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!!

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.

On this day

On this day, the 6th day of the 4th month of the year of our Lord 2010, something major happened... Her Royal Majesty received a request from Gordon Brown, Prime Minister, to dissolve Parliament on Monday 12th April, for a General Election to take place on Thursday 6th May.

So we now have a month to listen, look, discover what each party has to say for themselves, what their policies are and how they are going to change this country to be the best it can. and then make a decision and use our vote wisely.

Gordon Brown said to the country that he is 'just an ordinary man'.

David Cameron is calling this 'the most important election of the generation'.

Nick Clegg is saying that it 'will not be a traditional two-horse race'.

In the next four weeks, the country will be bombarded with 'we can do this, we can do that' and a little bit of 'you don't want them to be in charge of the country'.

It's going to be an interesting couple of weeks. I'm going to have to keep an eye out for the stuff that is coming through the door and what is in the newspapers.

We're called to a moral decision as Christians, which makes it harder.

In other news...my Aunt gave birth to Adam, 19 years ago today! The family is growing old and we're starting to figure out where we all fit.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

A Simple Question

Click Here for more information

The Last thing you expect

Is a blizzard when it was sunny 20 mins ago! but that's what Essex got (and as I write, is still getting - how topical am I!)

Here's your proof!



I'm busy preparing for Fairtrade Week! Going into school and preparing for things that are even further in the future this week.

Check out the new url... I didn't realise that only 4% of people gave blood. That's shocking... if you've never done it before, I recommend that you get going!

The Big Swap

If you're not aware for Fair Trade, you will be soon. I keep harping on about it to everyone, and I can't wait to get my hands on a Fairtrade KitKat!

The years campagin for Fairtrade Fortnight (22nd Feb - 7th March) is 'The Big Swap'so if you want to find out a bit more watch the video below



Or head to fairtrade.org.uk to have a look at everything that is going on and the ideas that you can adapt for your own situation.

We're going to hold our regular cafes and have drinks available for anyone who would like to try tea or coffee 0r juice or chocolate for free!

So if you're in Billericay find us on facebook for more details!

That's the easy part of my life at the moment... the harder part is doing the teaching on Sunday with the 11 - 14 year olds. I'm teaching about the scantity of life. It's a tough one when it relates to abortion and euthanasia. But the Bible has a lot of wonderful things to say about humans as God's creation, how He gives us life and looks after us as well.

I'm praying a lot at the moment... mainly for Sunday, but also that Chris gets well soon and that we get to Karen's safely on Saturday!

Good Game!

Chris and I both had an email from TopGolf for a free game, so we decided to take the opportunity last weekend to play a couple of games.

That was after we'd spent the night dressed as a Spice Girl and a Beatles...



Beautiful aren't we?

We were celebrating a couple of friends birthdays, and everyone made a little bit of effort, but I think Chris looked great... as did my sister



Then on Sunday after church and lunch, and a little sleep(!) we headed to Chigwell to find the TopGolf and take advantage of our free game. We've been to watford before and felt that it was a little too far away for just a couple of games, so we were really happy to find one that was half an hour down the road... why am I telling you this? Well at one point I was close to beating my boyfriend... he plays golf and works at a golf course, so I got a little bit excited about it - he has helped me to improve a lot, and I'm very consistent now....

Want some proof?



You have to do some maths, but at one point I was three points ahead! 3 points!!

Life has been a little quiet because of illness and weather - so I'm making my own entertainment!

Haiti

I've been shocked by some of the images and thoughts about the Haiti earthquake in recent days.

Whenever a natural disaster happens and there is a huge effort to help those affected, I always find myself in conversation with those that are close to me, and more often than not, we're trying to find out the truth, discussing what the press are telling us and what the stories of the people on the ground are telling us.

It does become really difficult to tell what is and what isn't true, and unless you read everything that is written, which would take you a very long time, you're not really going to form a complete opinion.

For a long time, for me, a natural disaster is a natural disaster, there is nothing humans can do to prevent it, it will happen, whether we like it or not, and when we least expect it. I don't believe that God is punishing anyone, that's an Old Testament belief (and boy, was He harsh), but everyone will be asking 'where is God?'. Good question... my very wise friend Gary said that He's there with the people, the soldiers, the rescue teams, the aid workers, the person who gives to the DEC and the person who seems unaffected by it all. God is everywhere, feeling a range of emotions all the time, looking out for all of us. He's no less in Haiti with the people, than He is in me.

I am praying, that all who are involved at a deeply personal level, each and every person will know God and His unending love, through the toughest time.

New Year

It's all started with a bit of snow really... a blanket of white across the country, putting a stop on nearly everything... including my ability to connect to the internet.

I'm still having problems with my laptop and the wireless connection. But I know have a Belkin to help me out, so we'll see how well that works.

Christmas this year was hugely busy again, but I really enjoyed myself. Christ Church held three Christingles and saw 619 people, we found out that we were the only church that does this in the knowledge of the Children's Society. I'm not sure how much money we raised but I'm sure everyone was happy.

Christmas Day was full of family fun and cooking for me (depite the tantrum I threw because I was amazingly tired). And the week follwing was holiday time, spent doing lots of things that I've never done before - including spending Boxing day at Chris' and Bank Holiday Monday in the freezing cold shopping and at Ipswich Town Football club (Ipswich won 3-0 and I've become a mascot).

I've had a lot of fun over the last couple of weeks, watching people talk about the best of the decade and the highs and lows of the first ten years of the 21st Century. It's strange to think that I was at the start of my GCSE's, with very little idea of where my life was going and where my faith would take me.

There have been a lot of people helping me and encouraging me to be the best I can and the person that God has called me to be. I'm looking forward to seeing what the next ten years will hold... hopefully I'll still have time to blog!

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!

It's sNOw good

It's snowed today. Only very lightly, but of course it's on eveyone's lips. We're in below zero conditions (Celsius) at the moment and I am certainly feeling it. I retreated from my office this morning, not really wanting to spend any time in the cold. I'm not 100% again, so being semi-warm (at least from the waist down at the moment) and not completely cold, is better for me. I'm eating porridge and lots of warming foods to keep my core warm and working.

I'm heading towards a very busy Thursday evening... We've got the uniformed organisations carol service, which I'm talking at and then the SMB Christmas party incl. Secret Santa!

The hard work in the cold conditions is taking it's toll. Hopefully I'll be well enough for Christmas!

All by myself

This week has been punctuated by my parents being away. The headed to Barcelona for a few days and they are currently in Kent. This means I get to cook for myself and Chris on various occasions, which I always enjoy when I've got the kitchen to myself.

I'm still in an ongoing battle with the council over the painted line on my road and the lack of parking attendants. Here's an all too familiar sight



It's not good, it means I have to wait to leave my house. I know that these people need to park, but there are restrictions now, so you can't. Find somewhere else, please!

This weekend I'm heading to cheltenham to see my house mates from uni. it's the first time I've seen everyone in 2 years almost so I'm a little excited!

Am I the only one?

I was watching Ugly Betty... which is something I rarely do, but with all things global, it will inevitably catch me (like Gavin and Stacey has). I only watched for 5 mins and the ads came on...

Yet another tv ad about contraception. The full proof way of not getting pregnant, or getting an STD is simply to abstain. Eveyone can do it, it's free.

I've been thinking this for a number of years... but in the last six months, it's hit me like a ton of bricks that teenagers don't hear it any more. It's a simple truth and easy to remember.

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...