Monday 31 January 2011

Update

So this was my first weekend at home for a while. And by home, I mean in Bournemouth rather than in my actual house. If you see previous post, there is good reason for that.

Living in a house purely of women certainly has its negatives at times. Still, it was nice not to be off somewhere.

Saturday was a geek day and I loved it with all my heart. Started with a nice (but not so tasty) coffee with the curly one before she ran off to be with the boyf. Less than a month and it feels like forever. Chatting face to face was fun. We also had croissants so it was almost a civilised breakfast deal going on.

Then proceeded the major geekiness. I am a geek. I in fact like being a geek. I appreciate geeky things. I think geeks are cool. And so, I spent twelve hours watching all three Lord of the Rings films. And not just that, they were the extended editions. We gathered around thirty or so people and hung out with some seriously British food and the Hobbits.

During the day, I was hennaed, painted my nails, learnt to knit (sort of, I'm not too good!) and had my hair plaited like an elf. I also quoted most of every film, sang along to the songs and generally showed myself to be one cool creature. A friend cooked a roast, after providing soup and cream teas as nourishment for our day's adventure. Altogether it was quite, quite delightful and incredibly lazy.

Sunday was church day, and it was such a good feeling to be back home. I love visiting other places, but home church is just the best. I was on the end of an aisle and as people walked down chatting to get communion lots of people just hugged me. I appreciate hugs, and I appreciated the care and concern for where I'd been. It was very lovely.

I spent the rest of the day sharing mexican lunch before chattering away to the girlies, and then heading to a back room to do a bit of a session on prophecy. That was exciting. Just a few of us gathering to learn more, try things out and generally get fired up. It was really nice to not have to be 'on duty' as well! The day finished with a trip to kfc and fitting seven people in one car. I sat in the boot like some sort of animal. In fact, there was two of us in there. 

Monday arrived and I seriously struggled to get up and moving, but with several hours of cleaning under my metaphorical belt, and some studying done for my exposition on Galatians (due next week) I am feeling fairly sleepy, but looking forward to seeing lots of people at Prayer and Fasting tomorrow. 

I am not on the other hand, looking forward to the 5am wake up. Why do they do this to me?!

Kisses xoxo

Friday 28 January 2011

Psycho

That is what my mum has turned into.

Whoever forces people not only switch things off but to unplug them as well? Something turned off is not going to catch fire and burn the house down.

CRYING OUT LOUD!

Thursday 27 January 2011

For the first time in a long time

I feel pretty hyped up.
For the last months I've been in a constant state of TIRED AND STRESSED. Well maybe that's a little exaggeration. But it has been a little hectic.

However, two or three teas, a cup of coffee and a frappe latte later and I am quite buzzing. I don't think it's entirely caffeine induced though.

I am thoroughly enjoying a good old Phoenix album beginning with a bit of an epic song known as Lisztomania. I listened to this last year and got a little obsessed and it reminds me of spring time and a whole lot of freedom.

This week I've returned from a lovely trip to Portugal, cooked for a Burns night dinner and been wonderfully Scottish, and had a very great day chatting LOTS through with a woman who I love, before heading back into the office today and getting some work done and chit chattering away to lots of people.

I've got a night off today so I'm going to eat some yummy pasta with roast veg and chicken and chill out with a book or some Silent Witness.

Ever find that when you get some perspective and have somebody allay your fears things seem to pick up a lot?
So with a little more cheer than the past few weeks I bid you love and hugs and hope to see lots of you very soon
xxx


PS I AM GOING TO BE SEEING ARCADE FIRE, MUMFORD & SONS, AND BEIRUT IN JUNE

AND

THIS WEEKEND I AM WATCHING ALL THREE LORD OF THE RINGS FILMS WITH KNITTING AND A ROAST.

Sometimes I love my life.x

Tuesday 25 January 2011

Post-travelling post

Apologies for the lack of bloggy-ness the last couple of weeks. Life is hectic is a bit of an understatement. I tend to arrive home and crash into bed...there's not much time for pondering, or for creativity.

Still, perhaps things may calm down a little...we shall see. I think my brain would like a rest.

The past few days I have been in the not so sunny Portugal, down in the Algarve which was rather exciting. Laurena who did FP last year and I were asked to go out and run the kids work for the weekend conference that was being held down there, and where the leader of my church was speaking.

This pretty much involved a lot of craft and a lot of running around, and a fair amount of attempting to translate Portuguese because we only spoke English.

Over the course of the weekend I made...bookmarks, salt dough fish, colouring pictures, chicken crowns, flying fish and I'm sure several other things. We did also steal large numbers of pebbles from the beach but we never got round to making them. We were too busy jumping on balloons and creating a heck of a lot of mess.

Still, it was really good fun. We spent some time with three girls from the Lar, which is effectively the Portuguese orphanage. The church out there works with them a lot, and although two of them didn't speak any English, the other, Pipas was amazing and translating and generally pumping huge amounts of joy into the group.

We were put up in a beautiful four star hotel, with out balcony overlooking the sea. It was stunning, even though the waves were the steely grey that comes from stormy weather. We shared breakfast and dinner together the first two days, with the most incredible range of food. I'm not a big meat eater, but they certainly know how to cook their meat! and their fish! Golly, sea bass and kiwi...YUM!

Then there was the fruit. I like fruit. English fruit sucks. I must've eaten about ten pineapples and melons in the brief stay I was there. Bowls of fruit were just everywhere. Then there was the coffee. Oh my, good proper coffee...also everywhere. I must admit, the culture of food and hospitality and family is a good one.

I realise at this point I've talked about craft and food and little else.... I think that definitely dominates my weekend.

I met so many new people, mostly from the UK but also from Gibraltar (had to ask where exactly that was) and from Portugal and South Africa. It was exciting to get to see how church is done in somewhere other than England, even though this was very much an English church.

Considering I spent maybe 15 euros all weekend, and got a free book, cd, a present and a holiday I feel very blessed.
When I am feeling a bit more awake I may write something that makes a bit more sense.

For now, I am waiting for my lift so I can go and cook a three course meal for 45 people all to celebrate Robert Burns...or at least that's the idea, it's really just the chance to have a bit of a party and get everyone together!

Love and hugs x

Sunday 16 January 2011

Ramblings

It's been a very bizarre few days...I returned to Centre Parcs this weekend, and am in fact still here currently. This time wasn't for FP but just general work. (YES I love my job!) and it's been a pretty great time, aside from the six hour drive up here. 

As we drove along the motorway, the coast was left far behind and I once again entered the unknown territory, more commonly known (and named by motorway signs) as 'The North'. For a southerner like I, the lack of sea and coast is plenty enough to make you a little claustrophobic but an insane amount of trees, and surprisingly large and friendly woodland wildlife manage to make me feel fairly normal. 

I haven't met so many new people at once for a while, and I definitely wasn't expecting it this weekend. However, being a person who thrives a little on social interaction I'm feeling fairly chirpy after meeting people from across the nation, sharing food, sharing stories...and basically sharing life. I must say, it's one of the many things I love about being a Christian; the innate knowledge that a guy or girl you meet is actually your brother and sister, and at the centre of their life you have something massive in common. It overcomes likes and dislikes, cultural barriers and general social awkwardness if you can push past the fear of generally meeting people who you've never even set eyes upon. 

No where else in life could you pick up loads of randoms and have such pleasant, civil and deep conversations and social occasions except with people who belong to The Church. It's radical, and I love community. 

The past few days I've been living with some people I didn't know before Friday evening, and that's been quite an adventure. As has the fact that until I got here, I knew only one girl who would be coming, and I've pretty much just hung out with boys all weekend...a tad unusual for the girl from an all girls grammar school who fully embraces all things girly and whose closest friends (apart from a few exceptions) are of the female gender. 

It has been really nice though. Boys are different and I like not having to be a silly girl sometimes...on arrival we had curry and beer. OM NOM NOM. 

So yes, with rapids and Starbucks, sadly no Nero, and a lot of new people, it's almost easy to forget that I came here for some incredible training in Student Work, and a whole lot of vision casting and encouragement. We've had a great variety of people teaching and some great times of worship, so altogether pretty great...

Still, one of my new year's resolution is that of honesty and vulnerability. Blogging makes this a little easier as I'm not facing a person, and in fact, many many people won't see this, and even some who do, I don't even know you.

I've basically decided that honesty is not weakness, it's part of being real, and more importantly, Jesus didn't say emotion was bad, and he certainly didn't hide away from it. In fact, several times the Bible gives details of occasions when he wept. So, although tonight I'm not in a mood for weeping, that doesn't mean that I haven't had those in the past month. 

Life is tough. My job is tough - it drains you physically and emotionally and much of my time spent looking after people leaves me feeling totally spent. It's in my DNA, my very core, it's part of who God made me to be, that desire to help and it's not something I ever want to lose or walk away from, but I am finding a new way of being wise about how I use that gift and that part of my character. 

I'm going for some health, some fun and some wisdom this year. I've not quite decided on how those turn into New Year's Resolutions but once I've decided I can let you little following readers know. I can almost hear you stop breathing you're so expectant. I'd encourage you to breathe again, it could take a while to formulate coherent thoughts.

Anyway, enough of my woodland ramblings, I need to get some sleep and prepare for a nice little sociable breakfast and walk tomorrow before heading back to the homeland. 

Good night chaps and chapettes. Much love
xxx

Friday 14 January 2011

Dead Tired

I think I am being prepared for the future if I become a parent with the whole not sleeping malarky. Life for me is always busy. Too much time on my own causes a downward spiral where I end up a nasty puddle on the floor as every teeny weensy little thought finally gets to me.

However, a similar thing happens when I don't have time to think. I'm away this weekend, up north (for me this is!) in Centre Parcs...yes again. It's a hard life huh! I'm really looking forward to hopefully having some time to myself. I'd appreciate that.

This week has been pretty manic, what with seeing a friend on Monday and having a very long catch up and chat, going to a leadership meeting on Tuesday, seeing the new Narnia Wednesday, and then two student meetings tonight, before I'm off for a weekend of learning how to be a better student worker. That's just the evenings and not the madness of life in the office after being away for three weeks...

I have learnt several things this week, from the benefit of knowing where you've put car keys, to not going to bed so late you sleep through your very loud alarm by two hours, to understanding that when God does stuff, a lot of the time, it's not a sudden thing but takes a fair amount of outworking, and that CS Lewis was a genius.

Best line... "In your world I'm known by another name..."
At this point, I and a friend may have shouted JESUS in the middle of the cinema and spent the rest of the night chatting about the Gospel and how it's been put into film by Hollywood and then proclaimed by every cinema that screens Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Not that I'm a geek or anything...
On that note, this geek needs some rest if I am going to survive a trip to northern lands the next few days. In my suitcase I have currently packed; towels, systematic theology, an ESV Study Bible, make up, a bottle of wine, a tea towel, and some underwear. Somehow, I think that sums up my life.

Love and goodnight cherubs xxx

PS enjoy the fuzzy wuzzy lion x

Monday 10 January 2011

Blogging Impulse

After my time away, I feel compelled to blog, but as yet, I'm not entirely sure I've fully comprehended the mammoth things that occurred whilst I was away. I'll try not to be too dramatic, but, lets just say, it was a bit of a dramatic few days.

I've been a Christian for over four years, I'm involved in a church I love, in fact, this year I'm working there...I've learnt several big lessons and I think I'm beginning to make progress in areas that I've been keen to grow in.

It's very easy in an environment of love and acceptance to become either comfortable, or to not fully comprehend what Jesus did on the cross, and I think that I've fallen into both traps.

Firstly, I am so grateful for a church where I find people who look after me, guide me, and care for me, and offer the listening ear and the sometimes intrusive questions that I need to open up. It makes me want to be like that. Everyone, everywhere needs people like that.

Secondly, I have never, ever, really understood freedom. When we sing of freedom, when I dance in worship, when I say with absolute conviction that Jesus is the hope for every situation, I didn't quite get it. My thoughts were in their infancy, and hopefully from a week in a strange forest bubble, I might be a little more mature, and a little more experienced in how that really works. So anyway, knowing that freedom is my inheritance, and joy is my aim, I am off to organise my life and so some studying.

Cup of tea is soon to be in hand.
Bless you xxx

Sunday 2 January 2011

New Year, New Blog Post

Happy New Year and all that jazz.

We're a day in and I am already tired. But happy. I spent the day at church, and then out for lunch with the girls before coming back to mine to make brownies to take to Centre Parcs tomorrow. Ooooh!

It's been a strange few days. I feel a bit peculiar but I am sure it is all fine, and I just need to be less of a stressy pants. I'm sure certain people reading this will agree. You are not allowed to say I told you so. 

These holidays have been really nice for me to just chill out and be myself. A lot of this has involved hiding out with a book and lots of tea, but I've decided it's not a bad thing!

New Years Eve was good, surprisingly so. I'm not one for massive hype but I had a really good time and got to wear my very yummy new dress which I love very very much. 

There was lots of dancing and cocktails and general hilarity, but I do live in that place of being torn between several groups of friends. I spent it right though I think :)

Yesterday I was at a friends wedding which was so beautiful. They had a massive tea party, and it was all very cool with huge amounts of tea and cup cakes. I am soooo tired from being on my feet doing things for it all day. Super long day, and that combined with an exhausting couple of days, and some goodbyes makes for a mixed up head.

Nothing new really I hear you say. Perhaps not. I have noticed that I tend to blog only when I am very happy or very sad, or very angry. Generally when I'm very '_____' 

So, tomorrow I am off to Centre Parcs with FP and it should be a really great week. I need to get excited and think about some things for it....and pack. I've been baking, but I might do some more. It does mean a 5am wake up though! Just thinking about such a thing makes me feel sick. Still, I get to see everyone and meet some more people so a new adventure is something to be happy about.

With that in my mind, I really should get busy and hopefully achieve the things on my massive to-do list.

Farewell friends, xxx