facebook) that the barn dance was awesome and everyone seemed in high spirits this morning in church.

Today we celebrated harvest in a short service with a baptism as well. It was a lot of fun to see families interacting with each other and voting was well under way by the end of the service. I know I didn't win, but when community is involved, it is definitely the taking part that counts. I hope that we covered all parts of our community over the time and the food offering we gave will go to the womens shelter at Basildon.

I will be eating the jar of beetroot chutney Mollie was selling, when I find a brie to go with it! (and a crusty roll! It smells yummy!)

It is good to celebrate all of the things we have an opportunity to taste, see, smell through out the year. Harvest is an important time for a lot of people around the world still. We must not forget the people who don't have enough, or the freedom to make their own way in the world.

Today, I also had an opportunity to pray for all of the young people (and their families) that we see throughout the year.  As a youth leader, how often do you name your young people before God? It is becoming increasingly important for me to pray with team members and my boss as we see the church grow and the young people develop. The Spirit really did take over tonight and I found myself praying with a sickness in my stomach that there were still so many young people in the town that don't know God and what He can do. Fan into flame please God. Help the young people that know you to be radical for you.

A short personal aside. I am single. There is plenty to say, but not here. Thank you for all your support, Chris.


Friday, October 14, 2011

One Day

If you have read the David Nicholls book and my blog, you'll know how much I love stories being told in different ways. Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveller's Wife absolutely captivated me, and really still does. I have read it several times and will continue to read it again and again.

When I saw the advert for David Nicholl's One Day, I was intrigued.  I think I also saw an interview on This Morning with the lead actor. So I thought I ought to buy the book before I saw the movie, I'd seen started for ten a few weeks earlier with James Mcavoy and really liked that, so I was expecting something that spoke to me.

I was not disappointed. I almost wished that I hadn't started it. Thankfully I was reading during the holidays, otherwise I would've had a very sleepy and unproductive few days. I have the sort of imagination that gets me deep into a well written book. I can see characters and places. Some of the places mentioned in the book, I have actually been to, so that helps a lot.

It is well written and worth a go, easy (for me at least) to read and all the twists and turns you might expect from a story about two people who remain friends through their life.

One day, I will also have my own house, and the process has started, but I am struggling. The website that is available has a lot of properties, but when I ring to ask for a viewing, I am finding that the property is sold or under offer. So pray, that I can find a good estate agent, or someone who can really help me out. I'm finding that people are making judgements about me as well, being rude unnecessarily, because they assume that I am something I am not. Hopefully I will get to talk to my parents financial advisor. It's a scary and exciting, daunting that I might be living on my own in the next couple of years. Here's to making space in the diary to view properties!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Please be careful

Tragedy as teenage girl dies minutes after applying hair dye - Yahoo!

This is the reason why skin testing is such a good idea. For the most part, people are not allergic to hair dye, but just in case, please skin test, every time you go to dye your hair - professionally or at home.

Thursday, October 06, 2011

Harvest 2011

This year, Christ Church is celebrating Harvest as a family and for the most part I am involved in one way or another.

I have enjoyed the new ideas that have come along since joining the leadership team. This year is no different, we are into our second year of scarecrow making and I have a title to defend! We will be scarecrow making on Saturday, with a dinner and barn dance. On Sunday we have got a special service and any food we receive will go to a local charity, as well as the judging of the scarecrows! I have to buy a bale of hay - which is something I have never had to do before!

It should be a good weekend, the third and final one of a very 'churchy' time in October. The first weekend was last weekend (which technically started in September) when we spent time as a church, at High Leigh Conference Centre. it was a really good weekend and the Holy Spirit is definitely resting on the church, waiting for God's timing to bring the church together. I really love the church I worship in, the people who lead and serve, and even those who don't yet know how they fit, but still feel part of the family. It's great to see the holy Spirit at work in the people you love and trying to understand our future as a church is going to be a lot of fun.

This coming weekend, I have 14 young people to teach about being a young leader in the place that they are in a discovering their 'SHAPE'. I know most of them well enough to know that as leaders, Lucy and I are going to have a lot of fun!

So that's my October, some time off at the end of the month to take time out and think about other things that have happened. Reflecting on recent event.