Nearly There!

A new video for you to have a look at!



I am at the end of my epic journey, ok, so I've not gone very far physically, but spending time cycling has been interesting and a good chance to do some reading and thinking.

Today is no different, for thinking that is. My wonderful boyfriend of a year set me off this morning... it's two years this week since I started my current job, which means it's two years since I had to get on a bus to get to work, it's also two years and two weeks since I passed my driving test. It's two years since my brothers went on holiday with their friends and I was left in the house on my own. Which means it's two years that my Dad has been in his current job too, 18 months since he fell over and broke his arm and had a plate put in it.

My life at the moment feels like it centers around working for ECC, although I'm not there any more, the 11 months that I spent in that office were some of the best moments and hardest moments too. I'd never had a 9-5 job before and so far, I haven't had one since. Although the stresses are completely different I wouldn't change my job for the world.

It also means that it's a year since Chris and I decided to make it official. I didn't blog about it at the time, there was a lot going on, and although it didn't slip my mind, I didn't feel it was right to broadcast my relationship so shortly after it started.

Chris and I had been on a couple of dates before I eventually said yes to his question, and it was my mum's fault that I did - she posed a very awkward question the first time that Chris came over for dinner. I literally could've died, I was so embarrassed and I did tell her off after Chris had left!

But a year on, we've done a lot together and there is still more to do. we've had our experiences, the ups and downs of learning about each other and travelling 32 miles each way to see each other (I hold the record for the longest time taken - 2h 05min).

Today we're heading back to the city where we had our first date, to eat something I've never had before - sushi. I've had sushi that hasn't had any raw fish, but it's time to take the step to eat raw fish and know that it's not going to kill me, because it's been prepared properly.

Our first date was at Pizza Express and I really enjoyed every moment of it! I'm looking forward to this date as much as I was looking forward to the first one. I'm even nervous about it!!

Impossible Elephants

After a long day out at the Christian Resources Exhibition, where I found out that there's a new generation of Veggie Tales called What's in the Bible? (English website soon) and that clergy can wear the most beautifully handmade stoles, I decided that I should take some time to relax and after my parents came home from my great uncle's funeral, we headed out for dinner at The Ship. Whilst we were eating some really scrummy food (duck and beetroot salad and rib of pork with a pint of Black Sheep Bitter for me), we had a discussion about elephants...

Elephants in London, to raise awareness for Asian Elephants - http://www.elephantparadelondon.org/- there are 258 parading around the streets of our capital city, and what can the world talk about? Politics!! There are elephants everywhere (download the map and have a look) and the most important thing on people's mind is the government... Anyway, they are bringing some colour and a serious message to a world that is full of serious messages and not a lot else.

To get to my point... I have my own elephant. Peter Smith is the artist who has painted the one that will be arriving on my doorstep soon, why not head on over to his blog to have a look at the amazing purchase I've made! I have seen a lot of Peter Smith's work in art shops across the country and have always wanted my own piece of art. So to combine the two, plus giving into my soft spot for elephants, I'm a happy bunny(!) as I go to bed tonight, and if you are struggling for a birthday present as I turn 26 this summer, know that elephants and pink are a safe bet!

The bad news, a little bit, is that my right ear hurts tonight after a couple of days of a cough and a sniffle, so I'm hoping it won't get any worse, otherwise I'll be on antibiotics before you can say 'Nelly the elephant'!

Time to hit that sack, back into the classroom tomorrow for a humanist view of evil and a veggie tales lunch club!

Time for Focus

This week has been full of preparation for Mothering Sunday (not Mother's day as an advert for local radio keeps reminding me). We're celebrating both ideas of the festival - by inviting everyone to their Mother church and by making our own mothers feel really special by treating them to cake and drinks. (Did you know everyone who lives in England is a member of a parish? I bet that changes your perspective on community and church!)

I spent last weekend with Karen and the young people from St Hugh's - teaching them about Revelation and spending time sharing my wisdom about what it means to be a Christian.

Working on a Saturday means that I have the chance to have a day off in the week. This week it's Wednesday, next week it's Thursday and I'm not sure about the week after that. This week I got the opportunity to do something a little bit exciting - a chance to go to FOCUS - which is the annual Photography exhibition in Birmingham with Chris. It was a chance to spend the day - for me at least - going ooo and ahh, I know a tiny amount about photography - so to see that much stuff was impressive! I have been to Birmingham a couple of times, mainly for shopping and I think I've been to the NEC once, but I'm not entirely sure, so when Chris said 'it's big' I didn't quite believe him until we got inside. It's huge and the way they had it laid out meant that you couldn't really do it logically - so you just have to wander and hope you don't miss anything. They do try to fit everyone in but it makes it hard for punters when all the stalls are different sizes - there was even a UoG stand full of Pittville students! (Thank you Chris for doing all the driving)

I enjoyed my time and was grateful to get home. I didn't make it to Paul Gambling's induction(?) to the team ministry. I was really tired, but I'm looking forward to seeing the team grow and work together.

There's plenty of things going on in the next couple of weeks that mean I'm going to be working my socks off and with the event of the year only round the corner, there's some celebrating to be done as well.

Harvest

The response from our Harvest service has been really good this year. We spent a lot of time preparing and chatting through what would go in the service.

And the congragation seemed to like seeing the young people actively involved in the service. It was wonderful to have so many young boys in church, all of whom are more than willing to be a part of the family. So it was nice to have a lot of people saying thank you and well done.

We shared lunch together - which whilst being like every other gathering we've had, was ever so slightly different, with a lot of new families joining us and different types of food on offer. We even sang happy birthday to a little girl in our congregation.

The rest of the day was spent, for me, preparing for the week ahead, thinking about communication and labyrinths, doing my reading for CCS and resting as well after a bit of a busy month.

Tonight were meeting as youth and childrens leaders to have a look at nativity and the future of the groups that we run as a church.

My count of nights out in a row continues to grow...I've not done a top up, but I know there's only one night where I was confinded to my bedroom because of the start of a cold that never really materialised (I think that's due to going to Jazzercise and drinking plenty of water, plus some paracetomol!) the rest of the time I've been working or with Chris but on balance, my days aren't too busy, so I'm resting sufficently during the day.

There are some exciting plans in the pipelines, so keep an eye out for details!

Shaping the future

So I have had time to sit and think about various parts of my life over the last three weeks or so, and am blogging that the request of several people who think it is rude for me to leave you all waiting for the next installment. (I'm sure that blogging every day would serve me better as well, sorry everyone).

Firstly, before I reveal my thoughts, I'd promised to do something for someone very special. Well, it could probably be classed as a shameless plug, really, but I think, in my humble opinion that you should all click on the link below


http://www.chrisgurtonphotography.com/

Just because you know you want to spend some time looking at some amazing photographs! And possibly buying one that you really like.

Chris is really talented and I'm a very proud owner of two of his pictures.

This is one of my favourites



This is the original photo, but I've got a copy that's got my surname in place of the drivers surname, and it's framed, and hanging above my bed! I wish I had a Honda Civic, and I wish I could drive it properly!

Ta da, Chris, you're famous!

How do I know Chris? Well, glad you asked, we've been in a relationship for a month nearly, but it seems a lot longer, and I'm not shy about telling people that we met on match.com, I will recommend it to you. I was at an event that Chris was photographing last week and one of the mum's said 'We've probably got one of the fittest photographers in East Essex' - I can tell you that I didn't disagree with her!

So, I have thought more about being on a boat for a little shy of a week and will probably do it again. I had an amazing time, and had completely forgotten what it was like to be involved in the run up to and being on camp. I do love it lots and am grateful that the team Andy and Alice pulled together worked really hard and made camp lots of fun! Despite being constantly put down for my complete lack of skill when it comes to card shuffling and not knowing the first thing about boats, I think that Falcon is a unique camp and a great chance to work with young people full time. Again something I would highly recommend, if you like working with teens!

So this last week I have been running head long into preparation for doing the talk at next weeks 10am service. I'm preaching on King Josiah, who, at the age of 8, found himself a king of a ruined country. A country that didn't believe in God, didn't know what the rules were, let alone follow them and was just plain messy... sound familiar? So my question for the week is what are you doing to change your world? King Josiah was just 26 when he started to rebuild the main temple in Jerusalem...kinda puts my generation to shame really! He turned a whole nation around and honoured God wholly... quite an example for the church to follow!

It's not all been work though. Chris took me out for my birthday shopping trip, and we spent lots of money on many wonderful things, plus I 'helped' him (stood and watched) with an event and met some of the young farmers in the area. I also spent time with some friends from school and my last job, when we celebrated another 25th birthday. As well as spending time with the ladies who help run shaken up, we went for a meal to celebrate the summer holidays and the work that has taken place over the last year. It was a lot of fun but a very busy day!

I also saw my sister before she heads off to Uganda for a couple of weeks, next Sunday. I spent 7 hours in my car the Saturday before, after getting stuck in traffic both ways! It was not fun, but made better by good music, good food and a proper chance to catch up!

I then spent a further three hours in my car the next day, as we had our annual trip to a theme park! Tough going, but well worth it. We managed to get on the Saw ride, which totally panicked me, but was so much fun by the time the ride came to a stop. Quite a lot better than oblivion! I was exhausted the following day as I sat down to review the last couple of months with my line manager and the head of my management committee.

In all my tiredness and excitement though, I am seriously happy right now. With my job and the other parts of life. I am eternally grateful for the church that let me do my first year out...which has lead to so many opportunities!

That's all I have to say for now! I have planning and writing to do this week, plus a couple of events that might happen, but I will write about that when the time comes!

Give us a break!

This is probably the final 30 mins I will get to myself for the next week or so, so I'm blogging! Having caught up with all my regular blogs, I realise that I'm falling behind on the news reporting side of things, so here's a miniture update before I have to leave in 20 mins!



Firstly, here is a picture of me, dressed in my finest for my birthday, which happened in the weekend just gone... I spent a lot of time with friends and family this year, which is not unusual, but more so than I can remember. I started my birthday celebrations nearly two weeks ago, so I was really raring for things to get going when my actual birthday came around. Unfortunately some of my plans were scuppered by 'flu sypmtoms, but hopefully I will be able to see those people soon (Get well soon Lou!)! I went for lunch with Heather on my actual birthday and then for cocktails with some others on Saturday evening. (I would really recommend the southern comfort based cocktail!) Mercifully, Sunday morning was spent painting with the children, in church, we're creating a stained glass window that reflects our Heroes and Heroines series over the summer... no-one pulled me up to the front to sing happy birthday... phew! I will post a photo when we're done!

SUnday afternoon saw the arrival of family and friends for a BBQ. We expected to feed 40 people, and I think we got about 30, but mostly in the form of boys who could eat for two, so most of the food disappeared really quickly. My thank you's go to every member of my immeadiate family and to Chris for all their support over the weekend - apparently a stressed Liz is funny! They all did an amazing job!

I received a really special present on Sunday... my engagement ring had been sent away by Heather and Helen, and was returned into my possession in the form of a necklace and a cross pendant. I will treasure it forever.

There are more things that I want to write about, like the week of work away from home that I am about to embark on, but I've run out of time! I will blog when I have thought about afore mentioned 'holiday' and see you in August!

It's been a while...

A lot has happened recently, so forgive the lack of blogging!

A couple of main things that have been keeping me from my online writing, namely Torchwood, Take That, Solid and my social life! Obviously that is not in any order of importance, it's entirely random, so I'm going to talk about them in a random order too!!

Let's start with Take That. I was going to dedicate a whole blog entry to the day I spent in London, with Kay, but I feel that it would be a little of an over kill, and really my effort would be lost on many of you! The concert was astonishing, it was a show, a performance. We thought about it a bit while we were waiting for the boys to appear on stage, and realised that it's 15 years since I last saw Take That on stage. I was 10 and it was at Earls Court. I don't remember the whole thing, but the bits I do remember are really vivid and this time it was no different, my emotions however were hugely different. I was surrounded by people who have shared a lot with me and after a long day, I just couldn't wait any longer. I'd brought the tickets 8 months ago, I'd spent 9 nervous minutes waiting for the website, the phone, everything, and when we got the tickets, I lost my voice from screaming so much... all that waiting to hear them live again got the better of me, and I still don't think I've really recovered yet.

The two hours that they were on stage was just so amazing, you can see that they really love performing. It was better than Girls Aloud and Boyzone put together, and I think now, every time they tour again, I will be there. Every time I turned on the radio, someone was talking about how good the concerts were and the hour Radio One gave to it last week made me cry again. I just hope that I don't have to wait 15 years to see them again. The only thing that would top that show, would be to meet them. Words can not really describe it...

What's next - Torchwood! If you haven't seen it, I would ask that you get iPlayer up and have a look. I really enjoyed it, though we got to the middle of the week and I started to complain that they were drawing the storyline out a little. But I watched the final episodes yesterday and am now wondering if Captain Jack will ever return to our screens! Here's hoping that he will do in the future. Russell T. Davis is so good at creating iconic characters, it would be a shame to see Captain Jack disappear, but I know that everything has it's season.

Solid was good this year, for my first year in charge, I've learnt a lot of lessons, I understand how it works now, what to do, what not to do, how to deal with some people, better than others. I gratefully adopted some young people over the weekend too, and I think spending time with them, chatting about difficult issues and talking though some theology, has been really good for all of us. It's a shame that some of them are moving to college in September! Still the future is rosy and their are already plans in my head for next year as to how we can get everyone involved!

Finally, a brief word on my social life...this weekend sees me turn 25 and I feel immensely blessed that I get to spend a lot of time with my friends and family chatting, eating and generally being surrounded by wonderful people! 2 of my best friends took me out for drinks last week to celebrate being 25, and being a youth worker for a year!

Yes, I've been Christ Church's youth outreach worker for a year now... maybe over the summer I'll do a review for you!

Weekend activities

I wanted to use the word frivolities, but then I checked the definition and realised that the weekend holds more weight that I could every imagine, and I haven't spent the weekend being silly in the slightest. So activities it is, because before 9 on a Monday, there is little in my brain, other than, when's the next time I can eat/sleep?

These activities were certainly important for all involved, it seems I have spent the weekend helping, in some form, to raise money for various projects, doing things from just attending, to organising and shopping.

Firstly, was shopping for the food for the Summer Party, with Heather, who has been great at not letting me panic and always had a back up plan! It doesn't take much money to feed 100 people, really, we did a basic BBQ for £30 this year and quickly sold out (two hours!)...a full report of the party will appear further down this blog.

Secondly was a Viz-a-Viz Ministries fundraiser. Liz and Katey, who I have known since they were 10/11, decided that the best way to raise some money towards the £1000 that Liz needs before September for her year out, was to put on a concert. I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the publicity, but I did know that it was going to be loud and a lot of fun! The event was called Out of the Box.

So here's a quick band review for you...

First on were 'Adrenaline'



This is them, plus the girls who were leading us through the evening, they were singing living on a prayer. The lead singer is incredibly good, for such a young boy (I think they were all early secondary school children) he did amazingly well, firstly to get the crowd going and then vocally, they are all really talented and could go so far. They are on the Kings of Leon side of pop, they are covering songs and writing their own.

Time between the bands was filled with questions from 'The Box' for the audience to get to know the bands. Some of the answers were really funny, some were inappropriate for the audience.

Secondly was 'Was Broken', made up of slightly older people, these guys are lead by Katie, who I did my year out with and they are a Baptist Church members.



I love Katie's outfit! She looked and sounded so good, and their version of American Boy went down a storm! These guys are also writing their own songs, and they are very good, despite that it seems they are only doing it for fun.

Then we had a break, for tea and cake...a ploy to raise more money and a chance to catch up with some of the young people who had made it to the gig. Half an hour later and we were ushered back to our seats for the second half.

The third act for the night was 'Platform Location' - which is a band, but the other band members couldn't make it, so it was just a singer and his guitar... I didn't catch his name... but here he is anyway.



Again, he was brilliantly musically, I don't know where Katey and Liz found these people - but they found a couple of gems.

Fourthly was 'Name is Renown'

(just for real time effect - I have just pressed play and am now listening to La Roux's debut album for the second time - it's good!)

The were the 'heaviest' band of the night.



Again really good musically. All their own songs, which had a really good structure (I've heard some amature bands like this that have difficulties with this), but the balance on the sound wasn't quite right, so the voice was a little lost, shame really, because I would've loved to hear what they were singing about!

Finally, 'Showerhead', a mishmash of all the bands across the night and a really good way of ending the concert.

Here's their best shot (ANTM for you there - culturally relevant or what!?!)



They really enjoyed themselves. We had about 10 minutes of thank you from the girls, you never quite realise how much work goes into one of these events - you certainly can't do it on your own!

So that was Saturday....and now for Sunday (we're almost there folks - because I'm getting cramp in my left hand!)

Sunday started with a couple of hours in the office for me and then to Praise in The Park. I was volunteered to do a notice for the Summer party, and as I love a challenge I gave it the nod, and spoke to the relevant people before the service. I wasn't us on the trailer for very long, but came back shaking so much! I didn't sit down for another hour - I couldn't. I get such a kick from being in front of people, nervous energy has the same effect as an espresso! To see a better review - and a picture, head over to my Dad's blog for a look.

Then I headed back to church to wait for the Bouncy Castle to arrive. We started setting up at 2 and opened the doors at 3 for the party of the season. Two bouncy Castles, one big BBQ, face painting, cake, ice cream, cards and games. It was busy, and all in aid of Christ Church's link school in Kenya. We raised £100 after expenses. I am chuffed! We can help a school buy more books, or pay for their electricity! Thank you to everyone who help out, organised and worked really hard on the day!

We headed to the pub for a celebratory drink and then I went home. I thought it would be quite relaxing, but we managed to find ourselves watching last nights Top Gear. About 5/10 mins in - when the gang are talking about car insurance in the offices, you can see The Stig, behind Richard Hammond, photocopying his face, obviously he's got his racing helmet on, it was just something that made me laugh...The whole episode did, the adverts do, Top Gear has definitely got it's sense of humour back...they even 'killed' Richard Hammond at one point!

I have loved this weekend very much. It has been fulfilling, tiring and a lot of fun. I'm hoping that the summer will continue in a similar vain!

One some slightly more selfish notes...

I'm getting a NEW CAR! Saturday morning was spent talking to the lovely man at Essex Ford, so the monies are being sorted out and the car will be mine by the the time we head to SOLID, hopefully!

My best friend is back in the country after a week away, and I can tell you that I am grateful just knowing that I can call her again if I need to!

The end of this week will be another huge high - after 8 months and a week of waiting, Take That will be graced with our presence on Saturday evening... I am sooooo excited. We are right at the very back of Wembley Stadium...but I will still take photos!

In and Out

My time with the youth workers/schools workers, both full-time and volunteer and Bishop David was amazing. I'm slowly getting to know all the people in the area. We now are very fortunate to have 3 full time area workers, all of whom are brilliant at what they do and are very encouraging as a team.

We're also blessed with having a Bishop who is passionate about young people and their leaders, asking us what he can do to support us, to grow our ministries and make them sustainable.

From these kind of meetings, the youth strategy was created and there are various other things that have come from time together in a forum, particularly a strong feeling that what we are doing is growing church in so many different ways. We're pulled together to help each other, to share ideas, and to be empowered to go out and develop those ideas. Rachel (DYO Colchester) was saying that sometimes we can feel like we're in a dead end, but coming to others in a similar work situation (this is a C of E setting and we're all youth workers) helps us to figure out a solution and opportunity for growing church.

Opportunities not problems.
Once I've digested it a bit more, I'll write out the day in full!

I decided that as we were in Chelmsford I'd take the opportunity to jump on a bus and see what the journey is like, now I've spent almost a year away from that sort of commute. It hasn't changed, other than I clearly got on one of the newer buses on the way home, there still wasn't much space for me to sit comfortably, despite my rather short legs. Still the journey, not having to wonder about where I was heading until after I got off the bus, gave me time to start re-reading my favourite novel



If you've never read this book and you're a fan of a complex endearing love story, I'd suggest that you either click on the photo (and hope it takes you to Amazon) or pop to W H Smiths - or any decent bookstore and buy it soon. The two main characters are well written and draw you in immediately. The author has a way with words that has left me wanting more, she's releasing another novel in October, so I may buy that. IMDb.com tells me the movie is to be released in August, so we'll see how well that does, I had no expectations when I first picked up the book, but I've read it so many times that I can't help but wonder what the movie will focus on, how they will deal with the time traveling and what the characters will be like.

Still haven't seen Star Trek or Wolverine... I may spend my day off in the cinema if the weather is awful!

Achieving

There are many things I have accomplished in life, the big things, like completing my degree, learning to drive and becoming a full-time youth worker and the small things, beating my own score on various facebook games, meeting deadlines and building flat packs.

There are now four things in my room that I have built using instructions, and whilst I am no enthusiast, it gives me some sense of joy that I can build something and it ends up looking like the picture in front of me. So now I have a picture shelf (which used to hold books), a bed (with help from my Dad) and two DVD/CD cases. (Once upon a time there was a floating shelf on the cards, but since they can’t hold anything substantial, that idea was put away.) I am a little proud of myself, because this is the first time that I’ve done something like this entirely on my own.

My Dad is always saying that Ikea is rubbish and that you shouldn’t ever buy furniture from a shop the other side of the channel, but if it’s the only place that sells what I want in white, I haven’t really got a choice!!

Anyway, the time spent was good, I got to use my brain cells (though the instructions weren’t hard) and my muscle! And now I have a wall for storage! Ta da!

The only thing that I’ve really got to figure out is how to attach them to the wall, so they don’t fall on me and potentially break my legs whilst I slept. Hopefully everything will fit in these two wonderful inventions and I’ll be able to use the spare under bed space for shoes! Now I’ve just got to fix my overflowing chest of draws... that’s for a day when I feel like tidying!

In other news, it seems that the addition of yellow lines to the estate, has psychologically altered the minds of everyone who parks in the surrounding area. Now they all seem to think that parking on the pavement and the road is ok...when in fact is more dangerous and illegal!

Case in point – the parking of the fitter who came to change the fan that got killed by my Mum leaving the sausages cooking for far too long! (the cooker and fan were brought from Galleywood kitchens – the fan stopped the house from burning down) This is happening every day and it’s rather annoying. To be honest though, since I watched the yellow lines go down, I haven’t seen a traffic warden... And there is still a gap in the double yellows on Hillhouse Drive, where all the ridiculousness started!

Now is the beginning of another four month review period for me, the last one ended well, with some really clear, constructive feedback from my management, plus a thank you and a well done! The next four months are going to be interesting... hopefully with an update of the last four to start off with and a move forwards to building relationships with team, young people and schools. I’m really excited about some training that I’ve got to look out for, all of it will hopefully make me more proficient for my job!

Keep an eye out for the return of the Summer Party in the near future!!

P.S. I have migrated to the floor, because the wireless internet connection only works down here, I swear my computer always askes itsself 'How uncomfortable can I make Liz's day today?'

Annually away

There are various times in a year when I'm not going to be in the local vacinity but away on some sort of training/retreat time.

This week was one of those times. I was up in Audley End, taking time out with other youth works from across Essex to learn about Young people, Sexuality and Spirituality. David and Brandy came all the way from Knoxville to share in a very specialist subject it seems. David is only one of about 80 people in America who provide christian based sex therapy for families and teenagers.

Now be honest... Did you know it existed? I had some sort of idea, but still wasn't 100% sure, so as always I went into the unknown, head on, wanting to learn about this.

I learnt a lot. Things about teenagers that I never knew and had some really interesting discussions with the people that were there. Some of the behaviour I see has been explained, some of it is still a mystery, but I've got a way of finding out why that behaviour occurs.

David's work website is here.

I know I'm going to try and read up on this more and I've got a couple of CD's to listen to that are going to be good. David and Brandy were brilliant, easy to understand and consistently good with all their information. The whole time away was constructive for me, I did some thinking and started to understand my behaviour a little more. Made some good connections with people and I'm looking forward to seeing them all again.

I've also got another link for you to look at, head over to schoolswork.co.uk to see the new 'we love our youthworker' charter that has been launched, also check out Dave's brilliant postcards that go with the charter. (I want to retreat to the top of a column!)

Today is a 'do the minimum' day... I like it!

The Office

No - I'm not going to talk about how Ricky Gervais only has one acting style or that one of his co-stars is far better than him...

No - I'm going to talk about my office, the hub of all the youth work at Christ Church. Since I began working for the church in July there have been various bits and pieces going on while I've been out of the building, and it's nearly finished, so here are some photos for you...


Ok, so it's a mess at the moment, but it's functioning as a great space for me to check my email, write letters and create talks...

Check out my lazy chair in the corner - from IKEA - an at a third of the cost, that is my bargain buy of the year! I love it! (it does need a cushion though!)

There's still a little bit to do, it's got to be painted, and I've got to find a sensible way of cutting out the draft...

Photo Blog!

Just some of the things I've seen over the past week or so for you to take a look at!


A rainbow above Mayflower School - yes we were stood in the rain, and yes, we all got our phones out to take a picture, whilst Gary proclaimed "That's a sign that God will never again flood the earth, that is!" Brilliant! Isn't it funny how God reassures us?



At the end of the Youthwork Conference on the way home, driving through the countryside - couldn't ignore the sun shining in my eyes - so had to take a couple of photos! We had a really good weekend. I still haven't really thought about it, I can't get my head around the weekend, it started well and had various highlights, Mike Pilavachi, Ben Cantalon and the Sunday morning seminars being the ones I can remember the clearest. God has definitely started speaking to me in a loud and clear voice again, so I've got to keep listening.

The next event was Jen's birthday, here's the lovely lady herself...


Ten of us went out to celebrate her birthday this year. We had a great time at Macaroni Grill (which I've never been to before) and then on to Chicagos, which has had a complete refit and looks absolutely amazing now. We had so much fun, dancing, laughing and eating that we're going to do it all again very soon!


Also, a formal congratulations to Mandy and Rob, who got engaged at the end of November. I'm very happy and can't wait for the wedding!!

And finally...


A packed church for the Advent Carol Service. A lot of work went into making a very special service to celebrate the start of the church year. We welcomed all of the different schools in our district and were blessed with a choir and hundreds of stars to decorate our stunning tree!

I have really loved the last couple of weeks, there's been so much good news. Looking forward to spending the next few preparing for Christmas with friends and family. I don't know if I'm ready for it, or even in the mood really, but whatever happens I'm sure it'll hit me soon and I'll get a little panicky!

P.S. This is for the third time of trying - for some still unexplained reason, connecting to the internet is still hit and miss.

There's doing things quietly

and then there's doing things noisely...

I'm complaining quietly about my brothers noisey soup drinking...don't get me started on how annoyed I am today...

I had to ask him to do what he was doing quietly (or I would've taken his soup away from him) and he gave me a dirty look!! It's rude to slurp at the best of times, but least of all while I'm quietly stewing about how the next couple of days are going to turn out.

I've always been concerned for safety, for good teaching and for everyone to have a good time. So to be told that I've got to be careful with the sparklers that I'm going to give to my young people next friday annoys me a little. I've had all three things drill into me since I was very young. I know the rules inside out, and I will be passing my knowledge on to the young people who will be holding the sparklers so that no-one gets hurt and everyone can have fun.

I don't make up the rules as I go along and everyone will get a fair chance - those who play up will feel the consequences. I've got a mobile phone and I will have all of the young peoples names and emergency contact details so if anything goes wrong there is a plan.

I really don't know what else to say...some poeple are helpful, others not so. That's life and we give thanks in all circumstances - so thank you Lord, that there are people who are concerned for my safety and thank you that they haven't completely scuppered all of my plans as the new youth worker in town.

I'm sorry that's the wrong answer

I'm always facinated by how things work, how they are made and what drives the people to create things that can make our lives easier, or more fun.

Finding out the answers to my questions though is sometimes a little frustrating - big companies like to keep secrets.

Take walkers for one - they pretty much run the snack empire in the UK at the moment, so they can reinstate crisps and the like at their will. They've brought back monster munch, quite successfully, which leads me to me first question - How is monster munch made?

Being internet savy that's where I'll always go first. Type in whats in my brain and see what happens...normally I don't get the answer straight away, because my mind seems to work slightly differently from those who add to the internet daily. But I keep searching and eventually get some sort of answer...however, there's nothing online, so I went to 118.com, because they've got an 'ask us anything' policy, so I did - guess what? They haven't got the answer either. ARGH...so I'm going to suffer for a little longer. I don't understand the snack world and I probably never will!!

And I'm trying to find out the background song to the new Rimmel London advert with Sophie Ellis Baxter - no joy there either, the other problem with the internet is that you can always find outdated information...I won't tell you about the time that I asked about a job only to be asked where I found the ad and that the position had been filled for over a year.

Talking of outdated...I need to update the CCYM website!

(P.S. Kate Moss looks awful on the Rimmel London website - how is having your mouth open in a photo ever attractive?)

I had an interesting day yesterday...it started with purchasing tickets to see Take That in concert on Saturday 4th July 2009. Fastest ever sell out tour, it took 9 excuricating minutes for me to get on to See Tickets to buy tickets, but here I am, still alive and very happy that I won't have to take a day off work to see them, and I will be taking all of my best friends with me.

The rest of the day was taken up with prep for the Club night at St Marys, a very successful night, and we're hoping that it will grow and grow in the coming years!

Restrictions

Mainly parking ones atm. There were people in our road putting out notices for the local council this afternoon. I don't know how long they have to be up before the council can start painting yellow lines on our road, but that's what is going to happen. They're also going to put up signs that say 'no waiting 08:30 - 09:30 and 14:30 - 15:30' it's worded slightly differently on the actual sign but you get the drift.

Now the problem with this is they won't actually enforce the no waiting thing at all. Well maybe for the first week. But after that it will be a free for all, and there will still be people parked across our drive come 3 in the afternoon, or whenever one of us needs to be somewhere and the car they are using is on the drive. Yes, mothers, fathers, guardians and carers will intially be scared out of their whits, but the fear will subside and life will continue on as normal.

I've seen it happen, nay, I have parked my car in a zone similar to the one that will be implied and I did not feel the wrath of the council bearing down on me for disobeying their rules.

One problem we have is that we have 5 cars in our family currently, and only three have spaces on the land that my parents own (or are leasing permenantly - not sure how it works, not being a home owner an' all!) So two people will potentially get fined (if a traffic warden would like to watch the road for a whole day). There are two (possibly three) arguments to this -

One - no-one who can prove that they live in the road should get fined for parking on it - it's where we live, we should really have space outside our houses to park our cars.

Two - We as residents should have room for the cars that we own on our properties, so that they can sit during the day without getting fined.

Three - We should have less cars (which is impossible)

And this won't solve the problem, it'll only move it somewhere else...

I don't know how many people protested, but it doesn't seem to have done any good. Which just leads me to believe we're heading for a world where the opinion of the public doesn't matter.

Andy says he will rip up a parking fine if he gets one...We'll see....

Off to High Leigh this weekend, but first I have to pack, go to youth group, lead emarge and raid the hall of all the fun things that I own as a youth worker, and finish what I'm going to say on Sunday morning!! Not busy at all... :S

All wrapped up...

In my own little world recently...lots has been going on, but I still feel like I've got loads of time, when really actually I probably haven't.

I think the problem may be to do with the strange times I'm sleeping at the moment, I really can't seem to get into a routine that means I get up at a sensible time, work through the day and go to bed at an equally sensible time.

I'm working on it...I just seem to be lacking discipline right now. It's like living at home seems to have bitten me and I feel like I'm a teenager again, waiting til the last moment to crawl out of bed and go to school. It's got to change...but as with getting up, I keep putting off that change...

At the moment, there is only so much I can do at home, I'm currently suffering some interference technologically at least...the laptop has decided that it won't connect to the internet, even when it's sat next to the router, and the booster...Dad can't figure out what is wrong, so a phone call to Dell may well be on the cards...but I'm saving that until after the church weekend away.

Yes, we're near October half term, which means its going away time for many churches. This time we're going to High Leigh Conference centre in Hoddesdon. For teaching (which I will be doing with the young people and so will Karen), music and games, as well as a little bit of fun chucked in for good measure. I don't know quite how I'm going to survive, but I know that I'm going to need prayer and sleep.

Becoming the 'bad guy'

One thing I really haven't had to get used to in my life is confrontation. It's one of the things that scares me, but I know that in my line of work, I have to sometimes use my authority to make a point, and most of the time, that means confronting someone.

Tonight was the first time in a long time that I've had to tell someone off for their behaviour. I had to ban someone from youth group for a week because he decided to use a fire door. Part of me thinks 'why didn't we use this punishment before?' A one week ban for using a door and setting off an alarm is a good idea. The more we use discipline in the correct manner, the more we're likely to be able to control situations and understand what is going on too.

More news on facebook...people are joining a group that give instructions on how to get the old facebook back, but I've read the instructions at it seems ridiculously complicated, just so that people can feel comfortable about using something that didn't even exist 3 years ago.

How has this social networking site taken over our lives?

I get it, but i don't really see why it's so important for me to be friends with as many people as possible, for me to keep up to date with those friends through their status updates. Yes its a revolution, it's instant, it fits the consumer society and we can laugh at the photos...what would Paul say about it? Is there a problem with letting this social networking site become part of our lives so rapidly and all encompassing?

I have had some brilliant conversations with my friends online, I've spoken to people that I haven't got in touch with for years...in fact the Viz-a-Viz reunion was organised on Facebook, but there's a line that needs to be drawn...don't quite know where that is, but I'm sure I won't step over it. Will society be so conscious of it's decisions? We'll wait and see I guess...

On retreat...

(or under a tree as it was once interpreted!)

The SMB/Youth worker contingent in Billericay headed to Bradwell for the afternoon, to find space to pray and listen to God.

This is a picture of the church at Bradwell, its situated in a very open part of the countryside, near the estuary, which makes it very windy... Today didn't disappoint.

Inside the church is wonderful, I really wish I could have taken some more pictures and spent some more time exploring the area.

We met at Costa and did an introductory game (which I may well steal for my young people in a couple of weeks) and travelled to Bradwell for lunch and reflection time. We had lunch with the Othona Community (who make the best colslaw) and walked across the field to the church.

Retreat and reflection are a great way to start the academic year and I feel that God spoke to me through other things that were said during the afternoon. I found it very hard to be still and quiet in a cold and windy place! Though the first of many visits I think!

I know I'm not insignificant to God, even when I feel like it, and if I can't cope, God will shelter me and give me a resting place.

Tiny shells house even tinier creatures...God designed it all...

All things Advent...

I bet you've had at least one thought about what you're going to do at Christmas...well, if you haven't I reckon by now you've started to think about what you're going to have for dinner in 113 days.

I started thinking about Christmas in mid August, we've got a party to organise for Shaken Up! More recently, today and yesterday, I've been thinking about Advent. Advent is the beginning of the Church's year, and we start the 'new year' by preparing for the coming of Christ. This year's Advent service is based on invitations and gifts.

Between now and Advent we've got Bible Sunday, Back to Church Sunday and Harvest, during Advent there's three Christingle services and then Christmas Day services (including a midnight service), there's a lot of preparation to do and a lot of people to involve.

So have to go any idea who you're going to invite to church over the rest of this year and on into the 'new year'?