I know I have a really odd relationship with God - especially for those who are looking from the outside in. Sometimes I really can not believe that God loves me and wants me to hear and then share what He's telling me. I tend to get extremely emotional and find it really difficult when I tell God's truth to other people, even thinking about it now, I'm getting a little upset!
This has happened a lot recently - I'm having dreams about what to say to people and the pictures and visions are becoming clearer. God is definitely moving towards something big, He doesn't just drop me in it, I can feel that he's surrounding me with something, getting me ready.
Before I went to pray at lunch time for a local school I felt a bit battered and bruised, I'd been worrying about a number of things and people recently... so on the walk to school, I took a deep breath and said 'here, you have it, I don't want it any more' to God and what followed was a time of connection that I haven't had for some time. I had two visions of trees after the lady I was praying with said she felt like she was in a forest of bad stuff.
God has a thing about trees - I can think of several times when I have used them in illustrations, where God uses them to teach. I can see how important they are for the landscape, for the wildlife and for us. I prayed once that the students would be like the trees that surround the school, with deep roots and tall branches and that imagery has continued and developed, this afternoon it came to a crescendo with the vision of the tree being full of good fruit and bad fruit - and guess what? It has deep roots and tall branches, and the classroom it grows through is in the school's RE department.
There is a constant battle that we must not forget we are fighting... we must have the fruits of the Spirit and the Armour of God to help us!
See... weird... but helpful for me, none the less, and it makes me ready for every day that I have to face, knowing that God is right beside me, continuing the battle over this world.
Showing posts with label Church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Church. Show all posts
Thursday, June 02, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
More from Twitter and life to challenge me!
I thought that since we were nearly in February and I hadn't said a lot, that it was time to talk about January and all of the exciting things that have happened in the last couple of week, plus the things that have reminded me of who I am and what I can do. I've only got half an hour so I'll be short!
Like I said in my last post, I have an addiction to twitter. I don't have normal conversations with people any more and Chris and I often chat abut what's been said by people we both follow, or sometimes I'll talk about the slightly more obscure people/ideas that I follow. I am currently proving that I can exist outside of 140 characters, so that's really good news for me.
I follow Twitturgies which is 140 or less characters of pure God gold, now they don't tweet as often as everyone else (I think it's meant to be less than once a day) so it becomes exciting when they have done the deed. And it is always challenging, which is why most of the time I will re-tweet. Yesterdays was interesting as it fitted nicely with what I was watching on TV. The BBC has a habit of showing Open University programmes after the 10 O'clock news and last night was about pain and pleasure, the things that cause it and the things that stop us from feeling pain. The final statement was 'The greatest pleasure is sharing things'.
'Right' I thought, 'I'll tweet that'! And so I did. I didn't get much of a response because it was late at night, but hey-ho. I looked at twitturgies and they had this 'I set aside hostility to practise hospitality. I journey from exclusion to embrace. Help me God to find your grace in every face I see' which in a way speaks more to me more than the final statement of the programme I was watching. (it's called Pleasure and Pain with Michael Mosley and will be on iplayer for a week! and you can follow twitturgies here)
'Help me God to find your grace in every face I see'
It's a challenge for me, because we are all human and some of us are nastier than others, yet of course there are some real saints in the world. It's easy to see God in the things we like, what we enjoy doing (I love my job, but what about those that don't?), who we like but what about the negative aspect of all our lives, where can we see God in that?
I don't know the answer. I'm trying to figure it out for myself as it is regularly something that smacks me in the face and well as the sort of human I'm called to be in God and that nagging voice in my head of 'you shouldn't' or 'don't do that'. I am free, I know that, but I'm not sure how to live it and how to make a difference by living it.
I think that is something that a lot of my generation struggle with as Christians from a church upbringing. We are the generation who could probably put down our faith and not really be bothered. The rest of the world has, those in their 20's are not really fussed about attending church (making it hard to find someone for marriage!) and those who do attend often don't have the teaching background to further their faith or aren't passionate about what Christ has done for them, or they simply don't see the relevance of their faith to let it shine though, for fear of being ridiculed or put down, or being asked tough questions.It can be something we just do on a Sunday because it's something we have always done.
I was privileged enough to be asked to join my friends on a weekend away to Longleat for Momentum Weekend. It was exciting, I love centre parcs a little too much sometimes, so spending a weekend worshipping as well as being in the middle of a forest, yes please! Also, one of my favourite speakers is part of the Momentum movement, though he does go on for a bit! My friends were introduced to the delights of Mike Pilavachi and Andy Croft - who have a wonderful relationship and a go at each other now and then to show that off! Their teaching was fab and it was a great encouragement for me to see 300 young adults (and 2 babies!?!).
They started the weekend with this video but also got us talking later on in the weekend about how we worship as a church and when our worship occurs. I came away with a greater understand ing of my faith and my friends, and hopefully an opportunity to take them to momentum or Soul Survivor later on in the summer.
I have now talking about far more than I wanted to and the blog has fallen into Friday afternoon, rather than Wednesday before school (all the best things take God's time). There are plenty more things to discuss... like the creeds from the early (300 year old) church at CCS and the new phone I have and how I can't find an app for anything I want to do, as well as the ridiculously small manual they sent me and the work we are doing in school and at Shaken Up.
Any comments...??
Like I said in my last post, I have an addiction to twitter. I don't have normal conversations with people any more and Chris and I often chat abut what's been said by people we both follow, or sometimes I'll talk about the slightly more obscure people/ideas that I follow. I am currently proving that I can exist outside of 140 characters, so that's really good news for me.
I follow Twitturgies which is 140 or less characters of pure God gold, now they don't tweet as often as everyone else (I think it's meant to be less than once a day) so it becomes exciting when they have done the deed. And it is always challenging, which is why most of the time I will re-tweet. Yesterdays was interesting as it fitted nicely with what I was watching on TV. The BBC has a habit of showing Open University programmes after the 10 O'clock news and last night was about pain and pleasure, the things that cause it and the things that stop us from feeling pain. The final statement was 'The greatest pleasure is sharing things'.
'Right' I thought, 'I'll tweet that'! And so I did. I didn't get much of a response because it was late at night, but hey-ho. I looked at twitturgies and they had this 'I set aside hostility to practise hospitality. I journey from exclusion to embrace. Help me God to find your grace in every face I see' which in a way speaks more to me more than the final statement of the programme I was watching. (it's called Pleasure and Pain with Michael Mosley and will be on iplayer for a week! and you can follow twitturgies here)
'Help me God to find your grace in every face I see'
It's a challenge for me, because we are all human and some of us are nastier than others, yet of course there are some real saints in the world. It's easy to see God in the things we like, what we enjoy doing (I love my job, but what about those that don't?), who we like but what about the negative aspect of all our lives, where can we see God in that?
I don't know the answer. I'm trying to figure it out for myself as it is regularly something that smacks me in the face and well as the sort of human I'm called to be in God and that nagging voice in my head of 'you shouldn't' or 'don't do that'. I am free, I know that, but I'm not sure how to live it and how to make a difference by living it.
I think that is something that a lot of my generation struggle with as Christians from a church upbringing. We are the generation who could probably put down our faith and not really be bothered. The rest of the world has, those in their 20's are not really fussed about attending church (making it hard to find someone for marriage!) and those who do attend often don't have the teaching background to further their faith or aren't passionate about what Christ has done for them, or they simply don't see the relevance of their faith to let it shine though, for fear of being ridiculed or put down, or being asked tough questions.It can be something we just do on a Sunday because it's something we have always done.
I was privileged enough to be asked to join my friends on a weekend away to Longleat for Momentum Weekend. It was exciting, I love centre parcs a little too much sometimes, so spending a weekend worshipping as well as being in the middle of a forest, yes please! Also, one of my favourite speakers is part of the Momentum movement, though he does go on for a bit! My friends were introduced to the delights of Mike Pilavachi and Andy Croft - who have a wonderful relationship and a go at each other now and then to show that off! Their teaching was fab and it was a great encouragement for me to see 300 young adults (and 2 babies!?!).
They started the weekend with this video but also got us talking later on in the weekend about how we worship as a church and when our worship occurs. I came away with a greater understand ing of my faith and my friends, and hopefully an opportunity to take them to momentum or Soul Survivor later on in the summer.
I have now talking about far more than I wanted to and the blog has fallen into Friday afternoon, rather than Wednesday before school (all the best things take God's time). There are plenty more things to discuss... like the creeds from the early (300 year old) church at CCS and the new phone I have and how I can't find an app for anything I want to do, as well as the ridiculously small manual they sent me and the work we are doing in school and at Shaken Up.
Any comments...??
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Twitter addict
Maybe it's time to add my twitter feed to my blog as I have already tweeted over 500 times since joining up to the thing just before Christmas. I am a fan of tweetdeck although it doesn't really help me to type in names of people I want to tweet, none the less, it does spell check for me... though currently I'm sticking to simple words and just replying to people I know.
I'm still not 100% sure on etiquette for twitter and sometimes I feel as thought I am breaking some unsaid rule about what I'm allowed to say. It seems that my facebook friends know be well enough to know that I occasionally ramble in scripture or chat about what God is doing in my life, whereas the twitter friends I have are all by some sort of motorsport association, so it's interesting to me when there is loads of reaction on facebook, but barely any on twitter. Still there are things that will always be taboo, no matter where you are and what you are doing.
The life of the youth work carries on (and every so often explodes) I have found myself in bed for the most part of the later half of this week, working out a cold that has taken over. My body was waiting for the 11th Jan to completely break down on me, having fought off every other thing going to get me through the Christmas busyness and New year celebrations, plus a weekend away at Centre Parcs with 300 young adults (well 18 - 30's (why would you bring babies on this sort of weekend)). So the last couple of weeks feels like it's taken forever, yet it's now really far away. We're already up to the third Sunday.
God, in His infinite wisdom (yes, surprise!) Has taught me a lot about love and worry in the last couple of weeks as well as mission and Biblical perspectives on things that I never thought I would understand. Amos keeps cropping up in my life and has done since I turned 16. I would say that it's odd, if I didn't know any better!! But I do and I'm grateful for the work that God is doing in my life and in the life of those around me to work for His glory.
I have an over-riding sense of the Holy Spirit resting on my life right now, like He's waiting for me to catch up with Him, to figure out what I'm actually doing and where I need to be in the next term or so, to have those moments where I learn from God and gather myself for another wave of work.
Right, I need to get my sleeping sorted, otherwise I'll never get well!!
I'm still not 100% sure on etiquette for twitter and sometimes I feel as thought I am breaking some unsaid rule about what I'm allowed to say. It seems that my facebook friends know be well enough to know that I occasionally ramble in scripture or chat about what God is doing in my life, whereas the twitter friends I have are all by some sort of motorsport association, so it's interesting to me when there is loads of reaction on facebook, but barely any on twitter. Still there are things that will always be taboo, no matter where you are and what you are doing.
The life of the youth work carries on (and every so often explodes) I have found myself in bed for the most part of the later half of this week, working out a cold that has taken over. My body was waiting for the 11th Jan to completely break down on me, having fought off every other thing going to get me through the Christmas busyness and New year celebrations, plus a weekend away at Centre Parcs with 300 young adults (well 18 - 30's (why would you bring babies on this sort of weekend)). So the last couple of weeks feels like it's taken forever, yet it's now really far away. We're already up to the third Sunday.
God, in His infinite wisdom (yes, surprise!) Has taught me a lot about love and worry in the last couple of weeks as well as mission and Biblical perspectives on things that I never thought I would understand. Amos keeps cropping up in my life and has done since I turned 16. I would say that it's odd, if I didn't know any better!! But I do and I'm grateful for the work that God is doing in my life and in the life of those around me to work for His glory.
I have an over-riding sense of the Holy Spirit resting on my life right now, like He's waiting for me to catch up with Him, to figure out what I'm actually doing and where I need to be in the next term or so, to have those moments where I learn from God and gather myself for another wave of work.
Right, I need to get my sleeping sorted, otherwise I'll never get well!!
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Harvest pt. 2
My brother said yesterday that he was buying a Euromillions ticket with thoughts of becoming famous if he won... A good idea, but on the fame stakes for the family, I am miles ahead of him already. Two Blue Peter appearances under my belt and various news articles, prove that I'm a little more famous than he is (does infamy count though?).
My latest escapade comes in the form of a newspater article... the last time I had my photo taken for the paper was when I had curly hair! So a very long time ago... but here's the evidence
Don't I look good!?!?! Bear in mind that I had spent a wet afternoon in Norsey woods... but I look happy at least.
Today we have had the second harvest festival from Brightside school. They do a wonderful job of putting things together for an event that, according to the BBC, is dying out. We are living in a constantly changing world - and that shows by not hearing any familiar songs this morning - so children are viewing harvest differently. It's interesting though, school is already different from what I remember. I sound like an old woman :( I guess I am though.
Time to get my act together!
Last night we had J.John chat to us (DVD!) about adultery, which was really interesting. It was a fresh look at some of the things we're told not to do... but positively what we should be doing in our relationships - particularly with those we are in love with. If you're interested in Just 10 - have a look at the website or youtube for a glimpse of how good Just 10 is!
My latest escapade comes in the form of a newspater article... the last time I had my photo taken for the paper was when I had curly hair! So a very long time ago... but here's the evidence
Don't I look good!?!?! Bear in mind that I had spent a wet afternoon in Norsey woods... but I look happy at least.
Today we have had the second harvest festival from Brightside school. They do a wonderful job of putting things together for an event that, according to the BBC, is dying out. We are living in a constantly changing world - and that shows by not hearing any familiar songs this morning - so children are viewing harvest differently. It's interesting though, school is already different from what I remember. I sound like an old woman :( I guess I am though.
Time to get my act together!
Last night we had J.John chat to us (DVD!) about adultery, which was really interesting. It was a fresh look at some of the things we're told not to do... but positively what we should be doing in our relationships - particularly with those we are in love with. If you're interested in Just 10 - have a look at the website or youtube for a glimpse of how good Just 10 is!
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Harvest Festival
The last weekend was taken over by all things harvest-y. A chance to celebrate the things that we count as our own harvest. For me, it's how thankful I am for the hard work of the people around me, that we've created a space for young people to come to on a Friday and in school too. For the relationships that continue to grow and the opportunities that I have to share the gospel with the community around me.
We celebrated this year by holding a scarecrow festival, our first ever festival, which went down really well with the younger families and some of the adults, we had two entries from St John's school so a dozen scarecrows were voted on and the winner is.... ME! My 'Young person 101' got the most votes but it was a close one. I really enjoyed the problem solving aspect of it, but I think that is partly because I have an artist inside me and she quite enjoyed being let loose for a little bit. Here's my young person
Sport loving, laces undone, hoodie and jean wearing! Typical really!
Here's a really scary scarecrow!
My good friends Helen and Emma spent over two hours putting him together! He did a brief preach, before being dismantled.
We had a lot of fun at the barn dance and Sunday morning was about celebrating everything that had happened and was going to happen. I was most impressed with the pathfinders and the brilliant mime that they did to tell the story... Margaret's message was really good too and we held a collection for our mission partners in South Africa. The band were really good and the whole thing just hung together.
After that I walked around a very wet norsey woods with my parents and some others for 2 and a half hours. I got lost, but it's not difficult to find your way again... At the moment the rain is depressing me a bit as is waking up in the dark too. I'd rather stay in bed! But life goes on and so must I. We then headed back to church for the voting of the scarecrow contest. A man from the paper turned up, so I am going to have my photo hopefully in that this week. All good fun!
It's an interesting time of year.
We celebrated this year by holding a scarecrow festival, our first ever festival, which went down really well with the younger families and some of the adults, we had two entries from St John's school so a dozen scarecrows were voted on and the winner is.... ME! My 'Young person 101' got the most votes but it was a close one. I really enjoyed the problem solving aspect of it, but I think that is partly because I have an artist inside me and she quite enjoyed being let loose for a little bit. Here's my young person
Sport loving, laces undone, hoodie and jean wearing! Typical really!
Here's a really scary scarecrow!
My good friends Helen and Emma spent over two hours putting him together! He did a brief preach, before being dismantled.
We had a lot of fun at the barn dance and Sunday morning was about celebrating everything that had happened and was going to happen. I was most impressed with the pathfinders and the brilliant mime that they did to tell the story... Margaret's message was really good too and we held a collection for our mission partners in South Africa. The band were really good and the whole thing just hung together.
After that I walked around a very wet norsey woods with my parents and some others for 2 and a half hours. I got lost, but it's not difficult to find your way again... At the moment the rain is depressing me a bit as is waking up in the dark too. I'd rather stay in bed! But life goes on and so must I. We then headed back to church for the voting of the scarecrow contest. A man from the paper turned up, so I am going to have my photo hopefully in that this week. All good fun!
It's an interesting time of year.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Two Thirds of the way there!
Another mile stone reached today. I'm now well on my way to being finished - here's the latest video
W're also well on our way to a very busy July... There's a holiday (at the end of the week) and a weekend away at Stubber's the week after, which I'm now an old hand at! My birthday and a special celebration party during the third weekend, by which point I will have finished my cycling, and then finally the run up to Falcon camp, and then actually Falcon camp, I'm not really going to be at church this month... but when I am it will hopefully be really exciting! We have got BBC Essex visiting church, so although I'll be at work really early on my birthday, I'll hopefully have an opportunity to hear the young families and young people on the radio!
Time to get on with work!
W're also well on our way to a very busy July... There's a holiday (at the end of the week) and a weekend away at Stubber's the week after, which I'm now an old hand at! My birthday and a special celebration party during the third weekend, by which point I will have finished my cycling, and then finally the run up to Falcon camp, and then actually Falcon camp, I'm not really going to be at church this month... but when I am it will hopefully be really exciting! We have got BBC Essex visiting church, so although I'll be at work really early on my birthday, I'll hopefully have an opportunity to hear the young families and young people on the radio!
Time to get on with work!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
ASBO Jesus strikes again
As always browsing the net and catching up on websites I visit occasionally brings up something that pulls on my heart strings... I love Peter Smith's blog at the moment, I have always wanted to own a piece of art, something original and I think ImPossiMaLs are brilliant... when I have enough money for the one I have my eye on I might buy it...
The other website that tugs on my heart and my brain is ASBO Jesus and this particular cartoon (left click and bring it up in a new tab!) for the series that Jon has done. He is a really clever artist and I know that what the cartoon is saying rings true for me. A lot of life is spent making sure lots of people are happy but I know that as a youth worker I am only human and I can't make everyone happy/heal all their hurts etc. It does take a lot to realise that some times, and normally if you don't know who to make happy, you should turn to God and know that He did the ultimate act to make people happy - have a look here to see what that is.
On a brief aside, I'm glad LOST is over, it's about 8 years since it started and once I couldn't watch it on normal TV I lost interest (ha) and gave up, I don't think it's great that Sky are using Amazing Grace to promote the double episode on Friday, but then you can't make everyone happy!
The other website that tugs on my heart and my brain is ASBO Jesus and this particular cartoon (left click and bring it up in a new tab!) for the series that Jon has done. He is a really clever artist and I know that what the cartoon is saying rings true for me. A lot of life is spent making sure lots of people are happy but I know that as a youth worker I am only human and I can't make everyone happy/heal all their hurts etc. It does take a lot to realise that some times, and normally if you don't know who to make happy, you should turn to God and know that He did the ultimate act to make people happy - have a look here to see what that is.
On a brief aside, I'm glad LOST is over, it's about 8 years since it started and once I couldn't watch it on normal TV I lost interest (ha) and gave up, I don't think it's great that Sky are using Amazing Grace to promote the double episode on Friday, but then you can't make everyone happy!
Monday, May 17, 2010
What are you going to ask God to help you with?
Yesterday I spoke at church, it was the Sunday after Ascension, the time where Jesus goes back to Heaven to be with God. It wasn't my greatest talk, but I ended with the question above.
Mark and Hannah, whom I have known since I was 18, were recently on Premier Radio talking about what they are doing in Billericay, you can listen to them talking about their mission here. They know what and where their mission is, but for some people it's not so obvious.
We had a baptism family and our uniform groups at church yesterday, which means that it is a busy time in church. It's always hard to know how to pitch a talk, but using Up went down well and broke the ice with a lot of people. I wasn't at my best for reasons known only to God... although falling asleep last night and sitting thinking this morning, I started to come up with ideas for talks. I'm going to write them down here, so that I can come back to them in a year, or if I get given this passage again!
Mission:Impossible - talk about the disciples being given the impossible task of going to the ends of the earth, they didn't know that their ministry would take the turn it did.
I did have another one, but it escapes me right now, it came to me as I fell asleep!
So this week there is lots to do, I've got planning to do and a day out, some admin to do and phone calls to make. The summer is coming, so I've got a lot of planning to do for the holiday camps and things that are going on!
Mark and Hannah, whom I have known since I was 18, were recently on Premier Radio talking about what they are doing in Billericay, you can listen to them talking about their mission here. They know what and where their mission is, but for some people it's not so obvious.
We had a baptism family and our uniform groups at church yesterday, which means that it is a busy time in church. It's always hard to know how to pitch a talk, but using Up went down well and broke the ice with a lot of people. I wasn't at my best for reasons known only to God... although falling asleep last night and sitting thinking this morning, I started to come up with ideas for talks. I'm going to write them down here, so that I can come back to them in a year, or if I get given this passage again!
Mission:Impossible - talk about the disciples being given the impossible task of going to the ends of the earth, they didn't know that their ministry would take the turn it did.
I did have another one, but it escapes me right now, it came to me as I fell asleep!
So this week there is lots to do, I've got planning to do and a day out, some admin to do and phone calls to make. The summer is coming, so I've got a lot of planning to do for the holiday camps and things that are going on!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
The Wedding
Mandy and Rob are now Mr and Mrs Campbell.
The wedding of the century didn't start very well for me, I was up at 5, a combination of nerves and excitement and being cold woke me up. So I was more than ready when I got picked up at 7.50am for the hair appointment and make up session. It was nice to sit in a quiet salon and chat with the other ladies...watching Mandy get made up was amazing, she looked really beautiful. I can't wait to see the photos that the photographer took! He was there from very early to very late - check out his website here.
We had a few little problems, but kudos to Mandy and Rob for planning so meticulously...the things that didn't go too well were entirely out of their hands... everything else was really good...smooth and mostly stress free.
I enjoyed being a bridesmaid, I really liked my dress and my bouquet is hanging in the airing cupboard drying out because I love it!
We had a real laugh with the people on our table, a bit of a Billericay school reunion! And danced the night away... Five lakes is a nice place to have a party, but we were down in the basement with a member of staff who was a new employee...bad move to leave him on his own! The best part was being joined by Chris...
Aren't we gorgeous? He's not too well at the moment (bad tooth), so I was really happy to see him.
The beds were comfortable and the room was a good size, and the breakfast looked yummy though I was so exhausted that I couldn't really eat a lot. 22 hours awake is tough... but I did it and I was really please that Mandy asked me to be a bridesmaid!
I'm looking forward to the next wedding, but seen as Mandy didn't throw her bouquet, we've got no idea who it might be!!
The wedding of the century didn't start very well for me, I was up at 5, a combination of nerves and excitement and being cold woke me up. So I was more than ready when I got picked up at 7.50am for the hair appointment and make up session. It was nice to sit in a quiet salon and chat with the other ladies...watching Mandy get made up was amazing, she looked really beautiful. I can't wait to see the photos that the photographer took! He was there from very early to very late - check out his website here.
We had a few little problems, but kudos to Mandy and Rob for planning so meticulously...the things that didn't go too well were entirely out of their hands... everything else was really good...smooth and mostly stress free.
I enjoyed being a bridesmaid, I really liked my dress and my bouquet is hanging in the airing cupboard drying out because I love it!
We had a real laugh with the people on our table, a bit of a Billericay school reunion! And danced the night away... Five lakes is a nice place to have a party, but we were down in the basement with a member of staff who was a new employee...bad move to leave him on his own! The best part was being joined by Chris...
Aren't we gorgeous? He's not too well at the moment (bad tooth), so I was really happy to see him.
The beds were comfortable and the room was a good size, and the breakfast looked yummy though I was so exhausted that I couldn't really eat a lot. 22 hours awake is tough... but I did it and I was really please that Mandy asked me to be a bridesmaid!
I'm looking forward to the next wedding, but seen as Mandy didn't throw her bouquet, we've got no idea who it might be!!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Never Forget
I'm currently listening to 'Never Forget' and it's not coming from my CD player...but from my brother's! Interesting choice of music for a 20 year old boy...
The last four weeks has literally disintegrated before my eyes... we are days away from the Wedding of the Decade. I can't believe that it is just around the corner, I really don't know what the day is going to be like and I am grateful that there are so many people around me who have been involved in weddings more recently than I have. I'm trying to think of the last time I spent a whole day at a wedding and I can't actually remember. I think I'm fortunate that I often spend days with a lot of people, so a wedding with all of my friends should be easy, right?
We'll find out in a couple of days.
The election campaign rumbles on, with news that an egg has been thrown at the Conservative Party leader, the Labour Party leader is down in the polls and the Lib Dem leader has done well at the first national television debate, though the Scottish and Welsh front runners aren't happy that they were left out of the 90 min debate.
The churches in the town have gotten together to hold a hustings...and invited the main three parties to it. I wasn't in this county the last time there was a general election... May 2005 was midway through my degree and I should've voted but didn't. I remember paying attention and talking about the various billboards around town...but when it came to voting I didn't. Maybe because I was busy raising money or in yet another different county - it didn't even register on my radar in the blogsphere it seems. May 2005 was busy and May 2010 looks to be busy too...I'm preaching, there are school trips, working with Chris, another birthday or two and meetings.
Tonight I'm on my own at home because Chris had his tooth pulled out by the mean dentist! So I'm trying to work out the next couple of months...Successful!
With everything that has happened recently, I know I'm living in a world where God is looking out for and listening to everyone all of the time. There have been so many cries for help recently, I can't hear them all, but God certainly can and He is the only one that can do anything about it.
The last four weeks has literally disintegrated before my eyes... we are days away from the Wedding of the Decade. I can't believe that it is just around the corner, I really don't know what the day is going to be like and I am grateful that there are so many people around me who have been involved in weddings more recently than I have. I'm trying to think of the last time I spent a whole day at a wedding and I can't actually remember. I think I'm fortunate that I often spend days with a lot of people, so a wedding with all of my friends should be easy, right?
We'll find out in a couple of days.
The election campaign rumbles on, with news that an egg has been thrown at the Conservative Party leader, the Labour Party leader is down in the polls and the Lib Dem leader has done well at the first national television debate, though the Scottish and Welsh front runners aren't happy that they were left out of the 90 min debate.
The churches in the town have gotten together to hold a hustings...and invited the main three parties to it. I wasn't in this county the last time there was a general election... May 2005 was midway through my degree and I should've voted but didn't. I remember paying attention and talking about the various billboards around town...but when it came to voting I didn't. Maybe because I was busy raising money or in yet another different county - it didn't even register on my radar in the blogsphere it seems. May 2005 was busy and May 2010 looks to be busy too...I'm preaching, there are school trips, working with Chris, another birthday or two and meetings.
Tonight I'm on my own at home because Chris had his tooth pulled out by the mean dentist! So I'm trying to work out the next couple of months...Successful!
With everything that has happened recently, I know I'm living in a world where God is looking out for and listening to everyone all of the time. There have been so many cries for help recently, I can't hear them all, but God certainly can and He is the only one that can do anything about it.
Friday, April 02, 2010
Eastingle
This year Easter was wet... That's more for me than you!
This year we ended the Walk of Witness at the Catholic Church, it didn't rain on us, we didn't get shouted at and I found that the service at the end gets better every year. It was really good to see everyone, some who I saw last week, others I haven't seen for a long time.
I ended up going for coffee with some of them, and then headed home to get ready for Eastingle.
For three years in a row, Christ Church has held a service on Good Friday, specifically aimed at children and families, in the middle of the afternoon. We are going to keep doing this and we are going to provide the materials for other people to do it as well, so if you'd like to know a little bit more, write a comment and I'll contact you!
I'm the youth worker at Christ Church, so I get to do some of the fun things... like leading a service. I still panic some times, I get nervous, but apparently I'm very good at hiding it. What I had to say was very important, I can't remember what I said though, I'm sure if I read it back, I'll be able to fill in some of the blanks, but when it comes to telling God's truth, the Holy Spirit takes over and I'm left speechless afterwards!
We had over 150 people this year - we almost doubled in number from last year and we started with 25 people the year before that.
I am pleased... and in other ways I am pleased with this
This is scrumptious Eton mess - yes that is chocolate, strawberries, cream and meringue... yes, only an hour after it was put together, it got eaten by six hungry friends!
Making meringue takes it's time, a serious amount of time, so only do it if you've got a couple of hours to spare - it took 5 mins to consume!
I have a better understanding of cooking every time I'm let loose in the kitchen, I have a better understanding of my faith every time I'm asked to explain it in church, taking time on my own is the best...
It is now time for bed and a well earned day off!
P.S. I'm liking lea & perrins a lot at the moment!
This year we ended the Walk of Witness at the Catholic Church, it didn't rain on us, we didn't get shouted at and I found that the service at the end gets better every year. It was really good to see everyone, some who I saw last week, others I haven't seen for a long time.
I ended up going for coffee with some of them, and then headed home to get ready for Eastingle.
For three years in a row, Christ Church has held a service on Good Friday, specifically aimed at children and families, in the middle of the afternoon. We are going to keep doing this and we are going to provide the materials for other people to do it as well, so if you'd like to know a little bit more, write a comment and I'll contact you!
I'm the youth worker at Christ Church, so I get to do some of the fun things... like leading a service. I still panic some times, I get nervous, but apparently I'm very good at hiding it. What I had to say was very important, I can't remember what I said though, I'm sure if I read it back, I'll be able to fill in some of the blanks, but when it comes to telling God's truth, the Holy Spirit takes over and I'm left speechless afterwards!
We had over 150 people this year - we almost doubled in number from last year and we started with 25 people the year before that.
I am pleased... and in other ways I am pleased with this
This is scrumptious Eton mess - yes that is chocolate, strawberries, cream and meringue... yes, only an hour after it was put together, it got eaten by six hungry friends!
Making meringue takes it's time, a serious amount of time, so only do it if you've got a couple of hours to spare - it took 5 mins to consume!
I have a better understanding of cooking every time I'm let loose in the kitchen, I have a better understanding of my faith every time I'm asked to explain it in church, taking time on my own is the best...
It is now time for bed and a well earned day off!
P.S. I'm liking lea & perrins a lot at the moment!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Celebrating Easter
This is a picture of a Seder table (stolen from here) which is the Jewish remembrance of Passover - this Easter I have done this twice - once with my course buddies and once with St John's school.
The importance of remembering the past is huge for the Jewish people and for Christians the world over, though opinons differ as to when it happened, but that's not my point. I said this time last year that I love tradition and I think that I can't really do without it in some respects.
It took 11 months for the work to be done so that I could make use of my DVD/CD holders, and now I'm heading back to Ikea to buy more furniture to replace the stuff that is falling apart after a long time of wear and tear.
A year down the line and I am moving forward... working towards another Eastingle and another week of busyness. I can't really comprehend how I got here, or where I will end up, but I know that I am loved fully by the Father and saved by the actions of his Son.
I also had the privilege of spending 4 days with 3 wonderful people and some guests - Mrs Barlow - actually Miss Deall and soon to be Mrs Campbell, is getting married in less than 4 weeks, so we spent the weekend at Elveden (again) celebrating.
I love this lady very much... and it's scary and wonderful to know that she will be getting married to a lovely man! There are still lots of hen things to do, but it's a secret!! Photos and a blog soon!
Here's to the end of March and the beginning of another busy month!
Friday, March 19, 2010
A day out
This week has been really unusual for me - it's been very long and it's not over yet.
The major event for this week was spending the day in Ely yesterday, with St John's school. A delightful bunch of year 8 students piled onto a coach and headed up north (yes I know it's not that far away...) with the Head of RE, the Deputy Head, a parent helper and me.
Ely is in Cambridgeshire and has a rather large cathedral off to one side. It's a very quiet village for a place that has such an amazing building... I can imagine that it's heaving in the summer... but on a mild spring day, there was only one other school there and we had the privilege of being shown the cathedral by the educational officer.
So here's a photo or two to whet your appetite and maybe get you to go to Ely...
Here's the sight that you're greeted with - to the left is the Lady Chapel (big clear windows) and the tall tower is the lantern. The rest is the main body of the church.
This is underneath the lantern - the Octagon, named because it has 8 sides (shocker). The higher structure is iron-clad wood and it rests on stone pillars. The head of RE said that I would get dizzy looking down, but when you're looking up 100 feet, it's not difficult to topple over backwards! This was built in the 1300's - it's impressive from the ground, but when you get to climb to see the angels, it becomes even more impressive.
It's hard to get the scale, but these angels were huge! I'm just over 5 foot tall - so these beautiful paintings must be 10 maybe 12 feet in height!
This is right at the very top of the Octagon and a picture of the West Tower and the countryside beyond... We were 100 foot up at this point, very cold and trying to imagine what it would be like to be 200 foot up at the top of the tower we were looking at.
If you want to visit Ely, have a look at their website for all the information. It is well worth the climb to get up to the top and have a look, especially if you've got a clear day!
Ely has an incredible history, not just at the cathedral, but in Oliver Cromwell's house too - which is a minutes walk from the front door of the cathedral and worth doing the tour.
I really enjoyed myself, getting to know the year 8 students, learning about a parish I hadn't been to before and acting like a tourist for a bit.
The week goes on though, I'm heading to Great Baddow tomorrow for some training and then to Chris' for a birthday celebration.
Time and space to gather myself together to head to youth group later on.
The major event for this week was spending the day in Ely yesterday, with St John's school. A delightful bunch of year 8 students piled onto a coach and headed up north (yes I know it's not that far away...) with the Head of RE, the Deputy Head, a parent helper and me.
Ely is in Cambridgeshire and has a rather large cathedral off to one side. It's a very quiet village for a place that has such an amazing building... I can imagine that it's heaving in the summer... but on a mild spring day, there was only one other school there and we had the privilege of being shown the cathedral by the educational officer.
So here's a photo or two to whet your appetite and maybe get you to go to Ely...
Here's the sight that you're greeted with - to the left is the Lady Chapel (big clear windows) and the tall tower is the lantern. The rest is the main body of the church.
This is underneath the lantern - the Octagon, named because it has 8 sides (shocker). The higher structure is iron-clad wood and it rests on stone pillars. The head of RE said that I would get dizzy looking down, but when you're looking up 100 feet, it's not difficult to topple over backwards! This was built in the 1300's - it's impressive from the ground, but when you get to climb to see the angels, it becomes even more impressive.
It's hard to get the scale, but these angels were huge! I'm just over 5 foot tall - so these beautiful paintings must be 10 maybe 12 feet in height!
This is right at the very top of the Octagon and a picture of the West Tower and the countryside beyond... We were 100 foot up at this point, very cold and trying to imagine what it would be like to be 200 foot up at the top of the tower we were looking at.If you want to visit Ely, have a look at their website for all the information. It is well worth the climb to get up to the top and have a look, especially if you've got a clear day!
Ely has an incredible history, not just at the cathedral, but in Oliver Cromwell's house too - which is a minutes walk from the front door of the cathedral and worth doing the tour.
I really enjoyed myself, getting to know the year 8 students, learning about a parish I hadn't been to before and acting like a tourist for a bit.
The week goes on though, I'm heading to Great Baddow tomorrow for some training and then to Chris' for a birthday celebration.
Time and space to gather myself together to head to youth group later on.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Mothering Sunday
The middle of March has rolled around a little too quickly, but it's here and we're celebrating Mothering Sunday in our (un)usual ways.
For christ Church, it was a chance to try something new... we spent half an hour before the service started in seperate parts of the building, mothers and those without young children, chatting and having coffee and delicious cakes in the hall, and everyone else in the main church building, at various tables, making things for their mum.
Second Sunday for Christ Church is a communion service, so we thought of a creative way to allow families to come to communion together. We had four stations at four distinct points of the church and invited people to take communion in their own time.
It's an unusual way of doing things for us as a church, we normally have rows and more singing, but this time we had card making, pot painting and poem wirting, plus some sentence finishing. We had the normal things, like a talk and a welcome, but we praised God with everything we did and supported all of the families that joined us.
Yesterday was full of fun things for me personally - I got to see Alice, Andy, Alex, Stephen and Matilda, we were pre-planning Falcon Afloat, which included remembering last year and gathering thoughts for this year... some very exciting ideas and some increasingly funny memories, that always get better with time. I'm really looking forward to Falcon this year... I went with mild intrepidation last year (and I'd already been away for the weekend) but this year I'm going with a clearer idea of what to expect (at least from living on a boat for a couple of days) and how things work. However, God works in mysterious ways and I know that this year is going to be totally different from last year.
I finished the day with cooking dinner for 7 people, something that I am fully capable of, but I'm still learning about portions and how to make decent gravy! With help from Karen and Dominic (boyfriend of sister!) we put together a pretty decent roast dinner, with yorkshires and all the trimmings (no stuffing though - I really don't think we needed it) and finished with the giantic chocolate gateaux that my Nan brought. We needed more veg, but ate on time. I've realised that gravy takes it's own sweet time, there's no rushing it! Conversations after dinner were full of passion for things we love and things we hate, telling stories and humiliating each other in the only way we know how - when a family has been complete for 20 years getting together is easy and wonderful! Happy 79th birthday to my Nan - still going strong and not looking a day over 6o!!
Happy Mothering Sunday... here's to restful weeks and wonderful weekends.
For christ Church, it was a chance to try something new... we spent half an hour before the service started in seperate parts of the building, mothers and those without young children, chatting and having coffee and delicious cakes in the hall, and everyone else in the main church building, at various tables, making things for their mum.
Second Sunday for Christ Church is a communion service, so we thought of a creative way to allow families to come to communion together. We had four stations at four distinct points of the church and invited people to take communion in their own time.
It's an unusual way of doing things for us as a church, we normally have rows and more singing, but this time we had card making, pot painting and poem wirting, plus some sentence finishing. We had the normal things, like a talk and a welcome, but we praised God with everything we did and supported all of the families that joined us.
Yesterday was full of fun things for me personally - I got to see Alice, Andy, Alex, Stephen and Matilda, we were pre-planning Falcon Afloat, which included remembering last year and gathering thoughts for this year... some very exciting ideas and some increasingly funny memories, that always get better with time. I'm really looking forward to Falcon this year... I went with mild intrepidation last year (and I'd already been away for the weekend) but this year I'm going with a clearer idea of what to expect (at least from living on a boat for a couple of days) and how things work. However, God works in mysterious ways and I know that this year is going to be totally different from last year.
I finished the day with cooking dinner for 7 people, something that I am fully capable of, but I'm still learning about portions and how to make decent gravy! With help from Karen and Dominic (boyfriend of sister!) we put together a pretty decent roast dinner, with yorkshires and all the trimmings (no stuffing though - I really don't think we needed it) and finished with the giantic chocolate gateaux that my Nan brought. We needed more veg, but ate on time. I've realised that gravy takes it's own sweet time, there's no rushing it! Conversations after dinner were full of passion for things we love and things we hate, telling stories and humiliating each other in the only way we know how - when a family has been complete for 20 years getting together is easy and wonderful! Happy 79th birthday to my Nan - still going strong and not looking a day over 6o!!
Happy Mothering Sunday... here's to restful weeks and wonderful weekends.
Thursday, March 04, 2010
Fairtrade Cafes
Al Fresco!
It went really well, for all the chocolate I had brought, it all disappeared over the three days and here's the video (play spot the youth worker) to prove that we did well!
I had a lot of fun, and I would like to say thank you to everyone who helped out (including the people at the Fairtrade offices) and everyone who ate the chocolate!
Time to sleep, and then discuss mission and the future of discipleship with those around me...plus a trip to see my sisters youth group and time to prepare for leading the 11-14's on Sunday... It's busy, somewhere in all that I have another coffee date to fit in and a boyfriend to see.
On Tuesday night, Chris and I headed to the Royal Albert Hall to see Ludovico Einaudi in concert with a fifteen strong string orchestra from 'Romeo and Juliet country' (their group name is - I have really got no idea - Chris, what are they called?). I loved it, I've seen live music before, but this was in an entirely different league, I'm not a classical music type person, that was, until Einaudi sat down and started playing. I've heard orchestras before, but nothing like what I heard on Tuesday... blown away is an understatement! I will be keeping an eye out for concerts in the future.
It went really well, for all the chocolate I had brought, it all disappeared over the three days and here's the video (play spot the youth worker) to prove that we did well!
I had a lot of fun, and I would like to say thank you to everyone who helped out (including the people at the Fairtrade offices) and everyone who ate the chocolate!
Time to sleep, and then discuss mission and the future of discipleship with those around me...plus a trip to see my sisters youth group and time to prepare for leading the 11-14's on Sunday... It's busy, somewhere in all that I have another coffee date to fit in and a boyfriend to see.
On Tuesday night, Chris and I headed to the Royal Albert Hall to see Ludovico Einaudi in concert with a fifteen strong string orchestra from 'Romeo and Juliet country' (their group name is - I have really got no idea - Chris, what are they called?). I loved it, I've seen live music before, but this was in an entirely different league, I'm not a classical music type person, that was, until Einaudi sat down and started playing. I've heard orchestras before, but nothing like what I heard on Tuesday... blown away is an understatement! I will be keeping an eye out for concerts in the future.
Monday, December 21, 2009
It's a Corsa adventure
Not quite a Mini adventure but my escapades in my car over the last 48 hours will go down in history.
Like my sister has said tonight 'everything halts for the snow' and quite literally, it has. Today, I spent 2 hours in my car, not getting even half way to Chelmsford and back. There were no buses for my Dad to get home, so I was charged with collecting him from Galleywood.
It took me ages. I was in the car for longer than it takes me to get to Luton. It was crazy, the problem with the road to Chelmsford is that you don't often know why it it's backed up. It's only a B-road, so gets missed on traffic reports, but crosses an A-road at a crucial point, so if that's closed, it does get blocked up.
The cause of the queue was a crash, from someone turning round by the looks of things. So the police had closed the road.
My adventure also consists of travelling down an ungritted road. My road, which is a steep enough hill, means being really careful and in 2nd gear on the way up.
It's been tough getting around since the snow came down, tomorrow doesn't look any better. But I have managed to do everything I wanted to, I've just got to make sure that as I leave the house tomorrow, I've got everything I need for a day out!
The good news about this week is that, yes it is almost Christmas, but that we've also got a new projector being fitted at church. It's been a long time coming, but I am really excited that we will be able to do a lot more now!
Like my sister has said tonight 'everything halts for the snow' and quite literally, it has. Today, I spent 2 hours in my car, not getting even half way to Chelmsford and back. There were no buses for my Dad to get home, so I was charged with collecting him from Galleywood.
It took me ages. I was in the car for longer than it takes me to get to Luton. It was crazy, the problem with the road to Chelmsford is that you don't often know why it it's backed up. It's only a B-road, so gets missed on traffic reports, but crosses an A-road at a crucial point, so if that's closed, it does get blocked up.
The cause of the queue was a crash, from someone turning round by the looks of things. So the police had closed the road.
My adventure also consists of travelling down an ungritted road. My road, which is a steep enough hill, means being really careful and in 2nd gear on the way up.
It's been tough getting around since the snow came down, tomorrow doesn't look any better. But I have managed to do everything I wanted to, I've just got to make sure that as I leave the house tomorrow, I've got everything I need for a day out!
The good news about this week is that, yes it is almost Christmas, but that we've also got a new projector being fitted at church. It's been a long time coming, but I am really excited that we will be able to do a lot more now!
Monday, November 30, 2009
Happy New Year!
No, I'm not a month early. It's the start of the liturgical year for the Church of England.
We celebrate the new year by inviting the community to the Advent Carol Service. We decorate the tree and invite choirs from the schools to join us. The picture is of the church and the dance group.
This year we told the story of the visits of the angels. It was a really good service again. It was well attended and very well laid out. The story is always good, and when you take it from a different perspective you can get a lot more out of it. So I'd challenge you to look at the story from a different side this year.
Warner's message was really good and part of the reason why I'm blogging today.
Unfortunately, I'm really not very well today. I'm full of cold, which really affects my sense of balance and general well being. I've been putting off being ill for quite a while...if I can say that. You know when you just know you can't be ill, but the moment the event that you're building up to is over, you just let it happen...so that's what has happened. This weekend was a big one for so many different reasons. Now I'm taking the time out to recover.
Youthwork: The conference was tough. A lot to take in, more to listen to and lots of resources to read through and use. I love the schoolswork.co.uk playing cards and will be using them in school and youth group soon.
Here's to a fruitful start to the year... and a get well soon mentality...
We celebrate the new year by inviting the community to the Advent Carol Service. We decorate the tree and invite choirs from the schools to join us. The picture is of the church and the dance group.
This year we told the story of the visits of the angels. It was a really good service again. It was well attended and very well laid out. The story is always good, and when you take it from a different perspective you can get a lot more out of it. So I'd challenge you to look at the story from a different side this year.
Warner's message was really good and part of the reason why I'm blogging today.
Unfortunately, I'm really not very well today. I'm full of cold, which really affects my sense of balance and general well being. I've been putting off being ill for quite a while...if I can say that. You know when you just know you can't be ill, but the moment the event that you're building up to is over, you just let it happen...so that's what has happened. This weekend was a big one for so many different reasons. Now I'm taking the time out to recover.
Youthwork: The conference was tough. A lot to take in, more to listen to and lots of resources to read through and use. I love the schoolswork.co.uk playing cards and will be using them in school and youth group soon.
Here's to a fruitful start to the year... and a get well soon mentality...
Friday, November 13, 2009
Into The Box
This is a picture of the space that we were in at the end of half term, during darkness to light. I love this window. I'd quite like a closer look at it on day. Being at work I didn't get a chance to buy a postcard with a better picture, but Andy and I did spend some time trying to figure out the Latin inscription around it, but neither of us being Latin speakers, we found it a little hard!!
My second picture is of shoeboxes. Rather more colourful and heavier than if they had shoes in them! If you haven't heard of Operation Christmas Child, where have you been? (living in a shoebox perhaps?) It's a brilliant scheme that gets presents to children who don't have very much and often live in war torn countries. I have loved doing this with the students from Mayflower High School, its a shame that it doesn't run for a little longer, but there's a lot to do, once we've done our bit, to get the shoeboxes to the people that deserve them the most.I'm praying that there will be a lot of shoeboxes arriving at church on Sunday.
I'm looking forward to Shaken Up tonight (last week we had 18 young people) and then on to Saturday and the weekend! Firstly though I have to write prayers for Sunday!
If you click here it'll take you to a post with the opposite name!
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
A night out
Friday night was spent in a building that I've never been to before.
If you're ever in St Albans, take the time to wander around the cathedral there. It's huge - possibly one of the biggest spaces I've been in (I haven't had time to check the cubic measurements of St Albans and Notre Dame) - the high ceilings and huge windows are amazing. You get the dizzy feeling from looking up!
Alice, Andy and I were there for the Darkness to Light themed lock in. We were running the labyrinth - which is going on a journey though different stations, some practical, others more contemplative, but all themed.
It was tiring, but a lot of fun to do, a learning experience and a chance to see how a different diocese does events.
I got home at 5am on Saturday morning and slept through til 11am.
Saturday evening came around all too quickly and I found myself in charge of Christ Church's Bowl and Bite at Eddies on Radford way. We had about 50 people during the course of the evening, families, young people and adults all bowling and eating together.
I really enjoyed the evening and am looking forward to doing it again. Hopefully we'll get more people along and have a chance to get to know some of the other people in our church family and town.
Sunday came round all too quickly as well. I lead Pathfinders at church, trying to teach them that God wants us to be nice and polite to our friends and family to make the world a better place.
Sunday afternoon was abandoned to sleeping and watching the Grand Prix - which was almost a parade, apart from the last lap, which was a little exciting.
The rest of the day was spent travelling to Luton, seeing Karen and holding Guinea Pigs, eating good food and discussing various parties and anniversaries that are happening in 2010.
The sad news this week is that I can't currently work in my office because of a leak. It has rained quite heavily recently, and the water seems to have found it's way onto my desk. It's a flat roof above my head and the water is coming in through the light, so it's not safe for me to work there.
Also I'm trying to sort out my phone. Phones 4 you have been useless, and Orange have been more helpful. Though not as helpful as I thought they would be. It seems that I'm going to have to send my handset to LG to get it fixed. So I may have a different number, but I will definitely have a different handset as of tomorrow.
The news is that I'm going to get £20 0ff my next bill. It works to ask the question. So if you text me and it takes ages to reply, it's because I'm learning how to text!!
If you're ever in St Albans, take the time to wander around the cathedral there. It's huge - possibly one of the biggest spaces I've been in (I haven't had time to check the cubic measurements of St Albans and Notre Dame) - the high ceilings and huge windows are amazing. You get the dizzy feeling from looking up!
Alice, Andy and I were there for the Darkness to Light themed lock in. We were running the labyrinth - which is going on a journey though different stations, some practical, others more contemplative, but all themed.
It was tiring, but a lot of fun to do, a learning experience and a chance to see how a different diocese does events.
I got home at 5am on Saturday morning and slept through til 11am.
Saturday evening came around all too quickly and I found myself in charge of Christ Church's Bowl and Bite at Eddies on Radford way. We had about 50 people during the course of the evening, families, young people and adults all bowling and eating together.
I really enjoyed the evening and am looking forward to doing it again. Hopefully we'll get more people along and have a chance to get to know some of the other people in our church family and town.
Sunday came round all too quickly as well. I lead Pathfinders at church, trying to teach them that God wants us to be nice and polite to our friends and family to make the world a better place.
Sunday afternoon was abandoned to sleeping and watching the Grand Prix - which was almost a parade, apart from the last lap, which was a little exciting.
The rest of the day was spent travelling to Luton, seeing Karen and holding Guinea Pigs, eating good food and discussing various parties and anniversaries that are happening in 2010.
The sad news this week is that I can't currently work in my office because of a leak. It has rained quite heavily recently, and the water seems to have found it's way onto my desk. It's a flat roof above my head and the water is coming in through the light, so it's not safe for me to work there.
Also I'm trying to sort out my phone. Phones 4 you have been useless, and Orange have been more helpful. Though not as helpful as I thought they would be. It seems that I'm going to have to send my handset to LG to get it fixed. So I may have a different number, but I will definitely have a different handset as of tomorrow.
The news is that I'm going to get £20 0ff my next bill. It works to ask the question. So if you text me and it takes ages to reply, it's because I'm learning how to text!!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Gathering together...
Yesterday was a busy day and started with a late arrival for me at the 8am service. I some times forget how quickly a spoken service can go, so before I knew it, it was time for breakfast and then time to start preparing for the next service.
The third Sunday of the month is always a little strange. The children are in for the whole of the service, it's shorter and more interactive. I do enjoy it a lot as I'm often at the front doing something or helping with an activity and this months service was no different!
We had Peter Hylton and his team from St Mary's take the majority of our service. They were launching Operation Christmas Child for our church, which went down really well. We had a fuller congregation that normal because we had over 50 children from the uniformed organisations join us. It was great to see so many faces and hear from people who had been out to places to give out shoe boxes. (We sang Father Abraham, which I haven't sung for ages)
After that it was time to head home for some serious rest. To watch the gymnastic world championship (well done Beth Tweddle on your gold) and the Brazilian Grand Prix.
That period of time went far too quickly and I found myself willing Jenson Button on (He won and became the 9th (?) British F1 champion) as Mum and I walked the short distance to the Catholic Church for the penultimate CTB pilgrimage service. I've never been a part of a traditional Catholic service so it immeadiately caught my attention as something that I'd like to go to.
I found it intriguing that nearly everything was sung and there was Latin as well. I missed some of the bits of the service because I was reading the Latin, but I got the gist of it and found singing Latin really easy! I would recommend going to a Catholic service if you don't attend a catholic church regularly when you're giving the opportunity. The last service is at St John's so I will hopefully be going there in November.
When I find the piece of paper I'll tell you what the service was called.
Then it was quickly home for a bite to eat and out again to see the Baptist church in action. We've joined forces to help with the leader situation and to see how our youth groups can work together. It was good fun. I was definitely ready to go to bed when I got home!
The third Sunday of the month is always a little strange. The children are in for the whole of the service, it's shorter and more interactive. I do enjoy it a lot as I'm often at the front doing something or helping with an activity and this months service was no different!
We had Peter Hylton and his team from St Mary's take the majority of our service. They were launching Operation Christmas Child for our church, which went down really well. We had a fuller congregation that normal because we had over 50 children from the uniformed organisations join us. It was great to see so many faces and hear from people who had been out to places to give out shoe boxes. (We sang Father Abraham, which I haven't sung for ages)
After that it was time to head home for some serious rest. To watch the gymnastic world championship (well done Beth Tweddle on your gold) and the Brazilian Grand Prix.
That period of time went far too quickly and I found myself willing Jenson Button on (He won and became the 9th (?) British F1 champion) as Mum and I walked the short distance to the Catholic Church for the penultimate CTB pilgrimage service. I've never been a part of a traditional Catholic service so it immeadiately caught my attention as something that I'd like to go to.
I found it intriguing that nearly everything was sung and there was Latin as well. I missed some of the bits of the service because I was reading the Latin, but I got the gist of it and found singing Latin really easy! I would recommend going to a Catholic service if you don't attend a catholic church regularly when you're giving the opportunity. The last service is at St John's so I will hopefully be going there in November.
When I find the piece of paper I'll tell you what the service was called.
Then it was quickly home for a bite to eat and out again to see the Baptist church in action. We've joined forces to help with the leader situation and to see how our youth groups can work together. It was good fun. I was definitely ready to go to bed when I got home!
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